Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado warned this week that Venezuela has become the only nation in the Western Hemisphere capable of producing Iranian combat drones. Speaking from hiding due to threats of arrest by the Maduro regime, Machado exposed the growing military ties between Venezuela and Iran, warning that this alliance represents a strategic threat to regional and U.S. security.
Machado stated that over 400 bilateral agreements between Venezuela and Iran have laid the groundwork for advanced drone production capabilities within Venezuela. She identified the El Libertador Air Base in Maracay as the site of a drone development facility where Iranian military trainers are reportedly assisting Venezuelan forces in the manufacturing and deployment of Iranian drones, including the Mohajer-2, Mohajer-6, and Shahed-131 models.
These drones, designed for surveillance and combat missions, have reportedly been rebranded under Venezuelan names and showcased during military parades as symbols of the regime’s growing defense capabilities. In a recent online interview, Machado pointed out that Venezuela’s drone capabilities are not merely symbolic. She emphasized that these weapons are being produced just hours from U.S. territory in Florida, underscoring the proximity and urgency of the threat.
Machado also accused the Maduro regime of providing Venezuelan passports to Hezbollah operatives and trading Venezuelan gold to Iran in exchange for weapons and technology. She warned that Venezuela has become a gateway for Iranian and Islamist terror networks in the region. She further asserted that dismantling Iranian influence in Venezuela is critical to undermining broader Islamic terrorist operations in the Western Hemisphere.
The Maduro regime’s partnership with Iran stretches back to Hugo Chávez, who first initiated drone cooperation over a decade ago. Chávez presented the development of Iranian drones in Venezuela as purely defensive, but under Nicolás Maduro, the alliance has expanded significantly in scope and military depth.
The opposition leader warned that Venezuela is rapidly becoming a forward base for adversaries of the United States and Israel. She described Nicolás Maduro as the primary ally of both Vladimir Putin and the Iranian regime in Latin America, aligning the Venezuelan government with authoritarian forces abroad.
Diosdado Cabello, a high-ranking socialist figure in Maduro’s government and an indicted narcotics trafficker, rejected Machado’s warnings as a conspiracy coordinated with Israel and its political leadership. He accused her of attempting to provoke foreign military intervention.
Machado concluded her remarks by urging the United States and regional allies to confront the growing military and ideological threat posed by the Maduro regime and its Iranian allies, emphasizing that the danger cannot be contained within Venezuelan borders.
