Fact check: CNN report on Russian bombers in Venezuela is from 2018 – USA TODAY
The claim: Russia deployed nuclear weapons ‘in America’s backyard,’ CNN reported
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues into another week, some social media users are claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin has deployed nuclear threats to the U.S.’s own doorstep.
“Russia deploys two nuke bombers in US backyard, Venezuela,” reads the caption of a Feb. 28 Facebook post.
Accompanying the caption is a CNN news clip with a chyron that asserts Putin is “making military moves in America’s backyard.”
CNN correspondent Brian Todd is featured in the report saying Putin is “on America’s doorstep with nuclear-capable bombers that can fly at twice the speed of sound.”
“The deployment comes on the heels of Putin’s recent military aggression against Ukraine,” Todd says in the video.
The clip, which accrued about 14,000 shares in four days, is authentic. But it predates by more than three years the current Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The broadcast referred to a training exercise between Russian and Venezuelan forces in 2018.
Independent fact-checkers, including Reuters and the Associated Press, have debunked the claim spreading on social media.
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The Facebook user who posted the video told USA TODAY in a Facebook message they shared the video because “such a development is a cause for concern globally.”
Russia sent bombers to Venezuela for training exercise in 2018
CNN reported on Russian bombers arriving in Venezuela in December 2018, more than three years before Russia invaded Ukraine.
The news outlet said in its video that two Tu-160 bombers and two support planes were deployed to Venezuela to carry out joint military exercises over the Caribbean.
The Tu-160 can carry conventional or nuclear-tipped cruise missiles with a range of about 3,400 miles. It was unclear at the time whether the aircraft were carrying any weapons, the Associated Press reported.
Fact check: Video shows American train carrying tanks, not Russian military convoy
Bombers were also deployed to Venezuela in 2008 and 2013, according to BBC.
The military relationship between Russia and Venezuela goes back to 1999 when Russia helped the Latin American country build its military arsenal. Russia has since sent specialists to help maintain aircraft and weapons, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank based in Washington, D.C.
USA TODAY has debunked similar claims regarding the invasion of Ukraine, including that Russian soldiers were preparing nuclear weapons.
Our rating: Missing context
Based on our research, we rate MISSING CONTEXT the claim that Russia deployed nuclear weapons “in America’s backyard,” according to a CNN report, because it could be misleading without additional information. The video was recorded and orginally posted online in 2018, when two Russian bombers arrived in Venezuela to carry out military exercises over the Caribbean. The video has nothing to do with the current invasion of Ukraine, as the Facebook post makes it seem.
Our fact-check sources:
- Frank Iroroh.com, March 4, Facebook message exchange with USA TODAY
- CNN, Dec. 11, 2018, Putin making moves in America’s backyard
- The Associated Press, Dec. 10, 2018, Russia sends 2 nuclear-capable bombers to Venezuela
- BBC, Dec. 11, 2018, US-Russian spat over bombers landing in Venezuela
- CSIS, Sept. 24, 2020, An Enduring Relationship – From Russia, With Love
- Reuters, March 2, Fact Check-CNN report on Putin ‘making military moves in America’s backyard’ aired in December 2018
- Associated Press, March 3, Video of Russian bombers is from 2018 training exercise
- USA TODAY, March 3, Fact check: Viral clip shows British TV show, not Russians preparing nuclear missiles
- USA TODAY, March 4, Russian advance on Kyiv stalls; nuclear power plant fire draws international scorn: Live updates
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