MOSCOW, November 3. /TASS/. The United States will face major resistance if it launches a planned military operation against Venezuela that will not be an `easy walk’, Alexander Stepanov, military expert with the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, told TASS.
"A US military operation against Venezuela would pose an existential threat to the current administration and the sovereignty of the Bolivarian Republic, and it won’t be an easy walk," the expert said, commenting on the US military buildup in the region and the defense capabilities of Caracas.
According to him, Venezuela’s army possesses weapons systems, including Russian-made Su-30MK fighter jets, Chinese anti-ship missiles, and the Iranian "mosquito fleet" of fast boats, that can strike a telling blow at the US Navy. These systems would pose a real threat to the Arleigh Burke-type guided missile destroyers and the Ticonderoga guided-missile cruisers that accompany US aircraft, and their use could cause unacceptable damage to a local military operation and inflict losses on the US Navy’s surface fleet, Stepanov warned.
Washington has accused Caracas of not doing enough to combat drug smuggling. Under this pretext, the United States has deployed a large force to the Caribbean. The Miami Herald reported earlier, citing sources, that "the Trump administration has made the decision to attack military installations inside Venezuela and the strikes could come at any moment." Meanwhile, speaking to reporters, US President Donald Trump denied having made a decision to deliver strikes on Venezuela.