Tu-160 strategic bombers. IMAGE: Russian Defense Ministry
Visit of Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers to Venezuela in December has caused a series of wild rumors in media.
2 Tu-160 strategic bombers arrived in Venezuela’s Bolivar International Airport for “combined operational flights” on December 10. The bombers were accompanied by an -124 Ruslan strategic airlift jet aircraft and Il-62 long-range jet airliner. On December 15, the air group returned to Russia.
The visit was widely covered by Western and Russian mainstream media outlets, which were spreading various speculations on the goal of the deployment and a further military cooperation between Russia and Venezuela. One of the most widely-spread rumor is that Russia is going to establish an air base in the Caribbean, at Orchila island.
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The source of these rumors is the December 10 report by Russian newspapaer Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The media outlet used anonymous diplomatic sources to speculate that Russia is going to set up its own air base in the country. The newspaper continued by claiming that this move will allow to “deter” the US in response to Washington’s decision to withdraw from the INF Treaty.
“Our strategic bombers will not only not have to return to Russia every time, but also won’t perform aerial refueling while on a patrol mission in the Americas,” Nezavisimaya Gazeta quoted Colonel Shamil Gareyev, formerly chief of the Uzbekistan Defense Ministry’s Operations Department, as saying. “Our Tu-160 aircraft arrive to [sic] their base in Venezuela, conduct flights, execute their missions and are then replaced on a rotating basis. This is how it should be done.”
Recently, deputy spokesperson of US state Department Robert Palladino was even asked to comment on these speculations. However, it refused to do so.
The “news” about a Russina military base in Venezuela is a clear example how various rumors can be spread and circulated without any evidence only thanks to the current media histeria over the ongoing US-Russian geopolitical standoff.
