After Caracas stop, mysterious Russian plane flew to Cuba, Nicaragua

BERLIN — A Russian cargo plane that recently arrived in Venezuela later made several stops in other Kremlin-aligned Latin American countries, flight records show, after making a similar journey back in August.

The Ilyushin Il-76, operated by the private but government-affiliated cargo charter airline Aviacon Zitotrans, arrived in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Oct. 26, as previously reported by Defense News . Newer flight records show that two days later, the aircraft flew from there to Havana, Cuba, before making the jump over to Nicaragua’s capital, Managua, on the next day. Later that day, on Oct. 29, the aircraft, registered as RA-78765 , flew back to Caracas. On Oct. 30, it departed Venezuela on its journey back to Russia, via Nouakchott, Mauritania, and Algiers, Algeria, ultimately arriving in Sochi and going from there to Moscow.

It is unclear from publicly available records what the purpose was of this mission to Latin America. Some Western governments have explicitly sanctioned Aviacon Zitotrans and several of its aircraft for their involvement in moving Russian military assets around the globe. The airline also provides chartered cargo flights for private customers, although that business has been significantly curtailed following the imposition of sanctions on Russia. The company did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication of this story.

Aviacon aircraft and similar cargo planes by other private but government-affiliated Russian freight airlines play a crucial role in circumventing the strict sanctions Russia has been placed under since the launch of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The fleet of civilian aircraft also serves to supply Russia’s military expeditions in the global South, especially Africa, which were previously part of the Kremlin-affiliated Wagner Group militia before its dismantling in 2023.

The recent trip to Latin America comes amid unprecedented tensions between Washington and Caracas, as the Pentagon positions military assets near Venezuela and accuses the Latin American country’s government of being complicit in drug smuggling.

Venezuelan authorities, for their part, have accused the U.S. of “fabricating a war.”

Officials in Caracas recently reached out to what they consider like-minded governments of Russia, China and Iran in hopes of receiving military assistance, the Washington Post reported Oct. 31 .

Russian officials declined to comment on a letter that the Post report said spelled out the requests, but backed Venezuela’s quest to defend its national sovereignty, with Moscow standing “ready to respond appropriately to the requests of our partners in light of emerging threats,” the newspaper wrote.

The Il-76’s October trip to Latin America is a rare occurrence for the Russian freighter fleet, which typically focuses on Asia and Africa. But it was not the first time this particular aircraft has made the journey across the Atlantic in recent memory. The same Ilyushin previously visited the region in mid-August, arriving from Conakry, Guinea, in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, on Aug. 10. Over the course of the next week, it stopped in Santa Cruz, Bolivia; Bogota, Colombia; Caracas; Toluca, Mexico; and Havana, before heading back to Caracas and crossing the Atlantic to Nouakchott in western Africa.

In both instances, the aircraft took circuitous routes to get to Latin America, stopping in the Caucasus and several times in Africa along the way. Frequent stops can be indicative of heavy loads, requiring more frequent refueling, but may also be an evasion technique to obfuscate the origin of the aircraft and its cargo to observers. Russian aircraft are barred from Western airspace, which additionally forces them on cumbersome routes.

An Ilyushin Il-76 can carry 46 tons of cargo. According to Zitotrans’ website, the plane can airlift two Mi-8 or Mi-17 helicopters, three 20-foot containers, five Toyota Land Cruisers or nine 463-liter pallets at a time. According to the airline’s promotional materials, Aviacon Zitotrans specializes in “government and military airlifts,” dangerous goods, aerospace, and humanitarian and relief operations, among other categories, including live animal transportation.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

柏林——飞行记录显示，一架最近抵达委内瑞拉的俄罗斯货机，在8月份完成类似航程后，又在其他几个与克里姆林宫结盟的拉丁美洲国家停留了数次。

据《防务新闻》此前报道，由私营但与政府有关联的货运包机航空公司Aviacon Zitotrans运营的伊尔-76运输机于10月26日抵达委内瑞拉首都加拉加斯。最新的飞行记录显示，两天后，该飞机从加拉加斯飞往古巴哈瓦那，随后于次日飞往尼加拉瓜首都马那瓜。当天晚些时候，即10月29日，这架注册号为RA-78765的飞机飞回加拉加斯。10月30日，该飞机离开委内瑞拉，经毛里塔尼亚努瓦克肖特和阿尔及利亚阿尔及尔返回俄罗斯，最终抵达索契，并从那里飞往莫斯科。

公开记录显示，此次前往拉丁美洲的任务目的尚不明确。一些西方国家政府已明确制裁了Aviacon Zitotrans航空公司及其部分飞机，原因是它们参与了俄罗斯在全球范围内的军事资产运输。该航空公司也为私人客户提供包机货运服务，但自对俄罗斯实施制裁以来，这项业务已大幅缩减。截至发稿时，该公司尚未对此事作出回应。

自2022年2月俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰以来，俄罗斯一直受到严厉制裁。Aviacon公司的飞机以及其他私营但与政府有关联的俄罗斯货运航空公司的类似货机在规避这些制裁方面发挥着至关重要的作用。这支民用飞机机队还为俄罗斯在全球南方，特别是非洲的军事行动提供补给。这些行动此前隶属于克里姆林宫旗下的瓦格纳集团民兵组织，该组织已于2023年解散。

此次拉丁美洲之行正值华盛顿和加拉加斯之间前所未有的紧张局势之际，五角大楼在委内瑞拉附近部署军事力量，并指责该拉丁美洲国家的政府参与毒品走私。

委内瑞拉当局则指责美国“捏造战争”。

据《华盛顿邮报》10月31日报道，加拉加斯官员最近与他们认为志同道合的俄罗斯、中国和伊朗政府进行了接触，希望获得军事援助。

《华盛顿邮报》报道称，俄罗斯官员拒绝就一封列明相关要求的信件发表评论，但表示支持委内瑞拉捍卫国家主权的努力。该报写道，莫斯科“随时准备根据新出现的威胁，对我们伙伴的要求作出适当回应”。

这架伊尔-76运输机10月份的拉丁美洲之行对于俄罗斯货机机队来说实属罕见，该机队通常主要执飞亚洲和非洲航线。但这并非这架飞机近年来首次飞越大西洋。这架伊尔-76曾在8月中旬到访该地区，于8月10日从几内亚科纳克里抵达巴西首都巴西利亚。在接下来的一周里，它先后经停玻利维亚圣克鲁斯、哥伦比亚波哥大、加拉加斯、墨西哥托卢卡和哈瓦那，之后返回加拉加斯，再次飞越大西洋抵达西非的努瓦克肖特。

在这两起事件中，飞机都采用了迂回路线前往拉丁美洲，途中在高加索地区和非洲多次停留。频繁的停留可能表明飞机载重较大，需要更频繁地加油，但也可能是俄罗斯为了掩盖飞机及其货物的来源而采取的规避策略。俄罗斯飞机被禁止进入西方领空，这也迫使它们选择更为复杂的航线。

一架伊尔-76运输机可运载46吨货物。据Zitotrans公司网站介绍，该飞机一次可空运两架米-8或米-17直升机、三个20英尺集装箱、五辆丰田陆地巡洋舰或九个463升托盘。根据该航空公司的宣传资料，Aviacon Zitotrans公司专营“政府和军事空运”、危险品运输、航空航天、人道主义救援行动等，也包括活体动物运输。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。