Why Putin Stayed Silent After Trump Ousted Venezuela’s Maduro
The Trump Administration announced late on Tuesday that many Americans who had been imprisoned in Venezuela had been freed, praising the action taken by the country’s acting leader.
“We applaud the liberation of Americans who were imprisoned in Venezuela. The interim authorities have taken a significant step in the right direction, according to the State Department.
The number of American captives released was not immediately known.
According to an unidentified source cited by the Associated Press news agency, four Americans were released collectively on Tuesday and one was discreetly released on Monday.
Why was the release made?
The action follows a nocturnal operation by US commandos that abducted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and transported him to the US for prosecution.
In an effort to “seek peace” following Maduro’s capture, Jorge Rodriguez, the speaker of Venezuela’s national parliament and brother of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, announced last week that a “significant number” of foreign and Venezuelan prisoners will be freed.
US President Donald Trump praised the action and promised to halt a second round of strikes in retaliation. The US has always prioritized the release of its citizens abroad, and last year it struck a deal with Maduro to ensure the release of some of them.
Many of the political prisoners, both foreign and Venezuelan, were imprisoned for participating in demonstrations against the 2024 election results, in which Maduro was proclaimed the winner despite numerous accusations of vote-rigging.
Why Russia has kept quiet over Maduro’s ouster in Venezuela? Putin silence on Maduro ouster!
On Victory Day in May 2025, Nicolas Maduro visited Moscow and lavished Vladimir Putin with adoration. Russia was referred to by the Venezuelan leader as “a key power of humanity,” and a cooperation agreement was inked between the two chiefs of state.
However, on January 3, the US forcibly transported Maduro and his spouse to New York, where they are being tried for drug trafficking, while Russia did nothing but watch.
Maduro was not protected by Russian air defenses:
Putin said nothing for three days following the overthrow of the Venezuelan president. Concerned, the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded that Maduro be freed and that the United States and Venezuela engage in talks.
When Moscow recognized the separatist pseudo-republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in February 2022 prior to its massive invasion on Ukraine, Maduro was among the few heads of state who stood with Russia.
Experts see Russia’s December 2018 deployment of two Tu-160 strategic bombers to Venezuela for drills as an endorsement of Maduro. They touched down at Caracas airport, the same airport where the US had flown the handcuffed Venezuelan leader.
However, as US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has noted, Russian air defenses failed to shield the disputed leader during the operation last week.
Why doesn’t Putin say anything against Trump?
Putin’s statement did not surprise German political scientist Felix Riefer, who wrote a book on Russian foreign strategy. Russia reacted to “American hints toward Venezuela with relative restraint,” he added, following Trump’s return to the White House, which resulted in a reconciliation between Moscow and Washington. “Russia had already abandoned Maduro.”
According to both experts, Russia’s continued war against Ukraine and the US’s transition from being Kyiv’s ally to serving as a mediator in negotiations are important factors contributing to Putin’s silence.
According to Melvin, Russia is eager to refrain from criticizing Washington harshly so as not to offend.
According to both experts, Russia’s continued war against Ukraine and the US’s transition from being Kyiv’s ally to serving as a mediator in negotiations are important factors contributing to Putin’s silence.
According to Melvin, Russia is eager to refrain from criticizing Washington harshly so as not to offend. He believes that if it weren’t for the conflict with Ukraine, Moscow’s stance against the events in Venezuela would be “significantly harsher”.
There were no immediate repercussions for the conflict in Ukraine, according to the British analyst.
This might alter if Trump moves beyond Venezuela and, for instance, tries to grab Denmark’s Greenland something the US president just alluded to once more.
Cautious optimism in Kyiv:
Meanwhile, Kyiv is closely monitoring the situation in Venezuela. President Zelensky stated earlier this week, “If dictators can be treated this way, then the United States knows what to do next.”
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reaffirmed its refusal to acknowledge Maduro as president.
In Kyiv, experts are cautiously optimistic. According to political scientist Petro Oleshchuk of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, markets anticipate a normalization of US-Venezuela ties in the near future, which will allow Venezuela to produce oil and have a big impact on the world economy and oil prices.
Source: DW News, Euro News, Al Jazeera and other media outlets
