CARACAS, Venezuela -- Soldiers rolled out shoulder-fired missiles, fighter planes and armored trucks Saturday for the first of 10 days of military exercises that the president of socialist-governed Venezuela says are needed to protect against a looming threat from the U.S. Nearly 100,000 members of the Venezuelan armed forces began conducting exercises at points all over country.
| Good excuse as any to roll the military out to crush the citizens. Venezuela has turned itself into one giant gulag. |
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez inaugurated the exercises at Fort Tiuna in Caracas, the largest military installation in Venezuela. He said U.S. sanctions constitute "an imminent danger for us" and the armed forces must ready themselves to ensure the country's independence.
Venezuelan sailors performed drills in the Caribbean while soldiers defended the oil-producing country's biggest refinery from a simulated attack. Thousands of civilians wearing the red shirts of the socialist revolution started by the late President Hugo Chavez 15 years ago paraded in a complementary exercise. |