Venezuela’s Bold Display of Airpower with Sukhoi Fighters Amidst Rising Guyana Border Conflict

On the verge of initiating a plebiscite and even entering into war with Guyana, Venezuela decided to demonstrate its strength with Sukhoi Su-30 fighters.

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The country neighboring Brazil will hold a plebiscite in the coming days to decide if the population supports the annexation of Esequibo, a region that is part of 75% of Guyana’s total territory.

The Brazilian government even sent Army troop reinforcements to Pacaraima in Roraima, on the border with Venezuela, to prevent Venezuelan troops from passing through Brazil to invade Guyana.

On the other hand, the United States sent military personnel to closely monitor the situation, which is the worst in years in the region. And the Venezuelan government is conducting a strong campaign to encourage the population to vote in favor of annexation and to intimidate the neighbor.

For this, airplanes and ships were painted, including the most advanced fighter in their arsenal: the Russian Sukhoi Su-30MK2 Flanker-C, which until the arrival of the SAAB Gripen in the Brazilian Air Force was the most advanced fighter in Latin America.

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With quite colorful paintings and a landscape with a bird, the map of Venezuela is shown but considering the part of Esequibo, making it possible to clearly see the outline of the Brazilian state of Roraima.

The fighter with the special paint job performed a rare formation flight with four other aircraft of the same model, out of a total of 21 Flanker fighters that Venezuela has today.

A Chinese-made Hongdu JL-8 Karakorum training aircraft and a C-130 Hercules transport plane also received the paint job that includes the territory Venezuela claims from Guyana.

5 Venezuelan military aviation Su-30s took part in aerial photos including new Esequibo tail art, the C-130 transport aircraft has also been painted with similar tail art. #Venezuela pic.twitter.com/Yfiz4jjle9

— CNW (@ConflictsW) November 30, 2023

Em um vídeo, o comandante da marinha da Venezuela mostra um navio onde foi pintado o slogan “Essequibo é nosso / Avançar e vencer”. Os slogans pró-guerra e pró-invasão estão inundando as mídias venezuelanas. Todos os comandantes militares, de todos os ramos, estão fazendo vídeos… pic.twitter.com/ZWrdpmRlfD

— Hoje no Mundo Militar (@hoje_no) November 30, 2023