Venezuela Says Russian Troops to Service Military Equipment

(Bloomberg) -- A Russian general and about 100 soldiers and gear are on the ground in Venezuela as part of long-term military accords between the nations, a Venezuelan Information Ministry official said Monday.

An Ilyushin IL-62 passenger jet and an Antonov AN-124 military cargo plane arrived at the international airport outside Caracas on Saturday amid rapidly escalating tensions between the U.S. and the regime of President Nicolas Maduro. Russian and Venezuelan officials had been silent about the trip, despite local media reporting their arrival and the fact that the planes bearing Russia’s flag were visible to the public on the tarmac.

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.” 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.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Monday warning that the U.S. and its allies “will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions in Venezuela,” according to a statement. Lavrov told Pompeo that the U.S. is fomenting a “coup d’etat” against the Maduro government that violates the United Nations charter, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said.

The U.S. has sanctioned many of Venezuela’s key industries, most importantly its oil sector, and lobbied its allies to severe ties, but there is no evidence that it is actively staging a military overthrow.

Relations between Caracas and Moscow deepened under Maduro’s predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, with oil and arms deals. In recent years, Russia has become one of Venezuela’s key allies as the U.S. has ratcheted up sanctions and backed Maduro’s rival, National Assembly President Juan Guaido in his bid for the presidency.

As the western world isolated Maduro, Russia invested billions of dollars in the crumbling oil sector and provides wheat to the hungry nation. In December, Russia landed two nuclear-capable Blackjack bombers in Venezuela to conduct joint exercises in show of solidarity with the embattled president.

--With assistance from Eric Martin and Henry Meyer.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andrew Rosati in Caracas at arosati3@bloomberg.net;Alex Vasquez in Caracas Office at avasquez45@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Cancel at dcancel@bloomberg.net, Stephen Merelman

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