Russian media confirmed that a plane carrying 100 Russian soldiers arrived in Caracas on Saturday, raising tension between Washington and Moscow over the escalating crisis in Venezuela. The arrival of Russian troops in the Venezuelan capital was first reported Saturday morning by Venezuelan reporter Javier Mayorca, who told Twitter that two Russian military planes had landed in Caracas. The reporter said that an Antonov An-124 Ruslan cargo plane belonging to the Russian Air Force was seen at the Simón Bolívar International Airport in the Venezuelan capital. Another smaller aircraft, which also carried the Russian flag on the fuselage, landed shortly after, Mayorca said.
Within hours, several Venezuelan media reports appeared to confirm Mayorca's claims, some even posting photographs of the two Russian planes surrounded by what appeared to be Russian soldiers in uniform. The BBC reported that the Russian cargo plane had carried 100 Russian troops with 35 tons of military equipment. The military contingent is led by General Vasily Tonkoshkurov, commander of the General Staff of Russia's Armed Forces, according to the BBC. Later Saturday, Russian-owned news agency Sputnik confirmed that Russian troops had arrived in Caracas. Citing anonymous "diplomatic sources", Sputnik said Russian troops were sent to Caracas to "fulfill military technical contracts" and "to take part in consultations on defense industry cooperation" with Venezuelan officials.
Russia has supported Venezuela militarily, economically and diplomatically since 1999, when Hugo Chávez became president. The recent political crisis in the Latin American country, which prompted a direct diplomatic intervention by Washington, brought Caracas and Moscow closer together, as Russia firmly opposed US efforts to overthrow the government of Nicolás Maduro. Earlier this year, Russia sent two Tu-160 long-range bomber planes to take part in a military exercise organized by the Venezuelan government.
On Monday, Washington said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Pompeo told his Russian counterpart that Moscow should "cease its non-constructive behavior" and warned him that the United States "would not stand by while Russia intervenes in Venezuela". On Monday, Sputnik quoted a "diplomatic source" as saying that "the visit of Russian military personnel to Venezuela [was] in no way related to US statements about potential intervention in Venezuela."
