Name: U.S. military build-up on Venezuelan coast heightens tensions
Uploaded: 2025-11-24T14:15:51.868Z
Duration: 3 min 52 s
Description: The U.S. military is continuing to bolster its presence off the coast of its Latin American neighbor. Analysts say Washington’s goal remains regime change, not drug cartels.

The U.S. military is continuing to bolster its presence off the coast of its Latin American neighbor. Analysts say Washington’s goal remains regime change, not drug cartels.

Caracas

The United States has increased its military presence off the coast of Venezuela, conducting strikes on Venezuelan vessels in the Caribbean. President Nicolas Maduro has responded by warning of a potential U.S. invasion and seeking military assistance from allies, including Russia.

Despite past cooperation, Russia has denied receiving requests for military aid and has limited its support to public statements. Experts note that Russia is unlikely to intervene militarily due to its focus on the conflict in Ukraine, leaving Venezuela largely isolated as tensions with the U.S. escalate.

U.S. military build-up on Venezuelan coast heightens tensions

U.S. military power is building up just off the coast of Venezuela. As America strikes Venezuelan vessels in the Caribbean, President Nicolas Maduro is stepping up a public campaign, warning against a potential U.S. invasion, like in this viral video. U.S. media report that behind the scenes, Maduro has asked his authoritarian allies, including Russia, for military help. The talks reportedly involve missiles, defense radars and aircraft repairs. Russia denies that Venezuela asked for military assistance. But Russia's foreign ministry in its public statements has generally backed Maduro. Russia has demonstrated unwavering solidarity with Venezuela and is ready to respond to Caracas's appeal, taking into account existing and potential challenges. Moscow has helped shore up Venezuela's defense before. In 2019, this aircraft brought Russian military personnel to Caracas. Vladimir Ravinsky of the ICC University in Colombia says that move may have prevented a U.S. invasion back then. Back in 2019, during the first Trump administration, when Trump said he would do everything he could to remove Maduro, Moscow effectively came to Maduro's rescue. For the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. found itself forced to discuss a situation in Latin America directly with Russia. Experts say that just like six years ago, Trump's real target isn't the drug cartels, but removing Maduro from power. Will Moscow step in to shield Caracas from a U.S. invasion this time? Over the past decades, ties between the two countries, including trade, have degraded. In the 2000s and early 2010s, Russia supplied Venezuela with billions of dollars worth of weapons and they cooperated in the international oil market. But after Maduro took office, that cooperation faded and is no longer a major factor for either economy. As far as I know, most of Russia's investments have fallen apart. Much of the equipment is basically unusable, half of it was stolen, and there are no specialists left to maintain it. Even though Venezuela is not only a trading partner for Russia, but also a geopolitical one, the Kremlin shows little interest in offering anything beyond verbal support. Russia's foreign ministry so far denies any possibility of military aid, and state media stress that Venezuela is essentially on its own in its fight. Venezuela is now holding the line alone, no allies, no support, no one around it. And its situation serves as a warning to others. You can't win a battle by staying on the defensive. Vladimir Uvinsky says Russia is unlikely to come to Venezuela's aid because the Kremlin is focused on the war in Ukraine, and because Washington's intentions this time are far more serious. The situation today is very different from 2019. The US has now deployed a massive force just off Venezuela's coast. So sending, say, a few dozen military technical specialists, as Russia calls them, won't make any real difference. Still if Maduro were to flee Venezuela, he could likely count on finding a safe haven in Moscow.

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