The United States will deploy 3,000 soldiers in support of NATO forces in several Eastern European countries to defend NATO countries ” against any aggression “, this is what we learned this Wednesday, February 2. While the Ukrainian question strains relations between Russia and NATO countries, what place does Russia wish to occupy in Latin America?
Andrei Piatakov is a political scientist and researcher at the Latin American Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. According to him, for several years, Moscow has been setting up strategic partnerships on the American continent, most of them in countries refractory to American domination, such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, Argentina or Bolivia. These are partnerships essentially on two axes: security and energy, but also with a view to a balance of world powers.
RFI: With the current tensions on the Ukrainian-Russian border and between the United States and NATO, why does Russia want to be present in Latin America?
Andrei Pyatakov : For me, the discussions between Russia and NATO that are taking place at the moment are the culmination of what Russia is contesting in what is called Pax Americana [la paix sous domination américaine, ndlr]. In fact, Russia’s global project consists of building a multipolar world, that is to say a world in which the balance of powers is exercised.
And for Russia, Latin America is the ideal region to deploy this “critical practice” of the international model that the United States is trying to develop. We must remember the words spoken by former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in 2019: he said that the Monroe Doctrine was still in force [les Amériques aux Américains, ndlr] and that it was still relevant.
But the influence of the United States in the region has diminished considerably in recent years. And Russia wants to take advantage of this situation.
There is no longer unity in the OAS, the Organization of American States, which has gone from a political mechanism of influence to a simple forum critical of the left-wing regimes in the region. The crisis in Venezuela and the elections in Nicaragua demonstrated that the OAS was incapable of making decisions. The Lima Group no longer exists, no longer functions.
So in summary, Russia’s main strategy in Latin America now is to challenge this new Monroe Doctrine.
What is the interest for Russia to constitute a strategic node of tension in this region?
We must not forget that NATO is now projecting itself into more distant countries. For example, two countries which have very powerful armies and undoubtedly the most powerful in Latin America, Colombia and Brazil, are already non-regional partners of NATO. This is the reason why Latin America is no doubt interfering indirectly in the discussions between Russia and NATO.
Russia initially was interested in a rich, solvent and independent Venezuela. So, purely pragmatic interests at the start ultimately brought him immense geopolitical gains, it must be emphasized. Over the past ten years, the Venezuelan armed forces have been modernized and the Russian factor has become a key factor in this process.
What is the Russian military deployment in the region?
I don’t believe there is an open and direct Russian military presence in the region. The maximum we have is a technical-military contingent to ensure the functioning of the equipment and weapons that have already been provided.
In 2018, a service center was inaugurated in Lima, Peru for the repair of Russian MI helicopters. It is a center that also trains aircraft pilots.
The main activity of Russia is consulting, because Russia enjoys moral authority among Latin Americans. Of course towards the countries of the left, but also of the right. For example, in November 2019, during the protests against the government of Sebastian Piñera, representatives of the Russian military forces visited the city of Valparaiso to exchange experiences.
In general, Russia can be called an exporter of security mechanisms to Latin American countries. Because there have been contacts between the forces of order between Russia and most of the countries in the region for a very long time, relations which are now increasingly close.
The Wagner Society [de sécurité privée, ndlr] is it present in Latin America?
The press reports information of his presence, but I myself have no official information to confirm or deny this presence.
Given the current tensions with the United States and NATO, is the equivalent of a missile crisis like in 1962 in Cuba possible?
I think the current situation has nothing to do with the crisis of 1962. I don’t believe in repetitions in history.
The question of the transfer and maintenance of Russian troops in the region is not on the agenda. Don, there is no financial question that arises on this subject.
On the other hand, the most important thing for Russia is the legal question, the conventional agreements between the countries. I recall that in 2019, Russia and Venezuela signed an agreement that allows Russian submarines to use Venezuelan ports. And before that, a similar agreement was signed with Nicaragua. So, from a conventional point of view, a discreet and indirect presence is possible in the region.
Is China’s Growing Presence in Latin America Overshadowing Russian Military Power?
Russia is increasingly facing competition from China and I think that in the future this will only increase. In 2015, China became the main arms exporter to Venezuela and overtook Russia. And Russia, which is the second largest arms exporter in the world, is very interested in the Latin American market and will no doubt do everything to regain first place.
More generally, in which areas is Russia most present in the region?
Russia focuses mainly on the export of security technologies and equipment, and to a lesser extent energy-related technologies. On security equipment, I can mention the establishment of a training center for anti-drug officers in the plan to combat delinquency in Nicaragua, which was inaugurated in 2017.
I also remember that 80% of the electricity in Argentina is produced by power plants that were built during the Soviet era. These facilities need maintenance and repairs.
And then in 2021, the Rosatom company began the construction of a complex of nuclear reactors, which constitutes the key element of the Center for Investigation and Nuclear Technology of Bolivia.
So these are the two axes that are important in Latin America for Russia in relation to the current situation: security and energy.