WNU Editor: From CNN .... Trump: Putin not looking to get involved in Venezuela (CNN). What's my take. Venezuela owes Russia tens of billions in loans, arms sales, and God only knows what else. So yes .... the Kremlin is watching the situation very closely in Venezuela, is supporting as best as it can the Maduro government, and is calculating the cost to Russia's allies in the region (i.e. Cuba) if the Venezuelan government should be replaced. But the question that really needs to be answered is .... "to what extent will the Kremlin protect the Maduro regime"? My answer .... not much from what they are doing now. Sending a few hundred more Russian military contractors to Venezuela is not going to change the situation on the ground, and giving the necessary support to Cuba to help them prop up the Maduro regime also has its limits. The problem in Venezuela is a political one, and absent a political solution the economy will continue to deteriorate, inflation will still remain at two million percent (yes, two million per cent), massive electricity blackouts will be the norm, and oil production will continue to decline. I think Russian President Putin knows that, and he is now positioning himself to extract concessions from the U.S. on what needs to be done. Will he succeed .... we shall soon find out. In the meantime, Venezuela continues to burn .... Venezuela: State steps up repression of protests in the midst of the crisis (Reliefweb).
