The US and Russia are trading shots after Moscow sent 2 bombers to visit the US's biggest foe in the hemisphere

Two Russian strategic bombers landed in Venezuela on Monday.
Their arrival comes amid increased tensions between the US and Russia and a US-led pressure campaign on Venezuela.
Russia remains one of Venezuela's most important allies, but there are limits to its support.

Two Russian Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bombers arrived in Venezuela on Monday, and their presence has already prompted dueling statements from Washington and Moscow.

The bombers landed at

"As the Venezuelan government seeks Russian warplanes, the United States works alongside regional partners and international organizations to provide humanitarian aid to Venezuelans fleeing their crisis-racked nation," Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said Monday. "We maintain our unwavering commitment to humanity."

Colombian and Venezuelan patients rest after surgery in the hospital ship USNS Comfort on November 27, 2018. BusinessInsider

The Kremlin rebuked Pompeo, with Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters that Pompeo's comments were "rather undiplomatic" and that Moscow "

"However in this situation an official is involved, so this disregard of the rules of diplomatic ethics cannot be seen as a statement 'to dismiss,'" the ministry added. "What the secretary of state said is inadmissible, not to mention that it is absolutely unprofessional."

Good friends, but not best friends

Russia's President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. BusinessInsider

"In the Chávez era, Russia was a major arms supplier to Venezuela, and Russia’s state-owned oil company, Rosneft, remains a major player in Venezuela’s collapsing oil sector," Benjamin Gedan, former South America director on the National Security Council and a fellow at The Wilson Center, said in an email.

"In recent years, as once prosperous Venezuela became an international panhandler, Russia renegotiated loans to postpone sovereign default," Gedan added.

People walk past graffiti that reads: "Maduro, misery" in Caracas, Venezuela, August 18, 2018. BusinessInsider

Maduro returned from a three-day visit to Russia last week touting $6 billion in investments, including a $5 billion pledge for joint oil ventures and a Russian agreement to send 600,000 metric tons of wheat to Venezuela in 2019.

But officials in Russia questioned those deals, with one Rosneft official telling the Financial Times that the amount of new oil investments mentioned by Maduro sounded "suspiciously close

The US and Russia are trading shots after Moscow sent 2 bombers to visit the US's biggest foe in the hemisphere

Good friends, but not best friends

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