BERLIN — A Russian cargo plane that recently arrived in Venezuela later made several stops in other Kremlin-aligned Latin American countries, flight records show, after making a similar journey back in August.
The Ilyushin Il-76, operated by the private but government-affiliated cargo charter airline Aviacon Zitotrans, arrived in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Oct. 26, as previously reported by Defense News. Newer flight records show that two days later, the aircraft flew from there to Havana, Cuba, before making the jump over to Nicaragua’s capital, Managua, on the next day. Later that day, on Oct. 29, the aircraft, registered as RA-78765, flew back to Caracas. On Oct. 30, it departed Venezuela on its journey back to Russia, via Nouakchott, Mauritania, and Algiers, Algeria, ultimately arriving in Sochi and going from there to Moscow.
It is unclear from publicly available records what the purpose was of this mission to Latin America. Some Western governments have explicitly sanctioned Aviacon Zitotrans and several of its aircraft for their involvement in moving Russian military assets around the globe. The airline also provides chartered cargo flights for private customers, although that business has been significantly curtailed following the imposition of sanctions on Russia. The company did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication of this story.
Aviacon aircraft and similar cargo planes by other private but government-affiliated Russian freight airlines play a crucial role in circumventing the strict sanctions Russia has been placed under since the launch of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The fleet of civilian aircraft also serves to supply Russia’s military expeditions in the global South, especially Africa, which were previously part of the Kremlin-affiliated Wagner Group militia before its dismantling in 2023.
The recent trip to Latin America comes amid unprecedented tensions between Washington and Caracas, as the Pentagon positions military assets near Venezuela and accuses the Latin American country’s government of being complicit in drug smuggling.
Venezuelan authorities, for their part, have accused the U.S. of “fabricating a war.”
Officials in Caracas recently reached out to what they consider like-minded governments of Russia, China and Iran in hopes of receiving military assistance, the Washington Post reported Oct. 31.
Russian officials declined to comment on a letter that the Post report said spelled out the requests, but backed Venezuela’s quest to defend its national sovereignty, with Moscow standing “ready to respond appropriately to the requests of our partners in light of emerging threats,” the newspaper wrote.
The Il-76’s October trip to Latin America is a rare occurrence for the Russian freighter fleet, which typically focuses on Asia and Africa. But it was not the first time this particular aircraft has made the journey across the Atlantic in recent memory. The same Ilyushin previously visited the region in mid-August, arriving from Conakry, Guinea, in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, on Aug. 10. Over the course of the next week, it stopped in Santa Cruz, Bolivia; Bogota, Colombia; Caracas; Toluca, Mexico; and Havana, before heading back to Caracas and crossing the Atlantic to Nouakchott in western Africa.
In both instances, the aircraft took circuitous routes to get to Latin America, stopping in the Caucasus and several times in Africa along the way. Frequent stops can be indicative of heavy loads, requiring more frequent refueling, but may also be an evasion technique to obfuscate the origin of the aircraft and its cargo to observers. Russian aircraft are barred from Western airspace, which additionally forces them on cumbersome routes.
An Ilyushin Il-76 can carry 46 tons of cargo. According to Zitotrans’ website, the plane can airlift two Mi-8 or Mi-17 helicopters, three 20-foot containers, five Toyota Land Cruisers or nine 463-liter pallets at a time. According to the airline’s promotional materials, Aviacon Zitotrans specializes in “government and military airlifts,” dangerous goods, aerospace, and humanitarian and relief operations, among other categories, including live animal transportation.
Linus Höller is Defense News’ Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds a master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.
