It’s time to start worrying about what Russia’s been up to in Latin America
LINETTE LOPEZ
BusinessInsider.com
Mar. 27,2015
Russian influence is back in Latin America in a big way, along with a “clear return to Cold War tactics.”
And it’s happening at a time when the US military admits that it faces a “near-total lack of awareness of threats and the readiness to respond” in the region.
Those assertions were made by Lieutenant General Kenneth E. Tovo of US Southern Command in startling testimony to Congress this week. He added that Russia’s aim is also the same as the Cold War: To “erode” US influence in the region.
This week Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is visiting Cuba, Nicaragua, Colombia and Guatemala. According to recent reports, rumors are flying that Russia plans to sell fighter jets to Nicaragua’s Sandinista government after helping them set up a topogrphic center. In Cuba, Lavrov and his counterpart reportedly discussed US aggression against regional ally Venezuela.
“Last year and again this year, a Russian intelligence ship docked in Havana multiple times while conducting operations in the Gulf of Mexico and along the east coast of the United States,” Tovo told members of the Senate Armed Services committee.
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