Venezuela seeking arms, perhaps MiG-29s

[bemildred]

Venezuela is looking to buy arms to strengthen its military capability and Russian MiG-29 fighters are among the options being evaluated, a senior officer said on Monday.

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US and Russian media reported in September that Venezuela, which is enjoying an oil windfall as a result of high world petroleum prices, was planning to buy MiG-29s.

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The leftist Chavez, who has reduced Venezuela's military ties with the United States and forged a close political alliance with communist Cuba, said in September his government would spend $40 million to buy Russian attack helicopters to help protect national borders.

He announced the purchase of 44 helicopters after unidentified gunmen killed five Venezuelan soldiers and an oil engineer in a jungle ambush on Venezuela's 1,400 mile (2,200 km) western frontier with Colombia.

China Daily

[dbackjon]

1. Oil, ties with Cuba, buying arms(not from the US)?

Time to invade.

[Minstrel Boy]

2. Watch the Venezuelan-Colombian border.

There are increasing acts of provocation from the Colombian side.

Could be a nice, dirty, little proxy war for Washington in the making.

[tedzbear]

3. I would suggest building nukes since that's the only insurance...

...against an American attack. Especially since Venezuela is sitting on so much oil.

[sleipnir]

4. Do they have oil: Check. Are they non-white: Check. Do they Hate America

Check.

Looks like another successful invasion in the works for Bush next term.

[bemildred]

5. 2c

1.) There will be no invasion of Venezuela anytime soon,
for a number of reasons, like we need the oil now, and we
are already pretty busy.
2.) Colombia is in no position to pick a fight either.
3.) This is probably more in the nature of prophylaxis and
some payback for the military, which has backed Chavez and
rescued him in 2002. Hugo also seems to be strengthening
his bilateral relations with Russia and China, and this is
part of that.

[daleo]

6. I guess that they want planes from non U.S. sources

It makes sense, since the U.S. is the only major power that is likely to invade them. Using F-16s against the U.S. Air Force, Navy, etc. would leave them very vulnerable. Although any U.S. invasion would eventually turn into a guerrilla war, just like Iraq. Bush says he won't reinstate a draft, so that just isn't possible, right?

[slojim240]

7. They had better get some WMDs to protect themselves from the US

Venezuela oil is next target for US.

[punpirate]

8. The U.S. has already tried...

... supporting the opposition in under-the-radar ways, both in the coup and the recall, and in various disinformation campaigns, and that didn't work.

But, I think, the gloves will come off if Venezuela finally denominates Euros as its preferred currency in oil transactions.

[Karenina]

9. Yup.

THAT was Saddam's undoing.

[billbuckhead]

10. The Bush misadministration has created many aircraft industry jobs

Unfortunately they're mostly at Sukhoi and and MiG.

[Elginoid]

11. They want them to fight terrorism...

militant right-wing terrorism.

[Voltaire99]

12. Well said, Elginoid (n/t)