[Solastalgia]

What does everyone make of this? Here's a fairly obvious perspective:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/j ... ssia-power

Putin's Latin America trip aims to show Russia is more than just regional power

Russia's president's trip to US's backyard is designed to flex Moscow's political and economic muscle, says Dmitri Trenin

Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Latin America is aimed to demonstrate several things:

Russia is a global, not a regional power, as US President Barack Obama recently described it. Conferring with leaders in the US's own backyard is a sure way to send that message.

Russia's exclusion from the G8 during the Ukraine crisis only stimulates Moscow to work more closely with non-Western partners. The agreement on a BRICS bank, taken at the summit in Brazil's Fortaleza, advances the group beyond the summitry stage.

Moscow is not only defending its own interests vis-a-vis the United States; it appears ready to take up the grievances of others, whether the blockade of Cuba by the United States or the Falklands/Malvinas dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

The visit is not all politics – Putin is keen to make economic deals. Russia's trade with Latin America is small: a puny $185m with Cuba, $1.5bn with Argentina. The forgiveness of the Soviet-era debt, however, should stimulate investment in energy exploration off Cuba.

Given the US reluctance to allow Russia's Glonass navigation stations in its own territory, Russia now plans to build them in Nicaragua. Russia is also ready to become a security guard to "protect against possible provocations" for the Chinese-led project of a canal between the Pacific and the Atlantic across Nicaragua. It is default-threatened Argentina, however, which Moscow sees as a particularly promising partner.

In contrast to the Chinese expansion to Latin America, which is almost all economics, Russia's engagement is increasingly laden with geopolitics. Putin's meeting with 87-year-old Fidel Castro was symbolic, as a linking of two epochs.

The last time Putin visited Havana in 2000, he closed down the Russian intelligence gathering facility in Lourdes, as a good will gesture toward the United States. In Putin's view, his outreach then, and after 9/11, was not sufficiently appreciated in Washington. With Russia's future naval and Air Force presence in Nicaragua, no matter how limited, Latin America will add to the agenda of US-Russian relations. Fidel may chuckle.

[Goldberk]

Looking for new sources of income whilst pissing off the USA

[Potemkin]

Looking for new sources of income whilst pissing off the USA

Indeed. From Putin's perspective, it's win-win.

[wat0n]

This is something the US will likely worry about, and maybe act on it on some way, rather than Chinese trade and investment here.

[Beren]

I wonder whether Putin has switched on Cold War mode or he's just teasing, I think it's the latter.

"If you drive me out of Ukraine, then I make deals with Cuba."

[Potemkin]

America is pissing in Russia's backyard, so Putin is reciprocating by pissing in America's backyard. It's quite simple, really.

[Beren]

America is pissing in Russia's backyard, so Putin is reciprocating by pissing in America's backyard. It's quite simple, really.

The problem is that Cuba is a leech, and it's really great at leeching.

"Would you like to piss in his backyard, darling? We have our tariffs... "

[Soulflytribe]

This is something the US will likely worry about, and maybe act on it on some way, rather than Chinese trade and investment here.

By "US" you mean this current Obama administration? If yes, then I assure you that they are too weak and won't do a thing.
Putin has been arming Venezuela for more than a decade now, and Obama did nothing to counter that. With the obvious exception of Mexico, Latin America is not a priority for Obama, just look at how many times the worst president since Carter has travelled to the region since assuming office.

[Dagoth Ur]

Oh yeah what happened to the impending doom of Maduro? Petered out when the rich kids got bored. Big surprise.

Also good job Russia. South America really needs connections to non-western trade or else they will be perpetually kept as impoverished nations.

[wat0n]

By "US" you mean this current Obama administration? If yes, then I assure you that they are too weak and won't do a thing.
Putin has been arming Venezuela for more than a decade now, and Obama did nothing to counter that. With the obvious exception of Mexico, Latin America is not a priority for Obama, just look at how many times the worst president since Carter has travelled to the region since assuming office.

Not necessarily the Obama administration.

I doubt the US cares too much about that, but having a Russian base in Nicaragua is probably a different matter.

[Goldberk]

A Russian base near a Chinese canal, has the cia forgotten about Latin america?

[Rugoz]

Also good job Russia. South America really needs connections to non-western trade or else they will be perpetually kept as impoverished nations.

It already trades heavily with China and to a lesser extent with Japan, South Korea etc.

Trade with Russia is almost irrelevant. Even for Cuba its only 2.6% of exports and 2.8% of imports.

[Far-Right Sage]

A Russian base near a Chinese canal, has the cia forgotten about Latin america?

Likely they just grew arrogant, complacent, and assumed it was "in the bag", but Nicaragua especially since Ortega's return to power has been trending the other way, and really there has been something of a reversal of the fortunes of the power structures installed by the rule of the gun with a wink and a nod from private interests in several key Latin American countries from the obvious Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela to the trend toward indigenization and left-nationalism in Bolivia and the socialist-lite swing in Ecuador.

Panama is viewed by many Central Americans as the most blatant of Washington's client states in the region, and so it's natural that in pushing for this project, the government in Managua would love to see Nicaragua, with Russian and Chinese aid, set up as a sort of rival entity to Panama in the region and the special consideration and prestige Panama City has been afforded as a result of the Panama Canal and acting as the U.S. watchdog. It's rather a bold move for Nicaragua if you think about it, in Central America, right in the U.S. backyard, surrounded by puppet regimes in Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala.

[Goldberk]

I don't know to many details but it would be interesting to know what arrangements will be made for the protection of the canal, would Nicaragua allow a Chinese military presence?