A Bellingcat investigation has recognized remnants of an AGM-88 collection missile inside a three-storey condo complicated that was hit in Catia La Mar throughout the US army raid on Venezuela on Jan. 3, 2026 that reportedly killed no less than one civilian.
In accordance with the Venezuelan unbiased media outlet, El Pitazo, Rosa Gonzalez, 79, was killed on this airstrike within the metropolis of Catia La Mar in La Guaira State, 30 km north of the capital Caracas. The assault reportedly left a second particular person severely wounded.
Bellingcat requested the US Division of Protection to verify our findings. Nonetheless, they said that “a Battle Harm Evaluation is ongoing”. We additionally reached out to the Division of State however they didn’t reply to our questions on the time of publication.
The Jan. 3 US assault on Venezuela focused a number of places throughout the nation, together with army installations and areas inside and across the capital, Caracas. US army helicopters, jets and drones offered cowl for an assault drive that landed at Fort Tiuna, the most important army complicated in Caracas; captured President Nicolas Maduro and First Woman Cilia Flores, and flew them in a foreign country.
About 75 folks, together with civilians, had been killed within the operation, US officers acquainted with the matter instructed the Washington Submit. Among the many army fatalities had been 32 Cuban and 21 Venezuelan troopers, in response to varied media experiences.
In accordance with El Pitazo, a second girl, Yohana Rodríguez Sierra, 45, was killed, and her daughter wounded, in different strikes at a communications station at Cerro El Volcán. A number of residential homes had been additionally reportedly destroyed within the close by space of La Boyera.
The army operation in Caracas follows a collection of assaults on alleged drug boats which have reportedly killed no less than 114 within the Caribbean Sea and the Japanese Pacific Ocean.
Figuring out the Munition
Bellingcat has discovered movies displaying the aftermath of the Catia La Mar assault and remnants of the munition filmed on the location. The strike destroyed some exterior partitions of 1 condo complicated and prompted intensive harm to no less than two flats.
Bellingcat geolocated the condo complicated to an space in Catia La Mar about 30 km north of Caracas (10.592796, -67.037721) and roughly 500 m east of a focused air defence storage inside a army facility.
One video additionally reveals remnants of a munition. In accordance with an evaluation of visible proof by Bellingcat, the remnants seem to point out an AGM-88 collection missile.
One other remnant of the AGM-88 collection missile seems in a video revealed by Euronews. This remnant is a BSU-60 tail fin, that in response to an analyst word on the Open Supply Munitions Portal (OSMP), is used completely with the AGM-88 collection missile.
The AGM-88 HARM/AARGM collection are American-produced air-to-surface missiles which can be designed to hit ground-based radar-emitting targets, equivalent to air defence programs just like the Buk-M2E utilized by Venezuela’s army, with a number of of them destroyed throughout the US army raid.
“Venezuela doesn’t function the AGM-88 HARM. Its F-16 acquisition occurred in 1983, when the US wouldn’t launch anti-radiation tech to the area,” Dr Andrei Serbin Pont, Worldwide Analyst and President of the Regional Coordinating Centre for Financial and Social Investigations, CRIES, instructed Bellingcat. Later Israeli upgrades added guided munitions/AAMs, not ARMs, he stated.
In accordance with TheWarZone, Venezuela didn’t obtain any precision air-to-surface munitions, such because the AGM-88 collection missiles. The Stockholm Worldwide Peace Analysis Institute (SIPRI) Arms Switch Database doesn’t report any transfers of AGM-88 missiles to Venezuela.
US Navy plane had been photographed within the area with AGM-88E AARGM missiles within the weeks earlier than the operation. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Employees, Basic Caine, said that jets of this sort, designed to suppress and destroy air defences, took half within the operation.
Air Defence Techniques Focused
The US struck a number of air defence programs throughout Venezuela as a part of the operation, with Buk-M2E launchers being destroyed at La Guaira Port, and the Higuerote and La Carlota airbases. Satellite tv for pc imagery from Vantor reveals that the realm close to a BuK-M2E storage constructing at Fort Guaicaipuro was additionally struck, however no air defence programs can clearly be seen.
In accordance with satellite tv for pc imagery, Buk-M2E launchers seem to have been saved on the army base roughly 500m from the residential constructing that was hit.
Bellingcat was not capable of decide what prompted the missile to strike the condo constructing or if Buk-2ME launchers at Catia La Mar or a unique system had been the supposed goal.
The AARGM variant is able to having designated missile “influence zones” and “avoidance zones” programmed to find out the place the missile can or can’t influence when used on missions, a characteristic added to “forestall collateral harm”.
Bellingcat requested the US Division of Protection if any weapons used within the operation transmitted a weapons influence evaluation or different knowledge that indicated they hit an unintended or civilian location. They stated {that a} Battle Harm Evaluation is ongoing.
Carlos Gonzales, Giancarlo Fiorella, Jake Godin, Trevor Ball and Youri van der Weide contributed to this report.
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