I was puzzled by some articles announcing as big news details about the purchase of weapons by the Venezuelan military junta.
Wikileaks has provided indeed some interesting details about several topics and some journalists have known how to explain things through, but a lot of the information expressed in most of the articles worldwide are about things you can find out yourself if you just follow up German or Russian or Arabic media and try to make sense of what you can, all with a pinch of caution.
I just browsed for a couple of minutes on a well-known Russian site, Lenta. Below you have some of the hits. I am sure there are more details if you just search a bit in the Net.
2008
Venezuela wasted 4.4 billion dollars in Russian weapons between 2005 and 2007. Among other things: 24 Sukhoi-30. 500 million dollars went for 20 helicopters Ми-17-В5, 10 Ми-35М, 3 Ми-26Т, 3 Ми-172-3 and 2 Ми-172.
12.2009
Venezuela got credit for 2.2 billion dollars to buy weapons. 92 tanks T-72 and some missile systems from the type Smerch (apparently $22 million for each complex). You just have to do the maths if you check out the average price for a T-72.
12.2009
Venezuela got credit for 2.2 billion dollars to buy weapons. 92 tanks T-72 and some missile systems from the type Smerch (apparently $22 million for each complex). You just have to do the maths if you check out the average price for a T-72.
There is actually a reference to Associated Press about the Igla-1S and reactive grenades that the military junta also bought.
4.2009
Here you find out Venezuela is buying from Russia weapons for 5 billion dollars. They say that includes the credit for 2.2 billion dollars. If I understand well, it is thus 2.8 billion more.
And so it goes.
But meanwhile Venezuelan patients are suffering a lot because of lack of basic medicine, in spite of the propaganda you can watch in the state (i.e. Chávez) media. And millions of Venezuelans are living in primitive houses like the one you see at the start of this post...and some even keep believing in the man on that poster. Perhaps the great disparity between hope of some and reality is the reason why that military man ordered his employees to stop using his image.