The visit is not all politics. True to form, Vladimir Putin is keenly interested in making economic deals. Russia's trade with Latin America is small: a puny 185 million dollars with Cuba, 1.5 billion dollars with Argentina. The forgiveness of the Soviet-era debt, however, should stimulate investment in energy exploration off Cuba. Given the U.S. reluctance to allow Russia's GLONASS navigation stations in its own territory, Russia now plans to build them in Nicaragua. Russia is also ready to become a security guard to "protect against possible provocations" the Chinese-led project of a canal between the Pacific and the Atlantic across Nicaragua. It is default-threatened Argentina, however, which Moscow sees as a particularly promising partner.

In contrast to the Chinese expansion to Latin America, which is almost all economics, Russia's engagement is increasingly laden with geopolitics. Vladimir Putin's meeting with 87-year-old Fidel Castro was symbolic, as a linking of two epochs. The last time Putin visited Havana in 2000, he closed down the Russian intelligence gathering facility in Lourdes, as a good will gesture toward the United States. In Putin's view, his outreach then, and after 9/11, was not sufficiently appreciated in Washington. With Russia's future naval and Air Force presence in Nicaragua, no matter how limited, Latin America will add to the agenda of U.S.-Russian relations. Fidel may chuckle.