Gov. Ron DeSantis is reportedly attributing the fleet of Russian warships that were sailing less than 30 miles off the coast of South Florida earlier this week to the Biden administration’s “posture of weakness.”
The U.S. Navy responded by deploying warships and aircraft to monitor the Russian naval flotilla. However, DeSantis stated at a press conference in Hollywood on Friday that President Joe Biden is not taking sufficient measures to discourage “bad actors” such as Russia.
“We’re failing as a country with the deterrent capability, and I think it starts at the top with the president of the United States. I think that history has shown that these bad actors, they respond to strength and they’re deterred by strength. They are not going to be deterred by weakness. They are not going to be deterred by confusion.” DeSantis said.
Last week, U.S. officials announced that Russia would be deploying numerous naval vessels and aircraft for military exercises in the Western Hemisphere.
These exercises are expected to include port calls in Cuba and potentially on Venezuela.
According to a U.S. official, the Russian fleet, which consisted of a frigate, two smaller ships, and a nuclear submarine, approached Havana on Tuesday and passed within 30 nautical miles of Key Largo.
Despite remaining in international waters, the fleet came in unusually near to U.S. shores.
After learning that a nuclear submarine would be included in Moscow’s exercises, the U.S. Navy deployed three powerful destroyers, a Coast Guard cutter, and a maritime reconnaissance plane to monitor Russian movements.
This was the first submarine deployment of its kind in the region since the end of the Cold War.
It is anticipated that the Russian fleet will conduct additional exercises in the Caribbean region prior to potentially making a port of call in Venezuela. The Russian vessels would be pursued by U.S. warships as they traveled.
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