Introduction: The US Congress does not support the military intervention in Venezuelan affairs, and Trump has lost the option of military intervention?
Keywords: Venezuela / Marine Corps
Whether the United States will send troops to intervene militarily in Venezuela has been a hot topic of discussion after U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton hinted that 5,000 U.S. troops would be deployed to Colombia. U.S. Special Envoy for Venezuela Abrams said on January 13 that the U.S. government has no legal basis to interfere in Venezuelan affairs, noting that Washington has not increased its troops to Colombia. Elliott Engel, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, said on the 13th that Congress will not support the US government's military intervention in Venezuela. Engel told the committee meeting: "Military intervention is not considered. When and where to use U.S. military power is up to Congress, and whether Congress will support military intervention in Venezuela. ”
But these statements do not completely negate the possibility of U.S. military intervention in Venezuela. Because in theory, even if Congress does not agree, Trump has 200,000 troops to call. The U.S. War Competence Act gives the president the authority to use troops: there are only three situations in which troops can be used as commander-in-chief of the armed forces: the first is to declare war; the second is the authorization of lex special laws; and the third is to deal with a state of national emergency when the mainland, overseas territories, and armed forces are attacked. The first two cases require congressional authorization. Even in the third case, the President's authority to use the troops must be limited to 60 days. No withdrawal of troops for more than 60 days is subject to congressional approval.
Reuters reported on February 7 that The commander of the U.S. Southern Command, Admiral Craig M. Speaking at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Faller said: "We are ready to protect U.S. personnel and diplomatic facilities when necessary." "Craig. Faller's account sets the stage for the third scenario mentioned above. In the third case, it is said, the president of the United States can mobilize the Marine Corps to respond to emergencies without the approval of Congress. Don't underestimate the strength of the U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. Marine Corps is an independent branch of the armed forces with 200,000 troops, land and sea forces, three divisions and three air wings with 416 fighters, and a global long-range delivery capability.
If the United States really intervenes in the situation in Venezuela on the pretext of protecting American personnel and diplomatic facilities, will Venezuela be able to survive the two-month period stipulated in the US War Competence Act? Personally, I think that even against the 200,000 troops of the U.S. Marine Corps, the Venezuelan army is more than enough and insufficient. The following is a brief analysis of venezuela's current military strength from the data, which can see how big the gap between their strength and the US Marine Corps is.
The total strength of the Venezuelan armed forces is about 265,000 people. It consists of the regular army (four branches of the army, navy, air force and national guard) and reserve forces. Of these, 63,000 are in the Army, 17,500 in the Navy, 11,500 in the Air Force, 23,000 in the National Guard, and 150,000 in the National Bolivarian Militia (Maduro has stated that he will expand the militia to 3 million to deal with a possible invasion by foreign enemies). The 150,000 national Bolivarian militias are only paramilitary forces, and the 23,000 National Guard are internal guards.
In other words, Venezuela's regular military force is less than 100,000 people. The most famous of these is the Venezuelan Marine Corps, an elite force of about 5,000 people, which receives special care in terms of living conditions and equipment support. Another strong force of the Venezuelan army is the Fourth Panzer Division, which includes the 41st Panzer Brigade and the 42nd Airborne Brigade. It is chavez's most trusted pillar of military power.
The Venezuelan Marine Corps and the Fourth Armored Division possess almost all of Venezuela's advanced and relatively advanced heavy equipment (about 100 tanks), including our manufactured VN-16 and VN-18 amphibious fighting vehicles, VN-1 wheeled armored vehicles, Bobcat all-terrain, etc. There are also heavy equipment supplied by Russia such as T-72B1V tanks, BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, BTR-80A wheeled armored vehicles, 2S19 self-propelled guns and 2S23 mortars. This is combined with the air force of 40 fighters consisting of a total of 40 fighters made up of Russian-made Soviet-30 fighter jets and American-made F16 fighter jets. This is the whole family that Venezuela can use to counter the US "invasion".
Gao Feng Military Observation's original works shall not be reproduced without authorization, and plagiarists will be held accountable.