Venezuela has deployed 5,000 Russian-made Igla-S anti-aircraft missiles to key air defense positions. The announcement comes amid rising tensions over the US military deployment in the Caribbean. This was announced by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, CNN reports.
“Any military force in the world knows about the power of the “Igla-S” missile systems, and Venezuela has at least 5,000 of them,“ Maduro said during an event with the military, which was broadcast on Venezuelan television.
The Russian “Igla-S” missiles are short-range portable anti-aircraft missile systems, similar to the American “Stingers”. They are designed to destroy low-flying aerial targets, including cruise missiles, drones, helicopters and aircraft. Maduro claims that these missiles are deployed “even in the last mountain, the last town and the last city of the territory”.
Tensions have increased after the US sent 4,500 marines and sailors to the Caribbean to expand operations against drug cartels. US forces have already carried out several strikes on ships off the coast, accusing them of drug trafficking, although the legality of these actions is questioned by some US lawmakers.
Last week, US President Donald Trump said that he was considering military action in Venezuela as part of a campaign to combat drug trafficking and an attempt to remove Maduro from power.
“We are certainly looking at land now, because we have complete control of the situation at sea,“, the US president stressed.
The aim of such actions may be to increase pressure on Maduro to force him to resign, including through military blackmail. In response, Maduro is redeploying troops and mobilizing militias, claiming to have more than 8 million reservists, although experts doubt the reliability of this figure.
