Maduro warns US against airstrikes, touts 5,000 Russian missiles
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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says Caracas is prepared to counter any US military threat, citing the deployment of 5,000 Russian-made air defense missiles.
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Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro arrives for a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, September 1, 2025. (AP)
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro issued a stark warning to Washington on Wednesday, revealing that his country possesses 5,000 Russian-made surface-to-air missiles ready to counter any potential US military aggression in the Caribbean.
The United States has recently increased its military activity in the Caribbean, deploying stealth aircraft and Navy ships under what officials claim is a counter-narcotics mission. US forces have reportedly destroyed at least eight vessels allegedly transporting drugs from Venezuela toward US shores.
Venezuela, however, has denounced the operation as a veiled attempt to prepare for regime change, accusing Washington of using anti-drug efforts as cover for plans to overthrow Maduro’s government.
Maduro’s response and missile deployment
During a televised event attended by top military commanders, Maduro announced that the country’s defenses include Russian-made Igla-S short-range missiles, “no fewer than 5,000 in key air defense positions to ensure peace.”
The Igla-S, a man-portable system designed to target low-flying aircraft, has featured prominently in Venezuela’s military drills, which Maduro ordered in direct response to the heightened US presence near its borders, a move that has drawn concern and criticism across Latin America.
Maduro emphasized that “thousands of trained operators” have been stationed throughout the country, “from north to south and east to west”, to operate the air defense systems and safeguard Venezuelan sovereignty.
“Our homeland must be unassailable,” he declared. “No one should dare violate Venezuela, for we do not violate anyone,” he stressed.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López had announced on Tuesday that more than 20,000 soldiers have been deployed in the country’s western regions, affirming that the troops are fully prepared to carry out their duties.
“The people are living in peace, even as they endure the shocks of the economic genocide perpetrated by the United States against Venezuela through its blockade,” Padrino López said, denouncing Washington’s long-standing sanctions as part of a broader campaign of aggression.
Just days earlier, Maduro confirmed the completion of the Independence 200 exercises, which involved four comprehensive defense zones across the states of Mérida, Trujillo, Lara, and Yaracuy. He praised the “massive and unified marches” held in towns and villages throughout those regions, describing them as a show of national strength and resilience.
US announces 8th strike on alleged narcotics boat, 1st in the Pacific
The US struck another vessel Tuesday night, this time on the Pacific side of South America, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed on Wednesday.
Hegseth stated that this incident, which a defense official confirmed occurred in international waters off Colombia and resulted in two fatalities aboard the vessel, marks the eighth known US attack on a boat since September 2.
The previous seven strikes have all targeted vessels in the Caribbean, and in all eight strikes, the same unfounded pretext was used: striking vessels allegedly engaged in the narcotics trade with no proof provided to back this claim, sparking a backlash.
The strike carried out for the first time on the Pacific side of South America killed at least two people. Previous attacks have hit seven vessels in the Caribbean and killed at least 32 people.
On October 22, a group of independent United Nations experts condemned the US military strikes on Venezuelan vessels in international waters, describing them as “extrajudicial executions” and warning that they represent a dangerous escalation in the Caribbean.
The UN experts stressed that such actions breach international law, stating, “Even if such allegations were substantiated, the use of lethal force in international waters without a proper legal basis violates the international law of the sea and amounts to extrajudicial executions.”
