A major Russian defense contractor has pulled out of Venezuela and withdrawn most of its advisers in what appears to signal a broader Russian exit of defense support to the Maduro government.
The Wall Street Journal notes that it’s a huge blow to Maduro — and though it appears primarily motivated by lack of confidence in Caracas’ ability to pay the bills — this could mark the writing on the wall in terms of the future powerful backing of Maduro’s biggest international supporter. It further comes as the US has vowed to keep up the pressure and after the Kremlin condemned what it called ongoing “US-backed coup attempts”.
The WSJ reports the following details:
Russian state defense contractor Rostec, which has trained Venezuelan troops and advised on securing arms contracts, has cut its staff in Venezuela to just a few dozen, from about 1,000 at the height of cooperationbetween Moscow and Caracas several years ago, said a person close to the Russian defense ministry.
The report describes a “gradual pullout” which has been noticeably ramping up of late, citing sources to say further it’s due to “a lack of new contracts” and crucially “the acceptance that Mr. Maduro’s regime no longer has the cash to continue to pay for other Rostec services associated with past contracts.” – READ MORE