On Sept. 22, a fleet of Russian ships, including the cruiser Peter the Great and an anti-submarine warship, set sail on a 15,000 nautical mile journey to Venezuela.
The vessels will participate in joint maneuvers with the Venezuelan Navy in November. Two Russian bombers have been in Venezuela conducting training flights. The two countries have recently signed arms contracts and have plans to cooperate in an energy deal.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has emphasized the importance of Latin America building a strong friendship with Russia to help reduce U.S. influence and keep peace in the region.
The United States has recently attacked both countries for “human rights violations”—a rather hypocritical and baseless allegation from the occupier of Iraq and Afghanistan. The recent reestablishment of the U.S. Fourth Fleet amounted to a military threat to Latin America—Venezuela in particular.
