RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Russia’s push into Ukraine has put many on
edge. But less known is that Russia is also strengthening its military
links south of the Rio Grande and re-establishing itself as a power in
the region.
Vladimir Putin has been strengthening military links here, and Russia
is now the largest arms dealer to governments in Latin America,
surpassing the United States. Russia has even floated the possibility of
building new military bases in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and
putting its warships permanently in the Caribbean.
In the midst of the Ukraine crisis, Russia’s top diplomat
Sergei Lavrov recently visited Cuba, Peru, Chile, and Nicaragua, where
he announced that Russia would also pour money into the new Central
American canal project.
Arms selling is a free market, and if Russian companies can offer
cheaper and better guns than US or British ones, they have the
competitive edge.
Many of this region’s leftist governments are also more suspicious of
US military power, which has historically sided with dictatorships
across South America, even as it challenges Cuba.
However, the influx of Russian planes and missiles has ruffled some feathers.
Costa Rica’s outgoing foreign minister said the arms build-up in neighboring Nicaragua made him “fear trouble.”
A continued presence of US military bases in
countries such as Colombia
and Honduras and in Guantanamo Bay also raises the specter of a return
to the superpower standoff that ruptured the region during the Cold War.
Brazil
Russia arms America’s southern neighbors such as Brazil.
Latin America’s largest country held meetings on new arms sales from
Russian companies during a visit by Russian Defense Minister Sergei
Shoigu in October, and further developments on the deals emerged in
March.
Among the weapons on the table are the Pantsir-S, a missile air
defense system that can take on targets flying at low altitudes, and the
Igla, a portable surface-to-air missile. Russia is also trying to sell
its Sukhoi-35 fighter jets to the South American giant.
Estimates put the contracts in the multibillion-dollar range.
Brazil’s left-leaning government has been a heavy critic of the
US NSA spying program, while being largely friendly to international business interests.
Venezuela
Minister
Shoigu revealed he was in talks to build bases in Venezuela, Cuba and
Nicaragua for Russian warships.
Under Chavez, Venezuela bought some $5 billion worth of military
hardware from Russia, including fighter planes, helicopters and assault
rifles.
Chavez also stirred the pot by allowing Russian warships, including
the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great (below), near its Caribbean
coast.
Maduro announced his country would continue to buy Russian weapons when he took power last year.
Then in February, Defense Minister Shoigu revealed he was in talks to
build bases in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua for Russian warships.
“The talks are underway, and we are close to signing the relevant documents,” Shoigu told reporters in Moscow.
However, while the announcement raised shockwaves, very few details have emerged.
Cuba
With the history of the Cuban missile crisis, Russian military
presence on the Caribbean island perhaps strikes the loudest chord.
Throughout the late 20th century, the Castro government based its defense system — and its economy — on help from the Soviets.
While most of this support evaporated with the Soviet Union’s
collapse in 1991, Russia has revived the relationship in recent years.
In 2011, the allies revealed new contracts for Cuba to make Russian
guns and bullets, including an assembly line for 7.62-mm rounds used in
Kalashnikovs at the Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara factory.
However, a new base and potential presence of Soviet warships would up the ante considerably.
Nicaragua
The Sandinista government also received some help from the Soviet
Union back in the 1980s, to fight the wrath of the US-backed Contras in
one of the most notorious Cold War battlegrounds.
While the re-elected President Daniel Ortega has abandoned many of
his socialist leanings of old, he has reinvigorated this relationship
with Moscow.
Speaking to his army in April, Ortega announced new support from the Russian Federation.
“It’s just as important now to defend our right, the right that we
Nicaraguans have to arm ourselves, to strengthen ourselves militarily;
we have to modernize the army to provide these services,” Ortega said,
according to the Nicaragua Dispatch. “It’s just that simple.”
Among the support, Russia has promised helicopters and Tiger urban assault vehicles for the war on drug gangs.
However, Nicaraguan officials themselves have raised questions about
the announcement of the Russian base, which could be against Nicaragua’s
constitution.
There have also been significant Russian arms sales to Bolivia and
Peru, and discussion of new deals with Chile and Argentina. The United
States has particularly strong links to armies in Mexico, Colombia and
Honduras, which it supports in antidrug efforts.
No hay detalles de cómo funciona exactamente el sistema Exacto (valga
la redundancia), pero sí se sabe que, a diferencia de otros sistemas
similares, no requiere apuntar con un láser hacia el objetivo, sino que
Exacto se vale de un sistema de reconocimiento de imagen acoplado al rifle. El cambio de trayectoria de la bala está inducido por cambios aerodinámicos.
Por lo demás se trata de un proyectil del calibre 50 que se puede
disparar con las mismas armas que usan la versión convencional de estos
cartuchos. 
![NEOCASTRISMO [Hacer click en la imagen]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5jy0SZhMlaU/SsuPVOlq2NI/AAAAAAAAH1E/4xt2Bwd2reE/S150/ppo+saturno+jugando+con+sus+hijos.jpg)
