fwiw, i'm sure the russians will be more than willing to shift the war from syria to venezuela, thereby exchanging an existential threat for an overseas adventure.

empires generally want the instability to exist in distant theatres, not in their own backyards.

i've been vocal about supporting the withdrawal from syria. but, if the idea is to withdraw from syria in order to deploy to latin america, this is madness on every level; if the choice is between syria and south america, they should send the troops back to syria.