Russia has secretly installed nuclear missiles in Venezuela, Republican congressman Mario Diaz-Balart has sensationally claimed in a chilling echo of the Cuban missile crisis.
The Florida representative made his astonishing allegations on Fox News hours after Venezuela was pushed to the brink of civil war when opposition leader Juan Guaido called for rival Nicolas Maduro to be ousted from office.
Diaz-Balart appeared on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Tuesday and made a case for backing Guaido and suggested that Russia had installed nuclear missiles in Venezuela, saying he believed Russia’s hidden nukes were a direct threat to the “national security” of the United States.
“Imagine if this (Maduro) regime that now is receiving a lot of international pressure survives, is it or is it not potentially a green light, an open door for the Russians and for the Chinese and for others to increase their activity against our national security interest right here in our hemisphere,“ Diaz-Balart told Carlson.
Carlson then asked: “Are you suggesting they (the U.S.) are going to invade?”
“The closest we ever came to nuclear war was because the Russians put missiles, right, nuclear missiles in Cuba,” Diaz-Balart said.
“Are you saying the Russians will put nuclear missiles in Venezuela?” Carlson asked.
“What I am suggesting is that they are already there,” Diaz-Balart answered, without offering any evidence to back up his claim.
Tensions flared in Caracas the last few days between the leader of the opposition and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido supporters who clashed with forces pro-President Nicolas Maduro.
Russia, China, and Iran reportedly have a presence in South America including Cuba who are alleged to have 20,000 troops and agents in the region according to the U.S. government.
Carlson pressed the congressman on if he thought anti-American forces would invade the U.S.
“The United States, the closest we ever came to nuclear war was because the Russians put missiles, right, nuclear missiles in Cuba,” Diaz-Balart said.
According to a report by The Sun, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin’s very open support of President Maduro has long been compared to the 1962 crisis sparked by the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba.
Diaz-Balart’s claims also come after Russia landed two Tu-160 nuclear bombers in Caracas in December 2018 in a show of defiance to Donald Trump. Their arrival on Venezuelan soil came just a week after under-fire Maduro traveled to Moscow to meet Putin.
However, international observers are quick to point out the Maduro-Putin relationship is one based on finance rather than friendship.
The Russian government has billions at stake, sinking billions of dollars into loans propping up Maduro – money it stands to lose if he is ever ousted from power – underwritten by Venezuela’s huge oil reserves.
The Venezuelan military is also said to owe Russia billions of dollars for tanks, missile defense systems and fighter jets it has purchased in recent years. Any repayments will almost certainly be lost if Guaido takes power, and most likely all future army orders likely going straight to the United States.
Mikael Wigell, of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told RFE/RL: “Establishing close relations with Venezuela gives Moscow a certain nuisance power in relation to the United States, and that can be used as a bargaining chip in future dealings with the United States. It also can be kind of a showcase for Russia’s aspirations to be considered a global power.”
Sources: Fox News; News.com.au; Thesun.co.uk
