NP:

The planes were carrying 100 troops and 35 tons of materials

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told his Russian counterpart Monday that the United States “will not stand idly by” if Russia continues to send military personnel to Venezuela to prop up President Nicolás Maduro, the State Department said.

Pompeo’s telephone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov followed weekend reports that at least two Russian air force planes carrying a senior defense official and about 100 troops landed at Venezuela’s main airport Saturday.

Maduro has managed to hold on to power despite U.S. recognition in January, along with dozens of other countries, of Juan Guaidó, the head of the opposition-led Legislative Assembly, as interim president.

U.S. frustration with the situation has grown as efforts to convince the Venezuelan military to switch sides and support Guaidó have produced few results, even as thousands of anti-Maduro protesters have taken to the streets amid severe shortages of food, water and medical care. The military and pro-Maduro paramilitary groups have escalated the use of force against the Guaidó supporters.

The Trump administration has charged Russia and Cuba, Maduro’s main backers, with intervening to keep him in power.

“The continued insertion of Russian military personnel to support” Maduro “risks prolonging the suffering of the Venezuelan people who overwhelmingly support” Guaidó, the U.S. statement said. Pompeo, it said, called on Russia, to “cease its unconstructive behavior and join other nations . . . who seek a better future for the Venezuelan people.”

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