Maduro reinforces his security with Cuban bodyguards due to fears of a coup

The Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has significantly increased the number of Cuban bodyguards within his personal security team, as well as expanded the role of Cuban counterintelligence officers in the Venezuelan armed forces.

The decision, fueled by the nervousness and paranoia that permeates the upper echelons of chavismo due to the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, aims to reduce the risk of a coup d'état, as revealed in an article by The New York Times written by journalist Anatoly Kurmanaev.

The article, titled ‘Can Venezuela count on any ally to help if the U.S. attacks?’, details how the Maduro regime has reinforced its dependence on the Cuban security apparatus at a time when the United States is mobilizing its Armed Forces and has described the Venezuelan leader as the head of a narcoterrorist organization.

Sources close to the Venezuelan army, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that Maduro and his inner circle consider the Cuban agents as “experienced and incorruptible”, a trait that, according to the U.S. newspaper, makes them essential for maintaining internal loyalty within the Venezuelan military structure.

The report indicates that, while powers like Russia, China, and Iran are reluctant or unable to provide substantial support to Caracas, Cuba has taken on a key role in the survival of the regime, contributing not with weaponry, but with what it knows best: political surveillance and internal intelligence.

The presence of Cuban officials within the Venezuelan military apparatus has expanded with the aim of detecting and neutralizing any attempts at insurrection, particularly at a time when the opposition and Washington are seeking to fracture loyalties within the armed forces.

The reinforcement of presidential security with Cuban personnel confirms the close symbiosis between Havana and Caracas, an alliance sustained by mutual distrust towards national military forces and a shared need to preserve authoritarian regimes in the face of international pressure.

Analysts cited by The New York Times assert that Maduro's strategy reflects his government's structural dependence on Cuban support, both in intelligence and in the training of political leaders and internal repression. For Cuba, Venezuela remains a vital source of oil and resources in a context of global isolation.

The deployment of Cuban bodyguards and counterintelligence agents in Venezuela illustrates how the regime in Havana continues to export its expertise in political control, especially when its own survival depends on the fate of its closest ally.

The fall of Maduro, warns the newspaper, would not only mark the end of an era in Venezuela but also the most significant blow the Castro regime could suffer in its recent history.