When Vladimir Putin hosted Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro in the Kremlin last year, the message was clear: Moscow had a loyal ally in Washington’s backyard. Warm words were exchanged, a strategic partnership was signed, and the optics suggested strength.
That image has now been badly shaken.
Maduro’s capture in a US military operation ordered by President Donald Trump exposed the limits of Russia’s backing for its partners. While Russian diplomats quickly condemned the raid, Putin himself stayed silent — a striking contrast to China’s vocal criticism of Washington.
The episode adds to a growing list of setbacks for the Kremlin. Syria’s Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia late last year, Iran faced US strikes without Russian intervention, and now a Russian-armed Venezuelan military proved unable to stop American forces. US officials openly mocked the failure of Moscow’s air-defense systems.
Yet Trump’s aggressive approach may also work in Putin’s favor.
By asserting US dominance in Latin America — and openly threatening to use force elsewhere, including Greenland — Washington is reinforcing a worldview Putin has long embraced: that great powers rule through strength and enforce spheres of influence.
As Western unity frays and US support for Ukraine wavers, the Kremlin sees confirmation that might still makes right. Maduro’s downfall may be embarrassing for Moscow, but in Putin’s eyes, Trump’s gunboat diplomacy helps justify Russia’s own imperial ambitions.
