Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for military assistance, The Washington Post has reported, citing internal documents.
According to the publication, Maduro wrote a letter to Vladimir Putin, in which he asked for help in repairing radars and military aircraft, as well as a possible supply of missiles.
According to the documents, the Venezuelan president also asked China and Iran for military aid and equipment to strengthen the country’s defence. The letter to Iranian authorities said Venezuela needed “passive detection equipment,” “GPS scramblers” and “almost certainly drones with a range of 1,000 kilometres,” the documents said.
The Kremlin did not comment on the letter.
The US military buildup in the Caribbean is probably Maduro’s biggest challenge. Since September, more than a dozen USA strikes against suspected drug traffickers, mostly travelling from Venezuela’s shores, have killed at least 62 people. The administration has offered no evidence that the ships were involved in drug trafficking, and Maduro denies it. The Kremlin’s official stance on Trump’s actions on Venezuela remains relatively restrained.