On Saturday, January 3, 2026, the U.S. launched a full-scale operation against Venezuela. The U.S. military has been consistently preparing for this operation for several months since the start of the deployment of its forces in August-September 2025.
As of the time of publication of this material, it is known that U.S. forces have launched strikes on the country's capital, Caracas, which began at about 02:00 local time (06:00 GMT, 08:00 Kyiv time). The US military has targeted a number of military facilities, including the so-called Fort Tiuna - a complex of military facilities, including headquarters and residences of the military leadership.
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In the video from the scene, it is possible to see that the work of air defense means, at least anti-aircraft missile systems, is not visible. This may indicate that the U.S. armed forces managed to neutralize the air defense systems of Venezuela.
Moreover, CH-47 Chinook heavy transport helicopters were recorded in the sky over the capital of Venezuela. This is evidence of the beginning of forces landing, primarily special forces. Usually in the first hours of such operations we are talking about the capture of airfields, control centers and other strategic facilities.
A video is spreading on the network, in which you can see how American attack helicopters strike objects in Caracas - apparently, this is done to cover the landing of paratroopers. Unconfirmed information is also spreading about the landing of U.S. Marines on a number of Venezuelan islands in the Caribbean Sea.
At present, it is possible to conclude that the air defense systems supplied by the russian federation to the Venezuelans did not work. In general, the entire air defense of Venezuela was built on russian systems. The basis of the country's ground air defense is 1-2 divisions of S-300VM air defense systems, 3-9 Buk-M2E air defense systems, and more than 6 S-125 Pechora-2M air defense systems.
Moreover, in October 2024, russia transferred additional air defense systems - a certain number of Pantsir self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon systems as well as the Buk-M2 SAM systems, which were transported to the country using several Il-76TD flights. It is also worth adding that the basis of the country's air force is 21 russian Su-30MKV fighters (the Venezuelan version of the Su-30MK2).
Officially, the Venezuelan government declared a state of emergency, and President Nicolas Maduro ordered the implementation of all national defense plans, as well as called on citizens to mobilize to repel "this imperialist threat."
So far, the United States has not published an official statement about the start of its operation, its scale, and its ultimate goals
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