Well, maybe not. But scary stuff happening between Russia and the Central American countries.
TLDR summery:
Russia plans to house a long range strategic aviation wing on one of Venezuela's islands. Venezuela is more than happy to have a former socialist superpower placing nuclear capable long range bombers on its soil. Both countries deny that this move is for any malicious purpose. Also, Costa Rica, and El Salvador have opened up talks with Cuba, promising diplomatic ties with Cuba.
Just feels like these former soviet/socialist countries and current socialist countries are binding together again. Not sure if anyone out there remembers what happened the last time Russia and Cuba were buddies...
News:
MOSCOW - A Russian air force chief said Saturday that the country could base some strategic bombers in Cuba or on an island offered by Venezuela, the Interfax news agency reported, but a Kremlin official quickly said the military had been speaking only hypothetically.
The U.S. and Russia have been trying to reset their relationship, severely strained over U.S. plans to position missile defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic and by Russia's invasion of U.S. ally Georgia last year.
Russia has nothing to gain strategically from basing long-range craft within relatively short range of U.S. shores, independent military analyst Alexander Golts said, calling the military statement a retaliatory gesture aimed at hitting back after U.S. ships patrolled Black Sea waters near Georgia.
The chief of staff of Russia's long range aviation, Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, was quoted by Interfax as saying Saturday that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had offered "a whole island with an airdrome, which we can use as a temporary base for strategic bombers."
"If there is a corresponding political decision, then the use of the island ... by the Russian Air Force is possible," Zhikharev was quoted as saying.
Interfax reported he said earlier that Cuba has air bases with four or five runways long enough for the huge bombers and could be used to host the long-range planes.
But Alexei Pavlov, a Kremlin official, told The Associated Press that "the military is speaking about technical possibilities, that's all. If there will be a development of the situation, then we can comment," he said.
Mike Hammer, spokesman for President Barack Obama's National Security Council, said, "We do not comment on hypotheticals."
Officials at both Venezuela's presidential administration and Defense Ministry refused immediate comment and Cuban officials could not be reached for comment.
Venezuela and Cuba, traditionally fierce U.S. foes, have close political and energy relations with Russia, which has been working to reassert itself as a military force. Russia resumed long-range bomber patrols in 2007 after a 15-year hiatus.
Venezuela hosted two Russian Tu-160 bombers in September for training flights and later joined Russian warships for exercises in the Caribbean.
Cuba has never permanently hosted Russian or Soviet aircraft, though Soviet short-range bombers often made stopovers there during the Cold War.
In the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet nuclear missiles stationed in Cuba pushed the world to the brink of nuclear conflict after U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced their presence to the world. After a tense week of diplomacy, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev removed the missiles.
The military analyst Golts said basing Russian bombers in Venezuela or Cuba "has no military sense. The bombers don't need any base."
He said the bombers are considered strategic because they are capable of reaching an attacking range of the United States from Russia without the need for stopovers.
"This is just a retaliatory gesture," he said, adding that Russia wanted to hit back after U.S. ships patrolled Black Sea waters.
Moscow and the new Obama administration have appeared to want to mend their relations,
U.S. plans initiated under former President George W. Bush to put elements of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic had particularly irked Russia, although the United States insists they are intended to counter potential future threats from Iran.
Russia has welcomed Obama's apparently more cautious approach to the divisive issue.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva earlier this month to push a symbolic red "reset" button, another sign of the desire for a clean slate.
Cuban authorities made no comment last summer when a Moscow newspaper reported that Russia could send nuclear bombers to the island. While neither confirming nor denying the report, ailing former President Fidel Castro at the time praised his brother President Raul Castro for maintaining a "dignified silence" on the report and said that Cuba was not obligated to offer the United States an explanation.
Also,
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Russian bombers would be welcome in Venezuela, but the socialist leader denied that his country would offer Moscow its territory for a military base.
Chavez - a fierce critic of Washington with close ties to Russia and Cuba - said his government did not raise the possibility, as Russian media had reported.
"It's not like that," the president said, responding to a report by Interfax news agency quoting the chief of staff of Russia's long range aviation, Maj. Gen. Anatoly Zhikharev, as saying some strategic bombers could be based on an island offered by Venezuela.
Zhikharev reportedly said Saturday that Chavez had offered "a whole island with an airdrome, which we can use as a temporary base for strategic bombers."
Speaking during his weekly television and radio program, Chavez said he told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that his nation's bombers would be allowed to land in Venezuela if necessary, but no such plans have been made.
Venezuela hosted two Russian Tu-160 bombers in September for training flights and joined Russian warships two months later for naval exercises in the Caribbean.
"I told President Medvedev that any time Russia's strategic aviation needs to make a stop in Venezuela as part of its strategic plans, Venezuela is available," he said.
Interfax also reported that Zhikharev said Russian bombers could be based in communist-led Cuba, but a Kremlin official said Zhikharev had been speaking hypothetically.
Kremlin official Alexei Pavlov responded to the report on Saturday, saying that "the military is speaking about technical possibilities, that's all."
"If there will be a development of the situation, then we can comment," Pavlov said.
Venezuela and Cuba have close political and energy relations with Russia, which has been working to reassert itself as a military force.
Russia resumed long-range bomber patrols in 2007 after a 15-year hiatus.
During Sunday's program, Chavez said his government may expand a military base on the Caribbean island of La Orchila, approximately 110 miles (180 kilometers) off the South American country's central coast.
"It's a strategic point, but not just for a naval base. It's also an economic zone," he said, noting that installations for fishermen could be constructed.
La Orchila is already home to a small military base, including helicopter landing pads and docks, as well as a presidential residence.
And again...
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - The only two Central American countries that don't recognize Cuba's government say they plan to re-establish diplomatic ties with the communist nation.
Costa Rica said Wednesday it will re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba, and El Salvador's new president-elect, Mauricio Funes, promised to do the same after he takes office.
Costa Rica broke off ties with Havana in 1961, while El Salvador has not recognized the island's government since 1959, when Fidel Castro came to power.
On Sunday, Funes became the first leftist president elected in El Salvador since the country's brutal civil war ended in 1992. His party, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, formed from five rebel armies in 1980, is the second former enemy of the United States along with Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega to take power democratically in Latin America's lurch to the left.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon brushed off a question about Cuba after he met with Funes on Wednesday, and said the U.S. was a partner willing to work with the new leader.
"In diplomacy, as in life, the honeymoon isn't the important thing. What's important is the marriage," Shannon said.
"We are going to make sure this marriage is healthy and working. ... We are going to establish a dialogue in a spirit of cooperation and the recognition that El Salvador is a sovereign country," he said.
Earlier Wednesday, President Barack Obama telephoned Funes to congratulate him and the people of El Salvador for their commitment to democratic elections.
Costa Rican President Oscar Arias said his country recognizes many governments that are politically different from his own, including China. Cuba should be treated the same, he argued.
"I'm taking this step convinced that times change and Costa Rica must change, too," he said, adding that Costa Rica and Cuba would both name ambassadors soon.
While Costa Rican media have speculated this week that the country could be taking steps to reunite with Cuba, Arias' announcement was largely a surprise.
It appeared to be coincidental that the decision was made public on the same day that Funes reiterated his campaign pledge to re-establish relations with Havana.
Funes said he will make his decision official after he takes office June 1. He also said he wants to strengthen trade with the island.
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