A new report on internal Venezuelan government documents is casting fresh light on how far Nicolás Maduro’s regime appeared to go in trying to acquire missile systems from Iran in 2020.
According to a report from POLITICO, an unearthed memo from Venezuela’s Defense Ministry, the Maduro government allocated more than $400 million to purchase a ballistic missile system from Iran.
The memo, described by two anonymous sources familiar with the document, laid out a payment structure using Venezuelan state-owned companies and said the system would be operated from platforms on naval vessels. POLITICO reported that the deal was ultimately not completed and that Venezuela never received the weapons system.
The report adds another layer to allegations that had circulated publicly during the first Trump administration but were never fully documented. In August 2020, then-Colombian President Iván Duque said Maduro’s government was looking to buy Iranian missiles, citing intelligence reports. Duque also accused Venezuela of handing over Russian- and Belarus-made weapons to illegal armed groups in Colombia, a claim that deepened regional concern about Caracas’ military relationships.
On Aug. 22, 2020, Maduro said buying missiles from Iran would be “a good idea,” even as he suggested the idea “had not occurred” to him. A day later, he said that “if it is possible and convenient, we will buy those missiles,” signaling at minimum that Caracas was openly entertaining such a move. He added, “What a good idea, to speak with Iran to see what short, medium, and long-range missiles they have, and if it is possible, given the great relations we have with Iran.”
The alleged missile plan emerged at a time when Iran and Venezuela were already tightening ties under heavy U.S. sanctions. In 2022, the two countries, both major oil producers under American pressure, formalized their partnership with a 20-year cooperation plan signed in Tehran. That agreement came after years of expanding political, economic, and security coordination.
As far back as 2012, then-President Hugo Chávez said Venezuela was building drones with Iran’s help, acknowledging defense collaboration that had long worried U.S. officials. More recently, in 2023, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on entities in Iran, China, Hong Kong, and Venezuela for helping Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programs.
Politico reported that Elliott Abrams, who served as Trump’s special representative for Iran and Venezuela, said the U.S. government was aware at the time of conversations between Caracas and Tehran about a ballistic missile system and made clear that such a transfer would be unacceptable. According to Politico, Abrams said Venezuela’s efforts eventually stopped.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by U.S. forces in early January and brought to the United States to face charges of drug trafficking, to which they have pleaded not guilty. His vice president and immediate successor, Delcy Rodríguez, is now serving as interim president of Venezuela.
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