Delhi, which is usually conservative and wary of commenting on issues far from Indian borders, is in a bind given that many in the Global South will look to India to underline the need to respect international law, and non-intervention by foreign forces in the internal affairs of a country.
India and the US are still negotiating a bilateral trade deal, months after Trump imposed 50 per cent tariffs, including a 25 per cent penalty over Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil. India has been tapering off that import although Delhi feels it was singled out by the US President who did not move against China and Europe over their purchase of Russian oil.
India’s own ties with Venezuela have been of low stakes as well, although it has had a robust history of oil imports from the country.
Bilateral trade between India and Venezuela was USD 6,397 million in 2019-20, of which Indian imports were worth USD 6,057 million. The sanctions on Venezuela imposed by the US led India to drop oil imports from Venezuela to a bare minimum. Bilateral trade was USD 1,271 million in 2020-21 (Indian imports were USD 714 million); USD 424 million in 2021-2022 (Indian imports were USD 89 million); and USD 431 million in 2022-2023 (Indian imports were USD 253 million) – clearly pointing to a declining trend following US sanctions on Venezuela oil.
The political relationship between Delhi and Caracas was at a high in 2005 when President Hugo Chavez made a State visit to India on March 4-7 that year. He held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
People celebrate after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Nicolas Maduro visited India as the Foreign Minister of Venezuela in August 2012 for the India-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Troika Foreign Ministers meeting in New Delhi on August 7, 2012. He held talks with his then Indian counterpart S M Krishna.
When Chavez passed away in March 2013, the UPA government expressed condolences and sent Sachin Pilot, then Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, for the state funeral where he met Chavez’s mother Elena Frias de Chavez and Maduro who was then Acting President.
After 2014, when Narendra Modi’s government came to power, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Venezuela’s Executive Vice President Jorge Arreaza on April 22, 2015 on the sidelines of the Asia Africa Summit 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Minister of State for External Affairs General V K Singh (retired) visited Caracas on May 24-25 that year.
In September 2016, Vice President Hamid Ansari went for the NAM summit in Venezuela.
In recent years, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York on September 25, 2021, and Carlos Faria, Minister of Foreign Affairs, again on the sidelines of the UNGA on September 24, 2022.
At the invitation of Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal, Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, accompanied by four other Ministers and a 25-member business delegation, visited India to participate in the 9th CII-LAC (Latin American Countries) Conclave from August 3-5, 2023. During the visit, she held discussions with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and, among others, Jaishankar.
So, while the ties were largely economic and the energy basket was the only game in town, Delhi was careful in its diplomatic engagements with Caracas. There are less than 100 Indians in Venezuela – according to the Indian embassy’s records: “50 NRIs (non-resident Indians) and 30 PIOs (Persons of Indian origin)”.
Following the developments Saturday, the Ministry of External Affairs put out an advisory asking Indians to exercise caution and urged all Indians to avoid non-essential travel.
“In view of recent developments in Venezuela, Indian nationals are strongly advised to avoid all non-essential travel to Venezuela. All Indians who are in Venezuela for any reason are advised to exercise extreme caution, restrict their movements, and remain in contact with Embassy of India in Caracas through their email id: cons.caracas@mea.gov.in or the emergency phone number +58-412-9584288 (also for WhatsApp calls),” the MEA said in its advisory.
While the political stakes for India are relatively low, the principles at stake are high given the US track record of adventurism overseas.
The US intervention in Venezuela has brought in the question of a rules-based order, but it has not come as a surprise. It is in sync with the National Security Strategy of the Trump 2.0 administration which accords US dominance in the Western hemisphere. Venezuelan drug cartels have been in the Trump administration’s crosshairs in the first year of his second term.
What is important to note is that Russia has been the first country to criticise the US action, calling it an “act of armed aggression” against Venezuela. “This is deeply concerning and condemnable,” Moscow said of the US military intervention.
The European Union has stopped short of condemning the US action, merely saying “principles of international law and the UN Charter must be respected” and the need to exercise “restraint”.
Chile President Gabriel Boric expressed “concern and condemnation” of the “military actions of the US” and Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed “deep concern”.
So, having seen the silence of the major G-20 countries, Delhi is not in a hurry to make a statement on the issue even as it wrestles with its diplomatic dilemma of defending the international order in the face of violations by an American President.
A photo of President Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima shared by President Trump on his Truth Social account. 
People celebrate after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
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