Did Vladimir Putin Abandon Venezuela?

Do you like "Our World"? Get notified when we publish something new.
Be sure to like our Facebook Page, Our World for more news and commentaries from around the world.

This article was first published on the 5th of April, 2020 by Patrick Carpen.

Last updated: April 5, 2020 at 23:39 pm

With escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela and Nicolas Maduro and Donald Trump engaged in heated exchanges, one would be inclined to ask, “What is Russia’s stance on the whole matter?”

Indeed, President Putin has been a “spoke in the wheel” for Trump’s grinding efforts in toppling Maduro, and it is crystal clear that one of the reasons that the Trump administration has failed in the mission so far is the Kremlin standing in the way. In 2019, during one of Trump’s standoff with Maduro, Putin specifically warned Trump not to attack Venezuela. And this incident repeated itself several times.

In fact, in 2019, Vladimir Putin went as far as demonstrating that his missiles can bypass US Defense Systems and strike targets inside of the United States. Furthermore, during the military masquerade, the United States admitted that it dreaded Russia’s “doomsday device” – a nuclear submarine which is capable of triggering tsunamis off America’s coasts and wipe out major US cities. And although the United States is touted for having the world’s most powerful military, where Russia is concerned, that is open for debate.

But all of a sudden, in late March 2020, Donald Trump made a bold move in indicting Maduro for narco-terrorism and deploying heavy forces in the Caribbean sea – a move widely speculated to be a prelude to war with Venezuela. Although the Russian president has not been silent on the whole matter, he hasn’t said anything substantial or damning enough to indicate that Venezuela has Russian military support.

President Putin last week condemned the rising US aggression towards Venezuela and called Donald Trump’s accusations “ridiculous.” Given the gravity of the situation facing Nicolas Maduro, these are soft statements. In fact, it was noted that, of recent, Maduro hasn’t alluded to the Russian military when addressing security concerns in light of US threats. Instead, in his recent letter to the American population, dated April 3, Maduro appealed for peace while stating that the Venezuelan military is ready confront any attack. But he didn’t give any indications of backup from Russia, China or Iran.

A few days ago, it was announced that Russia’s oil giant, Rosneft sold all its Venezuela assets, cutting ties with Venezuela. Given that and Putin’s passive response to US aggression, can we construe that Donald Trump has struck a deal with Vladimir Putin, or finally managed to convince him to back off of Venezuela? Or is it that the Kremlin has already sucked enough of Venezuela’s resources and no longer has a vested interest in defending it? Only time will tell.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments