Iran in Latin America Finally Acknowledged as a Problem
By Douglas Farah
After several years of reporting on the increasing ties of Iran to Latin American insurgent and criminal groups (see this paper and this one I did for the International Assessment and Strategy Center), it is nice to see senior officials now finally acknowledging the seriousness of the issue.
"We have seen... an increase in a wide level of activity by the Iranian government in this region," (Admiral James) Stavridis told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"That is a concern principally because of the connections between the government of Iran, which is a state sponsor of terrorism, and Hezbollah," he said.
Unfortunately, the admiral did not note the Iranian financial institutions in Venezuela and Panama, or other visible and worrisome aspects of the Iranian presence.
What one has to ask oneself is, why is Iran so willing to spend precious resources in a region where it has no religious, cultural, historical or linguistic ties? As we see below, the multiple promises of economic aid are seldom fulfilled, nor is there any accounting of the Iranian money that flows to these governments. Yet, their diplomatic missions grow exponentially, offering the perfect cover for the Quds Force and Hezbollah to move freely.
Some of the activities of Iran in Nicaragua are outlined by Todd Bensman, who has been one of the few journalists to pursue the issue. My full blog is here.
