Russian warships received a 21-gun salute in Venezuela today as they made their first show of force in America's back yard since the end of the Cold War. The nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great and the submarine destroyer Admiral Chabanenko arrived at the port of La Guaira ahead of wargames in the Caribbean with the Venezuelan Navy. Their presence was timed to coincide with the visit of President Medvedev tomorrow, the first to Venezuela by a Russian leader, as Moscow seeks to reclaim influence in the region lost after the collapse of the Soviet Union. President Chavez, Venezuela's fiercely anti-American leader, welcomed the arrival of the task force in what is being seen as a calculated display of Russian defiance to the United States.
Russian warships received a 21-gun salute in Venezuela today as they made their first show of force in America's back yard since the end of the Cold War.
The nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great and the submarine destroyer Admiral Chabanenko arrived at the port of La Guaira ahead of wargames in the Caribbean with the Venezuelan Navy.
Their presence was timed to coincide with the visit of President Medvedev tomorrow, the first to Venezuela by a Russian leader, as Moscow seeks to reclaim influence in the region lost after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
President Chavez, Venezuela's fiercely anti-American leader, welcomed the arrival of the task force in what is being seen as a calculated display of Russian defiance to the United States.
