U.S. Secretary of War Mocks Russian Air Defense Systems in Venezuela
The head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, mocked Russian air defense systems in Venezuela.
During the Arsenal of Freedom tour, he stated that Russian-made missile defense systems failed to stop the U.S. operation to capture Nicolás Maduro.
The Secretary of War added that several hundred U.S. troops were able to enter central Caracas without any problems and arrest Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who are accused of narcoterrorism in Washington.
“Three nights ago, in the center of Caracas, Venezuela, nearly 200 of our best Americans entered the city center. It seems those very same Russian air defense systems didn’t work too well, did they?” Hegseth emphasized.
Hegseth:
Three nights ago, in downtown Caracas in Venezuela, nearly 200 of our greatest Americans went downtown in Caracas, seems those Russian air defenses didn’t work quite so well, did they? pic.twitter.com/dnsxdqnZ9R— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 5, 2026
The Secretary of War noted that the operation was carried out without any American casualties, despite Venezuela having Russian air defense systems in service.
On January 3rd, the Americans carried out a special operation in Venezuela to capture Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela, who, along with his wife, was taken to the U.S. and is wanted for trial.
On the same day, media outlets released photos of the destroyed launch unit of the Russian-made 9K317E Buk-M2E surface-to-air missile system (SAM), which had been protecting the La Carlota airbase in Caracas.
It was later reported that a mobile command post from the same SAM system had also been destroyed.
The Venezuelan version of this air defense system includes the 9S510E command post, the 9S18M1E radar, and the 9A316E launch unit, mounted on a Belarusian MZKT-69221 wheeled chassis in a 6×6 configuration.
Venezuela had at least two divisions of these systems in service.
Earlier, Venezuela deployed air defense systems, including the Russian Buk-M2E SAMs, in response to demonstration flights of American bombers near the country’s coastline.
Additional systems were deployed in the coastal city of La Guaira, north of Caracas.
