ABSTRACT
Historically, the Caribbean has not been an area of vital interest to the USSR, except as Soviet actions there affect US policies elsewhere on the globe. Soviet efforts to undermine Western influence and to encourage the spread of socialism were extended to the Caribbean region in 1962. The Soviet naval air presence had also been expanded. In 1983, the Soviets began deploying Tu-142 Bear F antisubmarine warfare aircraft as well as the Bear D reconnaissance planes. Soviet naval activity in the Caribbean earns important political and psychological dividends rather than achieving military goals. The USSR's political goals in the Caribbean include weakening the US zone of influence and prompting the gradual acceptance of the USSR as a party to all discussions of maritime affairs in the hemisphere. Soviet hydrographic activity in the Caribbean also supports that country's naval and political objectives in the area.
