While the democratic legitimacy of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro has been rejected around the world, the dictator clings to power with the crucial support of China, Iran, and Russia. This network of geopolitical alliances not only challenges regional interests and threaten security, but also contributes to deepening Venezuela’s isolation, British news agency BBC reported.
“To understand this, we must consider how in the 21st century the Cuban dictatorship’s influence expanded in the region. At the end of the last century, Cuba was the only dictatorship [in the hemisphere], but 25 years later there are now four: Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua,” Carlos Sánchez Berzaín, director of think tank Interamerican Institute for Democracy, told Diálogo. “These nations should be seen as a single entity led by Cuba, with its main base of operations in Caracas.”
“The bloc operates throughout Latin America from Venezuela, seeking to expand its influence and consolidate its control,” Sánchez added. “In this expansion, China, Iran, and Russia act as key allies within the same dictatorial system, united by an authoritarian model, based on criminal actions that oppress their peoples to perpetuate themselves in power.”
From Iran to Maduro
A prominent ally within this framework is Iran. Since the Islamic Revolution, Tehran has been seeking to expand its influence in South America. In the last two decades, its relationship with Venezuela has grown significantly. Oil is the linchpin of this alliance, providing essential income for both regimes, Arab News reported.
Iran sees Venezuela as a strategic ally in its goal to counter international pressure and project itself as a global power.
“To survive, [hemispheric] dictatorships strengthen ties with Moscow, Cuba’s former ally; with Beijing, for resource and loan needs; and with Iran for its support to Castroism with protection and training,” Sánchez said. “These alliances became evident when the authoritarian regimes of the Americas supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which shows their loyalty and mutual dependence.”
The presence of terrorist groups such as Hezbollah in Venezuela, among other areas in the region, also raises the alarm about possible destabilizing operations, Arab News reported. Venezuela’s paramilitary groups known as “colectivos,” armed groups created during Chavism, receive training from Hezbollah, and now support Maduro in his attempt to stay in power, InSight Crime, an organization that studies organized crime in Latin America, indicated.
The situation is further complicated by allegations that “21st century dictatorships in Latin America are aligned with pro-terrorist movements,” Sánchez added. “From Costa Rica, it has been pointed out that Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, became operational bases for Islamic terrorist groups, which reinforces the link between these authoritarian regimes and the networks that destabilize the region.”
Advantages among dictatorships
In this complex web of alliances, Russia also plays a crucial role. After Venezuela’s elections of July 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Maduro on his “victory,” despite fraud allegations by the opposition. This strategic relationship between Moscow and Caracas has been key since Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999, particularly in the military, CNN reported.
Defense collaboration between Venezuela and Russia strengthened in the early 2000s. Since then, Venezuela has acquired a wide range of Russian military equipment including tanks, helicopters, and fighter-bombers, cementing a relationship that both countries describe as “mutually beneficial,” CNN reported.
Russia sees Venezuela as a bridge to Latin America, while Caracas gains political, economic, and military support, strengthening its position on the international stage, CNN added.
The political context is also reflected in Maduro’s presence in some meetings with other countries. “Although he will not be formally admitted, Maduro takes advantage of the meeting founded by China, Brazil, India, and Russia [BRICS], to meet with Putin and bathe in the international support that he does not have,” Sánchez said. “Dictatorships inevitably support other dictatorships to sustain their power and legitimacy.”
China on the prowl
For its part, China is consolidating itself as another of the economic pillars of the Maduro regime. Between 2007 and 2015, Beijing granted Venezuela loans worth some $59 billion, guaranteed with oil sales.
Although the sanctions imposed on Venezuela in 2019 complicated trade relations between Beijing and Caracas, China continued to purchase Venezuelan oil through intermediaries, evading U.S. restrictions, BBC reported. These purchases provide liquid assets to the Maduro regime.
“This does not mean that China is not pressuring Venezuela or Cuba for their debts. In fact, Beijing is demanding that Cuba make economic reforms to guarantee outstanding payments,” Sánchez said.
The Chinese regime also supplies riot gear and tanks, “which the Venezuelan regime uses for repression,” Joseph Humire, executive director of the Washington-based think tank Center for a Secure Free Society, told the BBC in September. “Beijing delivered an estimated 120 armored vehicles to the Bolivarian National Guard to control dissidents and opponents.”
Chinese collaboration in Venezuela has led to the development of surveillance systems such as the Homeland Card implemented with the help of companies such as ZTE, Argentine news site Infobae reported. ZTE is part of Beijing’s global espionage strategy. Since 2000, Venezuela has been one of China’s main allies in Latin America, and Maduro has responded with support in all areas.
“As long as Venezuela has strong allies such as Iran, Russia, China, and others […], a total isolation of Venezuela, a freezing as happened with South Africa as a result of the Apartheid conflict, does not seem to be so viable,” Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Tinoco told Voice of America in September.
Freedom and democracy
“Backing the Venezuelan dictatorship is not a winning bet for Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran, but it rather positions them on the authoritarian axis, in open confrontation against democracy,” Sánchez said. “The current global scenario is not a new Cold War, but a global war, in which impartiality and neutrality are increasingly difficult.”
“At stake in Venezuela is not only the immediate future of the country, but also the course of democracies in the Americas for the next two and a half decades, including Canada and the United States,” Sánchez concluded.
