​Will Russia shatter Trump’s dream of invading Venezuela?

Following is our translation of an article in ria.ru reporting on the transfer of new Russian military aircraft to Venezuela, followed by a Spanish-to-English translation from hispantv.com. Comments are by Vince Dhimos.
 
Donald Trump, whose candidacy seemed to hold out hope for peace and US non-intervention in the internal affairs of foreign countries, has suggested repeatedly to aides and foreign leaders the possibility of invading Venezuela. The most likely scenario would be a US-led invasion by Brazil or Colombia.
 
He and the members of his bellicose cabinet are frustrated because the opposition in that country has repeatedly failed to come up with a workable alternative to the Maduro government. And of course, with re-election hopes on the horizon, Trump knows that American voters invariably rally around a war time president no matter how flimsy the pretext.
 
The problems in Venezuela are economic, eg, galloping inflation and increasing poverty. No one there is really happy with the way things are going. But Venezuelans have seen what happens to countries that the US invades and many of the Venezuelan ex-pats I meet think an invasion would lead to a worse disaster than the one they are currently coping with.
 
And help is on the way if the US and its puppets will just stand back and give it a chance. China and Russia have both invested heavily in the country’s oil industry. China has invested in an infrastructure project involving a revamping of the oil industry. They will pay themselves in oil. No money will change hands. The most recent investment was from Russia, just this month.
 
But Russia is not sitting on its hands waiting for the bombs to drop in Caracas.
 
It is most unfortunate that Washington’s military and White House officials are monolingual – or at least do not read New Silk Strategies.
 
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Russia sent strategic missile carriers to Venezuela
 
7 Nov 2018
 
MOSCOW, December 10 - RIA News. Two Tu-160, an An-124 and an Il-62 of the Russian Aerospace Forces have flown to Venezuela, according to the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defence.
 
According to the report, the flight took place over the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Barents, Norwegian and Caribbean Seas. The pilots flew more than 10 thousand kilometres. The flight was carried out in strict accordance with the international rules for the use of airspace.
 
The defence department noted that at certain stages of the flight, the Tu-160 missile carriers were shadowed by F-16 fighters from the Norwegian Air Force.
 
The ceremony of the meeting of Russian crews was attended by the Minister of Defence of Venezuela, General Vladimir Padrino Lopez, and representatives of the Russian embassy.
 
Cooperation between Moscow and Caracas
 
Last week, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu expressed the hope that flights of the Russian military aviation to Venezuela’s airfields will continue, and that Navy ships will call at the ports of this country.
 
“I think that we will continue this practice. Especially since it benefits both Venezuela and Russia,” said Shoigu at a meeting with Vladimir Padrino Lopez.
 
The minister noted that Russian servicemen get "an opportunity to gain important long-range flight experience in aviation, and, of course, in maintaining equipment in good combat condition."
 
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And now our Spanish-to-English translation from hispantv.com on the same topic. There is little discussion of the Venezuelan air force in Western media, which are not particularly interested in creating the impression that Venezuela could fight back effectively if attacked.
 
So far, the airforce is modest but the addition of the new Russian aircraft mentioned above and below makes a significant difference. Further, Venezuelan power is magnified by Russia’s presence, as reported in our translation below.
 
If the US and its satellites are as wary of attacking a Russian stronghold as they are in Syria, Venezuela should be safe for now.
 
QUOTE:
 
" ‘We are also working so that Russian military aircraft and ships can continue using the airfields and ports of Venezuela and I trust that this practice will continue,’ he stressed during the meeting held during the visit of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to Russia.”
 
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Russia hopes to continue using airfields and ports of Venezuela
 
6 Dec 2018
     
Russia remains confident of continuing to use Venezuela's airfields and ports for its fighters and its warships within the framework of military cooperation.
 
During his meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart, Vladimir Padrino López, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu emphasized on Thursday that the cooperation between Moscow and Caracas "is going quite well" due to the "regular exchange of specialists and delegations" and "good work in the field of education", among other aspects.
 
Shoigu has pointed out that, thanks to this collaboration that "benefits both Venezuela and Russia," the Russian military "get significant experience" with these long-haul flights and have the opportunity to "keep their combat equipment in good condition."
 
"We are also working so that Russian military aircraft and ships can continue using the airfields and ports of Venezuela and I trust that this practice will continue," he stressed during the meeting held during the visit of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to Russia.
 
The Venezuelan minister, in turn, has declared that Venezuela is interested in modernizing the land and air equipment previously supplied by Russia.
 
"We are also working so that Russian military aircraft and ships can continue to use the airfields and ports of Venezuela and I trust that this practice will continue," Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said during a meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart, Vladimir Padrino López.
 
Within the framework of military cooperation agreements with Russia, Venezuela has managed to build a military 'fortress' for the defence of its sovereignty.
 
Russia and Venezuela are developing their technical and military cooperation on the basis of the intergovernmental agreement signed in May 2001. The first military contracts were signed in Caracas in 2005: in May a contract was signed for the supply of Kalashnikov rifles (AK-103), which were handed over to the Venezuelan Army in 2006.
 
Russia also supplied helicopters of the Mi brand, anti-aircraft systems Tor-M1, fighters of the Sukhoi brand and other armaments. In 2006, the two countries signed a contract to build a Russian-made helicopter repair and maintenance centre (opened in 2013) and a Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition plant that will begin production in 2019.
 
In addition, the two countries carried out joint military aerospace drills in September to boost their bilateral cooperation in the military field.
 
While the USA has unveiled its concern about the growing and "alarming" presence of Russia in Latin America, which in the case of Venezuela joins the two countries in a "political and economic alliance" that may constitute a threat to Washington, Russia accuses the US of treating Latin American countries as if they were their backyard.
 
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