The day after elite US forces captured wanted narco-terrorist and former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist movement Hezbollah will no longer have operations in the South American state.
The Iranian regime-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah is responsible for both the bombing of the US embassy, which killed 63 people, and the 1983 bombing of the Navy barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 US service members.
Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Rubio said, “It’s very simple, OK? In the 21st century, under the Trump administration, we will not have a country like Venezuela in our own hemisphere, in the sphere of control and the crossroads for Hezbollah, for Iran and for every other malign influence in the world. That simply won’t exist.’ He also told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that, in regard to Venezuela, this meant: “No more Iranian and Hezbollah presence there.”
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Hezbollah members salute and raise the group’s flags during the funeral for comrades killed in an Israeli attack on their vehicles, in southern Lebanon, April 17, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
He noted that Hezbollah gained traction following the consolidation of power by the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez in 2002. “During this period, 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 Venezuelan passports and legal documentation. These developments facilitated the expansion of Hezbollah-linked networks throughout Latin America, extending into Brazil, Argentina and Chile, and reportedly reaching as far into the US as the US-Mexico border.”
Phares said: “Hezbollah is believed to have a substantial presence throughout Venezuela, including command and control elements in Caracas. Margarita Island is often cited in open-source reporting as a logistics hub used for activities ranging from financial operations to intelligence gathering and alleged narcotics trafficking. Additional public reporting has suggested Venezuelan cooperation with Iranian and Hezbollah-affiliated operations targeting Iranian dissidents abroad, including attempted kidnappings and intimidation campaigns in the Western Hemisphere.”
Trump monitors the mission to capture Maduro from a secure location at his Mar-a-Lago estate. CIA Director John Ratcliffe (left) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (right) sit next to him. (Donald J Trump via Truth Social)
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The US-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah lashed out at the US after it captured Maduro. Hezbollah said it “condemns the terrorist aggression and US violence against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela” and “further reaffirms its full solidarity with Venezuela – its people, presidency and government – in confronting this US aggression and arrogance.”
The thorny challenge of cleansing the Venezuelan state and society of embedded Hezbollah operatives was tackled by Phares. He said: “One option would be to rely on a post-Maduro transition authority that has pledged to dismantle terrorist networks. In practice, however, it is likely that US intelligence and counterterrorism agencies will play a leading role in identifying and disrupting pro-Iranian networks operating on Venezuelan territory.”
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (L) meets with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during his visit to Tehran, Iran on October 22, 2016. (Pool/Supreme Leader News Agency/Anadolu Agency/Getty Image)
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“It is no surprise that the plot to kidnap Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad involved taking her to Caracas by speedboat,” she noted. “Hezbollah and Iran knew that under Maduro they could operate with impunity there, spreading anti-American propaganda and planning anti-American attacks. Whether there are any implications for the relationship between Maduro and Hezbollah now that Maduro is gone will depend on whether regime insiders are allowed to remain in power or not.”
