CARACAS -- Russian defense-aerospace giant Rostec announced in early April that it had inaugurated a new training center in Venezuela for crews of Russian-made military helicopters.
According to Rostec representatives, the training center is intended to train Venezuelan pilots to fly Mi-35M attack helicopters as well as a broader range of Russian-made utility rotorcraft such as the Mi-17 and Mi-27 series. The center was established through a contract with Venezuela's state-owned defense contractor CAVIM.
Alongside these kinds of corporate initiatives, the Russian Government has deployed an increased number of military-technical specialists to Venezuela in recent months and revealed long-term plans to bolster its basing capacity in the country. The Governments of Russia and Venezuela maintain close political and economic ties owing largely to the former's substantial investments in the Venezuelan energy sector.
As Venezuela has become increasingly gripped with domestic economic crisis and escalating tensions with the United States under the leadership of President Nicholas Maduro over the past year, Russia has sought to expand its physical presence in the country as a deterrent and source of complications for potential efforts to oust Maduro from power.
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