After a stopover in Cuba, two Russian ships dock in a Venezuelan port as part of the “Show the Flag” exercises

CARACAS, Venezuela — Two Russian navy ships docked Tuesday at the Venezuelan port of La Guaira after exercises in the Atlantic Ocean that Moscow said were aimed at “showing the flag” in remote and important regions, and an initial stop in Cuba.

The frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the tanker Akademik Pashin are part of Russia’s Northern Fleet, which since May 17 has been carrying out tasks that include “ensuring the Russian naval presence” in “remote areas of the oceans,” the Russian news agency Tass quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying.

The stopover was expected to last several days and underscore the close ties between Moscow and the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Like his predecessor, the late President Hugo Chavez, Maduro has forged close ties with Russia. The visit comes ahead of Maduro’s re-election campaign in the July 28 poll.

Venezuelan authorities did not report the arrival of the Russian ships, which were barely visible from a distance docked in La Guaira, but Associated Press journalists saw their crew members in the historic center of the city.

In mid-June, the Admiral Gosrhkov and the tanker were among the Russian ships that docked in Havana, Cuba.

Other ships at the stop included a nuclear-powered submarine, which was docked there for five days after exercises in the Atlantic Ocean. The exercise was seen by some as a show of force by Moscow amid tensions as the United States and other Western countries back kyiv in Russia’s war against Ukraine.