Traders say Venezuela shipping fuel to Syria

Rumor has it .....

By REUTERS 02/16/2012 17:13 -- JPost story

CARACAS/GENEVA - The government of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez is emerging as a rare supplier of diesel to Syria, potentially undermining Western sanctions and helping the Syrian government fuel its military in the middle of a bloody crackdown on civilian protests.

A cargo of diesel, which can be used to fuel army tanks or as heating fuel, was expected to arrive at Syria's Mediterranean port of Banias this week, according to two traders and shipping data. The cargo could be worth up to $50 million.

Ship turns off satellite tracking

The Venezuelan tanker was last seen off the coast of Cyprus with a destination of Banias and the estimated arrival date of Wednesday, AIS ship tracking on Reuters showed. The satellite tracking has been switched off since Wednesday.

If the ship has not arrived yet, I wonder if somebody will get a brainstorm.

Like maybe sink the damn thing !!

Maybe the news article is a secret code message. Hmmm.

Lots of submarines are operating in the Mediterranean.

Diesel fuel is expected to arrive in Banias this week as Syria faces shortages; no blanket embargo exists on Syria

Okay, it's no surprise to me that Venezuela is shipping to Syria. After all, Iran has been running military flights through Syria to Venezuela for years now on a weekly basis. Something smells here though....... Diesel? Venezuela is honestly shipping refined FUEL to the Middle East?

I'd give anything to have teams board that ship and stick test every compartment within the tanks. I just have a hunch....there is more than fuel on that ship. I have NO idea what Venezuela could be making or shipping that Syria and Iran don't already have...but then that is why an inspection would be great. Too bad it would probably push tensions to the breaking point.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
Okay, it's no surprise to me that Venezuela is shipping to Syria. After all, Iran has been running military flights through Syria to Venezuela for years now on a weekly basis. Something smells here though....... Diesel? Venezuela is honestly shipping refined FUEL to the Middle East?

I'd give anything to have teams board that ship and stick test every compartment within the tanks. I just have a hunch....there is more than fuel on that ship. I have NO idea what Venezuela could be making or shipping that Syria and Iran don't already have...but then that is why an inspection would be great. Too bad it would probably push tensions to the breaking point.

Pretty good observation !!

That's the first time many people heard that Iran has been possibly sending military equipment to Venezuela.

The Big "V" may in fact be a lynchpin for Mideast smuggling.

The article may be exposing more than we think !

Those tankers are big enough for lots of "merchandise".

Here are two articles from last year about Iranian missiles in Venezuela.


by IPT News • May 17, 2011
Iran May be Extending Military Reach into Venezuela


Published May 17, 2011 Fox News Latino
Opinion: Iran is Building a Secret Missile Installation in Venezuela

You know, it's odd but I've looked and looked for more information about that Missile base. I have the archive stuff from when it all first broke and I'd even worked up range and distance charts for impact danger on what they were claiming to base there. Basically....what they claimed would give gitmo a couple minutes warning but not pose a major threat to the U.S.

If they put their Medium range stuff that Iran has talked about perfecting and enhancing since...Well...

I ran those numbers 4 times to be sure I was right..it was too odd ball for where the outer range ring landed on the map. Lets just say if Iran ever launches from their little base there, I wouldn't recommend being in the Castle at Disneyworld that day. The outer one just about cut through the Castle itself from where the base was projected to be planned in Venezuela.

Have a nice day!


I spent a bit of time digging for those range maps I made and can't find them. It's 1373 miles from the construction site of the Missile Base, last time Google got a clear shot they chose to share, and Orlando though. Range on the Gahdr-100 is considerably further at 1800 miles and it'd place somewhere in Northern Georgia by the looks of things. Any way it slices....Medium/Long range shots COULD hit the U.S.. Short Range cannot..... Of course, Iran would have a literal RAIN of MUCH MUCH larger missiles in the flight time it takes for ours to arrive.

One thing I just noticed though..and I don't know how I missed this because I specifically ran the maps and numbers for an attack on Gitmo..but in looking at the flight path from the base to Orlando as my example..Hmm...The flight path it HAS to take literally crosses Guantanamo Bay....just a hair east of the bay itself and basically over the detention facilities. So....I'll assume I'm no super sleuth and Uncle Sammy ran the same simulation LONG before I did... I'll bet we have defensive systems at Gitmo to engage anything coming out of Venezeula. Maybe not so much to worry about from that specific area, anyway.