Russian military forces deployed to Venezuela pose a “direct threat” to the United States and other Western Hemisphere nations, one of President Trump’s top advisers warned Friday.
White House national security adviser John Bolton’s statement is the latest U.S. rebuke of Moscow’s decision to send two planeloads of troops and military cargo to boost Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, who has refused to relinquish power amid nationwide protests. The United States and most Western democracies recognize opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido as the interim president of the country, which is suffering from food shortages and the second widespread power outage of the month.
“We strongly caution actors external to the Western Hemisphere against deploying military assets to Venezuela, or elsewhere in the Hemisphere, with the intent of establishing or expanding military operations,” Bolton said. “We will consider such provocative actions as a direct threat to international peace and security in the region.”
Bolton’s warning emphasizes the Trump administration’s return to the Monroe Doctrine, the 200-year-old policy of considering European attempts at colonization and influence in the Americas an aggression toward the United States. The former ambassador, who cited the doctrine in discussing Venezuela earlier this month, added that no good will come of Russia’s aid to Maduro.
“Maduro will only use this military support to further repress the people of Venezuela; perpetuate the economic crisis that has destroyed Venezuela’s economy; and endanger regional stability,” he said. “We call on the Venezuelan military to uphold its constitutional duty to protect the citizens of Venezuela.”
The planes left a Russian military base and arrived in Venezuela on Saturday after stopping in Syria, where Russian forces are propping up dictator Bashar Assad. They reportedly carried nearly 40 tons of materiel, a senior defense official, and about 100 troops, including “cybersecurity personnel.”
Bolton’s rebuke echoed condemnation issued earlier this week by a top regional leader.
“The presence of military personnel and military transport constitutes a harmful act to Venezuelan sovereignty,” the Organization of American States secretariat said in a statement Monday. “It is unacceptable that a foreign government engages in military cooperation programs with a usurping regime that has been declared illegitimate by resolutions and Inter-American law, which also threatens hemispheric peace and security.”
OAS head Luis Almagro was the first regional leader to call Maduro a dictator, early in 2016. Trump’s team has worked with the former Uruguayan foreign minister to build an international coalition against Maduro without rousing “the historical demons” of past U.S. interventions in the region.
Russia dismissed the OAS criticism as a “politically motivated statement,” but Russian military officials floated the idea of establishing a base on Venezuelan territory in the Caribbean in December, after sending a pair of strategic bombers to Caracas for a brief deployment.
“We will continue to defend and protect the interests of the United States, and those of our partners in the Western Hemisphere, which are rooted in a shared respect for liberty, security, and the rule of law,” Bolton stated Friday.
