Maduro - now backed by Russian military contractors, has urged his supporters to take to the streets to defend the legitimacy of his government. The Venezuelan leader has vowed that his country won't turn into a "Syria or Libya" situation, and that the Venezuelan military must prepare for an invasion. [...]

As the international community splits along governments who continue to back embattled Venezuelan ruler Nicolas Maduro and governments, led by the US, who have officially recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate head of state, Reuters reported that a group of Russian mercenaries with ties to the Kremlin have been sent to Venezuela to provide security for Maduro as he struggles with the biggest threat to his rule in his six years in power.

The contractors are believed to be from the Wagner Group, a group of private contractors who have performed secret missions on behalf of the government, including fighting in Syria and the Ukraine (which brings to mind this incident from last February when US-backed forces killed 100 Russian mercenaries in what was the closest thing to a direct proxy conflict between Russia and the US in Syria). It's unclear when the contractors arrived, or when they intend to leave. Russia has offered to mediate the conflict between Maduro and Guaido, while joining with China to criticize the US for interfering in Venezuelan affairs.

Russia, which has invested billions of dollars in the Maduro regime, pledged to stand by the embattled socialist leader this week. Yevgeny Shabayev, leader of a local chapter of a paramilitary group told Reuters he had heard the number of security contractors in Venezuela is roughly 400. Russia's defense ministry and Venezuela's information ministry haven't responded to requests for comment. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said we have "no such information" when asked about the contractors.

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"China isn't the only authoritarian regime in the world, but it's undoubtedly the wealthiest, strongest and most developed in machine learning and artificial intelligence. This makes Xi Jinping the most dangerous opponent of those who believe in the concept of open society" Soros said, in remarks prepared for delivery in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, where world leaders, business executives and celebrities have gathered for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

Soros said his worries extend beyond China, centering on the fear that "the combination of repressive regimes with IT monopolies endows those regimes with a built-in advantage over open societies. The instruments of control are useful tools in the hands of authoritarian regimes, but they pose a mortal threat to open societies."

Soros focused on China's plans for a "social credit" system that tracks each citizen's social and financial behavior, producing a score that would be used to determine what services they are entitled to use, which he called "frightening and abhorrent."

"It's obvious who is opening doors and building roads and who is closing doors and building walls. Statements by certain people, which portray black as white and distort facts, are completely pointless and not worthy of even a rebuttal," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

"We hope the relevant American can correct his attitude, not be shortsighted, and hold an objective, rational and correct opinion of China's development," Hua added.

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