Venezuela is slowly arming itself.

[icymist]

Chinese, Russian sales looming in Venezuela
By José Higuera JDW Correspondent
Santiago

The Venezuelan Air Force is considering the procurement of a number of Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack aircraft, sources in Caracas have told Jane's.

The new plans were devised after a project to buy up to 24 Brazilian-made Embraer A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft stalled under a threat from the US government to block the transfer to Venezuela of any components and parts made in, or licensed from, the US.
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Veneuzuela is also buying military boats and planes from Spain:
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela will buy 10 military transport planes and eight patrol boats from Spain despite the United States' attempts to block the deal, a top navy official said.
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[bluethruandthru]

1. How dare they!

Someone get Rummy on the phone. We need to bomb the crap out of them!

[icymist]

4. This shows the shift of priorities from the Regan and Bush no. 1 years.

Central and South America are no longer as important.

[Selatius]

2. Yes, he's been doing this for a while now, but...

I don't believe Venezuela has to worry about an external invasion from the US more than an internal coup by corporatists backed by the US.

[Fenris]

3. Most nations are in a constant state of "arming themselves"

It's not really anything out of the ordinary.

[Squatch]

7. Precisely.

[Tom Joad]

5. I hope they defeat decisively any invasion force if it comes to that.

better, of course is prevention.

Let the revolution live! May it thrive.

[Peace Patriot]

6. Rumsfeld's new plan to use Pentagon Special Ops teams all over the world

in places where they have no business being, includes Latin America.

The prospect of Special Ops disruptions and assaults--aimed at destabilization of the many new leftist governments in South America--is more likely than a full scale invasion, but the latter cannot be ruled out by the greed-mad, power-mad Bush junta. Latin Americans would do well to cooperate on regional security, which I think they are moving toward. (Economic and political coopration are already under way in many respects.)