The day after elite U.S. forces arrested wanted narco-terrorist and former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, the Secretary of State declared that the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah would cease all operations in the South American nation.
The Iranian regime-backed group is responsible for both the U.S. embassy bombing—which killed 63 people—and the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, where 241 U.S. service members died.
Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Rubio stated, “It’s very straightforward, okay? In the 21st century, under the Trump administration, we won’t allow a country like Venezuela in our own hemisphere to be a sphere of control and a crossroads for Hezbollah, Iran, and every other malicious influence in the world. That simply isn’t going to happen.” He also told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that regarding Venezuela, this meant, “No more Iran/Hezbollah presence there.”
Walid Phares, a Hezbollah expert who has advised U.S. presidential candidates, told Digital, “Hezbollah has a and has become a major security issue in Latin America, especially after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Hezbollah’s presence in Venezuela started in the mid-1980s, when the group began recruiting from parts of the local Lebanese diaspora.”
He pointed out that Hezbollah grew more influential after late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez solidified power in 2002. “During this time, Hezbollah’s presence became more noticeable, with reports saying some members gained access to , including security agencies, often by obtaining Venezuelan passports and legal papers. These changes helped Hezbollah-linked networks spread across Latin America—into Brazil, Argentina, and Chile—and reportedly reach the U.S.-Mexico border.”
Phares stated, “Hezbollah is thought to have a large presence across Venezuela, including command-and-control units in Caracas. Margarita Island is often mentioned in open-source reports as a logistical center for activities like financial operations, intelligence gathering, and alleged drug trafficking. Further public reports have suggested Venezuela cooperated with Iranian and Hezbollah-linked operations targeting Iranian dissidents overseas, including attempted kidnappings and intimidation campaigns in the Western Hemisphere.”
After Maduro’s capture, the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hezbollah criticized the U.S. Hezbollah said it “condemns the terrorist aggression and American bullying against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela” and “further affirms its complete solidarity with Venezuela—its people, presidency, and government—in facing this American aggression and arrogance.”
Phares addressed the difficult task of removing embedded Hezbollah operatives from Venezuela’s state and society. He said, “One approach could be to rely on a post-Maduro transitional authority that has promised to dismantle terrorist networks. In reality, though, it’s likely that would take a leading role in identifying and disrupting pro-Iranian networks operating in Venezuela.”
Matthew Levitt, a Hezbollah scholar from the Washington Institute, told Digital, “Everything depends on what kind of regime follows. Trump’s statements leave that unclear. But there’s an opportunity to tackle Hezbollah’s long-standing presence in Venezuela and the broader strategic relationship between Venezuela and Iran.”
Carrie Filipetti, executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition and a deputy assistant secretary of state during Trump’s first term, told Digital, “One of the many ways the Iranian and Maduro regimes collaborated until Maduro’s arrest was providing a safe haven for Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah exploited the lack of rule of law in Venezuela and parts of Latin America to engage in drug-related money laundering. They’re also thought to have used Maduro regime connections to get Venezuelan passports for Hezbollah members.”
“It’s no surprise that the plot to kidnap Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad involved taking her to Caracas by speedboat,” she noted. “Under Maduro, Hezbollah and Iran knew they could operate without consequences there—spreading anti-American propaganda and planning anti-American attacks. Whether the Maduro-Hezbollah relationship has any implications now that Maduro is gone depends on whether regime insiders stay in power.”