Report: Venezuela Moves 10 Tank Battalions to Colombian Bord

[MarkHolloway]

Developing story at Fox News www.foxnews.com/story/...16,00.html

Anyone want to bet that the price of gas goes up?

[Uhu_Fledermaus]

- MarkHolloway

Anyone want to bet that the price of gas goes up?

You do mean the profits of the Oil companies at our expense, right ?

[MarkHolloway]

Yup, all it takes is one headline: "The Sky Is Falling"

[bsmart]

- Uhu_Fledermaus

- MarkHolloway

Anyone want to bet that the price of gas goes up?

You do mean the profits of the Oil companies at our expense, right ?

Well at least One Oil Company - The CITGO brand is owned by the Venezualan state cartel (after they nationalized it). On the East Coast of the US it used to be sold at 7-11s but a couple years ago 7-11 very vocally cut their ties with CITGO because of consumer backlash. I think much of the output of CITGO refineries is now sold on the spot market to unbranded gas stations to hide it's source Of course they have been running lots of TV ads about how they are providing heating oil for low income families 'From the people of Venezuala'

But back to armor

Does anyone know what the armored forces of Ecuador, Venezuala and Columbia conisist of?

[binder001]

I didn't know that Venezuela HAD 10 tank battalions! Any US WW2 stuff still in use? They could blitzkrieg Columbia with M3 Stuarts!

[Roy_A_Lingle]

Hi Folks!

Here is what I have found after a quick search.

Venezuela as of 2006

Army 34,000, Navy 18,300, Air Force 7,000, National Guard 24,00
Four Infantry Divisions plus the 1st Cav. Div. which has most of the armored units.

81 x AMX-30 tanks
75 x M-18 Hellcat tank destoryers
36 x AMX-13 light tanks
80 x Scorpion 90 Armored Cars
(Total of 272 AFVs. Ten tank battalions are being sent to the border, that would equal about 27 vehicles per battalion plus 2 spares.)

260 APC's of 5 different types
(Another 26 vehicles per ten tank battalions for a total of 53 per battalion?)

Artillery Towed
80 x 105mm
12 x M-114 155mm
Self Propelled
10 x French MX-F3 (I don't know what these are)
20 x French LAR-SP MRL (Again, I don't know this type)

Colombia as of 2005

MBTs = 12 x M3A1 Stuart Light tanks (sense when is a M3A1 Stuart called a MBT?)
5 x M8 (ex US) Recon vehicles
130 x EE-9 Cascavel Recon vehicles

88 x M113 APCs
100 x EE-11 Urutu APCs
4 x RG-31 Nyata APCs

Arty
70 x M-116 75mm
86 x M-101 105mm

20 x TOW ATGM systems, of which some have been mounted on M8 armored cars.
63 x M40A1 106mm RRs.

The question I have is, if Venezuela attacks Colombian, what will the other South American counties do?

Spot Report!
Sgt, Scouts Out!

[Hellfish6]

They're sending ten battalions. Not all of them are armored.

[bsmart]

The evening news showed pictures of M60A1/A3s. They said their reporter was in Venezuala but I dn't know if the '60s were there.

The interesting thing is the initial issue was between Columbia and Ecuador

[LeeW]

Apparently the FARC leader killed was a good friend of Chavez. Or at least that's what one report I read stated. Venezuala also has a bunch of internal problems for which this may have looked like a good distraction.

[bsmart]

rule #1 for Politicians

If you have internal dissent figure a way to get everybody mad at an outsider (another country, international corporations, the UN, etc) Then anyone who still dissents is 'unpatriotic'

[the_shadock]

"10 x French MX-F3 (I don't know what these are)"

Indeed AMX-13 Mk F3 :



"20 x French LAR-SP MRL (Again, I don't know this type)"

Most probably the Multiple Rocket Launcher
Light Artilley Rocket - Self Propelled Multiple Rocket Launcher?

[Roy_A_Lingle]

Hi Folks!

- Hellfish6

They're sending ten battalions. Not all of them are armored.

The ten tank battalions comes from a news report quoting Mr. C saying somthing to the effect, I want 10 tank battalions send to the border area.

From the outside, looking in, who knows what the real facts are?

Sgt, Scouts Out!