Maduro warns Trump of thousands of Russian | Political News

Nicolás Maduro bragged that Venezuela at the moment has 5,000 Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles in “key air defense positions” in its arsenal as tensions over the U.S.’s army deployment in the Caribbean continue to grow.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he’s weighing army motion inside Venezuela as half of his counter-drug-trafficking marketing campaign and continues efforts to weaken his Venezuelan counterpart, Maduro. “Any military force in the world knows the power of the Igla-S, and Venezuela has no less than 5,000,” said Maduro during an event with army personnel.

The Russian Igla-S missiles are short-range, low-altitude systems comparable to American Stingers. They can shoot down small aerial targets like cruise missiles and drones while also bringing down low-flying planes and helicopters.

Maduro said the missiles had been mild enough to be carried by a single soldier and had been deployed “even in the last mountain, the last town, and the last city of the territory.”

More than 4,500 Marines and troopers had been deployed to the Caribbean by the U.S. to strengthen operations against cartels. Deadly strikes have been carried out against boats off the Caribbean coast that had been allegedly trafficking narcotics.

Both Republicans and Democrats have questioned whether or not the strikes on the supposed “narco boats” are legal. Last week, Trump said he licensed the CIA to conduct secret missions in Venezuela, including that the U.S. was contemplating increasing its army marketing campaign to land in what many officers say is an effort to oust Maduro.

“We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control,” the president told the media. The Trump administration has been working behind the scenes for months to lay the groundwork for attainable army motion inside Venezuela.

Trump’s crew has tried to tie Madura to drug traffickers and cartels that have been designated as terror teams posing an imminent menace to the U.S. However, there’s no indication that Trump has determined to take steps to goal Maduro instantly.

Instead, sources told GWN that the purpose is to have Maduro step down independently under enough stress. Part of this is by establishing a credible menace of army motion by the U.S. if this does not occur.

Meanwhile, Maduro has responded by repositioning troops, mobilizing “millions” of militia members, and denouncing U.S. exercise in the Caribbean.

In a televised speech last week, the Venezuelan president said his people are “clear, united, and aware” of the U.S.’s actions. “They have the means to once again defeat this open conspiracy against the peace and stability of Venezuela.”

Maduro claimed that his volunteer militias have more than eight million reservists; however, this quantity and the standard of the troops’ training have been questioned.

Rosoboronexport, the Russian state company that exports Igla-S systems, said they’ve a vary of practically 20,000 toes and can attain targets at a most altitude of more than 11,000 toes.