Venezuela gets $2.2B in credit for Russian arms

Sep 14, 2009 1 min read

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Russia has opened a $2.2 billion line of credit for Venezuela to purchase weapons including armored vehicles and surface-to-air missiles, President Hugo Chavez said Sunday.

Venezuela is buying more arms because it feels threatened by Colombia’s decision to give U.S. troops greater access to its military bases, Chavez said.

Repeating a frequent theme of his presidency, the socialist leader said the United States would like to invade Venezuela and seize the country’s oil fields. He said the bases in Colombia could help the U.S. stage such an attack.

The arms deal was announced last week during Chavez’s visit to Moscow, and he gave details Sunday. Chavez said the deal calls for Venezuela to buy 92 Russian-made T-72 tanks as well as Smerch anti-aircraft missile launching systems. He didn’t say how many missile launchers Venezuela was buying.