Venezuela Seeks the World as Trump Applies Pressure

November 4th, 2025
Adhiyanth Ram

Nandita Bose, Steve Holland and Idrees Ali write that in the past weeks, Trump has amassed a large military presence near the Caribbean, featuring fighter jets, warships and thousands of troops. That military presence is set to significantly expand in the coming weeks, with the arrival of the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier strike group. This is the next rollout in the US campaign on drug-related Venezuelan targets. So far, his administration has killed 61 boats and targeted 14 people. However, it’s important to note that Trump clarified on Friday that he was not planning future land strikes on Venezuela, contradicting previous statements mentioned earlier.

In response, Venezuela has been looking to countries ideologically opposed to China for any hope of help. These include Russia, China and Iran; requesting military aid in the form of defensive radars, aircraft repairs and potentially missiles. For Russia, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro planned to send a letter via delivery to Moscow this month. For China, Maduro composed a letter directed to Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding elevating their military cooperation to ward off threats from America. In particular, he asked for Chinese companies to speed up the production of radar detection systems. Internal documents from the government obtained by the Washington Post also found that Transport Minister Ramón Celestino Velásquez set up a shipment of military equipment and drones from Iran while aiming to visit it. He mentioned to an Iranian official that Venezuela needed “passive detection equipment,” “GPS scramblers,” and “almost certainly drones with 1,000 km [600 mile] range.” Of the three countries, Russia remains Venezuela’s primary backer, noting how they are committed to “defending its national sovereignty” and how they were “ready to respond appropriately to the requests of our partners in light of emerging threats.” Although Russia’s relations with Venezuela have waned in comparison to its past, they are still allies. For instance, they just established a new treaty with Venezuela, established munitions factories in July, and maintain exploration rights for untapped natural gas and oil reserves. As the US cracks down on Venezuela, one question remains: How far will Moscow go to defend Caracas?