Maduro says Venezuela has 5,000 Russian anti-aircraft missiles to counter US 

President Nicolas Maduro said Wednesday that Venezuela has 5,000 Russian man-portable surface-to-air missiles to antagonistic US forces deployed successful the Caribbean.

Washington has deployed stealth warplanes and Navy ships successful the Caribbean arsenic portion of what it calls counter-narcotics efforts, and destroyed astatine slightest 8 vessels it said were smuggling drugs from Venezuela toward the United States.

Venezuela has denounced the deployment arsenic a formal rehearsal for an cognition to oust Maduro, whom Washington accuses of moving a cause cartel.

In a televised ceremonial with elder subject leaders, Maduro said Venezuela has Russian-made short-range missiles known arsenic Igla-S — “no less than 5,000 successful cardinal aerial defence positions to guarantee peace.”

The Igla-S, designed to instrumentality down debased flying planes, has been utilized successful subject exercises ordered by Maduro successful effect to the US subject activity, which has enraged leaders successful overmuch of Latin America.

The Pentagon has told Congress the United States is successful “armed conflict” with Latin American cause cartels, designating them arsenic violent groups and describing suspected smugglers arsenic “unlawful combatants.”

Experts accidental the summary killings are amerciable adjacent if they people confirmed traffickers.

Regional tensions person flared, with Colombia recalling its ambassador to Washington amid a nasty spat betwixt its leftist president Gustavo Petro and President Donald Trump.

Trump said Wednesday that the US deployment has chopped trafficking by oversea drastically and is prepared to onslaught cause traffickers operating connected land.

The station Maduro says Venezuela has 5,000 Russian anti-aircraft missiles to antagonistic US  appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.