Hard-left administrations now dominating most of the continent are cosying up to Iran and its terrorist proxies, including Hezbollah.
The new wave of leftist governments in Latin America, along with an increasingly brazen posture from Tehran has given Iran and its proxy terrorist groups a favorable environment to mingle with organized crime, cross borders with impunity, and engage in more direct state-to-state exchanges, analysts say.
“There’s always been a certain level of, not only networks, but also influence by both Hezbollah and behind Hezbollah, Iran, in the region,” said Evan Ellis, a former State Department official and research professor of Latin American studies at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute.
“That increased with respect to the state-to-state Iranian engagement largely through populist actors in the mid-2000s, with a new crop of leftist populist leaders: Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales in Bolivia, and certainly Rafael Correa in Ecuador, among others.”
This movement includes the recent reported entry of Iran and Hezbollah agents into the region through Venezuela, as evidenced by a 2022 incident in which a plane was grounded and seized in Argentina upon request of the United States. The state-owned aircraft had five Iranian nationals on board. Paraguay officials and others claimed they were linked to the Quds Force, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States. Argentina denied reports that crew members were linked to Quds.
The seizure coincided with the return to the region of many of the same populist actors. “Essentially, you’re taking Quds Forces operatives and Hezbollah-affiliated personnel around the region,” Mr. Ellis said.
“In recent months what you’ve seen also is a broadening of that Iranian engagement with a trip to Nicaragua to talk about oil deals. And more recently, a three nation trip by President [Ebrahim] Raisi, accompanied by several ministers, including his defense minister, to Venezuela, as well as to Nicaragua and to Cuba, where several deals were signed in each place.”
The Iranian links in the region have become more apparent amid the Israel–Hamas war. On. Nov. 8, two alleged Hezbollah operatives were arrested in Brazil for planning attacks in the country. And warnings of a terror threat to the United States have increased, particularly in relation to its porous southern border.
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