Day: January 4, 2026
Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said on January 4 that it is “closely following” developments in Venezuela following a U.S. military attack and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, and expressed hope that recent events could lead Caracas to reverse its recognition of Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions.
“We are closely following developments in Venezuela with the hope that future processes will unfold in line with the best interests of the Venezuelan people,” the Foreign Ministry stated on January 4, after a day of silence from Tbilisi amid a wave of international reactions to developments in Venezuela.
The ministry added and concluded, “Given that the Venezuelan authorities recognized Georgia’s occupied regions, Abkhazia and the so-called South Ossetia, as independent states in gross violation of international law, we express hope that recent developments will lead to the reversal of this unlawful decision, in line with Georgia’s national interests and international legal principles.”
Venezuela, under Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chávez, recognized Russia-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia in 2009. It is among the few countries, alongside Russia, to recognize the occupied regions.
Sokhumi and Tskhinvali have already voiced concerns and condemned the U.S. actions.
Early on January 3, U.S. forces under President Donald Trump launched a series of targeted strikes in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, and took President Nicolás Maduro and his wife into U.S. custody. They were flown to New York City, where they face drug trafficking and weapons charges. Trump said the U.S would temporarily “run” Venezuela until a permanent successor to Maduro is put in place.
Nicolás Maduro, who has ruled oil-rich Venezuela since 2013, has long faced accusations of repressing opposition groups and silencing dissent. Since Venezuela’s 2024 elections, he has been widely viewed as illegitimate by the country’s opposition and many foreign governments.
U.S. Representative Joe Wilson, a staunch critic of the Georgian Dream, in a post on X praising President Donald Trump and the U.S. capture of Maduro, said, “Now the network of Putin, Iran, Cuba, and the CCP can be unraveled exposing Dictators With Rule of Gun which invade Democracies With Rule of Law! Illegitimate regimes of rigged elections in Georgia and Belarus should now accept fair and free elections!!!”
Following Georgia’s widely disputed October 26, 2024, parliamentary elections, Maduro was also among the few leaders to congratulate the ruling Georgian Dream party on what he described as its “exemplary, stellar victory.”