A week during which Moscow advanced in the Cold War with Washington playing Venezuela card

"This is our hemisphere: the Russians should not intervene here", launched the security advisor of the White House John Bolton at times, this frustration has spread to Venezuela and the world. The military uprising until here failed called by Juan Guaidó In addition, this prompted the powers to come out of the shadows and to enter the ring loudly.

If the rebirth of Monroe Doctrine Bolton's "America for Americans" seemed timeless, much more verbal clefts between Moscow and Washington. Throughout the week, while Leopoldo López – another alarm clock – escaped his house arrest, he showed himself a moment alongside Guaidó, then stayed for a few hours at the Chilean embbady. , then entered the Spanish embbady. Guaidó, tireless, continued to lead the march of Venezuelans, more and more tireless and courageous, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the United States had makes a blatant interference in Venezuela. And he added that "its influence is destructive while it shelters under the hypocritical pretext of humanitarian aid".

It was neither the first nor the last time that Washington and Moscow showed their teeth in their argument over who was the strongest in Venezuela.. Nearly a month ago, Fiona Hill, director of security for Russia, Europe and Eurasia, had pointed out in the Russian capital that the Trump government had made it a priority not to go ahead. To interfere in Venezuelan dominance of Putin, because the problem would have negative consequences. in the presidential campaign of 2020. And especially in the state of Florida.

Putin, a former KGB with legendary infinite patience for complicated negotiations and who took the job, it was said, read several times from top to bottom The art of the dealTrump's book, he has not forgotten where the shoe squeezes the Donald. In the phone conversation that he had with his American counterpart last week, he agreed to withdraw Russian military intervention and cooperation in Venezuela on the condition that the United States terminate their military aid to Ukraine and accept Russia's rights over Crimea.

(The Crimea deserves an aside: it was inherited by the Tsarist Soviet until 1954, when Nikita Khrushchev's government transferred it to Ukraine.This was another beginning, in 2016 when Putin and his troops annexed it, I again pre-order Russia, which deserves the condemnation and financial embargo of the European countries, the United States and a large part of the Western world.)

Return to territorial interference, The clash of words between Trumpists and Putinists is, for many, a foam made to hide the true "controller" of Venezuela: Cuba. State Secretary Pompeo said this weekend that "without the Cubans, Maduro would not be in power today." "They, the Cubans, are at the center of those who today manage the cordon around Maduro, because they no longer trust their own military."

John Bolton, the security advisor for the White House, has quantified that The Cuban army and intelligence services operating in Venezuela reach 20,000 or even 25,000 people. It will be necessary to see how much they can continue in this devastated country, because of the 110 000 b / d of oil which the island received free from Venezuela (Cuba then exchanged this oil with thirds), it does not currently not receiving since daily production is underway. 390,000 barrels, barely achieving internal consumption.

The issue of territorial interference is not, for others, at the center of the "deal" (negotiation) between Moscow and Washington. "The facade of the territorial hides a commercial theme", says Emilio Figueredo, editor of the think tank and the portal Analysis from Venezuela. In a telephone conversation in Caracas, the international relations expert pointed out that top official John Bolton had made it clear that Washington did not consider that Russian investments were bothering Venezuela, almost all of them for energy. "It's more," says Figueredo, "Bolton had trouble commenting that these Russian investments had the American guarantee, given its location as a neighbor closer to Venezuela, could better look at them ".

The guarantees, it is known, are for Rosneft, the Russian state oil company which, in 2016, owned 49.9% of Citgo, the PDVSA subsidiary in the United States, in exchange for 1500 million USD.. Citgo has 3 refineries in Texas, Illinois and Louisiana and 6000 service stations in this country.

This figure is double, 3 billion USD, considering investments in wells and pipelines and, if you add the contracts due to Moscow for weapons, the Kremlin reportedly shipped nearly 6,000 million USD to Venezuela. Just a few pieces, says Figueredo, if we compare it with the USD 115,000 million that China was destined for Venezuela during the last decade.

As for Russian armament installed in Venezuelahe already has rust and wear. As of 2006, Russia was selling to the regime a anti-aircraft system, a score of Sukhoi Fighters (most today on earth, without spare parts), with MI-35 Helicopters They are looking to fly again from a pilot training center run by Russian staff.

The Russians, in turn, pledged to build not one but two Kalashnikov rifle factories, but the corruption demolished the project in advance and the construction did not progress beyond the first rows of bricks.

Among the drivers, mechanics and advisors today, there is in Venezuela a little over 100 Russians. This is why he exhaustively states the Washington Post, Moscow lacks troops needed for military intervention. Point Meanwhile, Cuba is still in control. Maduro and the army.

Meanwhile, as Russia and the United States settle their differences this week in Finland, the crisis in devastated Venezuela crosses the threshold of the seventh circle againhe bites into a twist and continues, as before, continuously.