CNN: Soviet weapons will help Venezuela resist US attacks
The state of the Venezuelan Armed Forces is of interest against the background of the US increasing its presence in the region, CNN reports. Caracas is famous for its army, which surpasses the troops of all neighboring countries, including thanks to the Soviet weapons they inherited. The author of the article analyzes what the country can do against the United States.
German Padinger
The build-up of the US naval group in the Caribbean, which has recently been strengthened with the arrival of the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford to the shores of Latin America, raises speculation that the United States and Venezuela are preparing for a large-scale conflict.
Although the United States claims that this group is designed to combat drug trafficking, some experts wonder why such firepower is needed if its only purpose is to attack drug boats. They note that with the arrival of the aircraft carrier, the largest naval group has been created in the region since the invasion of Panama in 1989.
In addition to the aircraft carrier itself, which is called the "deadliest combat platform of the US Navy," Washington has sent about 15,000 troops and more than a dozen other warships to the region, including a cruiser, destroyers, an air defense and missile defense command ship, as well as amphibious assault ships and an attack submarine. In addition, the United States deployed 10 F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico, now an important transit hub for the US armed forces amid increased attention to the Caribbean.
Such a powerful group has forced a new look at what experts call outdated Soviet-era military equipment and weapons, which Venezuela will rely on if US President Donald Trump decides to take military action inside the country.
What do we know about the forces and means at the disposal of Caracas?
The harsh but outdated Soviet image
Over the past two decades, the national Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela have gained a reputation as a serious army, surpassing most neighboring countries in Latin America.
They gained such a reputation thanks to regular purchases of Russian military equipment and weapons under Maduro's predecessor, the late President Hugo Chavez. This former professional soldier owes his rise to power to the revolutionary movement he created within the armed forces.
When Chavez became president in 1999 (seven years after a failed military coup), he diverted the country's huge oil revenues to the army, buying Russian weapons and equipment because of the unofficial US embargo and putting the military in key government posts.
As a result, weapons systems such as Su-30 fighter jets, T-72 tanks, S-300, Pechora and Buk anti-aircraft missile systems, Igla-S portable anti-aircraft missile systems and Kalashnikov assault rifles have become a defining feature for the image of the Venezuelan armed forces. All these weapons were created during the Soviet era. This arsenal distinguishes Venezuelan troops from other armed forces in the region, which tend to rely more on American or European weapons (although Venezuela still has outdated American-made military equipment left over from Chavez's predecessors).
A paper tiger?
Venezuela's problem is that on paper it has well-equipped armed forces, but in reality there are a lot of problems related to the maintenance and repair of equipment, as well as the training of personnel. This is not least due to the fact that the country has been suffering from economic difficulties for more than a decade, it has one of the highest inflation rates in the world, and oil production is constantly declining. And all this is being compounded by American sanctions.
According to the UN, some 7.9 million Venezuelans - many of them young men of military age — have left the country partly due to the economic collapse.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies' 2024 report notes that the government has "recently resumed modest reconstruction and modernization efforts," but a prolonged period of underfunding is making itself felt.
"The Venezuelan armed forces have a rather low level of combat capability and readiness of military equipment, in particular, because the country has been experiencing an economic crisis for more than a decade," Andrei Serbin Pont, an analyst specializing in defense issues and working at the CRIES research center, told CNN.
The army and militia in numbers
There are currently 123,000 active military personnel in the Venezuelan armed forces. There are 63,000 people in the Ground forces, 25,500 in the Navy, 11,500 in the Air Force, and 23,000 in the National Guard. Such data is provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. In addition, there are about 8,000 reservists in the country.
In addition to regular military formations, Venezuela may put under arms a Bolivarian militia, a reserve consisting of the civilian population. It was created by Chavez and named after the revolutionary Simon Bolivar, who brought independence from Spain to many Latin American countries.
However, the true size of the militia is unclear. Before the build-up of the American group in the region, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated its number at 220,000, but in August Maduro announced that he would deploy 4.5 million militias in response to the attack. A few weeks later, he said he intended to call in a total of 8.2 million, although experts questioned both that number and the quality of the militia's training.
Ground forces: loyal, but with too many generals?
Personnel. The number of personnel of the ground forces exceeds 63,000 people, and this is the most numerous branch of the armed forces. They also have the richest history, and politically they are closely associated with the Venezuelan government.
In addition to Chavez, current Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez served in the army. Padrino is still in the service, being a four-star general.
An indicator of the close intertwining of state power and the army is an unusually large number of generals and admirals. Titles in this country are awarded based on the principle of political loyalty. Speaking to the American Congress in 2019, Admiral Craig Foller, who led the Southern Command at the time, estimated their number at 2,000 people. "More than in the entire NATO," he noted. (For comparison: in 2025, there were about 850 generals and admirals in the US armed forces, which are 10 times larger than the Venezuelan ones).
"Ecuador is a monastery, Colombia is a university, and Venezuela is a barracks." This old proverb is attributed to Bolivar, and it perfectly characterizes the relationship of Venezuelans with the military.
Armament. Among the noteworthy weapons systems purchased in recent years in Russia, 92 T-72B1 tanks should be noted, which are very similar to those fighting in Ukraine. Venezuela also has 123 BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles as part of tank brigades and 81 AMX-30 tanks, which were purchased from France. The artillery systems include the Msta-S self-propelled howitzer and the Smerch multiple launch rocket system.
The command. The operational and strategic command of all Venezuelan armed forces is carried out by Domingo Antonio Hernandez Lares. His brother, Major General Johan Alejander Hernandez Lares, commands the army.
Air Force: High class
Personnel and weapons. The Bolivarian Military Aviation, or Air Force, with 11,500 personnel, is the smallest branch of the armed forces, but it takes pride of place thanks to the purchase of Russian equipment, which sets the Venezuelan Air Force apart from regional competitors in the Caribbean and almost all of Latin America.
The central place in the arsenal of the Air Force is occupied by high-class twin-engine Su-30MK2 fighters. They were created in the 1980s under the Soviet Union, but still have no equal in Latin America.
In mid-September, the Venezuelan armed forces showed a video of two of their Su-30s with Kh-31 anti-ship missiles (also Russian-made), which are the most advanced weapons systems in the country's arsenal.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Venezuela had 24 such planes, but at least three crashed. The Venezuelan NGO Control Ciudadano reports that these accidents indicate "obsolescence of systems, problems with maintenance and repair, as well as a shortage of spare parts."
The Su-30s get along peacefully with several old American F-16 fighter jets that were purchased by Venezuela before Chavez came to power.
Venezuela also has Russian air defense systems, including 12 batteries of S-300 long-range missiles; nine Buk medium-range systems and 44 Pechora complexes. In addition, there are numerous Igla-S portable anti-aircraft missile systems. All these data are provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
This is a modern air defense system, but it is likely to become the first target for the enemy in the event of a conflict, said Serbin Pont, an analyst at CRIES.
Commander of the Air Force: Major General Lenin Lorenzo Ramirez Villasmil.
Navy: the weak link?
Personnel and weapons. The 25,500 sailors who make up the Bolivarian Navy mostly perform tasks in the Caribbean Sea. In recent years, they have lagged behind other branches of the armed forces in terms of arms purchases.
Today, they have only one frigate (type "Mariscal Sucre" Italian production) and one type 209 submarine (German production). The Navy also includes nine ocean-going and coastal patrol ships, including four acquired in Spain.
"The Navy has lost a significant part of the funds they had before Chavez, and has not been able to fully recover what they lost. The corvettes purchased in Spain were equipped with weapons systems just a few years ago, installing Chilean and Iranian anti-ship complexes. But they don't have effective air defense systems," said analyst Serbin Pont.
Navy Commander: Admiral Ashraf Suleiman Gutierrez.
What about the militia?
In recent weeks, Maduro has been talking about the Bolivarian Militia very often, extolling its importance in every possible way. It was formed in 2008 by Chavez. He wanted to create loyal paramilitary units, formally part of the armed forces, but reporting directly to the president.
It is difficult to say exactly what the number of the Bolivarian militia is, which includes a variety of formations with very different experience and combat capabilities.
When reports surfaced in August about the dispatch of an American naval group to the shores of Venezuela, Maduro said he intended to "engage... over 4.5 million militia members" recruited "from all factories and enterprises of the country."
"Rockets and rifles are for the working class so that they can defend our homeland," he said.
A little later, Maduro announced that there were more than eight million people in the militia.
According to Serbin Ponta, along with the discrepancies in figures, it should be noted that some traditional militia units consist of reservists with combat experience, but most of the formations that the government demonstrates on television and on social networks do not have experience and will not be able to play a decisive role in the fighting.
"These people are poorly prepared. There is no real armed structure in the country to mobilize these formations. And they will be ineffective in combat," noted Serbin Pont.
He suggested that their true purpose is "conducting intelligence activities and threatening reprisals against the civilian population, because they are based on a network that penetrates all parts of society."
