Before it bought the more modern Su-30MK2 Flanker fighter jet from Russia, Venezuela’s most advanced combat aircraft was the F-16A/B Fighting Falcon. Indeed, the F-16 was the most advanced combat aircraft in the entire region. Purchased during a period of close US-Venezuelan cooperation, the F-16s symbolized Venezuela’s efforts to modernize and align with the US. Yet four decades later, the fleet is a shadow of its former self—a physical reminder of how drastically the US-Venezuelan relationship has changed.

In the early 1980s, Venezuela faced regional instability, notably guerrilla conflicts and border tensions with Colombia. The United States, always eager to export its technology to other nations and build up supply linkages, encouraged Latin American partners to modernize with Western equipment. Venezuela opted to replace its aging F-5 and Mirage fleet with the F-16A/B Block 15, becoming the only Latin American country to receive F-16s directly from the United States. 

In 1984, Venezuela ordered 24 F-16s under the Peace Delta program. Deliveries........

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