Russian air force planes land in Venezuela carrying troops -reports

[webfact]

Russian air force planes land in Venezuela carrying troops -reports

 

An airplane with the Russian flag is seen at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas, Venezuela March 24, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

 

CARACAS (Reuters) - Two Russian air force planes landed at Venezuela's main airport on Saturday carrying a Russian defense official and nearly 100 troops, according to media reports, amid strengthening ties between Caracas and Moscow.

 

A flight-tracking website showed that two planes left from a Russian military airport bound for Caracas on Friday, and another flight-tracking site showed that one plane left Caracas on Sunday.

 

That comes three months after the two nations held military exercises on Venezuelan soil that President Nicolas Maduro called a sign of strengthening relations, but which Washington criticized as Russian encroachment in the region.

 

Reporter Javier Mayorca wrote on Twitter on Saturday that the first plane carried Vasily Tonkoshkurov, chief of staff of the ground forces, adding the second was a cargo plane carrying 35 tonnes of material.

 

An Ilyushin IL-62 passenger jet and an Antonov AN-124 military cargo plane left for Caracas on Friday from Russian military airport Chkalovsky, stopping along the way in Syria, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

 

The cargo plane left Caracas on Sunday afternoon, according to Adsbexchange, another flight-tracking site.

 

The flights carried officials who arrived to "exchange consultations," wrote Russian government-owned news agency Sputnik, which quoted an unnamed source at the Russian embassy.

 

"Russia has various contracts that are in the process of being fulfilled, contracts of a technical military character," Sputnik quoted the source as saying.

A Reuters witness saw what appeared to be the passenger jet at the Maiquetia airport on Sunday.

 

Venezuela's Information Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

 

Russia's Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry did not reply to messages seeking comment. The Kremlin spokesman also did not reply to a request for comment.

 

The Trump administration has levied crippling sanctions on the OPEC nation's oil industry in efforts to push Maduro from power and has called on Venezuelan military leaders to abandon him. Maduro has denounced the sanctions as U.S. interventionism and has won diplomatic backing from Russia and China.

 

In December, two Russian strategic bomber aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons landed in Venezuela in a show of support for Maduro's socialist government that infuriated Washington.

 

Maduro on Wednesday said Russia would send medicine "next week" to Venezuela, without describing how it would arrive, adding that Moscow in February had sent some 300 tonnes of humanitarian aid.

 

Venezuela in February had blocked a convoy carrying humanitarian aid for the crisis-stricken country that was coordinated with the team of opposition leader Juan Guaido, including supplies provided by the United States, from entering via the border with Colombia.

 

(Reporting by Carlos Garcia, Carlos Jasso, Diego Ore and Brian Ellsworth in Caracas, and Maria Tsvetkova and Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber in Moscow; Editing by Leslie Adler and Chris Reese)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-03-25

[Tug]

Donald won’t like that or maybe he might cut and run like he did with NK 

[smedly]

Putin Putin his nose in again - very dangerous stuff

 

hope he is prepared to support the people and country with huge finance especially since Russia is so rich

 

nope

 

US need to tell him to remove himself from S.America , he went unchallenged in Syria but there is a line that needs to be drawn and Putin has crossed it many times 

 

Provocation to the extreme - very disturbing

[Tug]

Agree with smedley it will require leadership Donald?

[JimmyTheMook]

Oh Hell Yeah !

[Lungstib]

When you consider how many parts of the world the US has their forces stationed its hard to understand their idea that Russia or China is forbidden to do likewise. A severe case of 'dont do what I do"

WIKI says: The military of the United States is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world, with approximately 165,000 of its active-duty personnel serving outside the United States and its territories.

[Andrew65]

1 hour ago, Tug said:

Donald won’t like that or maybe he might cut and run like he did with NK 

...or Syria?!

[animalmagic]

Quick, build a wall !

[Fex Bluse]

23 minutes ago, Lungstib said:

WIKI says: The military of the United States is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world, with approximately 165,000 of its active-duty personnel serving outside the United States and its territories.

And in exactly 0 of those countries is the US engaging in things like illegal land grabs like the Chinese (Tibet, South China Sea) or Russia (Crimea/Ukraine). 

 

The US is a mostly stabilizing force. 

 

If you could only have one of the 3 countries as boss, which would you pick? 

[tifino]

... much rather it be the Russians spreading their wings, instead of the Chinese toileting on more foreign soil

 

[Andrew65]

2 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

And in exactly 0 of those countries is the US engaging in things like illegal land grabs like the Chinese (Tibet, South China Sea) or Russia (Crimea/Ukraine). 

 

The US is a mostly stabilizing force. 

 

If you could only have one of the 3 countries as boss, which would you pick? 

How about their virtual-colony Israel, a big land grab from the Palestinians.

 

Also Venezuela, interfering there whilst bitching about Russian collusion in US elections.

[beautifulthailand99]

13 minutes ago, animalmagic said:

Quick, build a wall !

And get the Venezuelans to pay for it ! Any body know what the visa situation is for expats?

[sammieuk1]

Just a few quick wrist movements followed by an incoherent tweet should take care of the problem with no covfefe ????

[usviphotography]

22 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

And in exactly 0 of those countries is the US engaging in things like illegal land grabs like the Chinese (Tibet, South China Sea) or Russia (Crimea/Ukraine). 

 

The US is a mostly stabilizing force. 

 

If you could only have one of the 3 countries as boss, which would you pick? 

Uh, is the United States not currently openly occupying parts of Eastern Syria illegally? Did they not just back Israel's illegal seizure of the Golan Heights? Is the US not currently meddling greatly in the Ukraine and contributing greatly to the instability on Russia's own border? 

[Lucius verus]

American soldiers will high tail out of there at the very thought of facing off with the Russians.

Good move Putin.

Your move Bolton.

 

[Puchaiyank]

Russia has become the go-to country to counter US aggressive rhetoric...while the US postures aggressively...Russia quietly sends in it's military to up the stakes if the US tries to intervene militarily.

 

Meanwhile, the Chinese are all smiles as they rape 3rd world countries of their natural resources while not spending any extra money to secure it's overseas businesses...

[Stokakrishna]

What about Lybia, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, 

This countries and many others in the past (central American countries, Laos, Vietnam)are totally <deleted>  up thanks to US stabilization.

 Biggest terrorist of the world.

 

[ezzra]

1 hour ago, Lungstib said:

When you consider how many parts of the world the US has their forces stationed its hard to understand their idea that Russia or China is forbidden to do likewise. A severe case of 'dont do what I do"

WIKI says: The military of the United States is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world, with approximately 165,000 of its active-duty personnel serving outside the United States and its territories.

When the US has its forces stationed overseas, it's mostly to help, serve and protect the people of said places from outside menace, when the Russian are sending troops it mostly to selfserv, establish a foothold and protect a dictators and providing them with full military hardware that kills and displace people such as in Syria,

why send troop now when the region is so volatile? and why only a 100 if they really want to help the Venezuelan people?...

[beautifulthailand99]

4 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

Russia has become the go-to country to counter US aggressive rhetoric...while the US postures aggressively...Russia quietly sends in it's military to up the stakes if the US tries to intervene militarily.

 

Meanwhile, the Chinese are all smiles as they rape 3rd world countries of their natural resources while not spending any extra money to secure it's overseas businesses...

The Chinese are taking a leaf out of The British Empire but without the armed invasions and stuffing narcotics down the conquered throats. I wouldn't call it rape. 

[ballpoint]

The similarity with the early 20th century is frightening.  The pretender to the throne, Russia (Germany), is openly opposing the incumbent power, America (UK), while the soon to be biggest economy, China (America) goes on with its own power consolidation, while looking to make a profit from both sides and come out on top of the pile.

 

 

[howbri]

Expect to see all the democrats flock to Venezuela in support of Russia and Maduro.

[mlmcleod]

Like North Korea, this gives Trump the excuse to remove Russian sanctions!

 

The Monroe Doctrine has had a sad demise!

[Sydebolle]

Some ball scratching going on at the Pentagon - while we read? 

[Lungstib]

1 hour ago, ezzra said:

When the US has its forces stationed overseas, it's mostly to help, serve and protect the people of said places from outside menace,

You cant be serious! Iraqis Libyans and Afghans would be really interested in your idea of 'serve and protect'. Thousands dead. For much of the world, especially the middle east and central america, the US is the outside menace.

[oldrunner]

Always good to hear a learned word or two by international know it alls. 'button up and take a walk.

[Ulic]

Who knows, maybe it is Maduro's exit escort out of the country. I doubt it but I can't see how he remains in power too much longer. Most of the countries gold has been shipped out. We will see what comes to pass.

[farq]

2 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

And in exactly 0 of those countries is the US engaging in things like illegal land grabs like the Chinese (Tibet, South China Sea) or Russia (Crimea/Ukraine). 

 

The US is a mostly stabilizing force. 

 

If you could only have one of the 3 countries as boss, which would you pick? 

You appear to be extremely biased and grossly misinformed about US activities around the world. Firstly, the land grabs. There was NO Russian "land grab" in Crimea. The people voted overwhelmingly to divest themselves of the US instigated regime change in Ukraine and return to Russia. The US have initiated illegal land grabs around the world in places like Iraq, Samoa, Bikini Island, Okinawa, Wake Island, Diego Garcia, Panama, the Phillipines, Hawaii, Midway, Marianas, Midway, Guam, Afghanistan, Grenada, Puerto Rico, Haiti, complicit in the illegal seizure of Palestine and the failed attempt in Syria.

 

The US is an extremely destabilizing force. Its track record at destabilising countries include Somalia, Libya, South Korea, Japan, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Sudan, Ukraine, the Phillipines, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and so forth. Not a very impressive example of a "stabilising force".

 

 

[farq]

12 minutes ago, Ulic said:

Who knows, maybe it is Maduro's exit escort out of the country. I doubt it but I can't see how he remains in power too much longer. Most of the countries gold has been shipped out. We will see what comes to pass.

Fact is that Venezuelas gold and cash reserves have been withheld by the Bank of England under direction of the Washington cabal in a deliberate attempt to financially destabilise the country into submission that will allow the US to install their compliant puppet Guido!

[Sakeopete]

A Lot of America bashing on TV. They are not perfect but most of the free world has slept well under their watch. Can anyone here honestly say the world would be better under China or Russia? 

[farq]

6 minutes ago, Sakeopete said:

A Lot of America bashing on TV. They are not perfect but most of the free world has slept well under their watch. Can anyone here honestly say the world would be better under China or Russia? 

You are kidding, right?! Most of the "free world" is fed up with the American bluff and bluster and can't sleep at all waiting for them to make a dumb move that will set the world on a path to destruction. The world couldn't possibly be any worse under Russia or China!!