The United States (U.S.) Secretary of the State – Mike Pompeo has spoken to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation – Sergey Lavrov and has called on Russia to stop its unconstructive behaviour in Venezuela.
The move comes after 2 Russian military planes landed at Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caracas in Venezuela, carrying 100 troops and 35 tonnes of equipment. According to Russian News Agency – Sputnik, the planes were sent as a part of earlier signed technical military contracts. The planes arrived 3 months after Russia and Venezuela jointly held military exercises.
For the records, Russia is an ally of Venezuela, lending them funds and helping them in their oil industry and military.
A media statement by U.S. read, “The United States will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions in Venezuela. The continued insertion of Russian military personnel to support the illegitimate regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela risks prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people who overwhelmingly support interim President Juan Guaido.”
Russia has also opposed the U.S. moves to impose sanctions on the President of Venezuela – Nicolas Maduro.
Ties between Venezuela and Russia
The diplomatic ties between Russia and Venezuela have further strengthened in recent months, especially after the relations between U.S. and Venezuela got worse, as U.S. recognised the self-declared Juan Guaido as the Interim President of Venezuela.
Russia has also condemned other nations who are supporting U.S. and promoting Juan Guaido.
Guaido accused of plotting terrorist attacks
The Venezuela’s Minister of Communication – Jorge Rodriguez, spoke on national television and accused opposition leaders, including National Assembly President – Juan Guaido, of plotting terrorist attacks in Venezuela.
The Minister said that evidence have been collected from the personal phone of Guaido’s Chief of Staff – Roberto Marrero. According to the Rodriguez, Marrero coordinated the arrival of hitmen from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to kill members of the Venezuelan Governments.
He said that 60 hitmen groups were prepared and trained in Colombia. But due to the closure of Columbia-Venezuela border by President Maduro, only 30 groups were able to enter Venezuela.
However, he didn’t provide any evidence to substantiate his claim. Also, Guaido has said that the evidences were planted by Maduro Government.
He took to the streets of Barcelona with a message for Maduro which said, “You will not intimidate me, you will not intimidate us. You never planted our fields, but now you plant evidence a lot.”
What happened earlier?
Maduro won the Presidential election in April 2013 after the death of President – Hugo Chávez. He was elected to a second term in May 2018. During Maduro’s regime, Venezuela experienced economic downfall with inflation reaching 800,000% in 2018. A total of 3 million people have left Venezuela.
In the meantime, Juan Guaido took an oath and declared himself the Interim President of Venezuela. He was immediately recognised by the President of United States – Donald Trump. Later, France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Britain and Spain also started supporting him.
