Analysis: Discover how Venezuela uses Iranian drones to boost precision strikes and coastal defenses.

As reported by the Miami Herald on August 29, 2025, Venezuela has emerged as the first country in Latin America to introduce armed drones into its arsenal, a capability developed over nearly two decades of military cooperation with Iran. The origins of this program date back to agreements signed during the government of Hugo Chávez, when Caracas sought unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance but gradually moved toward strike capabilities. These developments were made public during military parades and television broadcasts, and although the government initially avoided acknowledging the use of armed drones, evidence and later demonstrations confirmed their existence. Analysts have highlighted that this shift has implications not only for Venezuela’s domestic defense strategy but also for the broader regional balance of power.
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U.S. and Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that Venezuela could become a hub for Iranian drone production, including kamikaze systems, with potential risks of proliferation to criminal groups or non-state actors in Latin America. (Picture source: CAVIM)

The first stage of this cooperation began between 2006 and 2007, when Venezuela signed technical and commercial agreements with Iran that concealed defense cooperation under civilian and energy deals. By 2007, Venezuela had formally contracted for the assembly of Mohajer-2 drones using kits supplied by Iran’s Quds Force. The assembly process was conducted at CAVIM facilities in the El Libertador Air Base in Maracay, with Venezuelan personnel trained in Iran. By 2009, the first Mohajer-2 units, known locally as Arpía, were assembled, and in 2010, U.S. satellite imagery confirmed the presence of drone production facilities. Chávez unveiled the Arpía in 2012, presenting it as a reconnaissance platform equipped with high-resolution video and photo cameras, while also noting work to enable night operations.

The Arpía was later modernized into the Antonio José de Sucre 100 (ANSU-100), which retained reconnaissance functions but added the ability to launch Qaem precision-guided bombs of Iranian design, giving it both anti-personnel and anti-armor roles. A second platform, the Antonio José de Sucre 200 (ANSU-200), was presented in 2022 as a flying wing prototype with stealth features and multi-role capability, including air-to-ground strikes, counter-drone missions, and suppression of enemy air defenses. Experts noted the ANSU-100 as a derivative of the Mohajer-2, while the ANSU-200 bore similarities to more advanced Iranian designs such as the Shahed-171. During the July 5, 2022, military parade, both drones were shown being transported by vehicles, leaving their operational status uncertain. Nevertheless, the ANSU-100 marked the first armed UAV displayed by a Latin American military, establishing Venezuela as a regional exception.

The program developed through phases of activity and stagnation. By 2013, only about 15 Arpías had been built and used for border patrols and oil infrastructure monitoring, but the country’s economic collapse between 2014 and 2018 left only one operational unit by 2019, according to internal Venezuelan documents. The attempted assassination of Nicolás Maduro in 2019 using explosive-laden commercial drones prompted renewed emphasis on domestic UAV production. In 2020, the government established Empresa Aeronáutica Nacional S.A. (EANSA), a subsidiary of Conviasa, to resume drone production and modernization at El Libertador, again with Iranian support. Analysts describe this revival as part of a broader “Iranization” of Venezuelan doctrine, with emphasis on asymmetric tactics relying on drones and loitering munitions to offset conventional shortcomings.

New acquisitions and local adaptations have since broadened the fleet. In addition to the ANSU-100 and ANSU-200, Venezuela procured Iranian Mohajer-6 drones capable of carrying Qaem missiles, Russian Orlan-10 reconnaissance drones, and introduced the Zamora V-1 loitering munition in 2024, modeled on the Iranian Shahed-136 used in Ukraine. Venezuela’s drone battalion has been credited with detecting Operation Gedeón, a failed 2020 incursion by Venezuelan exiles and U.S. veterans. Reports also indicate that UAVs have been used for surveillance along the Colombian border, and Colombia formally protested an airspace violation by an Orlan-10 in 2021. The drones have also been tied to counter-narcotics operations and maritime surveillance, with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López citing their deployment in coastal patrols and riverine operations.

International scrutiny of the Venezuela-Iran partnership intensified in 2022 when an Emtrasur Boeing 747 with a mixed Iranian-Venezuelan crew was detained in Argentina. Although Caracas stated the flight carried auto parts, Israeli sources suggested it might have transported drone technology. Western intelligence reports have alleged that Conviasa and its subsidiaries function as an air bridge for drone components, control stations, and possibly missiles. Analysts also noted suspicious Caracas–Tehran–Moscow routes involving Conviasa aircraft, with unscheduled stopovers in Iran raising concerns about links to drone transfers to Russia. Both Iran and Venezuela denied these claims, but photographs of missile-capable ANSU-100 drones circulated internationally and reinforced suspicions. U.S. and Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that Venezuela could become a hub for Iranian drone production, including kamikaze systems, with potential risks of proliferation to criminal groups or non-state actors in Latin America.

Tensions escalated further in August 2025 when the United States dispatched three guided-missile destroyers, 4,000 Marines, and, later, additional ships, including the USS Erie and USS Newport News, to the Caribbean, officially as part of counter-narcotics operations. Venezuela responded by deploying warships and announcing a “significant” drone presence along its coast and inland waterways. Caracas also sent 15,000 troops to the Colombian border and petitioned the United Nations to demand a halt to U.S. military movements. Washington simultaneously doubled its bounty on Nicolás Maduro to $50 million, accusing him of leading the Cartel de los Soles drug-trafficking network. Meanwhile, Venezuela announced seizures of narcotics and dismantling of clandestine shipyards used to construct semisubmersible vessels for drug transport. At the same time, the government issued a decree banning all civilian drone use nationwide, citing public safety, even as state entities expanded their own UAV fleet. This dual policy highlights the strategic role assigned to drones by the Venezuelan government at both the operational and political levels.