Support from Russia and China bolsters Venezuela in the face of electoral demands from the United States and Brazil.

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This scene reflects the profound change in Venezuela's foreign policy since 2018, when it became the target of nearly a thousand sanctions from the United States, Canada and several European countries after Maduro's first unrecognized re-election. The partners that had already existed since the presidency of Hugo Chavez (1999-2013) became an essential base for Maduro's survival. While Russia, China, Turkey and Iran expanded their influence in the country, Brazil, among other neighbors, opted for a strategy of isolation, alongside the United States and the European Union (EU). It was the time of the so-called Lima Group, which exerted strong pressure against Maduro, led, among others, by Brazil governed by Michel Temer and, later, by Jair Bolsonaro. The strategy, promoted by the government of former president and now Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, failed.

With the return to power of Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, Brazil resumed bilateral relations in early 2023, but nothing is the same. Today, supported by the countries that helped him circumvent sanctions, restock Venezuelan supermarkets, obtain investments in the oil, gas and electricity sectors, train military personnel, strengthen internal security systems, extract gold from local deposits and sell it abroad, among other types of economic and military partnerships, Maduro indicates that he believes he has good room for maneuver to intensify internal repression even in the face of opposition from part of the international community, while the United States does not recognize him as the winner, Brazil and Colombia demand, along with Mexico, the presentation of the electoral records.

Maduro has allied himself with non-Western countries, in which democratic values ​​have little weight in decision-making on trade or economic investments, explains Venezuelan lawyer and international affairs specialist Mariano de Alba, noting that Hungary has Viktor Orbn on its list of allies: [Ele] managed to prevent a consensus within the European Commission and Parliament on Venezuela.

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Despite this new support, Caracas' foreign policy axis is under the control of Beijing and Moscow, for whom Venezuela is of interest due to its geographical location in Latin America, in a long-term strategy fueled by rivalry and power struggle with the United States.

Geopolitics explains, summarizes Venezuelan analyst Piero Trepiccione. From the Russians, the message to the Americans is clear: we will strengthen our presence in Venezuela and, through it, in Latin America, just as you have been in Ukraine, in our region.

For China, Russia's ally in the conflict against Ukraine, the alliance with Venezuela is part of a plan to consolidate its influence in a region that until recently was an almost exclusive zone of American activity, explains Trepiccione.

During Chvez's lifetime, Alba reports, China provided loans worth about $60 billion to the Venezuelan government. Due to Venezuela's payment difficulties, financial aid was reduced under Maduro, but it has not been eliminated. According to Trepiccione, Beijing's money currently comes mainly from investments by private companies, for example in the automotive sector.

Iran and Turkey are also relevant. According to analysts, in addition to the political partnership, Teher and Caracas have a mutual aid alliance, in which they share tactics to circumvent external blockades while both face economic sanctions. According to Andrei Serbin Pont, president of the Regional Coordinator for Economic and Social Research (Cries), Iran and Turkey are part of a mechanism created by Venezuela to extract minerals such as gold and sell them outside the country. But despite Teer's presence within the instrument, Ankara has a more important role to play:

The extraction and sale of Venezuelan gold with the help of Turkey, like so many other commercial operations carried out with foreign partners, operates in an informal and obscure manner, Pont explains.

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In the midst of the campaign, Madurou concluded agreements with Ankara for the exploration of gold in the mining arc of the Orinoco.

The alliance of mutual gains between Turkey and Venezuela should be celebrated, said the president, who also announced, before the elections, the signing of an agreement with Turkish companies for the construction of a refinery for the production of ammonia and the exploration of gas deposits.

As an important trading partner of Maduro, Turkey has also played a key role in providing food supplies to vulnerable sectors and to supply supermarkets in general. The end of the shortage was also made possible by the decision, adopted in 2019, to gradually open the country's economy. But while there is no shortage of products in Caracas right now, the problem is the prices: high and in dollars.

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Maduro also considers as allies a group of countries from the so-called Gulf region, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. With both, Venezuela has expanded its trade agreements and concluded cooperation agreements. One of Maduro's future goals is to incorporate Venezuela into the BRICS. He has been invited by Russia's Vladimir Putin to the next summit of the bloc's heads of state, at the end of October. Caracas also benefits from the support of China and other allies, including Iran, which recently joined the bloc, which also includes Brazil, India and South Africa.

While partnerships outside Latin America are growing, unconditional support in the region is limited to Cuba, Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua, the former being the only one present in Venezuela since the Chavez years. Maduro was chosen as the Bolivarian leader’s successor with the approval of Cuba, a key player in Venezuela’s system of internal security, control and persecution of opponents, and reports indicate that Havana also has leverage in domestic political discussions. But, with an increasingly close anti-Western alliance, Maduro is increasingly showing signs that he does not fear regional isolation.