Rubio: There will be no more Iran Hezbollah in Venezuela following the arrest of Maduro
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The day after high-ranking US forces arrested wanted narco-terrorist and former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah will no longer be able to operate in the South American country.
The Iranian state-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah is responsible for the bombing of the US embassy, which killed 63 people, and the Marine bombing of Beirut in 1983, which killed 241 US soldiers.
Speaking on CBS’ Face the Nation, Rubio said, “It’s very simple, okay? In the 21st century, under the Trump administration, we will not have a country like Venezuela in our territory, in the sphere of control and the means of Hezbollah, Iran and all the other bad influences in the world. That will not exist.” He also told NBC’s Meet the Press that, as far as Venezuela is concerned, that means, “There will be no more Iran/Hezbollah there.”
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Members of Hezbollah salute and raise the group’s yellow flags during the funeral of their fallen comrades Ismail Baz and Mohammad Hussein Shohury, who were killed in an Israeli strike on their vehicles, in Shehabiya in southern Lebanon on April 17, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
Walid Phares, who has advised US presidential candidates and is a leading expert on Hezbollah, told Fox News Digital that “Hezbollah has a long history in Venezuela and has emerged as a significant security concern in Latin America, especially after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The origin of Hezbollah’s presence in Venezuela dates back to the mid-1980s, when members began to be recruited in 1980, parts of the local Lebanese diaspora.”
He noted that Hezbollah gained significant power following the 2002 inauguration of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. “At this time, Hezbollah’s presence became more visible, with reports indicating that some of its members gained access to Venezuelan state institutions, including security agencies, often through the acquisition of valid passports and the extension of Venezuelan documents. Hezbollah’s networks are linked throughout Latin America, extending to Brazil, Argentina and Chile, and reportedly reaching the US-Mexico border.”
Phares said, “Hezbollah is believed to maintain a large presence throughout Venezuela, including elements of control and control in Caracas. The island of Margarita is often identified in open source reports as a staging area used for activities ranging from financial operations to intelligence gathering and suspected drug trafficking. Additional public reporting has suggested collaboration between Heznoel and Venezuelan and Iranian-Iranian operations targeting the opposition. of Iran abroad, including kidnapping attempts and intimidation campaigns in the Western Hemisphere.”
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The American-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah has been on the rise in the US after it captured Maduro. Hezbollah said it “condemns the terrorist violence and the American attack against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela” and “reaffirms its full solidarity with Venezuela – its people, president and government – in the face of this violence and American arrogance.”
The difficult challenge of how to cleanse the Venezuelan state and society of embedded Hezbollah operatives was addressed by Phares. He said, “Another way would be to rely on a post-Maduro transitional government committed to dismantling terrorist networks. However, in reality, it is likely that US intelligence and counter-terrorism agencies will play a leading role in identifying and disrupting pro-Iranian networks operating in Venezuela.”
Matthew Levitt, a Hezbollah expert from the Washington Institute, told Fox News Digital that “It will all depend on what kind of regime comes in next. Trump’s statements leave that very open. However, there is an opportunity to talk about Hezbollah’s long-standing presence in Venezuela, and the strategic relationship between Venezuela and Iran more broadly.”
Carrie Filipetti, executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition, and former deputy secretary of state during Trump’s first administration, told Fox News Digital, “Among the many ways that the regime of Iran and Maduro connected until the arrest of Maduro was providing a safe haven for Hezbollah. The United States in general is involved in money laundering linked to the drug trade. It is believed that they used connections within the Maduro regime to obtain passports for members of Venezuela Hezbollah.”
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He noted that “It is not surprising that the plot to kidnap the Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad involved taking him by speedboat to Caracas. Hezbollah and Iran knew each other under Maduro, they can operate with impunity there, spread anti-American propaganda, and plan attacks against Americans. they are allowed to stay in power or not.”
