VZ COMMIES PREPARING ARTILLERY, SAM'S AS IRANIAN TANKERS APPROACH
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33627/venezuela-sends-sams-rocket-artillery-to-caribbean-outpost-as-iranian-tankers-get-closer
"The Venezuelan military has sent a contingent of forces, including at least one of its Russian-made Buk-M2E surface-to-air missile systems, as well as BM-21 Grad and BM-30 Smerch artillery rocket launchers, to conduct exercises on the island of La Orchila off the country's coast in the Caribbean Sea. This propaganda show of force comes as the regime of dictatorial President Nicolas Maduro has pledged to escort five Iranian tankers carrying approximately 1.5 million barrels of gasoline safely into port in Venezuela, vowing to block any attempts by the United States to seize the ships on the high seas.
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Ship spotters, using online tracking software, had already noticed the Venezuelan Navy's AB Los Roques, a Dutch-built Damen Stan Lander 5612 logistics support craft, make a curious trip to the island on May 18 under escort from the first-in-class patrol boat AB Guaiqueri.
The Los Roques has a landing craft style drop-down ramp at the bow and a large open cargo area in the middle that could easily accommodate heavy military vehicles, such as the Buk-M2E, BM-21, and BM-30. That the Venezuelans sent the Guaiqueri along to escort it makes it even more likely that it delivered these vehicles to La Orchila for this snap exercise.
This show of force appears to be very limited and it's unclear how these forces might at all contribute to deterring any attempt to detain the Iranian tankers heading toward the country. La Orchila, which has served primarily as a presidential retreat in recent years, is around 100 miles northeast of Venezuela's capital Caracas and has no facilities on it for the tankers to offload their fuel there. It is home to a small military outpost with a single runway and limited dock facilities, which you can read about more in this past War Zone piece."