In the days leading up to his dramatic capture by U.S. forces, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro publicly boasted that advanced air-defense systems supplied by Iran would safeguard Venezuela against foreign military intervention.
In a televised interview with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet, Maduro claimed that the country’s integrated defensive network — which he said included systems provided by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — ensured Venezuela’s territorial integrity and peace. He portrayed the armed forces and security apparatus as strong and ready to repel any threat.
Maduro also tried to signal openness to negotiations with the United States on drug-trafficking cooperation and U.S. investment in Venezuela’s oil sector, claiming Caracas was prepared to “start talking seriously” with Washington. AOL
However, just days after those remarks, a U.S. military operation dismantled Venezuelan air defenses and captured Maduro along with his wife in Caracas, ending his control of the country. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the raid and described Maduro as a “very vicious person” responsible for many deaths.
The juxtaposition of Maduro’s confident rhetoric about Iranian-supplied defenses with the swift U.S. operation highlights how rapidly events overtook Caracas’s public claims about its military readiness.
