The strategic partnership between Cuba and Venezuela remains crucial to the survival of both socialist regimes amid Western sanctions and geopolitical tensions, despite growing international support from China and Russia.
Relations between Venezuela and Cuba have played a central role in the two nations’ geopolitical strategy for decades. The brotherly friendship between Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez created a strong economic and political alliance that to this day ensures the survival of the socialist governments of both countries. A central pillar of this relationship is the exchange of Venezuelan oil for Cuban expertise in medicine, education, military and intelligence. In 2022, about eight percent of sanctioned Venezuelan oil exports went to Cuba, which was crucial for the island’s energy supply.
By sending skilled workers to Venezuela, Cuba has contributed significantly to the stability of the Maduro regime. In particular, military and intelligence support from Havana has been crucial in controlling the Venezuelan armed forces, which form the backbone of President Nicolás Maduro’s hold on power. Cuban military and intelligence advisers have brought the Venezuelan army into line in recent years, ensuring that half of all political prisoners in Venezuela have a military background. There is also speculation that Cuba played a key role in Maduro being installed as his successor in 2013, shortly before Hugo Chávez’s death.
While economic ties between Cuba and Venezuela remain key, other international allies have gained weight. Russia and China in particular are playing an increasingly important role for the regime in Caracas. Russia has established itself as a major arms supplier after the US stopped supplying arms. Moscow also supports Venezuela in the oil sector and has repeatedly secured the survival of the Maduro regime through loans and debt restructuring. Russia’s main aim is to weaken Washington’s influence in the region.
China is also a crucial player in the Venezuelan economy. Beijing has extended nearly $60 billion in loans to Venezuela over the past two decades, largely backed by oil shipments. Venezuela is deeply dependent on China, particularly due to declining oil production. Around 65 percent of Venezuela’s current oil production flows to China. This close economic relationship has allowed the Maduro regime to circumvent international financial pressure and assert itself against Western sanctions.
China favors the Maduro regime because it is anti-West and serves as a useful tool for Venezuela in the global political arena. China, together with Russia, is blocking any resolutions against Venezuela in the UN Security Council, thereby ensuring the political stability of the regime in Caracas. Although China’s lending has been suspended since 2018, the country continues to invest in Venezuela’s energy sector to protect its strategic interests in the region. At the same time, China is also opening up to contacts with the Venezuelan opposition in order to retain influence in the Latin American country in the event of a change of power.
The partnership between Cuba and Venezuela, embedded in a network of international supporters such as Russia, China and Iran, has enabled Nicolás Maduro to remain in power despite intense international pressure. While Latin America and the Caribbean are increasingly distancing themselves from Caracas, some countries, particularly Bolivia, Nicaragua and some Caribbean states, remain allies of the Maduro regime and its “Bolivarian Revolution.” This alliance is part of the “Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas” (Alba), an increasingly insignificant alliance of states based in Caracas.
In recent years, Turkey has also taken on an important role as an ally of Venezuela. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has close ties with Maduro and has supported Venezuela economically, particularly in the gold sector. Much of Venezuela’s legal and illegal gold production is exported to Turkey, raising questions about transparency and Turkey’s role in Venezuela’s economic machinations. This international support, particularly from authoritarian regimes, allows Maduro to control internal pressures and survive his country’s economic collapse.
For Cuba, despite the increasing importance of other partners, Venezuela remains an indispensable ally, especially due to the supply of oil that Havana urgently needs. This partnership is an example of geopolitical alliances in the Western Hemisphere that counter U.S. influence and stabilize authoritarian regimes through international support.
