Kathrine Frich
A senior US defence official has delivered a pointed message following Washington’s dramatic operation in Venezuela.
His remarks are being widely read as a public challenge to Moscow’s military reputation.
The comments came days after American forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a high-risk raid.
Caracas operation
US President Donald Trump said American forces launched a large-scale operation in Caracas on Saturday, capturing Nicolás Maduro and his wife and transferring them out of the country.
Several hundred US troops reportedly took part in the operation, arriving by military helicopters as American aircraft struck multiple targets over the Venezuelan capital.
Trump described the mission as a success and said no American soldiers were killed during the capture of the Venezuelan leader.
Air defence jibe
Speaking on Monday, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth openly mocked the Russian-made air defence systems used by Venezuela.
“Three nights ago in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, about 200 Americans entered the city center. It looks like those Russian air defense systems didn’t work out so well, right?” Hegseth said.
He stressed that the operation was completed without US casualties, reinforcing the message that American forces faced little effective resistance.
Russian hardware
Venezuela has relied heavily on Russian military equipment for years, including air defence systems supplied by Moscow.
In late October, a Russian Il-76TD transport aircraft landed in Caracas. Russian officials, including Alexei Zhuravlyov, deputy chairman of the Russian parliament’s defence committee, said the aircraft delivered Pantsir-S1 and Buk-M2E air defence systems.
Because of weight and payload limits, analysts say Russia could have supplied no more than one launcher of each system during recent flights.
Symbolic support
Military analysts have suggested the deliveries were largely symbolic rather than decisive.
They argue the limited scale of the shipments mirrors previous Russian statements about supplying advanced weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles, without evidence of large-scale deployment.
Hegseth’s remarks appear to underline that view, portraying Russian systems as ineffective against US forces during the Venezuela operation.
Sources: PAP, WP News
