U.S. intelligence and the Pentagon brass were concerned over signs that Russian Spetsnaz units were infiltrating into the Caribbean region. Yes, the Caribbean neighborhood, America’s backdoor, is becoming an increasingly contested strategic space in the global competition with Russia, despite our positional advantage.
U.S. intelligence found that hundreds of Russians, including Russian
Spetsnaz cells, were bolstering Venezuela’s air defense systems, and advising
on upgrading their SU-30s aircraft. The Spetsnaz motto is “Any mission, any
time, any place”, and it appears Venezuela and the Caribbean region is their
newest “place” of operation.
Their
presence is particularly troubling to U.S. intelligence, since they are an arm
of the dreaded Russian GRU intelligence agency. As well as running regular agents,
who have a propensity to hunt down and poison Putin’s opponents, the GRU’s spetsnaz
(special ops) commandos are specialized in conducting reconnaissance and
sabotage.
In
Soviet times, they were active in conflict zones around the world, and
spearheaded the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Presently, they are still very
active and have conducted 119 targeted operations in the North Caucasus in 2006
alone, during which they killed more than 100 members of terrorist groups. Unfortunately,
they are currently infiltrating into the Caribbean via Venezuela.
Interestingly,
there are female Spetsnaz operatives. It has allowed female members for some
time, and women have been incorporated into its officer training.
Spetsnaz
are well-trained special ops soldiers with much training in intelligence-gathering
and surveillance techniques. A Green Beret soldier, who worked alongside them
during the Kosovo/Serbia conflict, said they “were keen on tactics and had
great intuition and instinct. They could shoot well, took care of their weapons
and equipment, were in great physical shape, and were very well-disciplined.”
They go through basic training for two months, then spend four years in advanced
training before being allowed to join. They are skilled in martial arts,
trained in “Systema”, a military martial arts system that was developed from
Cossack fighting and was used by the former KGB and counter terrorism groups of
Russian special forces.
The
MISSION OF VENGEANCE spy thriller reveals Spetsnaz tactics and why CIA
Spymaster Corey Pearson was so uneasy about their presence. Here’s a few
snippets from the novel:
Corey thought hard. Spetsnaz is a murderous Russian special ops
division. When the Kremlin annexed the Crimean Peninsula from the Ukraine in
2014, it was largely accomplished by Spetsnaz infiltrators disguised as
civilians. Corey wondered how many were lurking around him and his counterintelligence
teams, right now.
Corey
stared down at the captured Spetsnaz warrior who was strapped to the
waterboarding plank below him. He spit at them. “You Americans are so stupid! My President Putin will take care of my
family after you kill me. They live in a plush apartment in Saint Petersburg
and my children will someday go to Lomonosov Moscow State University, all paid
for because of my loyalty to Spetsnaz and the GRU. I will die for my mother
Russia, knowing my loved ones will be taken care of.”
Corey said, “When you were abducted, we made it look like you defected
to the U.S. One of my agents is planted inside the El Nacional newspaper and tomorrow’s headlines, with your photo,
will announce that you walked into the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo and turned
traitor. We even parked Boris Markov’s SUV in front of the embassy with a note
taped to the steering wheel. Putin will relocate your family to Siberia and
your wife will scrounge to put food on the table.”
“Fuck
you, American!” He spit at Corey again. “Putin will drive you out of the
Caribbean. You will soon see what I mean. There are Spetsnaz sleeper cells all
over the Caribbean and you’ve not seen anything yet. The sonic weapon’s attack
on your diplomats in 2017 in Havana was just a warning. You will be driven out
of the Caribbean and my mother Russia will move in and take over!”
End of SNIPPET
Lastly, this video, Green Berets vs Spetsnaz-
Special Forces Comparison, shows how the U.S. Green Berets and Russia's
Spetsnaz come on top of the special forces list. It pits the two together to decide
which is best.
Robert Morton is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), enjoys writing about the U.S. Intelligence Community, and relishes traveling to the Florida Keys and Key West, the Bahamas and Caribbean. He combines both passions in his Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster series. Check out his latest spy thriller: MISSION OF VENGEANCE.
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