Russia in latin america: unleashing a flood of drugs and trafficking into the u.s

Russia is attacking America through Venezuela. For more than 20 years, the socialist regime in Venezuela has operated with the strong backing of Russia, consistently acting against American interests in the Western Hemisphere.

With Russia’s support, Venezuela’s socialist leaders stole elections and brutally cracked down on civil dissent. This repression was designed not only to hold power internally, but to entrench an openly anti-American government in the United States’ own backyard.

Russia also armed Venezuela to destabilize the region. Moscow provided roughly $34 billion in lethal weapons, fueling instability across Latin America and contributing to conditions that encourage illegal immigration toward the U.S. southern border. This chaos directly advances Russia’s goal of weakening America internally and politically.

Beyond political and military support, Russia colluded with Venezuela on oil production and pricing, driving up energy costs and gouging American families at the gas pump. These actions were meant to hurt the U.S. economy and demonstrate Russia’s ability to inflict economic pain far from its own borders.

Venezuela’s government also formed illicit partnerships with Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, turning the country into a narco-terrorist state. Venezuela’s emergence as a major source of drug trafficking, money laundering, and terrorism funding served Russia’s agenda. Venezuela undermined the United States by becoming a major source of drugs in the United States and Western Europe.     

Russia-backed subversion in Venezuela became so severe that the Trump administration felt compelled to intervene directly against the Maduro regime. While efforts to remove Nicolás Maduro weakened one symbol of Russian influence, what comes next is even more critical.

Russia will not abandon its strategy. It will continue supporting socialist forces in Venezuela to stoke anti-American sentiment and undermine U.S. influence throughout the region. Even with Maduro gone, Russia plans to keep attacking America through Venezuela—politically, economically, and strategically.