Turkey’s extensive ties with Venezuela bolstered Maduro’s regime despite sanctions and criminal activity

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was an important external backer of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, providing diplomatic cover, economic engagement, and access to international markets for Caracas. This close relationship was underscored by US Senator Lindsay Graham’s comment to reporters on Air Force One, hours after Maduro’s capture, that Maduro “could have been in Turkey.” Graham was referencing a potential deal in which the deposed Venezuelan leader may have taken up residence there in return for voluntarily relinquishing power.

Erdogan has long cultivated relations with authoritarian leaders such as Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Ali Khamenei—all of whom also supported Maduro’s regime. Since 2016, Ankara has steadily expanded its footprint in Venezuela, transforming once-limited ties into a strategic partnership. Bilateral trade surged from under $200 million in 2017 to more than $1.1 billion in 2018, and Turkish officials set a goal of reaching $5 billion annually.

Maduro’s relationship with Erdogan intensified after the failed 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, when the Venezuelan leader was among the first to back Erdogan. In return, Ankara became a vocal opponent of international recognition of Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaido in 2019, with Erdogan publicly urging Maduro to resist US and Western pressure. However, following Maduro’s capture by US forces on January 3, Erdogan has notably refrained from criticizing Washington.

Beyond rhetoric, Turkish engagement with Venezuela has focused on Venezuela’s energy and mining sectors—areas heavily constrained by US sanctions. In 2024, Turkish and Venezuelan officials discussed Turkish participation in oil and gas projects and agreed on a roadmap for a Turkish-funded fertilizer plant tied to Venezuela’s state petrochemical company, Pequiven, which is under US sanctions. Such initiatives undermined international efforts to restrict Maduro’s access to revenue.

Gold mining is central to the Turkey-Venezuela relationship. Since at least 2018, Turkish entities have partnered with Caracas in state-run mining ventures in southern Venezuela’s Orinoco Mining Arc, a region plagued by illegal mining, environmental devastation, and severe human rights abuses. That same year, Turkey imported nearly $900 million in Venezuelan gold, helping Caracas convert illicitly mined bullion into hard currency while bypassing sanctions.

The gold trade has been closely linked to Venezuelan corruption networks. Businessman Alex Saab, later arrested and charged by US authorities, used Turkish companies to sell Venezuelan gold and purchase overpriced food imports for the regime’s food subsidy program, known as CLAP, enriching elites amid widespread malnutrition.

Turkey has also become a key transit hub for Latin American cocaine linked to Venezuela. Turkish authorities reported sharp increases in cocaine seizures after 2020, particularly through the port of Mersin. In 2021, exiled crime figure Sedat Peker alleged that politically connected individuals—including former Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim’s son—facilitated cocaine trafficking between Venezuela and Turkey. These claims were denied by those implicated but never fully resolved.

Turkey’s role as an economic and logistical lifeline may draw increased scrutiny by the United States government following Maduro’s capture.

Sinan Ciddi is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he contributes to its Turkey Program  and Center on Economic and Financial Power. You can follow Sinan on X @sinanciddi.