CHAVEZ THREATENS FOURTH FLEET - AGAIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 001094 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/04/2018 TAGS: MCAP PGOV PREL VE SUBJECT: CHAVEZ THREATENS FOURTH FLEET - AGAIN REF: A. CARACAS 776 ¶B. STATE 22148 Classified By: Political Counselor Francisco Fernandez for Reason 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) During the August 3 broadcast of his "Alo, Presidente" talk show, President Chavez accused the U.S. FOURTH FLEET of having a riverine capability in order invade Venezuela. The Venezuelan Commander-in-Chief promised that any U.S. brown water ships entering Venezuelan waters would soon be "at the bottom of our brown rivers." Chavez also boasted that his fleet of 24 Su-30 FLANKERS was complete and announced they had started live fire exercises with "fire and forget" and "camera guided" missiles that gave the air force "a long arm." (Note: Chavez was probably referring to the first launches of the AS-14 KEDGE and AS-13 KINGBOLT air-to-surface missiles during "ARMADA SOCIALISTA I-2008" in June. Ref. A) Curiously, Chavez also admitted that the tanks he had ordered to the Colombian border in March lacked "mobility, fire-power and communications" and praised their on-going upgrades. ¶2. (C) Comment: Chavez insists at every opportunity that the United States is trying to reassert its waning influence in Latin America and that this explains the re-establishment of the FOURTH FLEET. The arrival of USS KEARSARGE (LHD-3) in the region for a three-month humanitarian deployment (Ref. B) will likely further fuel his rhetoric that the U.S. is trying to intimidate Venezuela. End Summary. DUDDY