Russians in Venezuela

(Caracas, Venezuela) Russian warships arrived in La Guaira harbor outside Caracas this week in preparation for war games starting December 1st with Venezuelan armed forces.

Russian and Venezuelan warships will conduct a series of joint naval exercises in the Caribbean, involving sea rescue operations, maneuvering, and live-ammunition artillery drills.

"Three frigates, a transport amphibious vessel, four patrol boats, and four coastal defense vessels will take part in the exercise on the Venezuelan side," Rear Adm. Salvatore Cammarata said.

He added that a total of 700 Venezuelan servicemen would take part in the drills. [...]

The task force, led by the Pyotr Veliky missile cruiser, is on a planned visit that follows a two-month tour of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, which saw Russian ships visiting Libya, Turkey and France.

The group includes the Udaloy class destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and two support vessels with a total of about 1,600 naval infantrymen on board.

Additionally, Russian President Putin Medvedev arrived in Caracas yesterday for meetings aimed to fortify ties with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Medvedev flew to Caracas from Brazil, and previous to that, he visited Peru. The Russian President will close out his good-buddy tour with a trip to Cuba.

U.S. State Department sources say the Russian presence does not represent a challenge to U.S. influence in the region. It's not a surprise that the U.S. State Department again provides support for the contention that implementing an affirmative action program for hiring morons is not a good idea.