U.S. ban on arms sales to Venezuala
- Thread starter DPRKPTboat
- Start date
DPRKPTboat
Junior Member
isthvan said:
Then it would seem that whoever suggested that Russia would be the main arms supplier rather than China was right - Putin seems to be taking adavntage of this. China may or may not do the same - but I think it will definetly seize the opportunity of Cheap oil.
I wonder what the Americans would think if the Venezualan's sold their F-16's to Pakistan. It would be a good move on the part of the PAF because Im sure it would be able to acquire them at bargain basement prices while incorporating an aircraft their already familiar with. Also, would the US mind such a sale? maybe they'd be content that the aircraft go to Pakistan rather than Iran or South Korea....or even remain in the hand of Chavez! 
The USS George Washington (CVN-73) and it's battle group have recently visited Carribean and South American countries. Chavez is alledged to have said this was an invasion force.
All members of the media in that region were invited on board the ships. Some Venzuelean media did participate. They found no invasion force...Enough said..
Carrier GW leaves its mark on a region
By JACK DORSEY, The Virginian-Pilot
© May 24, 2006
NORFOLK — Wherever Capt. Garry White takes his aircraft carrier, he knows it will have a deep effect on those who see it, even those who may not be aligned with the United States .
So it was with the George Washington’s two-month cruise to the Caribbean Sea, where it and three escort ships are concluding a rare visit to the region, he said.
The Navy was last there in force in January 2003, when it used the bombing ranges at the Puerto Rican island of Vieques for the final time.
“Just the presence of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and its accompanying assets has a profound impact on whatever area of the world it is in,” White said by satellite telephone Tuesday, before the carrier was to arrive in Norfolk this afternoon with the destroyer Stout.
“That applies equally down here, and there is some instability in this area,” he said, “but just being here, we helped placate some of that.”
More than 4,500 sailors from the GW strike group are ending the somewhat unusual deployment to the Caribbean, where the four U.S. ships supported an exercise called Partnership of the Americas.
Some defense analysts suggested when the deployment began in early April that, while it could be interpreted as a show of force by anti-U.S. governments in Venezuela and Cuba, it was also a signal that the United States is not so distracted by Iraq that it is unable to enforce its interests in the Caribbean.
“The goals for that exercise were to just forge stronger ties with our regional allies and try to establish stronger ties with some countries that are not aligned with us,” he said.
That would include countries such as Venezuela and its president, Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of the U.S. government, who called the presence of the U.S. ships near his country a threat to his government.
Officials of Venezuela, along with nearly all other Caribbean nations, were invited aboard the U.S. ships.
Venezuela declined, White said.
“We did bring out a number of Venezuelan news media and citizens who went on our ships. … And that was very positive because President Chavez had been making allegations that simply were not true,” White said.
“For example, he was alleging we were down there to do an invasion and we had thousands of Marines aboard,” he said, “but by having the Venezuela news media and other distinguished visitors aboard to do anything they wanted to do and go wherever, that dispelled a lot of the fallacies he was putting out.”
Instead, White said, the cruise was a chance to renew friendships, help orphanages and schools, fly alongside the air forces of allied nations, and train with their ships. A secondary role was to counter narcotics trafficking and human smuggling.
“We built some very strong ties with a number of bilateral exercises and just operating in the area had a very strong deterrent effect on any kind of misbehavior, or criminal behavior,” he said.
The Norfolk-based cruiser Monterey is to return home Thursday , and the frigate Underwood docked in Mayport, Fla., on Tuesday.
Three additional Navy ships will join a Netherlands-led naval exercise in the Caribbean Sea this week called Joint Caribbean Lion 2006 .
The U.S. maneuvers will be led by the amphibious assault ship Bataan, which left Norfolk last Wednesday. About 2,000 American sailors will participate in the exercises, which are expected to last until early June.
Ships from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain and Venezuela also have been invited to participate.
Reach Jack Dorsey at (757) 446-2284 or [email protected]
All members of the media in that region were invited on board the ships. Some Venzuelean media did participate. They found no invasion force...Enough said..
Carrier GW leaves its mark on a region
By JACK DORSEY, The Virginian-Pilot
© May 24, 2006
NORFOLK — Wherever Capt. Garry White takes his aircraft carrier, he knows it will have a deep effect on those who see it, even those who may not be aligned with the United States .
So it was with the George Washington’s two-month cruise to the Caribbean Sea, where it and three escort ships are concluding a rare visit to the region, he said.
The Navy was last there in force in January 2003, when it used the bombing ranges at the Puerto Rican island of Vieques for the final time.
“Just the presence of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and its accompanying assets has a profound impact on whatever area of the world it is in,” White said by satellite telephone Tuesday, before the carrier was to arrive in Norfolk this afternoon with the destroyer Stout.
“That applies equally down here, and there is some instability in this area,” he said, “but just being here, we helped placate some of that.”
More than 4,500 sailors from the GW strike group are ending the somewhat unusual deployment to the Caribbean, where the four U.S. ships supported an exercise called Partnership of the Americas.
Some defense analysts suggested when the deployment began in early April that, while it could be interpreted as a show of force by anti-U.S. governments in Venezuela and Cuba, it was also a signal that the United States is not so distracted by Iraq that it is unable to enforce its interests in the Caribbean.
“The goals for that exercise were to just forge stronger ties with our regional allies and try to establish stronger ties with some countries that are not aligned with us,” he said.
That would include countries such as Venezuela and its president, Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of the U.S. government, who called the presence of the U.S. ships near his country a threat to his government.
Officials of Venezuela, along with nearly all other Caribbean nations, were invited aboard the U.S. ships.
Venezuela declined, White said.
“We did bring out a number of Venezuelan news media and citizens who went on our ships. … And that was very positive because President Chavez had been making allegations that simply were not true,” White said.
“For example, he was alleging we were down there to do an invasion and we had thousands of Marines aboard,” he said, “but by having the Venezuela news media and other distinguished visitors aboard to do anything they wanted to do and go wherever, that dispelled a lot of the fallacies he was putting out.”
Instead, White said, the cruise was a chance to renew friendships, help orphanages and schools, fly alongside the air forces of allied nations, and train with their ships. A secondary role was to counter narcotics trafficking and human smuggling.
“We built some very strong ties with a number of bilateral exercises and just operating in the area had a very strong deterrent effect on any kind of misbehavior, or criminal behavior,” he said.
The Norfolk-based cruiser Monterey is to return home Thursday , and the frigate Underwood docked in Mayport, Fla., on Tuesday.
Three additional Navy ships will join a Netherlands-led naval exercise in the Caribbean Sea this week called Joint Caribbean Lion 2006 .
The U.S. maneuvers will be led by the amphibious assault ship Bataan, which left Norfolk last Wednesday. About 2,000 American sailors will participate in the exercises, which are expected to last until early June.
Ships from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain and Venezuela also have been invited to participate.
Reach Jack Dorsey at (757) 446-2284 or [email protected]
So now Venezuela is spending at least $2,700,000,000 USD on military equipment. Which is a drop in the bucket compared to many nations..
Venezuela spending billions on defense
By FABIOLA SANCHEZ, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 1 minute ago
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela is buying helicopters, boats and military transport planes in defense deals worth about $2.7 billion, modernizing its military as tensions grow between leftist President Hugo Chavez and the United States.
Flush with oil profits but blocked from buying U.S. arms, Chavez is increasingly looking to countries like Russia and Spain as suppliers.
A cargo ship carrying 30,000 Russian-made Kalashnikov assault rifles is headed to Venezuela with the first shipment of an order totaling 100,000 guns to arrive by year's end. The military is looking to buy more submarines, and Chavez is planning an even bigger deal for Russian fighter jets.
"The United States is failing in its attempt to blockade us, to disarm us," Chavez said after announcing the first shipment of Kalashnikovs.
Washington has pointed to the mounting defense deals with concern and urged Russia and Spain not to do business with Venezuela. Both countries have shrugged off the warnings.
Venezuela's defense budget is up 31 percent this year, to $2 billion, and that doesn't include roughly $2.2 billion it plans to spend for 10 transport planes and eight patrol boats on what will be Spain's largest-ever defense deal.
Chavez says the spending is necessary to keep the military up to date and to obtain "minimal arms for the defense of our seas, land and airspace."
Defense economist Mark Stoker says the deals so far don't appear to be a significant buildup; Venezuela is not spending as much as Brazil and Colombia.
"My interpretation is that Venezuela had a certain amount of aging military equipment and needed to replace some of that" using its windfall oil profits, said Stoker of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Chavez also is helping Bolivian President Evo Morales and has warned of a U.S. plot to oust Morales — a claim denied by Washington.
Venezuela will send Bolivia troops and two Superpuma helicopters, Defense Minister Orlando Maniglia said Monday. He said the Venezuelan troops would do roadwork and engineering tasks, though he didn't say how many would go or give other details.
Venezuela, meanwhile, is spending $54 million for Kalashnikov AK 103 assault rifles to replace Belgian FALs, which will be turned over to a growing army reserve Chavez says would help battle U.S. troops in the event of an invasion.
U.S. officials have ridiculed Chavez's frequent warnings of a possible invasion, but say they worry some of the assault rifles could end up in the hands of leftist Colombian rebels.
The Bush administration, citing Chavez's close ties to Iran and Cuba and accusing Venezuela of being uncooperative in counterterror efforts, announced this month that it will block new arms sales to the country.
The U.S. had been refusing to sell Venezuela upgrades for its U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, and the latest move could make it harder for Venezuela to maintain other U.S.-made planes. Chavez maintains he no longer needs — or wants — American weaponry.
Chavez is looking to buy Russian Sukhoi Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets to replace the F-16s and says he plans to discuss the deal in an upcoming trip to Moscow. Venezuela also is buying 15 Russian helicopters for $200 million, and officials say they hope to buy 18 more.
The U.S. has tried to kill Venezuela's deal for patrol boats and transport planes by blocking Spain from including U.S.-manufactured parts. But Spain says the deal is moving ahead with parts made elsewhere. And Venezuela has tacked on a $263 million deal for 48 speedboats from the Spanish company Rodman Polyships.
Chavez began upgrading Venezuela's arsenal in 2004, focusing on older equipment that by some accounts was deteriorating for lack of maintenance.
The United States supplied most of Venezuela's defense needs before a failed 2002 coup, when Washington recognized civilian leaders who briefly took Chavez's place. Chavez was restored to power by military loyalists and street protests two days later, and accused the U.S. of involvement in the coup. Washington denied it.
Some critics complain the defense money could be better spent on fighting crime.
"Where are the government's priorities?" presidential candidate Julio Borges asked. "What the government invests in the military is much larger than what it invests in security in the entire country."
But Chavez adviser Gen. Alberto Muller says the country spent far more in the 1980s on warplanes, frigates and tanks — all from the United States.
Venezuela's spending is less than neighboring Colombia, which spent $6.3 billion on defense last year. The United States will spend roughly $500 billion this year, including the war costs for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Venezuela spending billions on defense
By FABIOLA SANCHEZ, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 1 minute ago
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela is buying helicopters, boats and military transport planes in defense deals worth about $2.7 billion, modernizing its military as tensions grow between leftist President Hugo Chavez and the United States.
Flush with oil profits but blocked from buying U.S. arms, Chavez is increasingly looking to countries like Russia and Spain as suppliers.
A cargo ship carrying 30,000 Russian-made Kalashnikov assault rifles is headed to Venezuela with the first shipment of an order totaling 100,000 guns to arrive by year's end. The military is looking to buy more submarines, and Chavez is planning an even bigger deal for Russian fighter jets.
"The United States is failing in its attempt to blockade us, to disarm us," Chavez said after announcing the first shipment of Kalashnikovs.
Washington has pointed to the mounting defense deals with concern and urged Russia and Spain not to do business with Venezuela. Both countries have shrugged off the warnings.
Venezuela's defense budget is up 31 percent this year, to $2 billion, and that doesn't include roughly $2.2 billion it plans to spend for 10 transport planes and eight patrol boats on what will be Spain's largest-ever defense deal.
Chavez says the spending is necessary to keep the military up to date and to obtain "minimal arms for the defense of our seas, land and airspace."
Defense economist Mark Stoker says the deals so far don't appear to be a significant buildup; Venezuela is not spending as much as Brazil and Colombia.
"My interpretation is that Venezuela had a certain amount of aging military equipment and needed to replace some of that" using its windfall oil profits, said Stoker of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Chavez also is helping Bolivian President Evo Morales and has warned of a U.S. plot to oust Morales — a claim denied by Washington.
Venezuela will send Bolivia troops and two Superpuma helicopters, Defense Minister Orlando Maniglia said Monday. He said the Venezuelan troops would do roadwork and engineering tasks, though he didn't say how many would go or give other details.
Venezuela, meanwhile, is spending $54 million for Kalashnikov AK 103 assault rifles to replace Belgian FALs, which will be turned over to a growing army reserve Chavez says would help battle U.S. troops in the event of an invasion.
U.S. officials have ridiculed Chavez's frequent warnings of a possible invasion, but say they worry some of the assault rifles could end up in the hands of leftist Colombian rebels.
The Bush administration, citing Chavez's close ties to Iran and Cuba and accusing Venezuela of being uncooperative in counterterror efforts, announced this month that it will block new arms sales to the country.
The U.S. had been refusing to sell Venezuela upgrades for its U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, and the latest move could make it harder for Venezuela to maintain other U.S.-made planes. Chavez maintains he no longer needs — or wants — American weaponry.
Chavez is looking to buy Russian Sukhoi Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets to replace the F-16s and says he plans to discuss the deal in an upcoming trip to Moscow. Venezuela also is buying 15 Russian helicopters for $200 million, and officials say they hope to buy 18 more.
The U.S. has tried to kill Venezuela's deal for patrol boats and transport planes by blocking Spain from including U.S.-manufactured parts. But Spain says the deal is moving ahead with parts made elsewhere. And Venezuela has tacked on a $263 million deal for 48 speedboats from the Spanish company Rodman Polyships.
Chavez began upgrading Venezuela's arsenal in 2004, focusing on older equipment that by some accounts was deteriorating for lack of maintenance.
The United States supplied most of Venezuela's defense needs before a failed 2002 coup, when Washington recognized civilian leaders who briefly took Chavez's place. Chavez was restored to power by military loyalists and street protests two days later, and accused the U.S. of involvement in the coup. Washington denied it.
Some critics complain the defense money could be better spent on fighting crime.
"Where are the government's priorities?" presidential candidate Julio Borges asked. "What the government invests in the military is much larger than what it invests in security in the entire country."
But Chavez adviser Gen. Alberto Muller says the country spent far more in the 1980s on warplanes, frigates and tanks — all from the United States.
Venezuela's spending is less than neighboring Colombia, which spent $6.3 billion on defense last year. The United States will spend roughly $500 billion this year, including the war costs for Iraq and Afghanistan.
DPRKPTboat
Junior Member
Heres something about those 100,000 Kalisnikov rifles. And now Russia is going to provide Venezuala with a manufacturing plabt in order to make them under liscence. I wonder if the Venezualan rifle will be any different from the original AK. The Iraqi Al-Tabuk did have some modifications. Russia will probably sell its weapons in the way it did when it was the U.S.S.R. - making every aspect of those weapons available to their customer. I reckon they'll prbably provide a tank or aircraft factory for Venezuala so they can build their own versions of Russian Hardware - like Iraq did with its "Lion of Babylon" T-72s. I can imagine China will make attempts to reap the benefits from arms profits. Heres the article and some others.
FreeAsia2000
Junior Member
DPRKPTboat said:
Why isn't Chavez buying ATM's and SAM's, RGPS and heavy calibre MG's if he
believes an invasion is definitely planned ?
BLUEJACKET
Banned Idiot
I think they may be able to sell those F-16s for parts to Pakistan or some other S.American country that already operates them...
Since then it was reported that SU-35s will be sold to Venezuela.
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