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TEHRAN, Jan 28 - Over a week ahead of Venezuela’s “largest” drills ever, President Nicolas Maduro inspects members of the armed forces and oversees military parades and exercises at a number of bases in the country.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Maduro carries out the visits in a show of strength to his Western-backed opponents, who have been challenging his leadership.
Videos posted on Maduro’s Twitter page showed the Venezuelan leader, surrounded by military officials, inspecting troops at the Fort of Paramacay in Naguanagua and the Naval Base Agustin Armario in the city of Puerto Cabello over the weekend.
At the Fort of Paramacay base, Maduro watched a platoon of soldiers release volleys of rocket-propelled grenades, machine-gun anti-aircraft fire and tank rounds at hillside targets.
Wearing tan fatigues, the president was also seen parading alongside the army amid a political crisis, which saw the US-backed opposition leader, Juan Guaido, abruptly declare himself “interim president” last week.
Besides supporting Guaido, Washington also spoke of what it called a “humanitarian” intervention in Venezuela, prompting the Maduro government to order the armed forces to get ready for defending the nation “in any scenario.” He announced massive exercises between February 10 and 15.
During a speech broadcast on state television during his visits, Maduro said “We are preparing for the most important military exercises in our history.”
He said that soldiers will repel a simulated invasion and enhance their skills in defending the territories, coast and waterways of the Latin American state in the course of the forthcoming war games.
“Our armed forces make our country unassailable,” said the president, adding that the military is quite capable of standing against any aggressor that sets foot on the country’s soil.
The army has remained loyal to the elected government of Maduro amid the political conflict.
During the speech, Maduro once again lambasted the US for openly leading a coup against his administration by recognizing Guaido, the head of the opposition-led National Assembly, as “president.”
Source: Press TV
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