How Iranian networks work in Latin America

The presence of Iranian agents in the region is not new. He has a long history. Currently, its main objective is the Venezuela of Nicolás Maduro. There, at the time of Hugo Chavez, links and business have been strengthened. The darkest, those related to drug trafficking and money laundering.

For that, Iran had members of the terrorist group Hezbollah, with a broad presence throughout Latin America. The organization is carried out formally from Lebanon by Hbadan Nbadrallah. But behind the Iranian regime. More specifically, ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Forces, the commandos Quds Qbadem Soleimani.

Bothsupreme leader"of Iran as a general, they conduct Shia Islamic extremism operations outside their territory. Soleimani is the real Iranian brain abroad, both in Half is as in Latin America. His neighbors know him well: he was a main actor during the war between this regime and Iraq and was recently seen in Syria, where the Quds have helped contain the Syrian dictator in power Bashar al-Assad.

The links between Venezuela e Iran reinforced presidencies Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Chávez in 2005. Margarita Island, on the Caribbean coast, has been used since the beginning of the year 2000 as a center for drug trafficking. Hezbollah and other Islamist terrorist groups like Hamas.

Currently, what was a tourist paradise has become a ghost town. In the crisis caused by the dictatorship of Maduro must join the group that has invaded the streets of the island. Margarita is used as a base of operations by activists Iranians and by the citizens of Iran directly. They total more than 12 thousand.

According to the admiral Kurt Tidd, the leader of the time Southern Command of the United States, who testified before the Congress in February 2018, "Lebanon's Hezbollah maintains an established operational presence in the region, which can be used quickly and without warning to carry out far-reaching and extremely destructive terrorist acts."

Regarding the Iranian presence in VenezuelaProfessor Eli Karmon, one of the leading international experts in Islamic terrorism, pointed out Infobae: "There, it is much more serious than anywhere else. The regime cooperates fully, politically, economically and militarily. This is done through the guards of the Iran revolution. Various reports revealed that the guards had trained Venezuelan forces on the Chavan territory"These Shiite forces are the ones who lead Soleimani.

Iranian activists have consolidated their operational bases Latin America, especially in the Triple Border region of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, area characterized by a large population Muslim Shiite and a lot of supporters of Hezbollah The terrorist group uses this area to recruitment, arms trafficking, drug trafficking and terrorist operations planning.

This is, for example, that the attack on the police headquarters Mutual Association Israelite Argentina (AMIA) occurred on July 18, 1994. For such aggression 85 people died and more than 300 were injured. It was the biggest terrorist act in the history of Argentina.

As a result of the investigation conducted by the badbadinated special tax Alberto Nisman, several high Iranian commands are under international arrest warrant on the part of Argentine justice. They are Mohsen Rezai, former leader of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution – predecessor of Soleimani-; Ali Fallahinaformer Minister of Intelligence; Mohsen Rabbani, former cultural attaché of the Embbady of Iran in Argentina; Ahmad Vahidi, commander of the forces Quds; and Ahmad Ashgari, former secretary at the diplomatic headquarters of Buenos Aires.

Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Cuba It is these countries that, in one way or another, have opened Iran's doors in the region and maintained links with its authorities. "The warm relations that these governments have with Iran facilitate the free movement of Hezbollah members throughout the region, allowing them to carry drugs and counterfeit goods."he explained Rachel Ehrenfeld, director of American Center for Democracy in an interview given to Infobae there is time.