Nation may buy 5 Russian subs

Venezuela is considering buying Russian submarines that would transform the South American country into the region’s top naval force, a military advisor to President Hugo Chavez said.

Gen. Alberto Muller, responding to a Russian newspaper report that Chavez plans to sign a deal for five diesel submarines, said the government was “analyzing the possibilities” but that funding had not been allocated.

Oil-rich Venezuela has purchased about $3 billion in military goods from Russia, including 53 helicopters, 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles and 24 Sukhoi fighter jets.