US abduction of Maduro: Algeria keeps ‘low profile’ for fear of consequences

US abduction of Maduro: Algeria keeps ‘low profile’ for fear of consequences Submitted by Tassa Adidi on Fri, 01/09/2026 - 14:52 After Trump's coup de force in Venezuela, Algiers is maintaining a cautious stance that betrays its diplomatic weakness and concerns over oil revenues Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (right) is received by Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in the capital Algiers in 2022 (Venezuelan presidency/AFP) Off The abduction of Venezuelan President Nicola Maduro during a large-scale attack by US special forces that left 100 dead in Caracas last Saturday sent shockwaves around the world and drew widespread condemnation, especially outside the western world. As US President Donald Trump said he would “run” Venezuela, traditional allies of Caracas - China, Russia and Iran - condemned the act as “illegal” and a “return to colonial-era thinking”. Meanwhile, in North Africa, another long-time Venezuelan ally, Algeria, remained silent. In neighbouring Morocco, with whom diplomatic ties have been severed since 2021, media outlets close to the authorities reacted to the events by mocking the Algerian foe. Some poked fun at its lack of official reaction, while others rejoiced at the potential negative effects on Algeria, predicting its growing isolation on the international stage and even its likely future targeting by the US president. Some commentators highlighted the perceived similarity of the two states’ political regimes, described as “authoritarian” and “rentier-driven”, two friendly countries with ideological affinity and a common diplomatic stance on a number of international issues, from support for the Palestinian cause to the defence of Western Sahara’s self-determination. On the Algerian side, reactions to Maduro’s fate have been, in fact, rather reserved, with the media reporting his abduction in an almost laconic manner and the authorities issuing no statement. Yet, Algeria and Venezuela have maintained strong diplomatic relations for 70 years. Both are influential members of Opec and the Non-Aligned Movement, which was founded in 1961 to defend the interests of developing countries in the context of the Cold War and oppose US imperialism. With time, Algiers and Caracas have consolidated their alliance, particularly within Opec to stabilise hydrocarbon prices, and to defend the concept of a South-South diplomacy based on solidarity. Maduro was received three times in Algiers between 2017 and 2024, even though he was considered a pariah by Washington. In 2022, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune warmly welcomed him after his barring by the US from the Summit of the Americas. Economic agreements were signed, and an Algiers-Caracas air route was inaugurated. Avoiding ‘Washington's wrath’ Why, then, are the Algerian authorities not condemning the abduction of the Venezuelan head of state? For geopolitical researcher Adlene Mohammedi, Algeria is demonstrating "great restraint" in this affair due to the evolution of its relations with the US, which has become both a security and economic partner. While Algeria was previously considered closer to Russia, Algiers and Washington “began a rapprochement in the early 2000s against the backdrop of the fight against terrorism”, Mohammedi told Middle East Eye. “In recent years, this convergence of interests has intensified on the economic front, with Algeria’s desire to attract US investors to the hydrocarbon sector,” he added. The US is now the leading foreign direct investor in Algeria, accounting for 29 percent of total foreign direct investment in the country, primarily in the energy sector. Meanwhile, Washington relies heavily on Algiers to guarantee security in the instable Sahel region. “Algeria also wants to maintain a military partnership with the US, even though it remains a client of the Russian military industry,” Mohammedi said. He notes that bilateral cooperation in this area continued even during Israel’s genocide in Gaza, despite the historical support shown by Algerian authorities for the Palestinian cause, highlighting that Algiers appears to back down on some of its principles. Algeria voted a few weeks ago in favour of a UN resolution tabled by the US that challenges Palestinian sovereignty over Gaza and has been accused of creating a new foreign “mandate”. “This is a new development in Algeria’s position on Palestine,” Mohammedi said. Indeed, as Kader Abderrahim, a lecturer at Sciences Po Paris and a Maghreb specialist, told MEE, “Algeria has always upheld the question of state sovereignty as an inviolable principle”. However, times have changed, and so has the balance of power. "We are in a new paradigm of international relations where upheavals are imposed on Algeria through military shocks like what just happened in Venezuela," Abderrahim said. With Maduro's abduction, the 'rules-based world order' is officially dead Read More » "Algeria finds itself in a situation where it must define itself in relation to American power and no longer based on its own principles." According to Abderrahim, today Algeria "is a regional, even local, actor, lacking the means to resist pressure from the US" and "is keeping a low profile to avoid drawing attention to itself". Lahouari Addi, a Georgetown University research associate in political sociology, shares this view. He told MEE that Algeria will inevitably be forced to make concessions to the US, particularly on the issue of Western Sahara, a “non-self-governing territory” according to UN classification that has been under Morocco’s control for five decades. Algiers, which supports the Polisario Front, the Sahrawi national liberation movement, will be pushed to reluctantly accept the controversial “autonomy plan” proposed by Rabat for the region, "so as not to provoke Washington's wrath", Addi said. ‘Vulnerability’ Algeria, however, does not appear to be the only country fearing the United States. Mohammedi mentions "states, including European ones, completely paralysed by Trump's military action in Venezuela, his unbridled brutality, and his determination to impose himself by force in defiance of international law". In the Global South, the shock is even greater. Faced with the resurgence of US imperialism, the non-alignment strategy that allowed developing states to resist the American superpower during the Cold War is no longer valid. For Abderahim, a structure like Brics, which brings together the major emerging states of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will not be able to act as a counterweight. "The Brics are a trade union of heads of state with conflicting interests and divergent diplomatic positions," he said. Algeria, which wanted to join the Brics+, has only a partial foothold in the group following its admission to its development bank in 2025. Its full membership was reportedly denied due to its lack of economic diversification and its dependence on hydrocarbons. "Algeria is no longer the Algeria of the 1970s. It has lost much of its diplomatic weight," Addi said. According to Mohammedi, given this reality, Algeria has for some time been developing "a multi-alignment strategy" by "betting on all the major powers at once". “If we zoom out a bit, Morocco has the same strategy toward the major powers,” he notes. “It maintains privileged relations with the US while not turning its back on Russia. All the Arab countries also display the same positioning,” Mohammedi said. “This reveals their vulnerability.” Oil fears For hydrocarbon-producing countries such as Algeria, this fragility risks becoming even more pronounced after the US attempt to control Venezuelan oil reserves, the largest known in the world. Washington has not hidden its intentions, with its ambassador to the UN stating on Monday that “adversaries” of his country could not be allowed to control vast oil reserves. Venezuela crisis: Five graphs explain why Trump wants the oil Read More » “The goal for the US is to boost oil production in the country and have it at its disposal. It’s also a way to control one of the supply sources of its competitor China,” Brahim Guendouzi, an economics professor at the University of Tizi-Ouzou in Algeria, told MEE. “Eventually, it is about influencing the balance within Opec, since Venezuela is a member.” The fear in Algeria, one of the world’s leading oil producers, is that by taking over Venezuelan oil, the US could control Opec and influence hydrocarbon prices at will. Abderrahim agrees, suspecting Trump of “seeking, after his power grab in Venezuela, to weaken Opec’s internal discipline and turn it into a tool under his thumb”. “Won’t he also want to limit the production capacity of member countries?” he asks. If such a scenario were to materialise, Algeria would have a lot to lose because, as Guendouzi points out, "its internal and external financial stability is largely dependent on hydrocarbon exports". The hydrocarbons sector makes up 14 percent of Algeria’s GDP. Mohammedi, for his part, warns of similar economic repercussions for Algeria in the event of an acceleration in medium- or long-term oil production in Venezuela under US control. Faced with so much uncertainty, leaders in Algiers can only wait and see. In a farewell statement on Tuesday, the outgoing US ambassador to Algeria, Elizabeth Moore Aubin, sought to reassure, at least regarding the quality of ties between Algiers and Washington. She praised "strong, growing relations based on respect". Diplomacy News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0