skip to contentAdvertisementVenezuela has kicked off three days of large-scale military drills in the Caribbean, deploying troops, warships, and Russian-made fighter jets in what officials called a direct response to the growing US presence in the region, CNN reported. More than 2,500 troops were mobilised on La Orchila, an island off Venezuela’s coast, for the exercises dubbed […]By: Express Web Desk New Delhi,September 19, 2025 05:37 AM IST First published on: Sep 19, 2025 at 05:37 AM IST ShareWhatsapptwitterFacebookVenezuela releases photos of Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana/InstagramVenezuela has kicked off three days of large-scale military drills in the Caribbean, deploying troops, warships, and Russian-made fighter jets in what officials called a direct response to the growing US presence in the region, CNN reported.More than 2,500 troops were mobilised on La Orchila, an island off Venezuela’s coast, for the exercises dubbed “Sovereign Caribbean 200.” The drills feature 12 naval vessels, 22 aircraft, and 20 smaller boats, according to Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino, who appeared on state TV as footage showed amphibious craft, warships at sea, and fighter jets roaring overhead.View this post on InstagramA post shared by Vladimir Padrino López (@padrinovladimir)//www.instagram.com/embed.jsA response to WashingtonPadrino said the manoeuvres were Venezuela’s answer to the US deployment of warships to the Caribbean. Washington insists its fleet – which includes three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the cruiser Lake Erie, the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima, and a nuclear-powered submarine– is tasked with counter-narcotics operations. But President Nicolás Maduro claims the move is part of a broader regime-change agenda.The US has long accused Maduro of drug trafficking and has placed a $50 million bounty on his head. Just a day before the drills began, President Donald Trump announced US forces had struck three boats allegedly tied to Venezuelan drug gangs, killing more than a dozen people.Caracas has also claimed to have deployed millions of militia members nationwide, with President Nicolás Maduro warning last month that “no empire will touch the sacred soil of Venezuela.”According to US officials, the first strike on September 2 targeted a vessel allegedly linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, killing 11 people. On Monday, Trump reported a second strike against what he called “narcoterrorists,” saying three more were killed. By Tuesday, he told reporters, “We knocked off three boats, actually, not two. But you saw two.”Russian jets on displayAt the same time, Venezuela has been flaunting its Russian-made warplanes armed with anti-ship missiles. Adding to the show of force, Venezuela this week released images of its Russian Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 fighter jets, armed with Kh-31 “Krypton” anti-ship missiles. A video posted on the Venezuelan air force’s Instagram account showed the aircraft taxiing on the ground with missiles visible under its wings before taking off for manoeuvres. Analysts say Venezuela purchased the missiles from Russia more than a decade ago.Most ReadAccording to CNN, a report from the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies noted that the country purchased an undisclosed number of missiles from Russia, which were delivered between 2007 and 2008.A 2024 open-source assessment by the International Institute for Strategic Studies found that Venezuela possesses both anti-ship and anti-radar variants of the Kh-31 missile, alongside a fleet of 21 Su-30MK2 fighter jets. However, it remains unclear how many of these aircraft are operational, as years of economic crisis have eroded the country’s military capabilities.The Venezuelan NGO Control Ciudadano, in its review of two decades of military air accidents, has pointed to government “opacity” in reporting and flagged issues of aging systems, poor maintenance, and a lack of spare parts.(With inputs from CNN)AdvertisementAdvertisementLoading Taboola...