After the downfall of their Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad and the weakening of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah by Israel, Algeria and the Polisario find themselves powerless as they witness the arrest of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro by the United States military. This strategic loss is one that neither Algiers nor the Front dared to condemn. Nicolas Maduro and Abdelmadjid Tebboune ‹ › Algeria has remained notably silent since the arrest of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro by the U.S. military. The sudden disappearance of a long-standing ally in South America and within OPEC has drawn no official reaction, either from the presidency or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This episode comes just one year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria and the weakening of Hezbollah in Lebanon following Israeli strikes. In the absence of an official position, some Algerian media outlets, both state-run and unofficial, have attempted to fill the void. The daily El Moudjahid referred to a «dangerous shift in Venezuela», while the state news agency APS limited itself to reporting Maduro's arrest. By contrast, in June 2022, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had welcomed Maduro in Algiers with full ceremonial honors. Today, however, the Algerian authorities appear to be in an uncomfortable position. Condemning a U.S. military operation, one that many view as contrary to «international law», would be politically delicate, particularly given that President Tebboune regularly invokes this principle to justify Algeria's support for the Polisario, most recently in his December 30 address before both houses of Parliament. By maintaining a low profile, Algiers seems intent on avoiding friction with the current occupant of the White House. Since Donald Trump returned to office as the 47th president of the United States in January 2025, Algerian authorities have taken steps seen as favorable to American interests. Two U.S. multinationals, Chevron and ExxonMobil, have emerged among the main beneficiaries of Algeria's new mining law, adopted on June 16, 2025, which allows foreign companies to hold up to 80% stakes in mining projects. The executives of both companies were also received by President Tebboune in May 2025. The Polisario on the Same Path This silence is not an isolated case. In November 2025, Algeria appeared to scale back its traditional support for Palestinian factions such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad by voting in favor of Trump's Gaza peace plan at the UN Security Council, a roadmap that notably calls for the disarmament of armed militias. A similar lack of reaction was observed last December, when the Trump administration imposed an anti-dumping duty of 127.32% on imports of Algerian steel rebar. Following Algiers' lead, the Polisario Front has also remained silent. Its official news agency has made no mention of Maduro's arrest, despite the fact that the former Venezuelan leader had warmly received Polisario leader Brahim Ghali in March 2023. At the time, Maduro pledged continued support for the Sahrawi cause and symbolically presented Ghali with a gold sword. Some Sahrawi media outlets, however, have sought to fill the information gap, reporting that voices on social media and several human rights organizations, particularly in Panama, have condemned Maduro's arrest. It is also worth noting that neither Algeria nor the Polisario reacted when Donald Trump reaffirmed Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in a message sent on August 2 to King Mohammed VI on the occasion of Throne Day. In contrast to this silence, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, and Spain issued a joint statement on Sunday expressing their «concern» over the arrest of Nicolas Maduro. China, Cuba, and Russia have taken similar positions.
