the Czech government forbade Aero Vodochody, the manufacturer, from creating a variant with French avionics and Ukrainian engines, specially requested by Venezuela. Saab, a Swedish arms company announced it would honor the U.S. embargo, and would not sell arms to Venezuela. Carl Gustav recoilless rifles, AT4 AT weapons, as well as RBS-70 AA systems are in service in the Venezuelan military. Spanish company EADS CASA halted the sale of several transport planes that contained extensive U.S. technology. Brazil was forced to cancel the sale of Embraer Super Tucano airplanes to the Venezuelan Air Force due to its use of Pratt & Whitney engines. Embraer was also forced to cancel the sale of AEW&C equipped planes. France decided to block the sale of s to Venezuela. Russian companies Rosoboronexport and Sukhoi have been sanctioned by the U.S. government for procuring arms for Venezuela. The Russian Federation has broken the U.S. embargo However, the Russian Federation has continued sending arms to Venezuela despite the US embargo. Russia has agreed to sell more than $4 billion (£2 billion) worth of armaments to Venezuela since 2005 and disclosed that Mr Chávez wanted new antiaircraft systems and more fighter jets. Caracas acknowledges problems with Iran by U.S. embargo The Venezuela President, Hugo Chávez, acknowledged that the joint production between his country and Iran cars, has been affected by the embargo that United States keeps on the Islamic country. Spanish Defense Minister, defends arms sales to Venezuela The Spanish Minister of Defense, Pedro Morenes, has defended the sale of military equipment to Venezuela, and reported that a delegation from the public company Navantia has traveled to the capital of the country, Caracas, to try to sell new products to the Chávez government. Morenes has made these statements during a speech at the plenary session of the Congress to reply to an interpellation by the spokesman for Izquierda Unida, Jose Luis Centella, on the Ministry of defence plans for the coming years and the Spanish missions abroad. Role of the military in Venezuelan politics From 1810 up to the 1819 Angostura Congress that created Gran Colombia, and into the era of national independence since 1831, the National Armed Forces helped shaped the political, economical, social and national affairs of Venezuela, with so many military led-governments that led the nation until the late 1950s (with a brief break in the 1940s), several of them under strong military dictators.