"Maduro, do not take this plane": why is the Venezuelan dictatorship still under Russian rule?

Nicolás Maduro I had everything to escape the air. The initial destination would be Cuba. Some think it was just a step to cross the Atlantic. Others indicate that the chosen island was Dominican Republic. The plane that would transport him to an allied territory was ready to embark. But an order issued by the Kremlin forced him to change his plans and take refuge in Palace of Miraflores. The government of Vladimir Poutine he invited him to stay in Caracas.

The revelation was made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday afternoon. "He had a plane on the runway, he was ready to leave this morning (for yesterday) and the Russians told him that he should stay"It arrived a few hours after the acting president Juan Guaidó reach with loyal military free Leopold López. It took less than 24 hours to Moscow try to mitigate the statements of the Chancellor of Donald Trump saying that he was "misinform"It will not be long before Caracas repeat a denial.

The truth is that nothing was known about Maduro during the critical day of this Tuesday during which Venezuelans took to the streets and were brutally repressed by the parapolice National Guard. The images that have traveled the world have recalled the events of Tiananmen, Pekin, in 1989. Parables of history: the tanks with which the Chavista dictatorship accused the protesters were Origin Chinese. The usurper, as he calls him GuaidóHe only came out at night to say that the high commandments had remained with him.

was Diosdado Hair -model of National Constituent Assembly of Venezuela the only one that showed signs of resistance to power. His superior badessed only the escape routes and the most repeated was a plane heading for Havana. It was there when he heard the Russian order and changed his decision.

A strange thing happened on the outskirts of Caracas. At 7:22 am Venezuela) had taken off Moscow a jet who landed at 8:04 pm in the Maiquetía International Airport. It was a modern Bombardier Global Express whose registration is TC-TSR, according to information published by the journalist and former political prisoner Sergio Contreras. For now, we do not know what his goal was. What we know is that one hour and nine minutes after his arrival, he left for Punta Cana. Who or what has transported this luxury craft?

Russia fears that a change of regime will have an impact not only on its finances and economy, but also on a historic political opportunity to remain firm Latin America. Until now, he has maintained that an active presence in Cuba during the straps years of the Cold War and the extinct Soviet Union. This time with a castrism more and more weakened by the lack of Venezuelan oxygen, Vladimir Poutine bet to stay with the resources and administration of Caracas.

Drowned financially, the regime of Maduro he resorted to Moscow. He promised oil, refineries, gold mines and diamonds. It's fulfilling. But what would happen to these contracts if a young man came to power? Juan Guaidówho has good relations with United States, the Union European and most of the democratic countries in the region? The agreements could be revised, not because of commercial or economic disloyalty, but because of the looting that they represent for the country..

Russia, which is betting heavily to penetrate a region of unexplored exploration in many areas, believes that Venezuela This would be the best base for extending your arms across the subcontinent. The Kremlin does not care to stand in a dictatorship that violates human rights. He knows that the corruption that currently represents the administration of Maduro facilitates the procedures. Do not blush.

Since 2009 Putin and the state oil company Rosneft they invested 9 billion in PDVSA. In return, Miraflores He behaved generously: they gave him 49 percent of Citgo, the refinery that the Venezuelan state has in Houston, United States. To enter fault for failing to pay their obligations, Russia I could keep the whole company. It's one of his big bets. The Russian government has also proposed bailouts and refinancing for about $ 10 billion.

Beside him, there other actors who help the Caribbean diet continue to breathe. Cubans are the ones who know the secrets of Venezuela the most. Its intelligence services control almost all branches of its armed and security forces. Iran he came back with his flights and attends with his Islamic Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah. China provides economic and technical support for infrastructure. All, in return, seek the same thing: barrels of crude from a production that has been exemplary and nowadays barely pays the accounts.