Russia Warships Arrive in Venezuela After Stay in Cuba

As many have expected, the fleet of Russian warships that recently visited Cuba and conducted military exercises near US waters have arrived in Russia's ally, Venezuela. This was confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense, though only two of the four warships that visited Cuba warships made the port call.

According to the Miami Herald, the Admiral Gorshkov, the most advanced missile frigate in the Russian fleet, arrived along with a Russian oil tanker, Pashin, in the Port of La Guaira, a neighboring city to Caracas. It is expected to stay docked there for several days, much like in Cuba.

The two ships were originally part of the four Russian warships that conducted military exercises off waters near Florida before spending several days in the port of Havana in Cuba. The fleet included the Kazan, an advanced Russian nuclear submarine.

While the Russian fleet was conducting its military exercises in the Atlantic Ocean, at least three US Navy destroyers followed the Kazan as it traveled into the North Atlantic and back up the Florida coast. US officials confirmed. They also tracked the movements of the three other ships as they moved south.

These military exercises come as a show of force from Russia after the US authorized Ukraine that it can strike Russian soil with US-made weapons for the first time since the invasion began. However, the US confirmed that the nuclear submarine, the Kazan, was not carrying nuclear weapons, with US intelligence assessing that the small fleet posed "no threat" to the US.

As for Venezuela, its dictator, Nicolas Maduro, is considered one of Vladimir Putin's biggest allies on the international stage. He has been vocal in expressing his support for Moscow during its invasion of Ukraine and considers the Russian strongman as his "big brother."

Why Are Russian Warships Visiting Venezuela?

It is no secret that the two dictators have forged a close relationship with one another, and Maduro is showing his support to ally Putin's effort to guarantee the Russian naval presence in "remote areas of the oceans," including in the Americas.

The stop near Caracas was also to highlight the close ties between Moscow and the government of Venezuela, led by Nicolas Maduro. This came as Maduro faces re-election, though he is lagging in the polls.

While Venezuelan authorities have not yet officially confirmed the presence of these Russian warships in the country, crewmembers of the two ships have already been spotted in the city center of La Guaira, according to the Associated Press.

Experts Sound Off on Russia Warships' Visit to Venezuela

As the Russian warships arrived in Venezuela, several international policy experts commented on its impact on the region, including, the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council's Andrew D'Anieri, who noted, "The Kremlin loves their authoritarian buddies, and so this group will also head down to Venezuela to see Nicolas Maduro's forces there as well."

Meanwhile, Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told KOAA News 5, "Russian warships can create quite a bit of mischief. Keep in mind that they will be in the region for as long as we're up to Venezuela's contentious July 28 elections, so they could play some kind of role in helping the Maduro regime hang on to power there."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Two Russian naval ships dock in Venezuela after exercises in Atlantic Ocean - Associated Press