THE Venezuelan Government has confirmed that four Russian naval vessels will participate in joint exercises in the Caribbean this year, a move that could further strain relations between Russia and the United States.
Venezuela's naval intelligence chief, Admiral Salbatore Cammarata Bastidas, said
a Russian force, including four naval vessels and 1000 military personnel, would take part in mid-November exercises with Venezuelan frigates, patrol boats, submarines and aircraft.The announcement on Sunday came soon after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned that NATO's deployment of several warships to the Black Sea in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Georgia last month would not go unanswered.
The Russian agreement to send ships could also be seen as part of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's campaign to build up his military, an effort that includes arms deals, a proposed South American Defence Council and a recent decree that gives his armed forces a greater role in carrying out his social agenda.
Mr Chavez, a strident US critic, has said the actions are to ward off what he has described as US imperialist designs on Venezuela and other Latin American countries.
He has long suspected that the US supported a failed 2002 coup against him.
Mr Chavez is particularly unhappy with the reformation of the US Fourth Fleet, which has begun patrolling the Caribbean after having been disbanded in 1953.Officials at Southern Command, the Pentagon's Miami-based headquarters, have said the Fourth Fleet's revival is organisational in purpose and is not a response to tensions with Venezuela.
Mr Chavez said during a visit to Russia in July that its ships and aircraft were welcome to come to Venezuela.
Flush with oil revenue, Venezuela has spent $US4 billion ($A4.9 billion) since 2004 on military hardware, mainly bought from Russia, according to the Security and Democracy Foundation of Caracas. Those deals included 53 Russian helicopters and 24 Sukhoi fighter jets. Venezuela is also buying rights and technology for a factory near Caracas to build Kalashnikov assault rifles.
During his visit to Russia, Mr Chavez said the two nations had formed a "strategic partnership" and that he was buying a Russian defensive missile system to thwart a potential US air attack.
In recent months, advisers of Mr Chavez said Venezuela was considering buying five diesel-powered Russian submarines. The deal would make it the region's top naval force, according to retired general Alberto Muller, a Chavez confidant.
Venezuelan officials have justified arms purchases with Russia by noting the ban on all weapons sales by US companies to Venezuela. The ban extends to foreign manufacturers' arms that contain US components.
Los Angeles Times