Closing his eyes': Why is Russia's Putin quiet on US abduction of Maduro?

"A meme has gone viral on Russian social media networks with a quote from President Vladimir Putin, We don't give up on our own, placed next to his photos with the leaders he once declared Moscow's key allies. There were Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, who was toppled and killed in 2011, Syria's Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled and fled to Moscow in 2024, and Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovych, who was toppled and rushed to Moscow in 2014."

"And then there was a picture of Putin and his radiant Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro, who was dragged out of his bedroom by United States Delta Force commandos on Saturday and is now awaiting trial in New York on drug trafficking charges. Before abducting him, US military forces struck the Buk-2MA air defence systems and radars Russia supplied to Venezuela and installed at seaports and airports as part of their strategic alliance."

"And even though Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Maduro's capture an unacceptable act of armed aggression, Putin refrained from saying anything at all let alone meddling militarily. There is immediate damage to the Kremlin's already-tarnished international reputation but long-term benefits for Moscow's insistence on having carte blanche in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union, including energy-rich Central Asia."

United States forces captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and transported him to New York to face drug trafficking charges after striking Buk-2MA air defence systems and radars supplied by Russia. Moscow's defence cooperation treaty with Caracas did not envisage immediate military assistance in such a scenario. Vladimir Putin refrained from ordering military intervention or issuing a public response. A viral Russian meme juxtaposed Putin's phrase 'We don't give up on our own' with images of toppled allies, underscoring failures to protect partners. The incident damaged Russia's international reputation while reinforcing Moscow's pursuit of freer action in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union.

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