I read this story this morning and also posted it on Defence Talk. I had thought that Chavez might try and raise the Falklands issue to boost his standing in the region. He first brought it up a few months ago when Blair criticised his policies. My reading of it was that Chavez was boasting about how his new toys could interdict an RN task force heading south or threaten the supply lines. Also if he is so concerned about South America's indigenous peoples, as he says in his programme, then perhaps he will make an example by handing Venezuela back to the Native Americans? Yep, thought not! :rofl:
The irony is that there is no appetite at all in Argentina for another attempt to reclaim the Falklands. Argentina's own military capability has shrunk dramatically since 1982, they no longer have a carrier or significant amphibious capability. The island's defence is also radically stronger than '82 when a single RM company had to face a much larger enemy that could land armoured vehicles on the islands. Now there is a batallion sized unit backed up with at least 4 RAF fighters of No.1435 Flight, and they are due to re-equip with Typhoons in the next year or so and will probably be the most powerful air defence unit in the region. Chavez could offer to buy Flankers for Argentina or send his own down, but he has portrayed himself as a leader who stands up to agression. Financing a military build up in a situation which has no direct implications for Venezuela would undermine his "moral authority." And if he did become embroiled in a "Falklands 2" scenario, it would probably give the U.S. a perfect opportunity to attempt to oust him, and like Kruschev, I think that he has more brains than his public actions suggest.
