Venezuela crisis: 5 things you need to know about Maduro, Guaidó and mass exodus

By Brandon Showalter, Opinion writer and social commentator Saturday, March 16, 2019

2. Bolivia, China, Russia, Cuba, and Turkey support Maduro

The U.S., E.U., and most countries in the Americas have recognized Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. But Bolivia, Russia, Turkey, and Cuba still support Maduro’s socialist regime, and China issued a statement in January opposing any foreign intervention.

Reuters reported Wednesday that amid lengthy power outages, "hospitals struggled to keep equipment running, food rotted in the tropical heat and exports from the country’s main oil terminal were shut down."

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also announced his support for Maduro, saying in January that he was "shocked that Washington had backed the opposition leader’s move to declare himself interim leader," Reuters reported.

In Beijing, Lu Kang, spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry referenced reports that Venezuela's power grid had gone down because of a hacking attack.

"China is deeply concerned about this,” Lu said. ... “China is willing to provide help and technical support to restore Venezuela’s power grid.”

China has been Venezuela’s "major financial crutch" The Council on Foreign Relations noted in February.

"It views the socialist regime in Venezuela as a geopolitical ally and an important trading partner. Over the past decade, Beijing has lent Caracas some $70 billion, mostly for development projects, in exchange for future oil shipments. Analysts estimate the Maduro regime owes China about $13 billion. China is behind only the U.S. and India as an importer of Venezuelan crude," the CFR said.

Likewise Russia considers the South American nation "a strategic political foothold" as it seeks to diminish U.S. influence in the region. Their particularly close relationship dates to 2006, when then-president Chávez signed a $2.9 billion arms deal in exchange for Russian fighter aircraft.