NEW YORK (Web Desk) – In a revelation drawing fresh attention amid recent global events, Fiona Hill, a former top Russia and Europe adviser to President Donald Trump, recalled that Russian officials informally signaled in 2019 that Moscow might ease its support for Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro if the United States allowed Russia a free hand in Ukraine — a highly unusual geopolitical “swap” proposal.
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Hill’s statement came from her testimony before the U.S. Congress in 2019. She said Russian officials repeatedly hinted at a “very strange swap arrangement between Venezuela and Ukraine,” invoking concepts similar to the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine — which historically opposed European interference in the Western Hemisphere — to justify the linkage, even though no formal offer was made.
At the time, Hill was dispatched by the Trump White House to Moscow to deliver a clear message: Ukraine and Venezuela are unrelated and should not be tied together in diplomatic transactions. The U.S. then supported Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, not Maduro, as interim president.
Fast forward to 2026: the geopolitical landscape looks very different. The United States recently conducted a controversial military operation to capture Maduro and now asserts control over Venezuela’s transitional governance, a move that Russia condemned as aggression while publicly backing Venezuela’s interim leader.
Analysts say Hill’s account highlights how great powers jockey for spheres of influence. Her comments suggest Moscow views U.S. interventions in Latin America as boosting arguments for similar Russian actions in its own neighboring regions like Ukraine.
At the same time, experts point out Russia may be privately encouraged by Washington’s assertiveness in Venezuela, perceiving it as validation of great-power politics — even as it tries to retain influence in Ukraine amid its ongoing conflict there.
