Podcast host Alex Gabuev is joined by his colleague Sergey Vakulenko, a senior fellow at Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, to discuss how the latest U.S. intervention in Venezuela and control of its oil will affect Russia and its reputation as a patron saint for other regimes aligning themselves against the United States.
Under Putin, Russia has established a relationship with Venezuela, and was heavily involved in the country until recent years. The Chavez and then Maduro regimes bought Russian weapons with sizeable loans from the Kremlin, Moscow ordered its energy companies to invest in Venezuelan oil fields, and Russia boasted of having secured a foothold in the U.S.’s backyard. With Trump’s swift and successful operation to arrest Maduro, the situation has changed. What are the implications for Russia’s global posture? What can the Kremlin do, and will it do anything? Will deposing Maduro lead to a situation in which Venezuelan oil floods global markets with U.S. help?