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Venezuelan Jets, Ships Fire Missiles at Sea in Military Exercises
The televised war games allowed the military to showcase some of the hardware bought under Chavez, who says Venezuela's main threat is the United States. Defense Minister Gustavo Rangel Briceno commanded the troops during Friday's exercises, ordering them to fire at mock "enemy units." It was the first time in 13 years that such drills were held with live missile fire at sea, he said. The ships and planes hit their target an old tugboat with missiles and a 1,100-pound bomb, sinking the vessel 22 miles offshore, Rangel said. The Otomat is a short-range, ship- and ground-launched cruise missile, manufactured by Italy and France, that was introduced in Europe 36 years ago. Latin American countries including Colombia and Peru have voiced concern about billions of dollars of arms that Chavez has purchased, but Rangel said new weaponry is needed to keep Venezuela safe from the U.S. He declared the exercises a success, saying "we've been able to show our power of dissuasion and defense." Opposition politician Enrique Ochoa Antich said Chavez's perpetual verbal conflicts with the U.S. aim to rally nationalist sentiment around the threat posed by the "empire," as the Venezuelan leader calls the United States. But Ochoa said the approach has been used by Chavez for so long that it "isn't very effective anymore at this point." Posted by: Steve White 2008-06-07 |
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