Russia and Latin America: The New Frontier for Geopolitics, Arms Sales and Energy

Russia attempts to leverage itself onto the global stage and be portrayed as a global power that must be consulted on major global issues. It does so in order to claim a status of equality with the United States and force it to consider Russian interests before the United States acts in those regions where Russia claims to have vital or important interests, even though its ability to play on a truly global stage is quite limited. Nevertheless, for the reasons advanced above, in Latin America Moscow endeavors to cut a global figure, even if its commercial presence there pales relative to the U.S. or Chinese presence. Although world attention now focuses on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is once again simultaneously expanding its presence in Latin America. Since this process has received little scrutiny, this paper attempts to provide an assessment of Moscow’s goals, strategies, tactics, and policy instruments.