Explosives found near US Embassy in Venezuela

By Aaron Mannes

Venezuelan daily El Universal reports:

The Baruta Municipality Police Corps Monday found two alleged explosive devices near the US Embassy in Valle Arriba, southeast Caracas.

One of the presumed bombs was found in a box containing leaflets making reference to Lebanese radical Islamic group Hezbollah.

"One person was arrested by the Baruta Police and we are waiting for their report and information from the (political police) Disip," a spokesman of the US Embassy told AFP.

Local TV news network Globovisión reported that one of the devices was in a flowerpot near the Embassy, while the other was outside a school, near the diplomatic premises.

Wilfredo Porras, acting director of Baruta Police, said they arrested a man carrying a "backpack with 100 black powder bases, pliers, adhesive tape, glue and electric leads."

The man declared that "the devices were set to explode in 15 minutes. At first, we thought he was crazy, but we concluded he is not because of the features of both devices and the contents in the backpack," Porras said.

At this point, not much is known - but here are some initial thoughts.

First, this was NOT a Hezbollah operation. If Hezbollah sets out to blow up an Embassy - you'll know it. They hit the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in 1983 and 1984, as well as the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992. Hezbollah coached al-Qaeda in the 1998 double Embassy bombings in Africa. Hezbollah has a long record of successfully hitting hard targets. Based on the information available so far, this does not look like a meticulously planned operation.

But, Venezuela has a large Arab (and particularly Lebanese) population, many with strong ties to the home country. Isla Margarita, a Venezuelan free trade zone, has long been suspected of harboring Hezbollah fundraising cells. (See Hezbollah in Venezuela: A Footnote from my blog.) Chavez's alliance with Iran, as well as his open door to immigrants, have undoubtedly given Hezbollah a chance to expand these networks. So what is likely is that the erstwhile bomber was involved in this extended logistics network (which is built on extended families) and was inspired to act. Also, it is the end of Ramadan, so passions are high. This is the most likely explanation.

This explanation does not exonerate Chavez or Hezbollah. While it is true that this sort of lone wolf terrorist can arise almost anywhere or time - they are more likely to appear when the wind is at their back. Anti-Americanism within Hezbollah is well established. But Hugo's rhetoric, particularly against the backdrop of Venezuela's upcoming elections, is undoubtedly creating a fertile environment for this sort of freelancing.

Alternately, the bombing could have been orchestrated by the regime or its militias to intimidate the Embassy (the U.S. and Venezuela have been playing diplomatic tit for tat for some time now - see U.S. vs. Venezuela: UNDiplomacy). This is not likely - particularly since this attempt embarrasses Venezuela's ally Iran (they just organized a "Large Investment Strategic Fund.")

Another important story from that region, El Universal reports that Columbia will formally submit evidence to the governments of Ecuador and Venezuela that top FARC leaders are in those countries.

More on both of these stories as it comes in.

Cross posted to ProfilesinTerror.

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