US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly mocked the performance of Russian-supplied air defense systems after they failed to stop the American military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on January 3. Speaking at an event in Virginia, Hegseth highlighted that nearly 200 US troops entered central Caracas without opposition from the air defenses, questioning their effectiveness despite Venezuela’s use of systems like the Buk-M2 and S-300VM. His remarks underscored U.S. confidence in its military capabilities and served as a jab at Russia, which has long been a key military supplier to Caracas. They write:
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Jan. 5 derided Russia-supplied air defenses that failed to stop the American raid and subsequent arrest of Venezuela’s longtime dictator Nicolas Maduro. […]
After vowing to “sink every drug boat headed in our direction,” Hegseth mentioned the failure of Venezuela’s defense systems to repel U.S. strikes in the unexpected morning military operation.
The Venezuelan military operates several air defense systems supplied by Russia, including the Buk-M2 and S-300VM.
“And then we saw, three nights ago, in downtown Caracas in Venezuela, as nearly 200 of our greatest Americans went downtown in Caracas. Seems those Russian air defenses didn’t quite work so well, did they?” added Hegseth. […]
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has criticized the U.S. “aggressive actions and forced removal” of the Venezuelan dictator who has been in power since 2013. The Kremlin and Putin have yet to comment directly on the matter. […]
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