By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro's capture by the United States has deprived Vladimir Putin of an ally and could increase U.S. "oil clout", but Moscow is eying potential gains from President Donald Trump's division of the world into spheres of influence.

Special Forces seized Maduro only eight months after the Russian president agreed a strategic partnership with his "dear friend", and Trump said the U.S. was taking temporary control of Venezuela, which has the world's biggest oil reserves.

Some Russian nationalists have criticised the loss of an ally and contrasted the swift U.S. operation with Russia's failure to take control of Ukraine in almost four years of war.

But on another level, what Russia casts as Trump's "piracy" and "regime change" in the United States' "backyard" is more tolerable for Moscow, especially if Washington becomes bogged down in Venezuela.

"Russia has lost an ally in Latin America," said a senior Russian source, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

"But if this is an example of Trump's Monroe Doctrine in action, as it seems to be, then Russia also has its own sphere of........

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