Posted on 03/14/2010 4:40:20 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
China delivers Venezuela jets for anti-drugs fight
(Reuters) - Venezuela on Saturday tested six training and light attack jets bought from China for defense and anti-drugs flights in a deal that dodges an embargo banning sales of U.S. weapons parts to oil exporter Venezuela.
President Hugo Chavez ordered a total of 18 K-8 jets built by China after a plan to buy similar jets from Brazil's Embraer fell through, apparently because they include U.S. electrical systems.
"Thank you, China. The empire wanted to leave us unarmed. Socialist China, revolutionary China appeared and here are our K-8 planes," he said during a televised display of the jets' capabilities.
Officials at the ceremony said the versatile jets will be used to train pilots and intercept drug traffickers who use Venezuela as a stop off point to take Colombian cocaine to the United States, Europe and Africa.
Washington accuses the socialist Chavez, a close ally of Cuba and Iran, of starting an arms race in South America, where several nations have beefed-up their military in the last few years.
Tensions with neighbor Colombia over U.S. access to military bases there and accusations that Chavez supports FARC guerrillas have raised concerns of a violent incident between the two countries.
Colombia is the region's biggest military
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Looks strange with no sweep.
You support Free Trade with Communist China....you support Hugo Chavez....
Wonder how the Liberal Free Trader Globalists are gonna spin this one.......
No threat here. Colombian fighters will eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
You have Populist Isolationism confused with Capitalism. Capitalism cannot exist without free trade.
I will take real capitalism in its populist isolationist form over subsidizing a Communist nation that is providing another Communist/Socialist nation with weaponry....aimed at the USA.
You do not know the difference between capitalism and communism....nor the difference between capitalism and treason
Sean Penn must be really disappointed.
Looking at the “Weapons” the Chi's are selling Hugo to allegedly “use against the USA”, is down right funny. You can hyperventilate all sorts of conspiratorial knee-jerk rhetoric till you are blue in the face, but in the end you will just pass out.
The Chicoms need us as much as we need them. Which is why they sold Chavez those model airplanes.
I guess Hugo can fuel them with "hope and change" since he's unable to produce enough energy to keep the lights on.
Somehow,I can't imagine why, a jet's strategic advantage is lessened when you can't fly it for lack of fuel.
I hope Hugo buys thousands...
Obama, Hillary and Company are clueless. Iranian missiles will provided to the "Bolivian Axis", creating a multi-level threat from South America.
Progressives truly believe the passage of OBAMAcare will appease Chavez, Iran and the growing world-wide alignment of anti-American militarists.
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