Venezuela has served as the Kremlin's main information partner in Latin America, anchoring a network that uses state media, local journalists, influencers and automated websites to spread pro-Russian narratives across the region, according to a new investigation by the New Eurasian Strategies Centre.
The report, produced with researchers from Maldita.es, Cazadores de Fake News, Verificado.mx and Brazilian data journalist Daniel Bramatti, examined Russian influence operations in Venezuela, Mexico and Brazil. It identified at least 32 journalists, geopolitical analysts and other figures who present pro-Kremlin messages as personal opinions or independent analysis.
Researchers behind the study estimated that the figures collectively have about 14.9 million followers on X and Telegram, but found that only around 3.13% actually view their content. The report argues that influence therefore rests less on large institutional audiences than on individual voices capable of introducing Russian narratives into domestic political debates.
Venezuela became Russia's principal regional partner through formal media cooperation and ties between Russian outlets and the country's state communications apparatus. RT and Sputnik were regularly cited by Venezuelan state media, RT conducted journalism training in Caracas and broadcast from TeleSUR headquarters, while republication of RT and Sputnik material by state outlets increased tenfold between 2019 and 2022, reaching about 500 items a month.
The report says TeleSUR has also served as a conduit for Kremlin narratives to audiences elsewhere in Latin America. Within Venezuela, however, distrust of state media has limited their impact. Russian influence there has also weakened since the January 2026 capture of Nicolás Maduro, with less Russia-related material appearing under President Delcy Rodríguez and Venezuela News, a major distributor of pro-Kremlin content, closing in May.
The findings build on a May investigation by Lupa and LatamChequea documenting Russian foreign information manipulation and interference across Latin America. That report found that Moscow increasingly adapts its messaging to local concerns — including anti-American sentiment, distrust of Western institutions and domestic political polarization — rather than simply importing narratives created for Russian audiences.
The NEST investigation describes a similar approach in Mexico and Brazil. Narratives have linked Ukrainian weapons to Mexican and Brazilian criminal organizations, while Russian messaging simultaneously appeals to parts of the Latin American left through anti-imperialism and multipolarity and to sectors of the right through nationalism and opposition to LGBTQ+ rights.
Researchers concluded that the strategy is aimed less at creating new supporters of Russia than at exploiting existing divisions, noting that 39% of the content they documented was categorized as intended to undermine or polarize.
