US EditionHow Venezuela’s aging Soviet-era military stacks up against US forces in the Caribbean
The U.S. military has executed 20 strikes on vessels linked to drug trafficking in the Caribbean, killing at least 80 people since early September, officials said.
- The United States deployed a carrier strike group to the Caribbean, massing roughly 15,000 U.S. personnel and over a dozen warships, including an attack submarine and 10 F-35 jets in Puerto Rico.
- Under Hugo Chávez, former president of Venezuela, sustained Russian purchases in recent years built the FANB's Soviet-era arsenal, including Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, T-72 battle tanks and Soviet-era air-defense systems.
- Analysts say the FANB's operational capability is low after years of underinvestment, and partly because of economic collapse, about 7.9 million Venezuelans have left, depleting recruiting pools, the International Institute for Strategic Studies reported recently.
- President Nicolás Maduro has repeatedly played up the Bolivarian Militia, claiming to activate 4.5 million militiamen in August and later 8.2 million, but experts say most are inexperienced and opaque.
- Speculation is growing that both sides may be positioning for a larger conflict, as regional defense experts say Venezuela's air-defense networks would be early targets despite US claims of combating drug trafficking.
99 Articles
99 Articles
Maduro Warns Trump Against 'Forever War' As US Military Buildup Near Venezuela Intensifies
by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent CARACAS/WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Venezuela’s authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro has urged U.S. President Donald J. Trump not to drag America into an Afghanistan-style “forever war” as Washington expanded its most significant military deployment in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama. Speaking outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, the capital, the 6…
US military kills four people in boat attack in the Caribbean
The United States on Monday conducted its 20th strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat, a Pentagon official said on Thursday. "The strike occurred in the Caribbean and four narco-terrorists were killed, no survivors," the official said. Details by FRANCE 24 correspondent in Washington, Fraser Jackson.
US announces new military operation in Latin America
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday a military operation to “remove narco-terrorists,” amid growing concerns that a US naval build-up in Latin American waters could presage land strikes and a wider conflict. “Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR,” Hegseth posted on social media platform X. “This mission defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that a…
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