Iran backs Maduro to keep Latin America foothold as Trump increases pressure on Venezuela

Iran is backing Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro conscionable arsenic the Trump medication steps up subject unit successful the Caribbean and expands its crackdown connected transgression networks tied to the authorities successful Caracas.

Earlier ths week Iran condemned U.S. actions and publically tied itself to Maduro. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei warned of "dangerous repercussions" from U.S. subject enactment successful the region, arguing the operations endanger "international bid and security," according to Iran’s authoritative quality agency, IRNA.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Iván Gil Pinto instantly welcomed Tehran’s backing. In comments reported by the Tehran Times, helium thanked Iran for its "solidarity with the Venezuelan people."

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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro holds up a transcript of his country's lawsuit taken to the International Criminal Court regarding U.S. sanctions during a property league astatine Miraflores statesmanlike palace successful Caracas. 

Isaias Medina III, a erstwhile Venezuelan diplomat astatine the U.N. Security Council who resigned successful 2017 owed to Maduro's quality rights violations, told Fox News Digital that "Iran’s concern with the rogue Venezuelan narco-dictatorship is acold from a principled basal for ‘sovereign rights’ nether the U.N. Charter. It is simply a calculated strategy serving communal interests successful transgression endeavor and asymmetric warfare, posing a nonstop and evolving menace to U.S. nationalist security," helium said.

"This is simply a concern for power, not principles. Iran’s engagement centers connected deepening military, criminal, and quality practice that blatantly disregards planetary norms," helium said.

When asked connected Monday whether helium had ruled retired anything, including U.S. troops connected the ground, President Donald Trump told reporters, "No, I don’t regularisation retired that, I don’t regularisation retired anything. We conscionable person to instrumentality attraction of Venezuela. They dumped hundreds of thousands of radical into our state from prisons."

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Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pictured sitting adjacent to elder subject authoritative successful Iran. (Getty Images)

Danny Citrinowicz, a elder chap astatine Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told Fox News Digital that Iran’s nationalist defence of Venezuela reflects heavy strategical anxiousness wrong Tehran.

"Iran is extremely, highly disquieted that it’s going to suffer its main hub successful Latin America," helium said. "Losing Maduro volition beryllium a strategical nonaccomplishment for Iran, due to the fact that Venezuela is simply a strategical hub, not lone for the enactment successful Venezuela itself, but besides enactment successful Latin America successful general."

Citrinowicz pointed to the precocious exposed assassination effort connected Israel’s ambassador successful Mexico, which Mexican authorities linked to operatives with ties to Iran’s Quds Force. According to Citrinowicz, the cognition illustrates however Iran uses Venezuelan territory arsenic a staging ground.

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Former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi welcomes Venezuelan dictator, Nicolás Maduro astatine Sadabat Palace successful Tehran, Iran connected June 11, 2022.  (Photo by Iranian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

He said the Iranians "used their beingness successful Venezuela, chiefly the Quds Force presence, successful bid to stitchery the close radical that really tried to perpetrate this attack," helium said. "It’s 1 illustration of many, however Iranians are utilizing their beingness successful Venezuela arsenic immoderate benignant of mode to leap into the Latin American continent arsenic a whole."

He added that Venezuela has agelong been Iran’s astir important foothold successful the region: "Losing Venezuela is not lone losing the grip of Venezuela itself, but besides the quality to usage Venezuela successful bid to heighten their enactment successful Latin America successful general, besides including operational enactment similar we saw successful Mexico."

Citrinowicz said that Iran has already mislaid 1 longtime state successful the portion aft caller elections successful Bolivia. Remaining partners see Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, but "strategically and historically, Venezuela was the astir important 1 due to the fact that it gave them capable country to operate."

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Venezuela's Minister of Petroleum Pedro Tellechea and his Iranian counterpart Javad Owji motion agreements during a gathering of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro and past Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi astatine the Miraflores Palace, successful Caracas, Venezuela June 12, 2023.  (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)

Asked whether Iran is aiding the Venezuelan subject directly, helium said: "They person advisors connected the ground. They tin assistance the Venezuelan army, and they tin besides nonstop arms via Qeshm Fars Air flights flying from Tehran to Caracas. They did that successful the past, and they tin bash that adjacent today."

On Tuesday, American Families Against Cartel Terrorism (AmFACT) President Adriana Jones welcomed the U.S. State Department’s designation of Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles arsenic a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Jones — whose sister Maria "Rhonita" LeBaron and 4 of her children were murdered successful the 2019 Juárez cartel massacre — said the determination demonstrates Washington’s resolve.

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"The violent designation of the Cartel de los Soles is an important reminder that the Trump medication is consenting to usage Foreign Terrorist Organization designations to combat unsafe cause and quality trafficking cartels," she said.

She urged policymakers to widen the aforesaid designation to the Juárez Cartel and its equipped wing, La Línea, arguing that each time without it "allows them abstraction to run with impunity and heightens the likelihood that much American families volition endure the aforesaid grief and devastation we have."

Since September, the U.S. has launched astatine slightest 21 fatal strikes connected boats allegedly progressive successful narcotics trafficking disconnected Central and South America, including 1 connected Sunday, arsenic portion of what officials picture arsenic a widening run to disrupt maritime routes tied to Venezuelan transgression networks.