The aircraft was seen at Maiquetia airport outside Caracas guarded by a contingent of Venezuelan National Guardsmen. Javier Mayorca, an independent journalist, reported on his Twitter account the arrival of two Russian panes — an Antonov-124 cargo plane and a smaller jet — late Saturday at the airport.
He said around 100 Russian soldiers led by General Vasily Tonkoshkurov, head of the Mobilization Directorate of Russia’s armed forces, disembarked along with about 35 tons of equipment. A picture of a Russian flagged aircraft posted on social media showed men in uniform clustered around it on the tarmac.
There was no confirmation from Venezuelan authorities, and the Russian embassy in Caracas declined to comment to AFP on the report, which was widely carried by Venezuelan media. Russia and China are the main allies of Venezuela. Both have lent billions of dollars to the oil-rich South American country, propping up the anti-US government of President Nicolas Maduro.
Russia has also vocally opposed US moves to sanction Maduro and his government, and to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president. US moves against Caracas have ratcheted up in recent weeks, with President Donald Trump warning “all options” — implicitly including US military intervention — were being considered.
On April 28, US sanctions are to jump up a level with a ban on crude imports from Venezuela. America is historically Venezuela’s biggest oil buyer, and that step is expected to severely crimp the Maduro government’s already diminished finances.
Russia has previously signalled its support for Maduro by sending two TU-160 bombers to Venezuela last December to take part in a military exercise. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has a record of ordering his military — or paramilitary — forces into several theaters to challenge US strategies, notably in Syria and Ukraine.
However, any Russian foothold in Latin America, especially Venezuela, would alarm the US military. It would also be a political test for Trump, who has routinely avoided criticizing Putin.
Two Russian military planes landed in Venezuela's main airport on Saturday, reportedly carrying dozens of troops and large amounts of equipment. The planes were sent to "fulfil technical military contracts", Russia's Sputnik news agency reported.
Javier Mayorca, a Venezuelan
journalist, wrote on Twitter that he saw about 100 troops and 35 tonnes of
equipment offloaded from the planes. It comes three months after the two
nations held joint military exercises.
Russia has long been an ally of
Venezuela, lending the South American nation billions of dollars and backing
its oil industry and military. Russia has also vocally opposed moves from the
US to sanction the government of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
Mr Mayorca said on Twitter that a
Russian air force Antonov-124 cargo plane and a smaller jet landed near Caracas
on Saturday. He said that Russian General Vasily Tonkoshkurov led the troops
off one of the planes. A military plane with a Russian flag on
its fuselage could be seen on the tarmac at an airport on Sunday. Images on
social media also appeared to show Russian troops gathered at the airport.
Russia has condemned other foreign
powers for backing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who declared
himself interim president in January. President Maduro has accused Mr Guaidó of
trying to mount a coup against him with the help of "US
imperialists".
The Kremlin echoed that line, accusing
Mr Guaidó of an "illegal attempt to seize power" backed by the United
States and pledging to do "everything required" to support Mr Maduro. Mr Maduro narrowly won a presidential
election in April 2013 after the death of his mentor, President Hugo Chávez. He
was elected to a second term in May 2018 in an election which has been widely
criticised by international observers.
Venezuela has experienced economic
collapse, with severe food shortages and inflation reaching at least 800,000%
last year. Mr Guaidó has accused President Maduro of being unfit for office,
and won the support of many in the country as well as US and EU leaders.
The Maduro government is becoming
increasingly isolated as more and more countries blame it for the economic
crisis, which has prompted more than three million people to leave Venezuela. Meanwhile,
Moscow has expanded co-operation with Caracas in recent years - increasing arms
sales and extending credit.
