Russia Lands Wagner-Linked Plane in Venezuela — and Trump Sends U.S. Forces Toward Caracas

Olga Nesterova
7 days ago
3 min read

Moscow Moves First

A Russian Il-76 military cargo plane linked to the Wagner network landed in Venezuela this week, Defense News reports.

The aircraft belongs to Viacom Zitotrans, a logistics company sanctioned by the United States, Canada, and Ukraine for transporting arms and military equipment into Wagner-controlled conflict zones across Africa and the Middle East.

Caracas had recently appealed to Russia, China, and Iran for military cooperation amid a surge of U.S. naval and air activity in the Caribbean. Moscow did not keep President Nicolás Maduro waiting.

With Washington’s strategic focus fixed on the Middle East and Asia, the Kremlin appears to be quietly reviving its Cold-War-era foothold in Latin America — a region once considered America’s uncontested sphere of influence.

A not-so-subtle reminder: geopolitics abhors a vacuum, and Russia is trying to fill one right under Washington’s nose.

Trump’s Caribbean Gamble

At almost the same time, the Washington Post confirmed that President Donald Trump has ordered a major U.S. military buildup near Venezuela.

The deployment includes eight warships, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, a B-52 strategic bomber, F-35 fighter jets, and the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford with its escort group.

Officially, the mission is described as a counter-narcotics operation, following incidents in which U.S. forces sank Venezuelan fishing boats, alleging they were part of drug-smuggling operations.

Unofficially, internal memos circulating in Washington hint at contingency plans for potential strikes on Venezuelan military sites — a claim Trump denied on Friday, calling it “fake news.”

Still, as observers note, a fleet like this doesn’t show up just to go for a swim.

The Caribbean is fast becoming a 21st-century chessboard, with aircraft carriers instead of pawns.

Clarifying the “16,000 Troops” Claim

Several outlets — including Caliber.az, Sputnik, and other regional media — have cited The Washington Post in reporting that the United States deployed around 16,000 military personnel, said to comprise 10,000 troops and 6,000 sailors.

However, the origin of that figure appears to trace back to Russian state media, which amplified the claim and attributed it to The Washington Post without verifiable sourcing.

The Post’s publicly available reports describe more than 10,000 U.S. personnel already operating in the Caribbean region and more than 4,000 additional troops expected to arrive with the Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group — a combined presence of roughly 14,000 personnel, but no explicit reference to 16,000.

Strategic Fallout: Filling the Vacuum

Following the U.S. deployments, Maduro signed a 10-year military-cooperation agreement with Vladimir Putin, locking in long-term defense and intelligence collaboration between Caracas and Moscow.

Trump’s maneuver — whether intended as deterrence or as a display of force — has opened space for Russia, and potentially Iran and China, to deepen their influence in Venezuela.

The question is whether this was a calculated risk encouraged by Putin, who has long pressed for a stronger anti-U.S. bloc in Latin America, or whether Trump’s calculus centers on regime change in Caracas.

Notably, Venezuelan opposition leader and recent Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado said on Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast that she would support U.S. access to Venezuela’s national resources if her movement gained power — a statement that may factor into Washington’s current strategy.