Ahmadinejad's Excellent Latin American Adventure

By Douglas Farah

Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is making a swing through Latin America this week, his second tour in four months, to cultivate anti-U.S. allies, using trade and ideology as his weapons. He is visiting leaders of what he hopes will be a broad coalition against the United States: his good friend Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, along with Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, Ecuador's new president Rafael Correa, and Evo Morales of Bolivia.

Iran's geo-strategic interests in the region are easy to see: It desperately needs political allies and new markets for its goods as it comes under increasing pressure from Europe and the United States over its nuclear program.

With some money to burn, Ahmadinejad is looking to buy some friends and support among leaders in a region that is turning increasingly hostile to the United States, free trade and drug erradication programs. Latin American nations now feel they have little to lose by turning against the United States, given the severe drop in U.S interest and attention to the area closest to its southern border.

Ahmadinejad's frequent travels to the region underscore the importance Iran places on a few countries in Latin America. Argentina, to its credit, is still seeking to prosecute senior Iranian officials for their role in directing the 1994 bombing of the Jewish center in Buenos Aires. Everyone else seems to have forgotten the attacks ever happened.

It is unlikely Ahmadinejad is touring Latin America solely for the reasons listed above, however. There is little, in real economic terms, to be gained from Iran-Latin America trade. The political support Iran gathers in Latin America is useful but again, in real terms, not much more than marginal. My full blog is here.

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