Bolton Warns Against Meddling in Venezuela After Russian Moves

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton warned nations “external to the Western Hemisphere” against deploying military assets to Venezuela, less than a week after Russian troops and planes landed at an airport near Caracas.

“We strongly caution actors external to the Western Hemisphere against deploying military assets to Venezuela, or elsewhere in the Hemisphere, with the intent of establishing or expanding military operations,” Bolton said in a statement Friday. “We will consider such provocative actions as a direct threat to international peace and security in the region.”

While the U.S. is trying to pressure autocrat Nicolas Maduro to step down, Russia has continued to cultivate ties to the regime. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said that Russia “needs to get out” of Venezuela. Neither Trump nor Bolton said what they would do if Russia didn’t heed their warnings.

Russia “is not threatening anyone,” and its increased military presence in Venezuela doesn’t change the balance of forces there, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday at a televised press briefing.

Tensions between the U.S. and Russia escalated over the weekend when a Russian Ilyushin IL-62 passenger jet and an Antonov AN-124 military cargo plane arrived at the international airport outside Caracas on Saturday. Sputnik, a Russian state news outlet, cited unnamed embassy officials in Caracas to report that the troops and 35 tons of cargo under the command of General Vasily Tonkoshkurov arrived to “exchange consultations.”

Hours before Bolton’s statement, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he’d talk about increasing the country’s purchases of Venezuelan oil with Manuel Quevedo, Venezuela’s oil minister and the president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The two are set to meet next week in Moscow, Novak told reporters.

A Venezuelan Information Ministry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he isn’t authorized to comment publicly, said the visit was to perform maintenance on Russian military equipment the nation had purchased.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joshua Gallu in Washington at jgallu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu, Larry Liebert

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