Nicaragua to buy MiG-29 to fight drug trafficking

Nicaragua plans to buy a batch of warplanes, including Russian MiG-29 fighter aircraft, to fight drug trafficking in coastal areas.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague passed a decision in 2012, awarding Nicaragua 75,000 square kilometers in the Caribbean that used to be Colombia’s. Now Nicaragua intends to take additional measures in this region to fight drug trafficking.
Nicaraguan military also consider buying additional patrol boats, eying Russia as a possible supplier. Russian Defense Minister will visit Nicaragua shortly on a Latin American tour that also includes Venezuela and Cuba.
rbth

Colombia says Russian TU-160 bombers violated its airspace

Colombia is preparing a letter of protest to Russia after two Russian bomber planes twice entered the nation's airspace without authorization when flying between Venezuela and Nicaragua last week.
The two planes crossed Colombian airspace on Friday flying from Venezuela to Nicaragua. They re-entered Colombian territory on their return journey but flew out of the zone when intercepted by two of Colombia's Kfir military planes.
The planes were Russian-made Tupolev Tu-160 bombers flying from the Venezuelan coastal city of Maiquetia to Nicaragua's capital, Managua. The sources said the bombers flew into Colombian airspace over its San Andres y Providencia archipelago in the Caribbean Sea.
reuters

Russian Tu-160 Strategic Bombers Land in Nicaragua

Two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers arrived in Nicaragua on Thursday after taking off from an airbase in Venezuela.
The nuclear-capable bombers flew above the neutral waters of the Caribbean Sea, entered the airspace of Nicaragua and performed a planned landing.
The aircraft covered over 2,500 km during their three-hour flight from the Maiquetia airfield in Venezuela.
Earlier this week, the two bombers took off from the Engels airbase in the Volga region and covered a distance of more than 10,000 kilometers (over 6,200 miles) during a 13-hour non-stop flight to Venezuela.
Russian strategic bombers conducted a similar mission in 2008. It was followed by a visit to Venezuela by a Russian naval task force, which took part in joint exercises with the Venezuelan navy.
ria.ru