What is driving Ankara’s love for Nicolas Maduro?
Coup attempts in any country — democratic or not — continue to act as emotional tripwires for Erdogan and his supporters, especially if these attempts are supported by the West.
Developments in Venezuela are reverberating in Turkey, especially after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threw his weight behind the country’s embattled President Nicolas Maduro.
Erdogan feels honor bound to do so, of course. Maduro was among the first international leaders to contact him even though the two hadn’t met before and offer support against the failed coup attempt in Turkey in July 2016.
The two leaders have maintained close ties ever since, with Maduro visiting Turkey for the first time in October 2017 and Erdogan visiting Venezuela for the first time in December 2018.
Turkish sympathy for Maduro also transcends political divisions. He is as much of a folk hero for Turkish Islamists and nationalists today as he is for the far left, where many see him as a latter-day Fidel Castro or Che Guevara.
