Kathrine Frich
A shock US operation in Caracas has triggered anger far beyond Latin America.
In Russia, the fallout is being felt in unusually raw and public terms.
The seizure of a close Kremlin ally has exposed limits to Moscow’s reach, fuelling an internal backlash that has spilled onto nationalist platforms.
Caracas shockwave
Donald Trump stunned the world after US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in Caracas.
The pair were flown to New York, where Maduro appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to drugs and weapons charges.
Trump described the raid as “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history,” adding that the US would “run” Venezuela during a transition.
Maduro, appearing defiant, insisted he was still the country’s president.
Kremlin exposed
Russia had invested heavily in Venezuela’s oil sector and cultivated Maduro as a key anti-American ally.
Those interests now appear at risk, with Moscow unable to intervene.
According to the Daily Express, Russian military bloggers reacted with fury, accusing the Kremlin of weakness and betrayal.
One nationalist blogger wrote: “This is a total disaster,” adding: “The political leadership of our country needs to be killed. They are inherently insane. And they are traitors. They should be hanged.”
Rage online
The same blogger claimed the US operation proved Washington had secured its future “for several more centuries,” while Russia’s would “end in a month.”
Such rhetoric, while extreme, reflects growing frustration among hardline commentators who expected Moscow to defend its ally.
Russia’s inability to act has been widely linked to the strain of its war in Ukraine, which has tied down military and political resources.
Policy collapse claims
Writer and political activist Maxim Kalashnikov said the Venezuela episode marked the collapse of Russia’s long-standing foreign policy image.
“For a long time, it resembled a fireworks display: much noise and hype, but no real benefit to the development and industrialisation of the Russian Federation,” he said.
Kalashnikov criticised what he described as billions poured into Venezuela and Syria with little return, calling them “black holes” for Russian resources.
Strategic dead end
Fyodor Lukyanov, a Kremlin-linked foreign policy expert, described the situation as “deeply uncomfortable” for Vladimir Putin.
“Venezuela is a close partner and ideological ally,” Lukyanov said, but helping a distant state in a “fundamentally different geopolitical reality” was not feasible for Moscow.
Analysts say the episode has sharpened domestic criticism of Putin’s foreign policy, turning a geopolitical setback into a rare public challenge at home.
Sources: Daily Express
