The Russian Minister of the Interior, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, met separately in Havana with the former president Raul Castroand with the current president, Miguel Diaz-Canel.
Both meetings take place at times of growing geopolitical tension, after the United States attack on Venezuela, and highlight the importance that Moscow gives to Havana in the midst of the worst threats from the United States against the island since the 1980s.
Kolokóltsev’s visit also includes tributes to Soviet soldiers who fell in Cuba in the first decades of the 1959 revolution and a tribute to the Cuban soldiers recently killed in Venezuelan territory at the hands of American attackers.
It occurs when the Trump Administration attempts to establish a Caracas protectorate, after kidnapping its ruler, while promoting regime change in Cuba.
Meetings with Raúl Castro and Díaz-Canel
Kolokóltsev, born in the Russian region of Penza in 1961 and at the head of the Ministry of the Interior since 2012, first held a dialogue with the officially called leader at the head of the Cuban revolution, Army General Raúl Castro, 94 years old.
The visitor conveyed “affectionate” greetings from President Vladimir Putin to Castro and highlighted the desire to strengthen bilateral ties. according to the official report.
On the same day, the Russian minister was received at the Palace of the Revolution by Díaz-Canel, who described the visit as “enormously significant for the moment in which it is being made.”
The Cuban president thanked the senior official for his presence and stressed that the stay of the Russian delegation allows for exchanges on the “complex world situation, in Latin America and the Caribbean and in particular in Cuba.”
Díaz-Canel recalled that in Kolokóltsev’s previous visit, in November 2023, the island was facing “the tightening of the (US) blockade, a broad campaign of media intoxication and the impacts of its inclusion in the spurious list of countries supposedly sponsoring terrorism.” according to the press review.
“All of this is now maintained, but with greater complexity and a situation greatly impacted by the events of January 3,” said the president in reference to what happened in Venezuela.
| The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic, @DiazCanelBheld a fraternal meeting with Vladimir Alexandorovich Kolokoltsev, Minister of the Interior of Russia. He described his visit as of great significance.
| https://t.co/Qjx6z4x4Hm pic.twitter.com/wegfg767Gl
— Presidency Cuba (@PresidenciaCuba) January 20, 2026
Putin and support for Cuba
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, reiterated days ago his Government’s support for Cuba, in a message in which he highlighted the “determination in defending its sovereignty and independence.”
From the Kremlin, Putin insisted that relations with Havana are “truly solid and friendly” and assured that Moscow will continue to provide assistance to its “Cuban friends.”
Kolokoltsev’s visit seems aimed at reviving the lines of political and military support between the two nations, which suffered from zigzags in the early days of the post-Soviet era.
In March 2025, both countries signed a defense cooperation agreement that establishes the legal bases to define objectives and modalities of collaboration, in an effort to modernize the Cuban armed forces, equipped with Soviet arsenals, some technically updated.
The pact reinforces a relationship that dates back to Soviet times and that is gaining renewed validity in the midst of the Cuban economic crisis and the growing tension with Washington.
Moscow’s rapprochement with Havana contrast with the coldness with which the Kremlin handles matters with the post-Maduro administration. On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov stated that Putin does not plan to communicate with the president in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, although he could do so “quickly if necessary.”
The clarification reflects Russian caution following the capture of Maduro by United States forces, an action that Moscow described as a “flagrant violation” of international law.
At the time, the Foreign Affairs spokesperson, María Zajárova, denounced that the arrest of the Chavista leader constitutes a “kidnapping” contrary to the immunity that protects every acting head of state.
Putin: “We have always provided and continue to provide assistance and support to our Cuban friends”
Washington increases pressure on the island
In parallel with the Russian visit, the United States has multiplied its gestures of pressure towards Cuba. Mike Hammer, head of the diplomatic mission in Havana, recently met with the leadership of the Southern Command in Florida, headed by Lieutenant General Evan L. Pettus.
The meeting, released by the US embassyaddressed the situation in Cuba and the Caribbean in a context of growing regional militarization. The publication from the US diplomatic headquarters does not offer more details of what was discussed between the two.
Pettus assumed command of Southern Command in December, coinciding with an increase in US military deployment in the Caribbean and operations against alleged drug trafficking routes. Just weeks later the attack on Venezuela and the capture of Maduro occurred.
For Washington’s official view, the internal Cuban crisis – marked by endless blackouts, chronic shortages of basic products and a mass exodus – constitutes a factor that directly impacts hemispheric stability, according to US officials.
Trump and the provocative map
Meanwhile, tension rose another level due to a gesture by President Donald Trump, who spread on his social network Truth Social a map in which Cuba and Venezuela are represented under the Stars and Stripes flag, along with other territories such as Canada and Greenland.
The publication, apparently generated by artificial intelligence, lacked explanatory text and has unleashed a wave of criticism for projecting a narrative of domination.
Analysts have interpreted the gesture as a symbolic provocation, aligned with Trump’s communication style, known for the use of crude messages and high visual impact.
Although the image has no legal effects or immediate practical consequences, specialists warn that it reinforces the perception of expansionism and adds noise to a scenario already marked by sanctions, diplomatic disputes and military operations that until very recently seemed strategically unthinkable because they were tactically reckless.
