Russian cargo airplane arrives in Cuba, echoing frantic Caracas buildup

[ad_1] GRAZ, Austria — A heavy Russian cargo airplane that beforehand introduced air protection programs to Venezuela arrived at a army airfield close to Havana, Cuba’s capital, late on Sunday, flight data seen by Protection Information present.

The Ilyushin Il-76, operated by the Russian government-affiliated airline Aviacon Zitotrans, made a number of stops on its method to Cuba, together with within the Dominican Republic, Mauritania, and Algeria, after departing from St. Petersburg by the use of Sochi, Russia, in late January. It landed on the San Antonio de los Baños Air Base in Cuba, about 50 kilometers south of Havana, on Sunday night native time.

The identical plane, registered RA-78765, flew to Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba in late October 2025 amid brewing tensions between Caracas and Washington. After the U.S. army intervention in Venezuela on Jan. 3, Cuba has more and more discovered itself within the crosshairs of U.S. President Donald Trump. The strain intensified on Jan. 29, when Trump issued an government order declaring Cuba a “nationwide emergency” and imposing tariffs on any nation supplying Cuba with oil until Havana aligns with U.S. nationwide safety and international coverage.

An Il-76 can transport as much as 50 tons of cargo or as much as 200 individuals. Plane of this kind are recognized to have delivered small arms, army provides and even mercenaries on Russia’s behalf up to now. Aviacon Zitotrans is well-documented as flying army cargo and has been sanctioned by a number of international locations for these actions. The U.S., Canada and Ukraine have all sanctioned the corporate for its function in supporting Russia’s army adventures.

“Aviacon Zitotrans has shipped army tools equivalent to rockets, warheads, and helicopter elements everywhere in the world,” the U.S. Treasury Division said in January 2023, when it added the corporate to the American sanctions checklist. “Aviacon Zitotrans has shipped protection materiel to Venezuela, Africa, and different places,” the company continued. It has additionally been concerned in exporting Russian-made weapons to patrons globally for the state-owned firm Rosoboronexport.

It's unclear what cargo the plane is carrying on its present journey. When the identical plane flew to Venezuela upfront of the U.S. strikes, it delivered Pantsir-S1 short-range and Buk-M2E medium-range air protection programs to Caracas, according to Russian lawmaker Alexei Zhuravlev and Russian state-owned media . Dimensions and weight of each programs make this believable, though the Buk would probably need to be disassembled as a consequence of its top.

The Il-76’s present mission has hanging similarities to its earlier flight to Venezuela, together with a number of stops alongside the best way in northern Africa and the backdrop of quickly rising geopolitical tensions surrounding a Russian-aligned nation in Latin America.

In Venezuela, Russian-made air defenses failed to guard in opposition to the U.S. raid that captured strongman president Nicolás Maduro, which consultants have attributed to consumer error, lack of preparation and overwhelming U.S. capabilities.

Russia and Cuba signed and ratified a brand new army cooperation settlement in March 2025, which established the authorized framework for joint army operations, coaching workouts, the change of army specialists, consultations, and the provision of army tools.

Linus Höller is Protection Information' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reviews on the arms offers, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds a grasp’s levels in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism research, and worldwide relations, and works in 4 languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.