Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro shake hands during a ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, on July 2, 2013.
Maxim Shemetov | AFP | Getty Images
A top White House advisor on Friday issued a veiled warning to Russia about its military presence in Venezuela, saying the United States would consider any move to establish or expand military operations there a "direct threat" to international peace.
"We strongly caution actors external to the Western Hemisphere against deploying military assets to Venezuela, or elsewhere in the Hemisphere, with the intent of establishing or expanding military operations," White House national security advisor John Bolton said in a statement. "We will consider such provocative actions as a direct threat to international peace and security in the region."