In the midst of the escalation of the crisis between Russia and what it calls the West (USA, NATO and the EU) over Ukraine, Moscow insinuated that it could be among its plans to deploy military forces in Latin America and more specifically in countries like Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. "I don't want to confirm anything... I don't rule it out," said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. This veiled threat to send troops (or even something else) forces us to reflect on the role of Latin America in the Kremlin's strategy.