As Sentinel reported yesterday, four Russian warships and a nuclear-powered submarine will arrive in Havana next week, Cuban officials said Thursday. Did I mention that our borders are wide open, and Russians and Cubans have been coming in with some regularity? We have millions of single, military-age men coming in.
However, Cuba said it was non-threatening and merely a naval exercise between friends. Cuba’s navy is what? Some rafts and a fleet of speedboats?
Cuba cited “historically friendly relations” between both nations.
NON-THREATENING DRILLS AMONG FRIENDS
Cuba’s foreign ministry said in a news release that the ships will be in Havana between June 12 and June 17, noting that none of them will carry any nuclear weapons and assuring their presence “does not represent a threat to the region.”
Of course not. Only a conspiracy theorist would take it as a message. For instance, if the US is on Russia’s border in Ukraine, Russia might settle in 90 miles away from our border in Cuba.
The announcement came a day after U.S. officials said that Washington had been tracking Russian warships and aircraft that were expected to arrive in the Caribbean for a military exercise.
According to CBS News national security correspondent David Martin, those exercises will likely include Russian long-range bombers flying along the U.S. East Coast. Russian warships have made port calls in Cuba before, and warplanes have flown along the East Coast in the past as well, but this will be the first time in five years both will happen at the same time, Martin said.
The U.S. officials said that the Russian military presence was notable but not concerning.
It’s notable, alright, as we put long-range missiles all along their border, and our borders are wide open.
OUR PRESENCE IS BIGGER THAN THEIR PRESENCE
Martin noted the presence of four warships in Cuba “pales in comparison to the size of the exercises the U.S. military has been conducting with its NATO allies in Europe. So, this is not considered in any way a direct threat to the United States.”
Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said that the four Russian ships are the frigate “Gorshkov,” the nuclear-powered submarine “Kazan,” the fleet oil tanker “Pashin” and the salvage tug “Nikolai Chiker.”
The foreign ministry said that during the fleet’s arrival at the port of Havana, 21 salvos will be fired from one of the ships as a salute to the nation, which will be reciprocated by an artillery battery of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces.
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