MIAMI — The visit of the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, to Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, three countries controlled by dictatorships, It has a political purpose: to consolidate a beneficial strategic alliance for the expansionist purposes of Iranian radicalism, and to send a message to the United States in its own area of influence, which represents a serious threat to West, The analysts agree Octavio Pérez, retired colonel of the United States Army and former intelligence officer, and the academic and former Nicaraguan ambassador to Germany, José Dávila.
Raisi’s first visit to Latin America came amid tensions with the United States, which accuses Iran of providing Russia with drones to attack Ukraine, and materials to build a missile manufacturing plant east of Moscow, which it could start operations in early 2024, according to US intelligence officials.
And although the visit of the Iranian ruler was disguised with the signing of “economic agreements” with the rulers of the three dictatorships, it is not the primary interest for Iran, as it seems to be with Cuba and Nicaragua where some signed agreements speak of “intention”, and “promises.”
In the case of Nicaragua, Raisi said that Iran wants to increase and deepen relations in the political, economic, cultural, science and technology and even judicial areas, without offering details of the “agreements”. While, in Cuba, Raisi highlighted opportunities in the field of electricity production and mining, and mentioned the “intention” to cooperate in the operation of hydroelectric and thermoelectric plants, as well as in mining, whose investment, if materialized, would be highly risk due to Cuba’s tradition of default and low productivity on the island.
But in Venezuela, the situation is different, the Iranian ruler signed 25 agreements related to transportation, trade, oil, technology and culture, according to the Nicolás Maduro regime.
“The relationship between Iran and Venezuela is not a normal diplomatic relationship, but a strategic one; because both countries have common visions and enemies, we have decided to increase cooperation between the two countries, we want to bring that cooperation to 10,000 million dollars and we want to increase it to 20,000 million dollars”, said Raisí.
Maduro and Raisi–AP
AP/File
For retired colonel Octavio Pérez, Iran’s relationship with Venezuela has other interests, gold, coltan and cocaine.
“They have always taken the gold from Venezuela,” says the military analyst in reference to Iran, because with the gold they can evade sanctions and it is also used to sponsor Hezbollah, a terrorist organization that has a presence in Venezuela, accused of being the armed wing of Iran.
In addition to the interest in coltan, ‘thorium’ is another important mineral for Iranians in Venezuela, the first used in the development of the electronics industry; and the second, “for the construction of missiles, the exclusive exploitation of which is reserved for the Russians, with soldiers; and the Iranians, with Hezbollah”, denounced in 2020, Américo De Grazia.
Another of the links between Venezuela and Iran is that the Chavista regime is accused of issuing false passports to members of Hezbollah, who have a presence on the triple border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay.
Nicaragua has also been linked to the issuance of passports to Iranians. In the first attack with which Islamist terrorists tried to bring down the Twin Towers in New York, on February 26, 1993, the US authorities found some of the detained terrorists, responsible for the detonation of a van loaded with 600 kilos of explosives. in the underground parking lot of the buildings at the World Trade Center, several Nicaraguan passports.
The documents would have been issued during the first stage of Sandinismo, in the transition period after the loss of the elections in 1990, according to the FBI investigation. The attack left six dead and more than 1,000 injured.
First attack on the Twin Towers in 1993.png
AP/Betsy Herzog, archivo
Regarding the interest in drugs that retired Colonel Pérez refers to, analyst Bryan Acuña Obando wrote in an opinion article that in Venezuela “Islamist cells have settled mainly in the transfer of drugs (captagon), weapons and money laundering.” of capital, which would point to these actions for the government of Nicolás Maduro to administer a narco-state”.
It is about fenetylline, a synthetic stimulant drug that was marketed under the name Captagon, banned since the 1980s.
For the academic and former diplomat, José Dávila, the visit that Iran made to the three dictatorships is somewhat out of the orbit of what is normal diplomacy based on collaboration, good relations and peace. “Iran’s tour of Latin America must be seen a little further, within geopolitics, which is currently divided into two blocs: that of the dictatorships headed by Russia and China, and the democratic bloc headed by the European Union and the USA”.
“These relations with Iran are strategic, long-term because they continue with their theory of the new world order, and Iran is interested in having Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela in Latin America, practically in the area of influence of the United States. For Nicaragua it may be more of a circumstance and convenience because one wonders what a radical, Muslim country, which has nuclear development, has to do, and it is very striking that a dangerous country like Iran, considered a terrorist, repressive in the name of religion Muslim comes to speak with the three most repressive dictatorships in Latin America, it means that there is a militaristic approach with regimes that control their citizens with repression and that have expansionist aspirations in the case of Iran”.
For Dávila, Iran, which has strengthened its alliance with Russia, is observing the difficulties that Moscow is going through in its invasion against Ukraine, a war that could lose and with it its world influence. In this context, Raisi’s visit to Latin America takes place, Dávila explained.
“Iran is taking the opportunity to strengthen its relations with the most repressive dictatorships because it wants to grow in the world bloc of dictatorships. In the case of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega seeks to strengthen alliances to protect himself from accusations of crimes against humanity and from what may happen to him at the international level of justice, ”he said.
Daniel Ortega and President of Iran
Screenshot/19 digital/website of the Sandinista regime
Dávila maintains that the United States and its allies in the West must be vigilant because Iran promotes a radical fight against Western nations.
“It is a very dangerous alliance between Iran and the three dictatorships ruled by regimes that are part of the West. The United States must take Iran’s latest visit very seriously, not fall asleep or continue to analyze too much and do it consistently, because there is a danger behind that alliance, ”he stressed.
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