Hezbullah sets up shop in Venezuela
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Hezbullah terrorist organization now has a 'presence' in Venezuela. Given the warm relations between Hezbullah patron Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Thuggo Chavez, I guess that shouldn't be all too surprising. But Western intelligence agencies are not pleased with Hezbullah's new base of operations. The Bush administration, Israel and other governments worry that Venezuela is emerging as a base for anti-U.S. militant groups and spy services, including Hezbollah and its Iranian allies.But Hezbullah's presence in Venezuela is really nothing new.
"It's becoming a strategic partnership between Iran and Venezuela," said a Western anti-terrorism official who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the issue's sensitivity.
Several joint Venezuelan-Iranian business operations have been set up in Venezuela, including tractor, cement and auto factories. In addition, the two countries have formed a $2-billion program to fund social projects in Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America.
Those deepening ties worry U.S. officials because Iranian spies around the world have been known to work with Hezbollah operatives, sometimes using Iranian embassies as cover, Western intelligence experts say.
In June, Assistant Secretary of State Thomas A. Shannon said Iran "has a history of terror in this hemisphere, and its linkages to the bombings in Buenos Aires are pretty well established."
"One of our broader concerns is what Iran is doing elsewhere in this hemisphere and what it could do if we were to find ourselves in some kind of confrontation with Iran," Shannon said.
Although the Bush administration is embroiled in political conflict with the Chavez government, allegations that Hezbollah and Iranian spies operate in Venezuela date to the 1990s, before Chavez took office.But if you're a Jew - and especially if you're an Israeli - Hezbullah's presence in Venezuela may cause you to think twice about visiting Latin America.
The most concrete allegations of a Hezbollah presence in Venezuela involve money-raising. In June, the U.S. Treasury Department designated two Venezuelan citizens as Hezbollah supporters and froze their U.S. assets.
Agents of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah have allegedly set up a special force to attempt to kidnap Jewish businesspeople in Latin America and spirit them away to Lebanon, according to the Western anti-terrorism official. Iranian and Hezbollah operatives traveling in and out of Venezuela have recruited Venezuelan informants working at the Caracas airport to gather intelligence on Jewish travelers as potential targets for abduction, the Western anti-terrorism official said.Venezuela is also too close for comfort to the US. One can only hope that as Americans become aware of the gathering threat to their south, they will tighten entry into the United States to keep the terrorists out. Unfortunately, so far, there has been no sign of any tightening on America's borders.
The allegations were reinforced by a statement last week by the Israeli government, issuing an alert to citizens warning that Hezbollah plans to kidnap Israelis around the world to retaliate for the Mughniyah assassination.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:54 PM
3 Comments:
just wait until the muslims start acting like they own venezuela, like they do everywhere else they "set up shop". then imagine when the venezuelelans take exception to the muslims' hutzpah. imagine the hilarity that will ensue.
Morabita IV
Donde Moras.. habitas.
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Guerras perdidas, nunca ganadas…
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Asocia a tus huestes
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árabe refugiado…
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ניקולס ספולבדה לאינזגולד,
I'm sorry but my Spanish is non-existent. My Hebrew is quite good if your English is not.
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