Nearly 200 strong soldiers began yesterday in Barquisimeto the meeting ‘Army Games 2022’ In Venezuela. The delegations from Russia, China, Iran, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Myanmar, among others, started the military exercises together with the Bolivarian National Armed Forces to exhibit their techniques and capabilities in the use of armored vehicles, AK-47 assault rifles, ammunition, long distance shooting with snipers and remote control drones.
The military exercises will be held until August 27 and will take place in various locations in Lara state, such as the Terepaima Military Fort, where the review of the facilities where the training of ‘sniper border’, a new modality that opens in the country. The press of the Bolivarian force reported on Twitter that “the Russian Federation carried out the maintenance and comprehensive preparation of the T-72 armored vehicles, which will compete in the tank biathlon discipline.”
Nicolás Maduro did not attend the opening of the maneuvers for security reasons. Neither does the military high command. Only technicians and instructors Russians, Chinese and Iranians They were in charge of the deployment of 2,000 Venezuelan officials and police officers on surveillance.
“If the communications are not good, there will be no success in our operations,” warned a Venezuelan soldier from inside a T-72 tank alluding to the fact that drills must also be effective so that they can be accepted.
This type of event is conducive to the organization of an arms market, which in the case of Venezuela becomes the ‘Persian market’ for remote-controlled weapons. Diverse groups of buyers, including criminal organizations, drug traffickers and adventurers, come to acquire the latest in sophisticated weapons.
Iran has built a drone assembly factory in Caracas. These teams were previously known as Mohajer-2, and now they have been nationalized under the name of Antonio José de Sucre-100 (ANSU-100). They are drones that were modernized and armed in Venezuela. Iranian drones were exhibited for the first time in the military parade on July 5, Independence Day, which Maduro did not attend either.
In the presentation of the drones, an official assured on the Venezuelan television network that “the aerospace powerled by the Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda No. 8 electronic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance air group, with nationally designed and manufactured unmanned aerial systems.
Israel’s warnings
Last February, the Government of Israel warned that Iran was helping Venezuela to manufacture these combat drones. Benny Gantz, Israel’s Defense Minister, said that “precision guided missiles are being sent” to Venezuela to be incorporated into advanced Iranian Mohajer drones. “In meetings with partners from around the world, including from Africa and Latin America, I heard remarks of great concern about Iran’s support for terrorism,” he added.
A month ago, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine -backed by Maduro-, reports from Washington indicated that the Kremlin is considering buying Iranian drones. According to the portal ‘First Report’, from Miami, the United States believes that Russian officials have begun to train with drones in iran during the last few weeks.
Iranian drone in a Venezuelan base
CNN reported a few weeks ago that a Russian delegation had visited an airfield in central Iran to examine these devices with weapons capacity, according to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and exclusively obtained satellite imagery. It is not ruled out that these movements will also spread to Caracas under the excuse of military maneuvers.
With his dedication to eastern bloc Maduro has turned the Caribbean country into the darkest and most dangerous base of operations for Russia, China and Iran, which are linked to terrorism, drug trafficking, espionage and war.
www.abc.es
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism