{"id":62699,"date":"2026-01-03T19:22:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T18:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=62699"},"modified":"2026-01-09T22:17:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T21:17:52","slug":"the-ineffectiveness-of-venezuelas-defenses-what-happened-to-its-f-16-su-30-and-manpads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2026\/01\/03\/the-ineffectiveness-of-venezuelas-defenses-what-happened-to-its-f-16-su-30-and-manpads\/","title":{"rendered":"The ineffectiveness of Venezuela's defenses: what happened to its F-16, Su-30 and MANPADS?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The rapid US military intervention in Venezuela<\/a>, with the capture of dictator Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, raises some questions.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump announces the capture of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro after a US raid in Venezuela<\/a><\/rel>
\nThe special operations helicopters of the United States Army's 'Night Stalkers'<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

An intervention with the elite of US special operations<\/big><\/p>\n

As I already pointed out here this morning, everything seems to indicate that one of the units involved in this operation was the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) \"Night Stalkers\" of the US Army<\/a>, whose helicopters usually provide support to level one special operations groups such as Delta Force<\/strong> (which would be responsible for the capture of Maduro, according to Jennifer Jacobs<\/a>). The MH-60L Black Hawk and MH-47G Chinook Block II<\/strong> aircraft of that Regiment would be some of the aircraft that have been seen in today's US assault on Caracas.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
A Night Stalkers MH-47G Chinook Block II heavy transport helicopter (Photo: 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) Recruiting Team<\/a>).<\/div>\n

Everything seems to indicate that before the helicopter attack, the United States had attacked several Venezuelan military bases with missiles and aircraft<\/strong>. The attacks have been much more selective than some would have us believe, surely in an attempt to minimize both civilian and military casualties<\/strong>, since not all Venezuelan soldiers are loyal to the Maduro dictatorship, and causing many casualties among them would erode US support among the Venezuelan people.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
A Night Stalkers MH-60L Black Hawk tactical transport helicopter (Photo: 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) Recruiting Team<\/a>).<\/div>\n

Thus, the intervention was precise, surgical, and swift<\/strong>, focusing much of the action on the use of special operations forces and avoiding unnecessary attacks on military bases in other parts of Venezuela<\/strong>. The main area of \u200b\u200battack was Caracas and its surroundings. As we saw this morning, one of the US targets was the Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base in La Carlota<\/a>, east of Caracas. This VPItv video shows the attack on that base<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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#URGENTE<\/a> | Explosi\u00f3n sobre la base militar La Carlota, en Caracas, este #3Ene<\/a>. V\u00eda @luisgonzaloprz<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/a3252I9cFu<\/a><\/p>\n

— VPItv (@VPITV) January 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n