US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday accused Russia of worsening tensions over Venezuela through its military presence and warned that Washington will not “stand idly.”

In a phone call with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Pompeo denounced the growing Russian military reinforcements as prolonging the political crisis in the South American country.

Pompeo told Lavrov “the United States and regional countries will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions in Venezuela,” the State Department said in a statement.

“The continued insertion of Russian military personnel to support the illegitimate regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela risks prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people who overwhelmingly support interim President Juan Guaido,” he said.

Guaido is supported by the United States and most Latin American and European nations but he retains the support of Russia and China, US rivals who have offered political and economic support to him.

Pompeo urged Russia to “cease its unconstructive behavior” and support Guaido.</s>Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Russia Monday the United States will not “stand idly by” as Moscow inserts military personnel into Venezuela to support the regime of President Nicolas Maduro.

In a phone call with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Pompeo denounced the growing Russian military reinforcements as prolonging the political crisis in the South American country.

Pompeo told Lavrov “the United States and regional countries will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions in Venezuela,” the State Department said in a statement.

“The continued insertion of Russian military personnel to support the illegitimate regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela risks prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people who overwhelmingly support interim President Juan Guaido,” he said.

Guaido is supported by the United States and most Latin American and European nations but he retains the support of Russia and China, US rivals who have offered political and economic support to him.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The deployment by Russia of air force planes and personnel in Venezuela over the weekend is a “reckless escalation of the situation,” the U.S. State Department said on Monday, confirming news reports that Russian planes had arrived in Caracas on Sunday.

“The United States condemns Russia’s deployment of military aircraft and personnel to Caracas, which is another contradiction of both Nicolas Maduro’s and Russia’s calls for non-intervention in Venezuela and is a reckless escalation of the situation,” a department spokesman said.</s>Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Russia Monday the United States will not "stand idly by" as Moscow inserts military personnel into Venezuela to support the regime of President Nicolas Maduro.

In a phone call with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Pompeo denounced the growing Russian military reinforcements as prolonging the political crisis in the South American country.

Pompeo told Lavrov "the United States and regional countries will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions in Venezuela," the State Department said in a statement.

"The continued insertion of Russian military personnel to support the illegitimate regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela risks prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people who overwhelmingly support interim President Juan Guaido," he said.

Guaido is supported by the United States and most Latin American and European nations but he retains the support of Russia and China, US rivals who have offered political and economic support to him.

Pompeo urged Russia to "cease its unconstructive behavior" and support Guaido.</s>Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, speaks with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez during a meeting in Moscow on March 1, 2019

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Buenos Aires (AFP)

The Lima Group condemned Tuesday the presence of Russian military planes in Venezuela as a provocation threatening regional peace.

The 13 Latin American states and Canada said they were concerned "over the arrival of two Russian military aircraft" in Venezuela and condemned "any provocation or military deployment that threatens peace and security in the region."

The statement was issued by the foreign ministry of group member Argentina.

The body, set up in 2017 to advocate for a regional solution to Venezuela's political and economic crisis, also renewed a call to nations that still maintain friendly ties with "the illegitimate regime of Nicolas Maduro" to help search for a democratic solution.

Russia, which recognizes Maduro as leader, sent two planes carrying 100 troops and tons of military equipment to Caracas on Saturday.

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido charged that the deployment violates the constitution of the troubled South American country.

Russia's foreign ministry said the deployment was "in strict accordance with the constitution of that country and with full respect for its legal norms."

The Lima Group -- comprising Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Santa Lucia -- all recognize Guaido as interim president.

? 2019 AFP</s>MOSCOW (Reuters) - The presence of “Russian specialists” in Venezuela is governed by a military-technical cooperation agreement between the two countries, Russia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The ministry did not provide any further details in its statement about the specialists.

Two Russian air force planes landed at Venezuela’s main airport on Saturday carrying a Russian defense official and nearly 100 troops, according to media reports.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Russian military contingent that arrived in Venezuela over the weekend, drawing U.S. condemnation, is believed by the U.S. government to be made up of special forces including "cybersecurity personnel," a U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was still assessing the Russian deployment, which Washington has called a "reckless escalation" of the situation in Venezuela.

Two Russian air force planes landed outside Caracas on Saturday carrying nearly 100 Russian troops, according to local media reports, two months after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump disavowed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela's government has confirmed two planes landed from Russia at the weekend and were authorized by Maduro but has given no more details.

The Trump administration has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate president and demands that Maduro step down. Russia has described this as a U.S.-backed coup against the socialist government.

The U.S. determination that the Russian contingent includes cybersecurity specialists suggests that part of their mission could be helping Maduro's loyalists with surveillance as well as protection of the government's cyber infrastructure.

Russia's main objective in providing the military assistance, including cyber experts, would likely be to help shield Maduro from "regime change" and ensure a foothold for Moscow in Latin America, according to a source familiar with U.S. government assessments of Venezuela. Russia also has major energy investments in OPEC member Venezuela.

Russia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the presence of "Russian specialists" in Venezuela was governed by a military-technical cooperation agreement between the two countries. It did not provide further details.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call on Monday that Washington would "not stand idly by" as Russia backed Maduro.

The United States and most Western countries have backed Guaido while Russia, China and Cuba are among those that have continued to support Maduro, who retains control of Venezuela's state institutions, including the military.

On Tuesday afternoon the Lima Group of Latin American countries said in a statement it was concerned about the arrival of military airplanes in Venezuela.

"We reiterate our condemnation of any military provocation or deployment that threatens peace and security in the region," said the group formed in 2017 to pressure Maduro, which includes Brazil, Canada, Colombia and Peru.

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to Pompeo on Tuesday urging him to determine if Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua should face mandatory U.S. sanctions for conducting significant transactions with the Russian defense and intelligence sectors.

The post Russian Deployment in Venezuela Includes ‘Cybersecurity Personnel’ appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.</s>WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - The arrival of two Russian air force planes containing nearly 100 troops in Venezuela last weekend was a provocation, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday as the White House welcomed the wife of opposition leader Juan Guaido for a visit.

The Trump administration has recognized Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader and called for Venezuelan President Maduro to step down, but Maduro and Russia have called the demands as a U.S.-backed coup. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Makini Brice)</s>Two Russian aircraft carrying military officials arrived in Venezuela over the weekend as part of the ongoing military cooperation between the two countries, Russian media has reported.

A diplomatic source told RIA Novosti that Russia and Venezuela have a number of ongoing contracts signed a few years ago, including ones in technical military cooperation, and the military personnel arrived to take part in bilateral consultations.

“There is nothing mysterious” about the visit, the unnamed source was quoted as saying.

According to popular flight-tracking website Flightradar24, Russian Ilyushin IL-62 passenger jet and Antonov AN-124 military cargo plane left on Friday from Russian military airport Chkalovsky, stopping on its way in Syria before landing in Caracas.

Javier Mayorca, a Venezuelan journalist, wrote on Twitter on Saturday that about 100 troops and 35 tonnes of cargo was offloaded from the Russian planes, one of which was carrying chief of staff of the ground forces, Vasily Tonkoshkurov.

The two planes with Russian flags and a group of men in military uniform were photographed at the airport.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on the reports.

The planes arrive three months after the two long-time allies held joint military exercises in Venezuela.

Moscow and Caracas have strengthened ties in recent months as the Kremlin continues to support President Nicolás Maduro and criticizes Western nations for backing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who declared himself interim president in January.

Last week, US and Russian officials held talks on Venezuela’s crisis which ended with the two sides failing to narrow their positions. Russian officials say they are concerned that Washington is considering a military solution in Venezuela.

While the US continues to impose sanctions against the oil-rich country, President Maduro’s government is becoming more and more dependent on its few remaining supporters – Russia and China.

Venezuelan senior officials have come frequent visitors in Moscow, and this month Venezuela announced its plan to move state oil company PDVSA’s office to Moscow from Lisbon.

Mr Maduro on Wednesday said Russia was planning to send medical aid this week. He said that last month Moscow had sent some 300 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Venezuela, which has been experiencing severe shortages of food.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Russian military contingent that arrived in Venezuela over the weekend, drawing U.S. condemnation, is believed to be made up of special forces, including “cybersecurity personnel,” a U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States was still assessing the Russian deployment, which Washington has called a “reckless escalation” of the situation in Venezuela.

Two Russian air force planes landed outside Caracas on Saturday carrying nearly 100 Russian troops, according to local media reports, two months after the Trump administration disavowed President Nicolas Maduro.

The Trump administration has recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s legitimate president and demands that Maduro step down. Russia has described this as a U.S.-backed coup against the socialist government.

The U.S. assessment that the Russian contingent includes cybersecurity specialists and those from “related fields” suggests that part of their mission could be helping Maduro’s loyalists with surveillance as well as protection of the government’s cyber infrastructure.

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the presence of “Russian specialists” in Venezuela is governed by a military-technical cooperation agreement between the two countries. But it did not provide further details.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call on Monday that Washington would “not stand idly by” as Russia backed Maduro, who has overseen a dramatic collapse of a once-bustling economy.

John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, said on Tuesday that while Guaido asks for humanitarian aid to help his people, Maduro asks for Cuban and Russian goons to suppress the people of Venezuela. “The military ranks are seeing Maduro’s corruption, violence, and lack of support within Venezuela,” Bolton said in a message on Twitter.

The United States and most Western countries have backed Guaido while Russia, China and Cuba are among those that have continued to support Maduro, who controls Venezuela’s state institutions including the military.

On Tuesday afternoon the Lima Group of Latin American countries said in a statement it was concerned about the arrival of military airplanes in Venezuela.

“We reiterate our condemnation of any military provocation or deployment that threatens peace and security in the region,” said the group formed in 2017 to pressure Maduro, which includes Brazil, Canada, Colombia and Peru.

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to Pompeo on Tuesday urging him to determine if Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua should face mandatory U.S. sanctions for conducting significant transactions with the Russian defence and intelligence sectors.
The Lima Group condemns the presence of Russian military planes in Venezuela as a "provocation threatening peace and security in the region."