Russia Insists Venezuelan Scenario Will Not Happen In Cuba: ‘No Easy Ride’

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia vowed on Friday that there will be no repeat of the Venezuelan scenario in Cuba.

“There has undoubtedly been betrayal in Venezuela, this is being said quite openly. Some high-ranking officials have, in fact, betrayed the president. This scenario will not work in Cuba. I think that the Americans, despite the rhetoric they have been using against Cuba lately, are still just rhetoric. Because there will be no easy ride in Cuba if they want to repeat something like what happened in Venezuela,” Nebenzia told a Russian TV channel.

The statements come a day following Trump signing a new executive order declaring a national emergency related to Cuba and creating a new tariff mechanism targeting countries that supply oil to the island-nation. Already Cuba’s vital flow of Venezuela oil has been cut off by US order.

Cuba “will be failing pretty soon,” President Trump told reporters Tuesday during a visit to Iowa. “They got their oil from Venezuela. They’re not getting that anymore.”

But it’s true that Cuba has had much more preparation in terms of being in Washington’s crosshairs, given the lengthy history of behind-the-scenes intelligence subterfuge stretching far back into the Cold War.

China has also newly called out the US over its threats against Cuba, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday stating, “China stands firmly against inhumane practices and moves that deprive the Cuban people of their rights to subsistence and development.”

As for Russian Ambassador Nebenzia, he is also warning that any potential US action against Iran will be no walk in the park and will have massive consequences, describing that Tehran is actually now better prepared for this than in June 2025.

“The rhetoric of President [of United States Donald] Trump [about Iran] seems to have subsided after the protests that took place in Iran. However, the situation is alarming. A strike may take place, but this time Iran is better prepared, I think, for such a turn of events than it was ready for this in June,” Nebenzia said.

And on NATO, he said it has “really exhausted itself, we have been talking about this for a long time. President Trump simply fixed this fact in its essence. Although, of course, NATO as an organization is not going anywhere in the near future, but the concept of Euro-Atlantic security has failed.”

This afternoon, Iran, China and Russia formally signed a comprehensive strategic pact, marking one of the most consequential shifts in 21st-century international relations.https://t.co/GnG5R9xMxV pic.twitter.com/2LV8QmwDk3

— tim anderson (@timand2037) January 30, 2026

Russia was among a tiny few of the globe’s powers, alongside China, which had good relations – including military links – with Venezuela. The same is true of Cuba and especially of Iran. However, Russia is unlikely at this point to step directly into any potential US-Iran war, given it is bogged down in Ukraine.