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USA vs VENEZUELA (Military Power Compared)
USA vs VENEZUELA (Military Power Compared)
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Legendas (96)
0:00
With a possible U.S. ground intervention in Venezuela on the horizon, the military
0:04
balance looks overwhelmingly one-sided. So how do the U.S. and Venezuela compare?
0:09
On raw manpower alone, the gap looks enormous - but that’s only the surface.
0:14
The U.S. has an active duty military personnel of about 1.3 million, with some significant
0:20
shortfalls in key areas due to ongoing recruiting problems. Infantry and information technology
0:25
roles are suffering the most, with a growing pilot shortage also undermining U.S. readiness.
0:30
Venezuela, meanwhile, plays a very different numbers
0:33
game - one that favors boots on the ground. Venezuela's active duty military numbers just over
0:38
100,000, with an overwhelming emphasis on ground combat. That means they would likely outnumber
0:44
US forces on the ground by a significant margin. However, the U.S brings numerous
0:48
force multipliers to bear and has historically defeated much larger forces with relative ease.
0:53
And this difference in force structure will matter later - because the kind
0:56
of war Venezuela can force isn’t the kind the U.S. is optimized to fight.
1:01
In reserve, the US maintains about 800,000 personnel ready to be called up in case
1:05
of an emergency - giving it the depth to absorb casualties while maintaining a high
1:10
pace of combat operations. Venezuela on the other hand has a paltry number of reserves,
1:15
at around 8,000 and lacks the training depth needed to keep them combat-ready.
1:19
That depth advantage looks decisive now - but it becomes far less meaningful once the fighting
1:25
shifts away from conventional battlefields. And Venezuela has two distinct advantages.
1:29
The first has nothing to do with Venezuela’s strength - and everything to do with America’s
1:34
limits. The U.S. is unable to bring all, or even a significant amount of its combat power to just one
1:40
place in the world. Security commitments prevent it from concentrating forces for a single conflict
1:45
in anything but the most extreme circumstances. With a potential conflict with China looming,
1:50
the U.S. is unlikely to commit more than a token force to any operation in Venezuela.
1:55
And that limitation sets the stage for Venezuela’s real strategy - one that only works
2:00
if the U.S. can’t bring overwhelming force. Venezuela's true military strength lies
2:05
paramilitary forces, which number around 220,000. While not officially part of the armed forces,
2:11
they are often state-sanctioned, receiving political backing and,
2:14
at times, arms and funding from the government. From this point on, the conflict stops looking
2:20
like a traditional invasion - and starts looking like something much harder to end.
2:24
The colectivos for instance are an assortment of pro-Maduro government militias which operate in
2:29
large numbers across many cities. They act as enforcers of government policy,
2:33
much like China's maritime militia which poses as civilian fishing fleets. The colectivos do
2:39
everything from maintaining public order to intimidating journalists and even attacking
2:43
protesters. They are lightly armed but well suited for fighting an insurgency against US forces.
2:48
And that’s only the smallest layer of Venezuela’s paramilitary forces.
2:52
The Milicia Bolivariana, or MB, is a massive nation-wide militia with numbers in the
2:58
millions according to official sources. Though they technically include any civilian not on
3:02
active duty, these forces are guided directly by the central government and are largely staffed
3:07
by former soldiers and MB reserve volunteers - separate from Venezuela’s formal military
3:12
reserves. Organized into militia detachments and battalions, these forces are meant to act
3:17
as rapid response units for internal control and local defense. In a war with the U.S., they would
3:22
almost certainly operate as an insurgency. While official figures claim up to 4 million members,
3:27
the real number of combatants is unknown - though a figure closer to 1 million is more realistic.
3:33
And at that scale, the war stops being about winning - and starts being about
3:37
endurance. And insurgencies don’t run themselves. Someone has to coordinate them.
3:41
Venezuela employs numerous special military units which have been accused of acting like
3:46
death squads. They are under direct state control and small in number, but well trained and heavily
3:51
armed. With a focus on urban counterinsurgency, they would function as command hubs for a
3:56
nationwide insurgency, turning U.S. peacekeeping missions into a far more complex fight.
4:00
Next are the Megabandas, huge hybrid criminal/government organizations which receive
4:05
unofficial state support. They make the majority of their profits from drug trafficking and have
4:10
huge amounts of wealth at their disposal. They use this to purchase large amounts of military-grade
4:15
weaponry. Their loyalty to the state however is in question, as they have often clashed with
4:20
the state directly. This makes it unclear what role they would choose to play in an invasion.
4:24
Venezuela could also call upon a whole host of foreign paramilitaries operating inside of its
4:29
borders - it’s rumored there are as many as 50,000 Cuban personnel in the country. These
4:34
include groups such as Ejercito de Liberacion, which has vowed to fight US imperialism. With
4:40
massive profits due to state-sanctioned drug running, the paramilitary groups are very well
4:45
armed. A more serious concern is their experience and effectiveness as hardened jungle fighters.
4:51
And this is where the cost of escalation changes dramatically.
4:55
No modern war is decided on land alone. In the air, the U.S. has just over 13,000 aircraft, with
5:01
the Navy by itself making up one of the world's largest air forces. Venezuela by comparison
5:06
only operates 229 aircraft, most of these being transport or trainer aircraft. The only combat
5:12
aircraft of note are 3 F-16sA and a single F-16B - but the operation condition of these aircraft is
5:18
unknown operational condition. There are also 24 Sukhoi Su-30s bought from Russia. However,
5:23
it’s believed some of the Sukhois were destroyed by the U.S. during Operation
5:27
Absolute Resolve - the mission to capture Nicolas Maduro. Insiders claim that Venezuelan
5:32
air force readiness is practically non-existent. On the ground, the United States operates roughly
5:37
4,600 tanks compared to Venezuela's 172 - largely comprised of T-72s and French AMX-30s. Overall
5:45
readiness is unclear, but in urban or jungle terrain, even outdated armor can still threaten
5:50
U.S. forces if used with discipline and numbers. Supporting their tanks, the U.S. sports nearly
5:55
392,000 armored vehicles, versus Venezuela's 8,800. While the US mostly has modern Bradleys,
6:03
Venezuela leans heavily on BMP-3s and BTRs - Russian made vehicles which have
6:08
proven to be completely ineffective against American Bradleys in Ukraine.
6:12
Fire support is where the imbalance becomes overwhelming.
6:15
When it comes to artillery, the U.S. is historically weak in this department due
6:19
to its reliance on air power - but even here, it still overwhelmingly outmatches Venezuela.
6:24
The US has 671 self-propelled artillery, using GPS guided rounds which would be devastating
6:30
against Venezuelan forces. Venezuela meanwhile operates 48 self-propelled artillery pieces.
6:36
In towed artillery, the U.S. brings the thunder with over 1,200 pieces against Venezuela's 100.
6:42
The US also brings 641 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) designed to overwhelm enemy
6:49
positions with rocket strikes before they can seek cover. Venezuela operates Russian-made
6:54
Smerch and Grad rocket launchers, along with a limited number of Israeli LAR-160 systems.
6:59
While the LAR-160 uses a smaller 160mm warhead, it is significantly more modern and capable.
7:06
At sea, Venezuela’s fleet of just 34 vessels would face off against the U.S. Navy’s roughly 440. The
7:12
United States fields 11 supercarriers and nine amphibious assault carriers,
7:16
while Venezuela has no seaborne aviation capability at all. The U.S. has 70 nuclear
7:21
powered submarines, while Venezuela has a single German-made Type 209 - currently
7:26
undergoing refits and out of action. The U.S. Navy operates 81 destroyers,
7:30
compared to just one major surface combatant in Venezuela’s fleet - an Italian-made Lupo-class
7:36
frigate of uncertain operational readiness. So what do all these numbers actually mean?
7:41
The military balance favors the United States, but victory wouldn’t be easy. The fight on the
7:46
ground would be far more complicated. Any intervention in Venezuela would likely turn
7:50
into a prolonged and costly struggle. How did it get this way? Check out What
7:55
Actually Went Wrong With Venezuela. Or click on this video instead.
