Russia slams 'neocolonial threats' against Venezuela, backs new interim leader

Russia on Tuesday welcomed the appointment of Delcy Rodriguez as Venezuela's interim president, calling it a step to ensure peace and stability in the face of "blatant neocolonial threats and foreign armed aggression".

"We firmly insist that Venezuela must be guaranteed the right to determine its own destiny without any destructive external interference," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It did not refer by name to the United States. President Donald Trump on Saturday sent special forces to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and bring him to the U.S., where he has pleaded not guilty to narcotics charges and insisted he remains the rightful leader of the country.

"We welcome the efforts undertaken by the official authorities of this country to protect state sovereignty and national interests. We reaffirm Russia's unwavering solidarity with the Venezuelan people and government," the Russian statement said, adding that Moscow would continue to provide "necessary support".

Maduro was the second close ally of Russia to be ousted in just over a year, following the toppling of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

But one senior Russian source told Reuters this week that if Trump was asserting a revived Monroe Doctrine of U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, then Russia also had a right to its own sphere of influence.

Russia has been waging full-scale war in neighbouring Ukraine since February 2022, but is in talks with Trump's administration as the U.S. leader pushes for an end to the conflict.

President Vladimir Putin, who has taken care not to criticise Trump since his return to the White House a year ago, is keen to mend bilateral relations and revive economic ties between their two countries. Putin has yet to comment on Trump's removal of Maduro.

-Reuters