World | Other World Stories
Venezuela military buildup worries US and Colombia
The United States and Colombia have long been wary of Venezuela's peacetime military buildup, suspecting the weapons could end up in the hands of drug-trafficking Colombian rebels.
- AP
- Published: 23:39 May 16, 2008
Caracas: The United States and Colombia have long been wary of Venezuela's peacetime military buildup, suspecting the weapons could end up in the hands of drug-trafficking Colombian rebels.
Now they have documented reasons for their worries - certified by Interpol. Colombian rebel computer files described on Thursday as authentic by the international police agency suggest a dramatic arms buildup by President Hugo Chavez could benefit leftist guerrillas that the US has spent billions to defeat.
Venezuela is buying Russian fighter jets, helicopters and Chinese light-attack jets. It is making armoured combat vehicles that can be mounted with surface-to-air missiles, planning to build South America's first Kalashnikov rifle factory and spending big on rockets, bullets, assault weapons, sniper rifles and night-vision equipment. Chavez says his only purpose is to ward off a US invasion - not to supply the left rebels in Colombia.
But military analysts say it is Colombia that should fear the 100,000 Russian-made assault rifles, 5,000 Dragunov sniper rifles and surface-to-air missiles Venezuela is amassing.
"These are just the sorts of weapons that the FARC would find interesting since these are the standard tools of guerrilla warfare," said John Pike, a military analyst at GlobalSecurity.org. US military officials say the weapons proliferation far outweighs any threat Chavez faces in the region. "We are seriously worried about this great quantity of acquisitions," US Lt Gen Glenn Spears said recently.
Share this article
News Editor's choice
-
Shilpa Shetty ties knot with Kundra
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty tied the knot with London-based businessman Raj Kundra
-
A weighty issue for Gulf News readers
Should we encourage pupils to slim down? Gulf News readers speak out
-
Work on world's longest sea crossing to begin in 2010
The proposed Qatar-Bahrain causeway project, tipped to be the world's longest sea crossing, is estimated at a cost of at $2.7 billion (Dh9.9 billion)
