Russia presented a formal proposal to the United States through Vatican mediation to facilitate Nicolás Maduro's departure from Venezuela in the months leading up to the military operation that resulted in his capture, according to diplomatic sources cited by Spanish outlet ABC.

The initiative, reportedly channelled through Cardinal Pietro Parolin, offered Maduro political asylum and personal security guarantees in Russian territory under the direct backing of President Vladimir Putin, the sources said. The proposal also extended to other senior officials in the former Venezuelan leader's administration.

Moscow's objective was to prevent US military intervention, contain regional instability and preserve dialogue channels with the Trump administration on other strategic matters including the Ukraine war, according to the sources.

The offer recalled the one given to former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, another close Kremlin ally who was granted asylum in Russia after his toppling in December 2024 but now lives in isolation, cut off from external communication and effectively confined despite his formal protection.

However, the plan collapsed when Maduro rejected the negotiated solution, reportedly due to concerns about his personal circumstances in exile and potential loss of control over foreign financial assets. The former Venezuelan leader demanded complete immunity, economic assurances and the ability to maintain a comfortable living standard in Russia, conditions that were not accepted, the sources said.

The Kremlin's diplomatic effort reflected Russia's desire to avoid an armed confrontation that would expose vulnerabilities in its military systems deployed in Venezuela and result in the definitive loss of its principal strategic ally in Latin America.

For over two decades, Venezuela served as a cornerstone of Russia's geopolitical presence in the Western Hemisphere through energy cooperation agreements, arms sales and political support against Washington.

Following the breakdown of diplomatic channels, the Venezuelan crisis entered what sources described as an "operational phase" that concluded weeks later with Maduro's arrest in Caracas during a US-led military operation on January 3. The rapid incursion laid bare the inability of Russian-manufactured air defence systems to counter the American action, a factor that deepened the strategic setback for Moscow.

According to current and former US officials cited by The New York Times, key elements of Venezuela’s Russian-supplied S-300 and Buk-M2 surface-to-air missile systems were not integrated with radar networks when US aircraft approached Venezuelan airspace. Some components were reportedly still in storage rather than deployed, rendering large sections of the country effectively undefended during the opening phase of the operation.

After Maduro's ouster, the Kremlin adopted an extremely cautious position, avoiding high-level statements and showing only lukewarm support for interim president Delcy Rodriguez. This stood in stark contrast to President Trump's enthusiastic embrace, which saw him praising Rodriguez as a "terrific person" and claiming his administration was making "tremendous progress" with her post-Chavista administration in several fields.