Latin Trade: Russian Roulette

NEED A MIG FIGTER, NAVAL DESTROYER OR STEALTHY SUB-marine but also worried about keeping expenses down? Just navigate to www.rusarm.ru, the home page for Rosoboronexport, Russia's federal agency responsible for arms exports.

The arms dealer undercuts prices on competitors in the United States, Germany and other countries. For weapon-ungry Latin American countries, there's an added benefit: the Russian company as offices in Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Cuba.

"The Russians have been willing to sell any of their arms, short of nuclear weapons, since the end of the Cold War," says Ron O'Rourke, and analyst wit the U.S. Congressional Research Service. "Now we're seeing a greater marketing effort, an extension and modification. The Web site does look interesting."

Rosoboronexport's site says it "has been expanding contacts with a number of Latin American countries ... First deliveries of the portable air defense [missile] systems have been made to Brazil." The site also says Mi-17 helicopters have been sold to Colombia, Uruguay signed a contact for small arms and the company is pursuing arms sales to Ecuador, Argentina and Chile.

But it promises it won't use arms sales to get a political, foot in the door. "Russia has rejected the ex-USSR practice of using free-of-charge arms transfers as the instrument of political influence. Nowadays, export policies are based solely on economic efficiency principles," the Web site says. Still, there's a catch. "They're not ready to provide the logistics and repair support," O'Rourke sasys. "That's what's held them back."