Hegseth mocks Russian air defenses following US military operation in Venezuela
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.
During his speech at the Newport News Shipyard in Virginia, Hegseth applauded the large-scale military operation in Caracas on Jan. 3 that led to the capture of Maduro and his wife, both of whom have been transferred to the U.S. for trial.
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.
Maduro and Putin share a lengthy history of economic and political ties, with Caracas maintaining a relationship with Russia even after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and continuing cooperation in the energy and military sectors.
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.
The U.S. administration proclaims to no longer be "playing the catch and release game" with South American drug organizations whose smuggling operations through the southern U.S. border have been a major focus of President Donald Trump's second term in the Oval Office.
Shortly after the military operation, Trump shared an image on his social media of Maduro blindfolded and on board the USS Iwo Jima assault ship, according to the caption of the post.
The criminal case against Venezuela's dictator is already underway, with four charges being announced on Jan. 5. They include narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy, and possession of and conspiracy to possess machine guns.
His wife, Cilia Flores, has also been charged, and both have pleaded not guilty to their respective charges. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a social media post that the couple "will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts."
The next court appearance has been scheduled for March 17.
