Venezuela Reaching Out To Xi, Putin To Boost Its Military Amid US Force Buildup In Caribbean

Last Updated:November 01, 2025, 11:52 IST

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is drafting letters to Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Iranian leaders urging military assistance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro exchange documents during a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow. (IMAGE: AFP)

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is reaching out to his Russian, Chinese and Iranian counterparts requesting defensive radars, aircraft repairs and potentially missiles in a bid to boost its military capabilities amid a buildup of American forces in the Caribbean.

Internal US government documents showed that a draft request letter to be handed to Russian President Vladimir Putin when a Maduro official visits Moscow later this month. The Washington Post, which first accessed the documents, said that a letter was also written, addressed to Xi Jinping, with Maduro requesting “expanded military cooperation" between their two countries to counter “the escalation between the US and Venezuela".

Maduro requested Xi to expedite Chinese companies’ production of radar detection systems.

“In the missive, Maduro emphasized the seriousness of perceived U.S. aggression in the Caribbean, framing US military action against Venezuela as action against China due to their shared ideology," the US documents, accessed by the newspaper, said.

The documents also pointed out that Maduro’s Transport Minister Ramón Celestino Velásquez also recently coordinated a shipment of military equipment and drones from Iran while planning a visit to Tehran. He told the Iranians that Venezuela needed “passive detection equipment," “GPS scramblers" and “almost certainly drones with 1,000 km range".

On Sunday, a Russian Ilyushin Il-76, which was blacklisted by the US in 2023 for carrying arms and mercenaries, landed in Caracas after taking a long detour over Africa to avoid Western airspace, according to Flightradar24. Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that it stands by Venezuela “in defending its national sovereignty" and is “ready to respond appropriately to the requests of our partners in light of emerging threats".

The US President Donald Trump has deployed ships, drones, and troops near Venezuela in what the White House says is an effort to disrupt drug smuggling networks. The USS Gerald Ford, the US Navy’s heaviest and most modern aircraft carrier, has been deployed to the region.

Shankhyaneel Sarkar

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has covered se...Read More

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has covered se...

Read More

News world Venezuela Reaching Out To Xi, Putin To Boost Its Military Amid US Force Buildup In Caribbean

Read More