Communist lawmakers from Russia’s State Duma established a committee seeking to achieve the “liberation” of Venezuela’s deposed socialist dictator, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, the Russian embassy in Caracas announced Wednesday.
The Russian embassy, in a Telegram post, detailed that the committee was created by lawmakers from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) to “fight” for the release of Maduro and Flores. The group, which has 27 members, was presented by CRPF Vice President Dmitri Novikov during a press conference in Moscow.
Deputies of the Russian State Duma begin their work on a committee for the release of President Nicolás Maduro and the first lady on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at the TASS agency in Moscow. (Russian Embassy in Venezuela)
“We entered the struggle for the liberation of Nicolás Maduro with the conviction that we are right and with the understanding that there is a history of success, a history of this type of struggle,” Novikov told the Russian news outlet Tass.
Nicolás Maduro ruled Venezuela for nearly 13 years after late socialist dictator Hugo Chávez personally appointed him as his successor in late 2012, illegitimately holding onto power by means of several fraudulent elections. For years, Maduro was actively wanted by U.S. authorities on multiple narco-terrorism charges.
On January 3, 2026, U.S. military forces executed a law enforcement operation in Caracas that led to the successful capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The pair was reportedly captured from their compound inside Fuerte Tiuna, Venezuela’s largest military complex. The pair is presently detained and awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
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Novikov did not explain how the Russian committee intends to “liberate” Maduro and Flores. Speaking to Tass, the communist lawmaker recounted that there are “historical precedents” that allegedly would serve toward the goal of Maduro’s release, such as the cases of Bulgaria’s late Communist Prime Minster Georgy Dimitrov and late South African President Nelson Mandela. Novikov reportedly asserted to Tass that these examples “exemplify the potential for perseverance and principled action in the face of adversity.”
“If you possess honor, conscience, and principles, you join the fight, demonstrating solidarity without calculating odds,” Novikov said. “If there’s a 99 percent chance of success, I will participate; if only 9 percent, I might hesitate”
“But true conviction demands that we stand firm regardless of probabilities. Our committee includes those who believe principles and conscience must always prevail, and that the fight for justice is imperative. History provides precedents and successes that inspire us,” he continued.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with students and graduates at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) in Dolgoprudny, Russia, Friday, January 23, 2026. (Alexander Shcherbak/Sputnik Kremlin, Pool Photo via AP)
According to the Russian embassy in Caracas, Novikov reaffirmed that the committee will continue its work in a “systematic and persistent manner, based on the conviction that international solidarity and the defense of law and justice can yield concrete results, even in the most complex circumstances.”
For over two decades, Russia has been a key ally of the Venezuelan socialist regime, now led by “acting President” Delcy Rodríguez, providing Russian-made anti-air missiles, firearms, and other types of defense and security equipment to the rogue regime. Maduro flaunted his purported “support” from Russia to threaten the United States and deter any possible action against him.
At press time, the Russian government has offered no support to the rogue Venezuelan socialists beyond official statements of support and remarks from government officials.
The Russian ambassador to Caracas, Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov, claimed during an interview with Russia’s Rossiya 24 television network this week that the United States was able to capture Maduro because the dictator had been allegedly “betrayed” by unspecified individuals who “collaborated” with U.S. intelligence. The diplomat further claimed that Russia “knows the names of these betrayers who have fled Venezuela.”
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“As for betrayal, it was probably betrayal, it was probably indecisiveness, and, surely, sheer negligence of office duties,” Melik-Bagdasarov said during the interview.
“Otherwise, if this was not the case and everything had functioned as usual, the Venezuelans would have had every opportunity to at least inflict some damage on the enemy, both in terms of manpower and weaponry,” he continued. “The Americans managed to leave safe and sound, with minor injuries and minor damage.”
No Americans were killed and minimal damage was taken in the operation to capture Maduro. Melik-Bagdasarov claimed to Rossiya 24 that Venezuelan authorities allegedly did not issue orders to counter U.S. forces and asserted that Venezuelan forces lacked the required training and “did not possess sufficient skills” to operate the Igla missile launcher systems Russia provided to the Venezuelan regime.
The Cuban regime-run propaganda outlet Prensa Latina reported that, prior to the committee’s announcement, the Venezuelan embassy in Moscow provided a “suitable setting for friends of solidarity” to express their support of Maduro, with Venezuelan ambassador Jesús Salazar calling for a series of upcoming events on February 13 as part of the regime’s “We Want Them Back” campaign that demands the release of Maduro and Flores.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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