The U.S. swift military attack and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro have divided opinion in Georgia.
While ruling party figures interpreted the events as confirmation of their worldview about the dismantling of the international order, government critics were divided over the implications for countries like Georgia, with some welcoming U.S. dominance and pressure on autocrats, and others fearing what they see as a dangerous precedent for smaller countries threatened by greater powers.
The initial reaction from the official Tbilisi was somewhat delayed, preceded by statements by de facto officials in Russia-occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia, who had voiced concerns and condemned the U.S. actions. Venezuela has been among the few countries that have recognized the two regions as independent states.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry issued a short statement on January 4, saying Tbilisi is “closely following” developments in Venezuela and expressed hope that recent events could lead Caracas to reverse its recognition of Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions.
Georgian Dream: Order Is Dead
After an initial period of silence, members of the ruling Georgian Dream party argued that developments in Venezuela merely reaffirmed their vision and the necessity of pursuing a peace-oriented policy grounded in national interests.
Shalva Papuashvili, speaker of the disputed parliament, issued a statement, saying that through the developments in Venezuela, “it was ultimately confirmed what we have been saying – the order established after the Second World War exists no more.”
In an apparent reference to Venezuela’s recognition of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia, Papuashvili said that “a state and a government that do not recognize Georgia’s territorial integrity can never be a friend of the Georgian people.”
“For the states like Georgia, the international law has always been the main weapon and shield, but the reality is also that its place and influence are irreversibly waning,” Papuashvili said. “Today, again, our objective remains unchanged – in the storm unleashed by great powers, not to damage the state and carry it harmlessly into the safe haven.”
According to Papuashvili, the events also confirmed that the EU has ceased to exist “as a guarantor of the international order and as a global geopolitical player.” He added that Brussels even “won’t shy away from benefiting and taking advantage of the collapse of the world order.”
Similar arguments were echoed by Georgian Dream MP Levan Makhashvili, who noted that Georgia needs to go through “this dangerous, painful process” by pursuing its national interests “until this international order is stabilized, a new one emerges, and this geopolitical chaos ends.”
Some Government Critics Welcome Maduro’s Removal
Some in opposition circles welcomed the developments in Venezuela as proof of U.S. dominance – Georgia’s traditional ally – and as an unfavorable trend for authoritarian leaders. Maduro’s removal comes as Georgia itself has faced an authoritarian turn under Georgian Dream rule.
Tamar Chergoleishvili, leader of the opposition Federalist party, has been among the most vocal in portraying U.S. intervention as a positive development for Georgia. “In geopolitics, the power vacuum never stays empty. What is not filled by America is filled by Russia – for us it’s better that our enemy is weakened and that our friend is getting stronger,” she wrote on Facebook on January 3.
The politician, however, warned that for Georgians this “automatically means nothing, potentially – much,” arguing that Georgia cannot benefit from these developments “without changing the Russian regime.” She noted: “Let no one think that it is possible to import such a scenario into Georgia.”
Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, also appeared to welcome Maduro’s ousting. “Nero, Caligula, Domitian, Tamerlane, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Ceaușescu, Pol Pot, Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, Bashar al-Assad, Maduro… Nothing is permanent. No matter how powerful a dictator is, or how ruthless his rule, the end is inevitable. And their end is almost always a very harsh one,” she wrote on her personal Facebook account on January 4, without making an explicit reference to Venezuela.
Georgian political analyst Ghia Nodia said that while it’s hard to “unequivocally assess” Maduro’s abduction, it is still “rather good than bad.”
Nodia agreed that, in terms of international law, the event “constitutes a serious violation,” and that “small countries would prefer a liberal world order where a country’s sovereignty (even that of authoritarian countries) is protected.” The analyst, however, argued that even coming close to such an order “is practically possible only under the global domination of liberal countries (or the West and, first of all, America).”
“Is there a hundred-percent guarantee that the U.S. will always use its dominant position in a right and good way? Of course, not,” Nodia argued. “But for our planet, it’s still the best option for the U.S. to be the strongest and the one to be feared, rather than Russia or China,” he added, concluding that, ultimately, the events “are not bad” for Georgia either.
Others Fear Broader Geopolitical Fallout
Maduro’s toppling seems “only secondary” in the story, according to Giorgi Maisuradze, a Georgian left-wing intellectual and professor at Tbilisi’s Ilia State University.
“Trump openly says that America is taking control and possession over Venezuela’s oil, imposes America’s ‘provisional rule,’ which only means an occupation regime,” Maisuradze warned, calling “disturbing” the prospect that every great or superpower has the right to take control of smaller, weaker countries through a military intervention.
He called the hope that the U.S. intervention and Maduro’s toppling will be any good for Georgia “naive,” comparing the attitude to a Freudian dream about a “superpowerful dad” who will “punish everyone who will upset and oppress us.” Such moves will only encourage similar interventions by other superpowers in their “Grossraums,” Maisuradze argues.
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.
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.”
