Posted on 01/04/2026 2:04:24 AM PST by Cronos
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday called for the release of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife from U.S. custody after President Donald Trump announced that they were captured during military strikes on the capital city of Caracas.
“We firmly call on the U.S. leadership to reconsider this position and release the lawfully elected president of a sovereign country and his wife,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, stressing the need to resolve the dramatic confrontation through diplomacy.
In a separate message, the ministry said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone to Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez Gomez, during which he expressed his “solidarity with the Venezuelan people in the face of armed aggression.”
Anonymous sources told Reuters that Gomez was currently located in Moscow. Russian authorities dismissed that report as “fake.”
“Russia will continue to support the course pursued by its Bolivarian leadership to defend the country’s national interests and sovereignty,” the Foreign Ministry said. It urged restraint and warned against further escalation.
Russia’s embassy in Caracas said it is operating as usual and remains in constant contact with the Venezuelan authorities and Russian citizens in the South American country. It did not report any Russian citizens as having been injured in the attacks.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha issued a statement on January 3, 2026, via social media platform X, stressing that “Ukraine consistently defends the right of peoples to live freely, without dictatorship, oppression, or violations of human rights.” He added, “The Maduro regime has violated all these principles in every respect.”
Is weed legal in Russia? Is. Putin smoking pot? Come and Take It?
Moscow times doing their best Babylon Bee impersonation. Vlad is a lying, crybaby clown. Maybe he should demand someone care.
Don’t hold your breath, Tovarisch.
CC
demands.............. funny
Maybe he has a point. We should release Maduro onto the streets of the capital city so that the people can welcome him back.
You should kick the Russians out of there, don’t want them finding out how to take over other countries.
Where is General Buck Turgidsen when we need him?
““solidarity with the Venezuelan people in the face of armed aggression.””
The Venezuelan people seem rather happy with the “aggression”.
I think the capture had the support not only of the majority still living in Venezuela but also many of the ruling oligarchy who see a way to exit with their money.
I would favor a reconstituted Gran Colombia
Any government or politician that complains about Maduro’s capture is basically declaring their complicity in his narco-terrorism. And Russia is at the top of the list.
When did Boasberg change his mailing address to the mother country?
Take advantage of the new implied rules. Just black-bag Zelensky, call him a corrupt dictator, and declare yourself the new admins of Ukraine.
” lawfully elected president of a sovereign country and his wife”.
Say what? “Lawfully”? Russia seems to have an entirely different definition of “lawfully”.
Don’t you think if they could, they already would have? Poisoning seems to be more the m.o. of Putin the lying coward.
My irony detector is indicating something strong
The headline isn’t quite right. Russia isn’t demanding the release of Maduro. Rather, Russia is calling on the US to “reconsider its position.” That’s not the same thing.
This is the second statement that Russia has issued which is a carefully worded pulled punch. Their statement this morning avoided directly condemning the US action if you read it closely.
IMO Russia is walking a fine line with these statements. They sound tough but they’re really softballs if you read them carefully, which is how our State Department will read them.
Putin has to sound tough to keep up appearances for the Global Bad Guys Club but in reality he’s signaling hesitation to seriously oppose the US on Venezuela.
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