Maduro says it is "not a bad idea" for Venezuela to buy missiles from Iran
The Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, said this Saturday that "it is not a bad idea" for his government to buy anti-aircraft missiles from Iran, a close ally, and all after his Colombian counterpart, Iván Duque, warned last Thursday about this possible transaction.
"It's not a bad idea, Iván Duque, we hadn't thought about it, really, when I heard Iván Duque say: 'My God, and why hadn't we thought about that, if Iran has tremendous technology'," the president said during a virtual meeting of the Bolivarian Congress of the Peoples.
"(Vladimir) Padrino)," he later said, addressing his defence minister, "what a good idea, to talk to Iran and see what missiles they have at short, medium and long range, and if it is in our power, given the great relations we have with Iran, to buy missile batteries to strengthen defences", he added.
Duque said on Thursday that he has "information from international intelligence agencies" that warn of Venezuela's intentions "to acquire some medium- and long-range missiles through Iran".
The Colombian president added that the information he has is that "the missiles have not yet arrived, but that these approximations have been made, particularly with the instruction of (Vladimir) Padrino".
But Maduro responded that, if the operation were to take place, it would not be illegal because Venezuela "is not prohibited from buying" weapons.
"If Iran has the possibility of selling us a bullet or a missile, and we have the possibility of buying it, good idea, Iván Duque, approved, I'm going to do it, we're going to do it, we have to study it", the Venezuelan leader continued.
Venezuela and Colombia share a 2,219-kilometre border, a region where guerrilla militants, smugglers and drug traffickers proliferate and where there is a high flow of migrants.
Likewise, Colombia is part of the group of more than 50 countries that recognise Juan Guaidó as the "legitimate" president of Venezuela and has had no diplomatic relations with the Maduro administration since 23 February 2019.
