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Did Russian mercenaries guard Maduro in Venezuela?
Summary
A Kremlin denial on 28 January 2019 addressed reports of Russian fighters protecting Venezuela's president.
Were Russian mercenaries really in Venezuela? On 28 January 2019, two days before 30 January 2019, the Kremlin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, denied it. Earlier reports had suggested that up to 100 Russian mercenaries might have been deployed to protect President Nicolás Maduro.
The denial came amid the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis, which was also shaping relations between the United States and Venezuela. Some commentators and scholars have framed tensions of this kind between Russia and the United States as a Second Cold War, though others have discouraged use of the term for ongoing tensions.
What the denial covered
Peskov rejected the presence of the mercenaries outright. The earlier reports put the possible number at up to 100, and said their role was to protect Maduro personally rather than to serve in any wider capacity.
Why it mattered
The exchange showed how a dispute over one country's leadership could draw in outside powers. A denial from the Kremlin did not settle the question for those who had reported the deployment. It did place Moscow on record as rejecting any such presence in Venezuela.
