The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba (MINREX) announced through two statements the arrival at ports of the island of warships from Venezuela and Canada, coinciding in dates with the arrival of several Russian Navy ships, including a nuclear-powered submarine.
The first to arrive will be the Royal Canadian Navy Ship "HMCS Margaret Brooke", whose arrival is scheduled for June 14th.
During their stay in Cuba, Canadian sailors will carry out a program of activities that includes courtesy visits to the chief of the Revolutionary Navy, the Governor of Havana, as well as visits to historical and cultural places of interest," the MINREX statement mentions.
The following day, on Saturday, June 15th, the training ship "Simón Bolívar" from Venezuela will arrive in Santiago de Cuba.
The Venezuelan sailors will carry out activities similar to those of their Canadian counterparts, but in the eastern Cuban city.
In this case, the MINREX clarifies that "the visit is part of the XXXIV Foreign Instruction Cruise in 2024".
The Canadian sailors will remain on Cuban territory until the 17th of this month, the same day the Russian delegation will leave the island, while the Venezuelans will do so until the 19th.
The "Margaret Brooke" was delivered in 2021 and commissioned in 2022. It is the second offshore patrol vessel of the Harry DeWolf class of the Royal Canadian Navy, and is primarily designed for patrol and surveillance support in the Arctic regions of Canada, although in 2023 and 2024 it carried out operations in the Caribbean.
One point of interest is the presence of a member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), such as Canada, during the same dates as the expected arrival of the Russian "visitors".
This Wednesday, the arrival of a naval detachment from the Russian Federation is expected, composed of four ships: The frigate 'Gorshkov', the nuclear-powered submarine 'Kazan', the fleet's oil tanker 'Pashin', and the salvage tugboat "Nikolai Chiker", as announced by the MINREX in a statement last week.
The official statement expressed that the visit is in line "with the historic relations of friendship between Cuba and the Russian Federation," and that "it strictly complies with the international regulations of which Cuba is a State party."
Despite these announcements, the United States government stated that it is aware of the military maritime visits that will take place on the island.
"Russia will temporarily send warships to the Caribbean region, and these ships will likely make stops at ports in Cuba and possibly in Venezuela. There may also be some deployments or flights of aircraft in the region," a spokesperson for the State Department confirmed to Martí Noticias.
The Cuban-American senator Marco Rubio asked President Joe Biden not to sit back with arms crossed, and reminded that there has not been a Russian submarine with nuclear-capable missiles operating in the Caribbean for over 30 years.
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