Since tensions with U.S. deployments in the Caribbean ratcheted up, President Nicolás Maduro’s armed forces have been busy on two fronts: actual preparations and a social-media campaign designed to make anyone watching say, “Whoa, they are really serious.”
CNN analysts scoured military footage and verified social posts; what they found was a steady parade of deterrence theater — from concrete anti-vehicle “hedgehogs” on the Caracas-La Guaira highway to low-altitude fighter passes over cities.
“The US is obviously the dominant force. No surprises there,” Ryan Berg of CSIS conceded. “But we shouldn’t be cavalier.”
That short, sober note is the grudging chorus coming from analysts who see bravado but also the genuine risk of escalation.
Concrete Porcupines and the Highways of Doom
One of the most cinematic images: dozens of concrete anti-vehicle obstacles lining the choke point that connects the coast to Caracas.
Think medieval spike pit, but in reinforced concrete — or, less romantically, a row of very sturdy garden gnomes for tanks.
Footage posted by Venezuelan forces and verified through satellite imagery shows these hedgehogs arrayed to slow any land advance — strategically placed where armored columns would be vulnerable.
Maduro has touted a “comprehensive defense plan” for Caracas and La Guaira, mapping responses “street by street, community by community…”.
Radar Flexes, Missile Whispers, and Soap-and-Water PR
Venezuelan military clips have also highlighted a P-18-2M early-warning radar deployed on Isla Margarita and exercises showing Buk-M2E medium-range systems.
In one oddly wholesome moment of military PR, troops were filmed scrubbing a shorter-range S-125 (Pechora) anti-air system with soap and water — the most heartwarming surface-to-air maintenance montage you’ll ever see.
Still, questions remain about the combat readiness of some platforms.
Adding to the mystery: a sanctioned cargo plane recently landed in Caracas.
Russian Duma member Alexei Zhuravlev claims it delivered new Pantsir-S1 and Buk-M2E systems.
Retired U.S. Marine Col. Mark Cancian told CNN the flight “may have also included modern missiles that would notably strengthen Venezuela’s air defense network.”
That phrasing — “may have” — sounds cautious because it is; international deliveries and deniability are a messy business.
Live-fire Drills, Drone Training (via video games), and the Militia Pep Rally
Venezuelan troops have staged live-fire drills near islands close to recent U.S. port calls; cadets have been filmed training on drone simulators that look suspiciously like popular video games.
The government continues to tout militia recruitment, with Maduro claiming as many as 8 million volunteers alongside roughly 123,000 regular troops — a number analysts say is wildly optimistic and likely exaggerated.
Still, even a modest hike in militia readiness complicates any hypothetical operation.
Air Displays and Reality
Civilians have watched Su-30s and a handful of F-16s thunder over urban centers — visual signals meant for both domestic and international audiences.
They’re costly and wear on fragile fleets, but as Ryan Berg notes, they are also a way to “not be cavalier” about what might come next.
The U.S. has been making its own displays of air and naval power in the region, including recent “attack demos” featuring reconnaissance aircraft, attack planes and bombers — a choreography meant to send a blunt message about capability and deterrence.
The Bottom Line (without the PR razzle-dazzle)
What Maduro has staged is part military preparation, part propaganda.
It draws attention, will test adversary intelligence, and may shore up domestic support.
But it is, in strategic terms, the nervous posture of a regime that recognizes it’s outgunned at sea and in the air.
As analysts warn, bluster alone won’t win a campaign — yet bluster combined with miscalculation could fizzle into something far worse.
So yes: enjoy the aerial cinematography and the Instagram-ready hedgehogs.
But also remember the sober line from analysts watching both sides push their chips forward: saber-rattling on social media is cheaper than war — That is, until it isn’t.
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Sources (brief): CNN analysis of Venezuelan military footage and verified social-media video; statements by President Maduro and Venezuelan state outlets; Ryan Berg (CSIS) commentary; claim by Russian Duma member Alexei Zhuravlev regarding equipment delivery; retired Col. Mark Cancian analysis on possible missiles; open-source satellite imagery and defense-analysis figures.
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