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If true, this is hilarious. Reportedly, Venezuela and Russia were close to a deal on purchasing several ultra-quiet KILO diesel submarines. Last November's visit to Venezuela by the Russian nuclear battlecruiser Peter the Great was intended to enhance the status of both nations and to help seal the submarine deal. Unfortunately, a dispute broke out:
[Dave Sherlaw of Seawaves] pointed out that the KILOs (the subs) destined for Vietnam were originally to be purchased by Venezuela but that deal collapsed after a fistfight on board the Russian cruiser “Peter the Great” when it and other warships were visiting Venezuela.Venezuela’s leader Chavez was in the process of visiting the Russian flotilla but his bodyguards were prevented from boarding. A fistfight then broke out between the Russian sailors and the bodyguards. The nose of one Russian was broken.That ended the sub purchase.Evidence in favor: The submarine deal is off, although that may have more to do with Venezuela's increasingly desperate financial straits than the fistfight. The evidence for the brawl itself seems strong, and forcing one's way onto a nuclear battlecruiser is twitchy business. Finally, personality-based political systems like Venezuela's are susceptible to decision-making of this type.Evidence against: Sailors get in fights all the time, although admittedly not with the bodyguard of the president in the presence of the president. To the extent that the fight mattered, it may simply have given Chavez and excuse to cancel a deal that he was already reconsidering.As noted, the Russian naval visit to Venezuela was intended to enhance the prestige of both countries. The Russians could demonstrate a capability to operate on distant shores (the battlecruiser is currently operating off Somalia), and the Venezuelans could demonstrate the friendship of a powerful state. Since the planning of the expedition, however, world oil prices have crashed, along with the rest of the global economy. Whether or not this incident in particular had a role in quashing tighter cooperation between Venezuela and Russia, the specter of a Moscow-Caracas-Havana axis, such that it could have been, will not haunt the United States for some time. Via Galrahn.--Robert Farley
