MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has opened a training center in Venezuela to help the country’s pilots fly Russian-made military helicopters, Russian state-owned industrial conglomerate Rostec said on Monday, Moscow’s latest gesture of support for President Nicolas Maduro.

Rostec said the center was inaugurated on Thursday last week, the same day as the White House warned Moscow and other countries backing Maduro against sending troops and military equipment, saying the United States would view such actions as a “direct threat” to the region’s security.

Washington, which backs Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, issued the warning after two Russian air force planes carrying nearly 100 military personnel landed outside Caracas, a contingent the Kremlin described as military specialists.

Rostec said the new training facility, the location of which it did not disclose, had been set up with the help of Russian specialists and was designed to train Venezuelan pilots to fly Russian-made Mi-35M helicopter gunships as well as Russian-made military transport helicopters.

The facility was opened under a contract with Venezuelan state-owned weapons maker CAVIM. Rostec said it wanted to deepen military and technical cooperation with Venezuela’s ministry of defense if possible.

Russia, which has also supplied fighter jets, tanks, and air defense systems to Venezuela, has dismissed U.S. criticism of its military cooperation with Caracas saying it is not interfering in the Latin American country’s internal affairs and poses no threat to regional stability.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that “Russia has to get out” of Venezuela and that “all options” are open to force it to reduce its help for Maduro, raising the prospect of new U.S. sanctions against Moscow.</s>Russia has opened a centre to train military helicopter pilots in Venezuela in a further sign of Vladimir Putin's support for the regime of Nicolas Maduro.

The news comes days after Moscow sent two planes of military personnel and equipment to Venezuela.

Rosoboronexport, the state corporation for arms sales, said in a statement it built the centre under a contract with Venezuelan state-owned firearms manufacturer CAVIM.

Russian-made simulators will allow local pilots to practice flying helicopters that Moscow has supplied to Caracas. These include the Mil Mi-35M Hind, a gunship known in Russia as the “flying tank” for its durability under fire, the Mi-26T heavy transport helicopter and the Mi-17V-5, a transport helicopter that can be equipped with machine guns and rockets.

The centre, whose staff was trained in Russia, will cut the costs and time needed to train pilots, Rosoboronexport said.

Russian organisations “remain committed to deepening cooperation with the ministry of defence and other government agencies of Venezuela, paying special attention to training, as well as timely maintenance of the delivered equipment,” the statement said.</s>MIAMI - Despite the United States opposition to Russia's military involvement in Venezuela, a Russian corporation recently set up a military helicopter training center in partnership with the Venezuelan government.

Russia's Rosoboronexport, a state-owned intermediary agency, and the Venezuelan Company of Military Industries, or CAVIM, the state-owned firearms manufacturer, according to Rostec, the Russian state-owned corporation for the export of advanced technology.

Rostec reported on Facebook that the center will allow Venezuelan pilots to train to fly Mi-17V-5, Mi-35M and Mi-26T helicopters with simulator control center.

"The center makes the training of pilots safer, more efficient and reduces the cost significantly," the statement says.

Russian military personnel is working with Venezuelan military pilots despite U.S. warnings against offering military support to embattled President Nicolas Maduro's administration. President Donald Trumps' national security adviser John Bolton has said he views the support as a threat.

"We strongly caution actors external to the Western Hemisphere against deploying military assets to Venezuela, or elsewhere in the Hemisphere, with the intent of establishing or expanding military operations," Bolton said Friday. "We will consider such provocative actions as a direct threat to international peace and security in the region."</s>MOSCOW – The creation of a helicopter repair and maintenance center in Venezuela is expected to be completed this year, Igor Chechikov, deputy director of Vertolyoty Rossii (Russian Helicopters), which is part of the state-owned Rostec Corporation.

Previously the opening of the maintenance center was planned for the end of 2018. Over the past ten years, Russia has supplied more than 50 Mi model helicopters to Venezuela.

“At this time almost all the necessary equipment has already arrived in the country, the maintenance technicians are already there, the installation and calibration activities are in progress,” Chechikov said.

According to the deputy director, this is a contract in force for some years now. “Venezuela is interested in continuing the project, and we are interested in fulfilling our commitments and we are going to carry them out,” Chechikov said.

Venezuela is the largest importer of Russian armaments in Latin America. Most of the contracts had been signed and implemented before the onset of political instability in the country.

The various military contracts made with this country amounted to billions of dollars. T-72 tanks, BTR-80 armored vehicles, Pechora missile launch systems, S-300, among others were supplied.

Last Wednesday, Igor Chechikov announced the opening of a Mi-35M helicopter repair and maintenance service center in Brazil, in the city of Belo Horizonte.

Meanwhile the opening ceremony of the helicopter training center, created with the participation of Russian and Venezuelan experts, was held on Friday.

“A modern helicopter training center was built under Rosoboronexport JSC’s contract (part of Rostec State Corporation) with the Venezuelan military-owned company CAVIM,” said Russian state arms exporter’s press service, Rosoboronexport.

A team of Venezuelan experts was trained in Russia according to the rules of operation of Russian simulators (on mobile and stationary ground).

According to the statement, the capabilities of this center allow Venezuelan pilots to undergo comprehensive training in piloting the Mi-17V-5, Mi-35M and Mi-26T helicopters in close proximity to reality.

Rosoboronexport reiterated that Russia remains committed to expanding the cooperation of the defense industry with Venezuela, paying particular attention to the training of experts as well as to the timely maintenance of the equipment provided.

Russian arms deliveries “have provided Venezuela with a strong potential that guarantees the country’s security and defense capabilities,” Rosoboronexport said.</s>MOSCOW — An executive at a Russian state-owned company says it will finish building a facility for repair and maintenance of Russian helicopters in Venezuela by the end of the year.

Igor Chechikov, deputy chief executive at Russian Helicopters, told Russian news agencies on Tuesday that all the necessary equipment has been delivered to Venezuela and that the construction should be completed this year.

Russia has been a major backer of embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, supplying his government with weapons and providing loans.

Russia last week inaugurated a training centre for Venezuelan pilots who fly Russian aircraft.</s>By The Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — An executive at a Russian state-owned company says it will finish building a facility for repair and maintenance of Russian helicopters in Venezuela by the end of the year. Igor Chechikov, deputy…

MOSCOW (AP) — An executive at a Russian state-owned company says it will finish building a facility for repair and maintenance of Russian helicopters in Venezuela by the end of the year.

Igor Chechikov, deputy chief executive at Russian Helicopters, told Russian news agencies on Tuesday that all the necessary equipment has been delivered to Venezuela and that the construction should be completed this year.

Russia has been a major backer of embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, supplying his government with weapons and providing loans.

Russia last week inaugurated a training center for Venezuelan pilots who fly Russian aircraft.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>Russia has opened a centre to train military helicopter pilots in Venezuela in a further sign of Vladimir Putin’s support for Nicolas Maduro’s regime.

It comes days after Moscow sent two planes of military personnel and equipment to Venezuela.

Elliott Abrams, the U.S. envoy, said the U.S. believed the teams had been flown in to repair Soviet-era S300 missile systems, which were knocked out by a series of blackouts.

But he added that the U.S. was watching closely to see what the Russians did, adding: “We have options, and it would be a mistake for the Russians to think they have a free hand.”

Rosoboronexport, the state corporation for arms sales, stated it had built the centre under a contract with Venezuelan state-owned firearms manufacturer CAVIM.

Russian-made simulators will let local pilots practise flying helicopters that Moscow has supplied to Caracas.

 These include the Mil Mi-35M Hind, a gunship, the Mi-26T heavy transport helicopter and the Mi-17V-5, a transport helicopter that can be equipped with machine guns and rockets.

The centre, with Russian-trained staff, will cut the costs and time needed to train pilots, Rosoboronexport said.

 Russian organisations “remain committed to deepening cooperation with government agencies of Venezuela”, the statement said. Russian-made helicopters in Venezuela are participating in “routine military activities and operations against smugglers”, as well as delivery of humanitarian aid, it added, making no mention of clashes between security forces and protesters.

Rosoboronexport did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

At the opening ceremony for the helicopter centre on Friday, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, the Venezuelan defence minister, said a flight simulator for the Russian-made Su-30MK2 fighter jet would be installed in another city and a factory to produce Kalashnikov assault rifles under licence would open soon after years of delays.

More than 50 countries have recognized Juan Guaido, the opposition leader, as interim president after weeks of protests and shortages of food, water, medicine and electricity.
• Five American mercenaries were arrested in Haiti. Were they there to help the president hide Venezuelan oil money?
• Venezuelans search for water as new blackouts hit nationwide
• Russia sends military planes and advisors into Venezuela, showing off combat strength

Maduro is struggling to contain unrest in the country amid blackouts that began on March 7 and have led to subsequent failures in water systems.

In March, 99 Russian soldiers and 35 tons of equipment flew in to bolster Maduro’s military.

John Bolton, the U.S. national security adviser described it as a “direct threat to international peace and security”. Donald Trump has said he will “probably” speak to Putin and Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.

Yesterday, Alejandro Chacon, a Colombian congressman, said he received a letter from Russia’s ambassador in Bogota, warning Colombia against any military action against Maduro.</s>A military helicopter training facility, constructed by Russia’s Rosoboronexport, was revealed in Venezuela Friday, several days after Moscow deployed troops and equipment to the crisis-stricken South American country, reported TASS News.

The statement added that the training facility had opened earlier in the week "with Russian and Venezuelan specialists participating."

“At present, Russian helicopters supplied to Venezuela not only take part in operations against smugglers, but also successfully perform aerial survey of wildfires, take part in rescue and evacuation missions in areas hit by natural disasters and deliver humanitarian cargo to remote regions of the country,” Rosoboronexport added.

A source within Venezuela’s Army Aviation told TASS that the facility would make the training process more efficient for future helicopter pilots and crews.

Rosoboronexport will supply Russian-made Mi-35M multi-role combat attack helicopters for missions related to targeting illicit drug production facilities, the source said.

"One Mi-35M2 helicopter is capable of delivering a special group of five or six officers, providing fire support if necessary and evacuating the team after the task is fulfilled," the source said.

The announcement came several days after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the build-up of Russian troops and equipment in the country.

The Trump administration condemned President Maduro on Friday for what it said was his cozy relationship with Moscow.

President Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton and U.S. special envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said Russia's presence in the country is extremely destabilizing for the Western Hemisphere.

"We strongly caution actors external to the western hemisphere against deploying military assets to Venezuela, or elsewhere in the hemisphere, with the intent of establishing or expanding military operations," the national security adviser said in a statement.

Russia responded over the weekend by indicating it had sent military personnel to the Latin American country based on a military-technical cooperation agreement from 2001.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said approximately 100 troops have been sent to the country "for as long as needed."

Russia and China both support the Maduro regime. President Maduro has said," American imperialists want to kill me."

Moscow has recently accused Washington of engineering a violent coup in Venezuela in violation of the United Nations Charter.</s>BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia on Tuesday rejected a Russian warning against foreign military intervention in Venezuela and said it supported a peaceful transition to democracy in the neighboring South American country.

"Colombia reiterates that the transition to democracy must be conducted by the Venezuelans themselves peacefully and within the framework of the Constitution and international law, supported by political and diplomatic means, without the use of force," Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said in a statement.

He was responding to a March 28 letter from the upper house of Russia's parliament, forwarded to Colombia's Congress by Russian Ambassador Sergei Koshkin, that said the "illegitimate use of military force against Venezuela by other states that support the opposition will be interpreted ... as an act of aggression against a sovereign state."

Venezuelan soldiers stand guard at the Tienditas International Bridge that links Colombia and Venezuela, near Urena, Venezuela, February 8, 2019. Associated Press

Russia has emerged as a staunch backer of Venezuela's leftist President Nicolas Maduro as his nation descended into political turmoil this year. The United States and dozens of other nations have backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, who invoked the constitution to assume Venezuela's interim presidency in January, arguing that Maduro's 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

Colombia, which supports Guaido, has repeatedly denied it has any intention of launching a military offensive across its border with Venezuela.

But in his statement on Tuesday, Trujillo said military support for Maduro's socialist government risked harming the transition to democracy while threatening regional peace and security.

The March touchdown near Caracas of two Russian air force planes carrying some 100 Russian special forces and cyber-security personnel has raised international concerns about Moscow's backing for Maduro.

Russia, which has supplied fighter jets, tanks, and air defense systems to Venezuela, has dismissed US criticism of its military cooperation with Caracas saying it is not interfering in the Latin American country's internal affairs and poses no threat to regional stability.

An airplane with the Russian flag at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas, Venezuela, March 24, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Russian state-owned defense firm Rostec said Monday that it had owned a training center in Venezuela to teach the country's pilots to fly Russian-made Mi-35M helicopters gunships and Russian-made military transport helicopters.

Igor Chechikov, deputy chief executive at Russian Helicopters, told Russian news agencies on Tuesday that all the necessary equipment has been delivered to Venezuela and that construction of the training center should be done by the end of this year.

Colombia acted as a staging ground in February as the United States and other countries supported Guaido's effort to transport hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid into Venezuela. Maduro, who dismisses Guaido as a U.S. puppet, blocked the aid and Venezuelan troops pushed back protesters with tear gas.

Millions of Venezuelans have fled to Colombia to escape widespread food and medicine shortages in their chaotic homeland, seeking jobs locally and passage into other Latin American countries.</s>A military helicopter training facility, constructed by Russia’s Rosoboronexport, was revealed in Venezuela Friday, several days after Moscow deployed troops and equipment to the crisis-stricken South American country, reported TASS News.

The statement added that the training facility had opened earlier in the week “with Russian and Venezuelan specialists participating.”

A source within Venezuela’s Army Aviation told TASS that the facility would make the training process more efficient for future helicopter pilots and crews.

Rosoboronexport will supply Russian-made Mi-35M multi-role combat attack helicopters for missions related to targeting illicit drug production facilities, the source said.

The announcement came several days after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the build-up of Russian troops and equipment in the country.

The Trump administration condemned President Maduro on Friday for what it said was his cozy relationship with Moscow.

President Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton and U.S. special envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said Russia’s presence in the country is extremely destabilizing for the Western Hemisphere.

Russia responded over the weekend by indicating it had sent military personnel to the Latin American country based on a military-technical cooperation agreement from 2001.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said approximately 100 troops have been sent to the country “for as long as needed.”

Russia and China both support the Maduro regime. President Maduro has said,” American imperialists want to kill me.”

Moscow has recently accused Washington of engineering a violent coup in Venezuela in violation of the United Nations Charter.

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Russia opens a helicopter training facility in Venezuela. Under the plans, Russian state-owned Rostec will train Venezuelan pilots to operate Mi-35M gunships and transport helicopters. The move comes after the White House warned Moscow against sending troops or military equipment to the country.