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Did Russian mercenaries reach Venezuela? Moscow's denial
Summary
The Kremlin's spokesman rejected reports that private fighters had been sent to guard Nicolás Maduro.
Were Russian mercenaries guarding Venezuela's president? On 29 January 2019, that question sat at the centre of a diplomatic exchange, a day after the Kremlin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, denied any such presence on 28 January 2019.
Earlier reports had suggested that up to 100 Russian mercenaries might have been deployed to Venezuela to protect President Nicolás Maduro. Peskov rejected them and denied that Russian mercenaries were in the country.
The denial came as events in Venezuela were being described under several labels, among them the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis and the broader crisis in Venezuela. The dispute also fed into discussion of United States–Venezuela relations, and some commentators placed it within the framing of a Second Cold War. That term has been used by scholars and journalists for heightened tensions in the 21st century, usually between the United States and NATO on one side and Russia or China on the other, though others have discouraged its use.
The reports of a deployment of up to 100 fighters were not confirmed by the Kremlin, and Peskov's statement stood as Moscow's public position at the time.
