Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is backing Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro’s bid to stay in power in his battle with US-supported opposition figure Juan Guaido—and Ankara’s backing is no doubt substantially economically driven.

Erdogan visited Maduro in Caracas in early December last year, where the two strongmen addressed a Turkey-Venezuela Business Forum. The month previously US President Donald Trump had signed an executive order authorising new sanctions on Venezuela’s gold sector, in a bid to disrupt trade with Turkey that US officials feared was undermining efforts to economically pressure the South American nation’s president. The order targets people operating corruptly within Venezuela’s gold sector and was set to have a particular effect on trade with Turkey, with tonnes of gold now sent to Venezuela’s ally annually for refinement and processing. 

Venezuela exported 23.62 tonnes of gold worth $900mn to Turkey in the first nine months of 2018 compared to zero the year before, official Turkish data shows. Maduro switched refinement and processing operations from Switzerland over fear of possible sanctions.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), total bilateral trade between Turkey and Venezuela from 2013 to 2017 was $803.6mn – but it reached $892.4mn in just the first five months of 2018.

Telephone call of support
After the US on January 24 declared that it now recognised Guaido as the Venezuelan president rather than Maduro, Erdogan—who like Maduro adopts a victim narrative in which foreign powers are attempting to sabotage his country—telephoned his counterpart and offered his support, a spokesman for the Turkish president said. “Our president extended Turkey’s support to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and said: ‘My brother Maduro! Stand tall, we stand by you!’” spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Twitter.

Erdogan, just back from a visit to Russia, later told a news conference in Ankara: “You will respect the results of elections. Trump’s remarks [recognising Guaido as Venezuelan president] shocked me, as someone who believes in democracy.”

“I called Maduro on the way back from Russia [late on January 23]. I told [him] very clearly ‘Never allow anti-democratic developments. Stand tall’,” he added.

Turkey’s foreign minister, meanwhile, issued a warning about Guaido’s declaration that he was now serving as the interim president of Venezuela. “There is an elected president and another person declares himself president, and some countries recognise this. This may cause chaos,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told Turkey’s A Haber news channel. “We are against the isolation of countries. I hope the situation will be solved peacefully.”

#WeAreMaduro
Many Turks have voiced support for Maduro on social media using the hashtag #WeAreMaduro. Reuters noted that one person posted an image of Maduro picking up a small Turkish flag and another one of him holding the flag of a historic Turkish clan.

Russia has condemned foreign powers for backing Guaido. Moscow said the move violated international law and was a "direct path to bloodshed". Maduro’s sovereignty has also been backed by China, which like Turkey and Russia, has strategic interests in his country's economy.

At a meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) on January 24, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described Maduro's government as "morally bankrupt" and "undemocratic to the core".

Endemic hyperinflation and shortages of basic necessities like food and medicine have hit Venezuela’s population hard.