Russia Sent A Plane To Cuba That Flew To Venezuela On The Eve Of Maduro's Takeover

• 3.02.2026, 13:58

American journalists have speculated what might be on board.

A Russian Il-76 heavy military transport aircraft, which is usually used to transfer military equipment, landed at the airfield of the San Antonio de los Baños strategic military base near the Cuban capital Havana on Sunday evening. This was reported by Fox News, which examined flight tracking data. A day after the flight arrived in Cuba, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was ready to continue "providing necessary political and material support" to the republic, which is under pressure from the Donald Trump administration.

Before arriving on the island, the plane, which came under US sanctions and is used by Russian airline Aviacon Citotrans to transport weapons and dangerous goods, landed in St. Petersburg and Sochi, as well as Mauritania and the Dominican Republic. This path repeats the trajectory seen before the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by U.S. special forces in early January, Fox News noted. According to the channel, the same Russian aircraft flew to Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba in late October 2025 amid escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas.

The US placed Aviacon Cytotrans, formally a private carrier, on the sanctions list against PMC Wagner in January 2023 amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The restrictions affected four IL-76TD aircraft owned by the carrier: RA-76502, RA-76842, RA-76846, RA-78765.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that the airline carried out cargo shipments for Russian defense companies hit by the sanctions. Aviacon Cytotrans also transported military equipment such as missiles, warheads and helicopter parts around the world, sending military equipment to Venezuela, African states and other countries, among others. The carrier is also under sanctions by Canada and Ukraine for supporting the Russian military-industrial complex.