From Moscow, officials admitted that Maduro’s downfall was possible due to internal betrayals and collaboration with U.S. intelligence
The capture of the narco-dictator Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces was not only the result of Washington’s military superiority, but the direct consequence of the internal implosion of the chavista regime. This was acknowledged by the ambassador of Russia in Venezuela, Serguéi Melik-Bagdasarov, who asserted that the former Venezuelan leader was betrayed by officials from his own inner circle who were collaborating with United States intelligence.
The statements were made in an interview with the state channel Rossiya-24, where the diplomat described a scenario of disloyalty, negligence, and breakdown of the chain of command that facilitated operation “Absolute Resolution,” carried out on January 3 by U.S. forces.
“We know the names”: explicit admission of treason
Melik-Bagdasarov was blunt in pointing out that key sectors of the Venezuelan security forces did not act to prevent the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
“Naturally, many local law enforcement officers did not do everything they could”, stated the ambassador, exposing the lack of loyalty within the chavista repressive apparatus.
According to his explanation, the betrayal was not an isolated event on the day of the operation, but the result of a prior process of infiltration and systematic collaboration with U.S. intelligence services.
“If what was happening here long before this occurred could be described as treason, naturally it was”, he maintained.
Collaboration with the United States and flight of chavista officials
In one of the most revealing passages of the interview, the Russian diplomat admitted that Moscow knows the identity of the chavista officials who actively collaborated with Washington and who left Venezuela after Maduro’s capture.
“We know the names of these traitors who fled Venezuela and who were working systematically for U.S. intelligence”, he declared.
The statement confirms that the fall of the regime was not only an external action, but the outcome of a structure corroded by mistrust, internal disputes, and clandestine agreements.
The U.S. operation and the end of the myth of chavista control
Operation “Absolute Resolution” included selective strikes against military targets in Caracas and other regions of the country. That same day, U.S. special forces captured Maduro and his wife, who were later transferred to New York to face federal charges linked to drug trafficking.
From Washington, the action was presented as an intervention aimed at dismantling a criminal organization entrenched in power and at restoring institutional order in Venezuela, a message that contrasted with years of international inaction in the face of the chavista regime.
Forced reshuffling and signs of weakness in the new regime
After Maduro’s capture, Delcy Rodríguez took over as head of the chavista regime and moved quickly to restructure the military apparatus. In the following days, she appointed 12 senior officers to lead different Integral Defense Operational Zones (ZODI) and placed the former Sebin chief in charge of her presidential guard and military counterintelligence.
These moves, far from conveying strength, reflected the urgency to close ranks in the face of a fractured and permeable security apparatus, as was demonstrated during the U.S. operation.
An irreversible break in chavista power
The Russian ambassador’s statements were released amid deep internal divisions and while Moscow was attempting to denounce the operation as a violation of international law. However, even from Russia, officials admitted that the decisive factor was not only the action of the United States, but the absence of an effective response from Venezuelan forces.
“Many did not do what they could do”, insisted Melik-Bagdasarov, implicitly acknowledging the collapse of chavismo’s internal control.
The regional impact was immediate. Cuba confirmed the death of 32 Cuban security agents during the operation, most of them linked to the direct protection of the chavista dictator, which underscored the magnitude of the blow to the regional authoritarian axis.
Source: La Derecha Diario
