Escalation In The West: This Russian Move Puts The Cuban Missile Crisis To Shame

The international war games have been held annually since 2015, following Russia’s conquest of Crimea, and Venezuela has engaged from their inception. Still, this year’s games are the first held in Latin America and include participants from Cuba, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. Forces from Burma, Belarus, Abkhazia, Uzbekistan, China, India, Pakistan, and Indonesia, among others, also participate in the competitions. These countries “daily condemn imperialist aggression against the peoples,” Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López declared as he inaugurated the games on Monday.

August 21, 2022

The games are conducted at a time when Russia is being severely rebuked for its military incursion into Ukraine, an attack that spurred severe economic sanctions against Moscow by Europe and the United States and a chorus of condemnations around the world. This year’s games seek to remind the world that Russia still has friends, but observers believe that the fact that they are being held in Venezuela could have a longer-lasting effect.

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“In a sense, this seeks to normalize (and pave the way for) a larger military presence in Latin America,” said Joseph Humire, executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society, a Washington-based think tank. These games could open the door “to larger military operations and games in the future” involving Russia, China, and Iran. The region already saw this a few years ago with the first flights of Iranian planes to Venezuela. The planes, whose contents remain a mystery, initially caused great alarm in Venezuela and among observers of the Nicolás Maduro regime. However, they became so frequent that they ultimately went unnoticed, Humire said. “It is already normal for Venezuelans, and today there are flights from Iran that are constantly arriving, that are participating in activities that are worrisome and alarming but that people are not paying attention anymore,” Humire said.

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August 21, 2022

The games are carried at the Terepaima Military Fort, located in the central-western state of Lara, where expert sniper teams from participating countries compete for bragging rights. Although the number of soldiers present in Venezuela has not been disclosed, experts estimate that they could add up to hundreds of troops, given that in previous war games, countries participating neared 30.

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August 21, 2022

The competitions — which in the past have tested detachments of tanks, artillery, and amphibious operations — are scheduled to last until Aug. 27 and show the willingness of the Caracas regime to turn Venezuela into a platform for a series of anti-American activities, said Evan Ellis, professor of Latin American studies for the U.S. Army War College.