Russia acknowledges presence of troops in Venezuela

Russia has troops on the ground in Venezuela, officials from both countries have confirmed publicly for the first time, saying the deployment was provided for military consultations and was not linked to the “possibility of military operations”.

“Military experts are there; they are tasked with the practical implementation of provisions of military-technical cooperation agreements,” a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said in a televised briefing.

The remarks came five days after photographs showed nearly 100 Russian servicemen disembarking from two military planes in Caracas, stoking concerns in Washington that Moscow was increasing its support for Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro.

The US has called for Maduro to hand over power to the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, amid a growing economic crisis in the country. Maduro, who is backed by Russia, has accused the US of a policy of regime change.

“The continued insertion of Russian military personnel to support the illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela risks prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people who overwhelmingly support interim president, Juan Guaidó,” the US Department of State said on Tuesday.

A Kremlin spokesman denied Russia was meddling in Venezuela’s affairs, saying that the US “should follow our example and allow Venezuelans to decide their own fate”.

Asked to clarify the nature of the cooperation, Dmitri Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said “military contracts, military equipment, military hardware”.

He said that Russia had contracts to deliver “special equipment” to Venezuela. He did not give further detail during a telephone briefing with journalists.

Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, said: “Russia is not changing the balance of forces in the region and is not threatening anyone.”

Zakharova did not confirm the number of troops, which has been estimated at 100. Local reports said they arrived with 35 tonnes of equipment and were led by a senior army officer.

Asked how long the troops would be there, she replied: “As long as they need. As long as the Venezuelan government needs.”

Venezuela and Russia signed a military cooperation agreement in 2001 and Caracas later became a major importer of Russian fighter jets, helicopters and assault rifles. Analysts have said the Russians may have been deployed to provide maintenance for aircraft or training for Venezuelan troops, or to fulfil specialist roles as cybersecurity personnel.

The Venezuelan military attache in Moscow also confirmed the Russian troop deployment, saying they were there for “discussion of military-technical cooperation”.

“Please note that this is simply a matter of military-technical cooperation; the presence of the Russian military is in no way related to the possibility of military operations [in Venezuela],” he told the Interfax news service.

The presence of Russian troops in Venezuela has infuriated Donald Trump, who said on Thursday that “all options” were open to make Moscow withdraw its forces.

“Russia has to get out,” Trump said at a meeting in the Oval Office with Fabiana Rosales, the wife of Juan Guaidó.

Elliot Abrams, the US special envoy on Venezuela, said the Russian presence was “very unconstructive” and clearly designed to force Maduro to look to Russia and Cuba for the country’s future.

He warned Russia that it would never recover its substantial investments in Venezuela unless it “backs a path that leads to prosperity”.

(THE GUARDIAN)