Published: November 20, 2009 Amid Growing Iranian Influence in Latin America, Ahmadinejad Travels to Brazil
Iran Intensifies Influence throughout Latin America
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to arrive in Brazil on November 23 for a three-day visit in an effort to further strengthen relations between the two countries and expand Iran's influence in the region. [1]
During Ahmadinejad's trip, the two countries are expected to discuss implementing a travel visa waiver agreement, Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alireza Salari said in an interview with Agência Brasil on Oct. 23. [2] If an agreement is signed, Iranians will be allowed to enter and exit Brazil without visas.
Iranians previously entered the region through Nicaragua without visas and Venezuela maintains a direct flight from Tehran to Caracas, via Syria. [3]
Brazil, the largest country in Latin America, ranks among Iran's top regional allies that include anti-Western nations such as Venezuela and Bolivia. [4] From 2002 - 2007, the volume of Iran-Brazil trade quadrupled to $2 billion. [5] Most of Iran's exports to Brazil consist of petrochemical and oil products. [6]
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has maintained a close relationship to Iran and, unlike many international leaders, openly supports Iran's self-declared right to nuclear energy. [7] Da Silva also was among the first leaders to congratulate Ahmadinejad following Iran's controversial June 12 elections. [8]
Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki acknowledges that "the political stands adopted by Tehran and Brasilia are very often quite similar." [9]
In May 2009, Ahmadinejad was to make his first visit to Brazil, but canceled at the last minute without explanation. [10]
Iran, widely recognized as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, [11] has been expanding its terror network globally. That, combined with the regime's determination to become a nuclear power and its expanding influence in Latin America, has become a serious international security issue and a growing global concern. [12] Iran uses Hezbollah and splinter groups of Iran's Revolutionary Guard to recruit and train sleeper cells in foreign countries, [13] particularly in Brazil. [14]
On Oct. 22, Paraguayan officials arrested a drug dealer linked to Iran-backed Hezbollah in the tri-border city Ciudad del Este. [15] A March 2009 study stressed that the tri-border area of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay "has emerged as the most important financing center for Islamic terrorism outside of the Middle East." [16]
Iran Intensifies Influence throughout Latin America
Since 2002, the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah has become visibly active in Latin America. [17]
South and Latin America have also become major bases for terrorist fundraising. Hezbollah raises millions of dollars in South America by selling pirated DVDs, according to the Rand Corporation, a U.S. public policy think-tank. The recent study stresses that the tri-border area of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay "has emerged as the most important financing center for Islamic terrorism outside of the Middle East." [18]
Iran-backed Hezbollah currently maintains a regional base in Venezuela from which it mobilizes terrorists and distributes material. [19] Bases are operational in the lawless tri-border region between Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. Hezbollah - a Shiite, Lebanon-based group - and other Islamic terrorist groups use several Web sites for recruitment and to indoctrinate others with their extreme Islamic views. [20]
Iranian Influence by Country
Argentina
Since the 1990s, Hezbollah has operated in Argentina with Iran's help. In October 2006, Argentine prosecutors accused Hezbollah of the 1994 Buenos Aires AMIA Jewish center bombing, in which 85 people died and 300 were wounded. Argentina accused Iran of instructing Hezbollah to perpetrate the crime[21] and seven top Iranian diplomats were charged, including former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.[22] In February 2008, a U.S. judge ruled that Hezbollah and Iran were responsible for the 1992 Israeli Embassy bombing in Buenos Aires, which killed 29 people and wounded more than 242.[23]
Brazil
On Nov. 23, Ahmadinejad is scheduled to travel to Brazil.[24] The visit comes as the Islamic Republic and Brazil upgrade their bilateral ties on numerous levels. In November 2008, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said Brazil had made developing relations with Iran a foreign policy priority.[25] In addition to the controversial bolstering of economic and diplomatic relations between Brazil and Iran, a country that has been sanctioned by the UN Security Council for its non-compliance regarding its uranium enrichment program, the United States and other Western nations are concerned by Iran-backed Hezbollah, a terrorist organization, that is "gaining strength and momentum" in Latin America, particularly in Brazil.[26]
On Oct. 25, 2009 the Islamic Republic News Agency, the official state news agency, announced Iran was preparing to sign a media cooperation agreement with Brazil.[27]
During a visit to Brazil in March 2009, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced: "The two countries [Brazil and Iran] are on the threshold of beginning of a new chapter in relations." Furthermore, he stressed his wish to raise the bilateral trade volume between both countries up to $3.0 billion in the coming years.[28]
"Iran affords South America major priority in its foreign policy and Brazil enjoys a special position in this respect," said Mottaki during a meeting with Amorim in Tehran.[29]
Between 2002 and 2007, the volume of Iran-Brazil trade quadrupled to $2 billion.[30] Most of Iran's exports to Brazil consist of petrochemical and oil products.[31]
Brazil's exports to Iran reached over $1.5 billion in 2007.[32]
During his visit to Brazil, Mottaki spoke of his desire for bilateral cooperation in the fields of agricultural research, science, technology, power, oil and gas. During his meeting with Foreign Minister Mottaki Brazil's Minister of Defense, Nelson Jobim, said: "Iran is our friend with which we are highly interested to expand ties. So, we can have good cooperation in all areas, in the energy sector in particular."[33]
Mottaki proposed a "roadmap" for energy cooperation between Iran and Brazil, particularly in the oil sector and producing electricity. Brazilian Energy Minister Edison Lobao said: "Iran is our friend which we deeply like to develop relations with."[34]
"Iran and Brazil are two countries in line with the south-south cooperation and Brazil has always been benefiting from relations with Iran," said Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart.[35]
In November 2008, Brazil asked for the UN Security Council to "shelve Iran's nuclear dossier and allow the normalization of the country's enrichment case."[36]
In March 2009, the commander of U.S. forces in Latin America, James Stavridis, warned of the increased Iranian and Hezbollah activities throughout the region: "We see a great deal of Hezbollah activity throughout South America, in particular. The tri-border of Brazil is a particular concern, as in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, as well as [other] parts of Brazil and in the Caribbean Basin."[37]
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva publicly announced his support for Iran's nuclear energy program in September 2007.[38]
Bolivia
Iran has provided Bolivia more than $1.1 billion in industrial cooperation funds since 2007.[39]
During Israel's defensive Gaza operation that ended Jan. 18, 2009, Bolivia severed ties with Israel in protest of Israel's actions, apparently in solidarity with Iran, even though Israel did not have an ambassador stationed in Bolivia.[40]
Iranian President Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with Bolivian President Evo Morales that Iran and Bolivia "Will stand together like two brothers and by the Grace of God will remain together forever." He added, "Despite the geographic distance between our two countries, we are determined to expand our relations with Bolivia."[41]
President Morales announces that Iran and Venezuela will jointly finance a Bolivian national newspaper and possibly a TV station.[42]
An Israeli intelligence report published by the Associated Press in May 2009 suspects that Bolivia and Venezuela are providing Iran with uranium for its nuclear program.[43]
Colombia
In October 2008, U.S. and Colombian law enforcement broke up an Iran-backed Hezbollah drug trafficking operation whose profits reached markets in Europe, the United States and militias in Lebanon, according to U.S. Department of Justice reports.[44]
In March 2009, the commander of U.S. forces in Latin America expressed concern at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing about the level of Iranian and Hezbollah activities in the country and their involvement in Colombian drug trafficking. "We have seen in Colombia a direct connection between Hezbollah activity and the narco-trafficking activity," he said.[45]
Cuba
In February 2006, Cuba and Iran signed an economic cooperation agreement to "facilitate export of Iranian goods as well as engineering and technical services to Cuba." [46]
In mid-2008, Iran granted Cuba a $270 million credit line. [47]
Ecuador
In January 2008, Iran established a trade office in Quito. [48]
In March 2008, Iran and Ecuador agreed to economic and military cooperation.[49] President Rafael Correa visited Iran in December 2008, where the two countries agreed to open embassies in each capital and to explore cooperation in the fields of defense, energy, technology and science. [50]
In December 2008, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa announced plans to purchase weapons from Iran. "We need to equip ourselves... Iran can supply us and help us with credit," said Correa. Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammed-Najjar said, "We are prepared to impart our knowledge in the various areas of defense to the brotherly nation of Ecuador." [51]
In early 2009, military instructors from Iran specializing in guerrilla and anti-guerrilla warfare will supervise the Ecuadorian military. [52]
In March 2009, Iranian officials said they would loan $40 million to finance two power plants in Ecuador. [53]
Israeli Ambassador to Ecuador Eyal Sela reported that Iran plans to create an Arabic TV network in Latin America to communicate with the public. Sela also said there is a keen Iranian interest in Bolivia and Ecuador's uranium deposits and that Iran has invested more than $20 billion throughout Latin America. [54]
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki visited Ecuador for President Correa's inauguration in August 2009. [55]
In September 2009, the Iranian Export Development Bank announced plans to open a branch in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito in order to increase Iranian economic development in Latin America. The head of Ecuador's Central Bank Carlos Vallejo said Iran agreed to open a $40 million credit line for Ecuadorian exporters and consider depositing $145 million into Ecuador's national banks. [56]
Mexico
Iran-backed Hezbollah has used the Mexican border to enter the United States. In May 2001, Mexico's national security adviser and ambassador to the United States, Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, reported, "Spanish and Islamic terrorist groups are using Mexico as a refuge." [57]
In December 2002, a café owner in Tijuana was arrested for smuggling more than 200 Lebanese illegally into the United States. Many of them are thought to have terrorist ties to Iran-backed Hezbollah. [58]
On March 1, 2005, Mahmoud Yossef Kourani, brother of Hezbollah's chief of military operations in southern Lebanon, pleaded guilty in the United States to financially supporting Hezbollah. Kourani had been smuggled illegally across the U.S.-Mexico border after bribing a Mexican consular official in Beirut for a Mexican travel visa. In the U.S., he lived among the Lebanese expatriates in Dearborn, Mich., where he collected money for Hezbollah terrorist activity back in Lebanon. [59]
Trade between Iran and Mexico spiked from $56 million to $62 million between 2000 and 2007, averaging an annual growth of 11 percent. [60]
In March 2009, The Washington Times reported that Iran-backed Hezbollah is exploiting Mexican cross-border routes, smuggling drugs and people across the U.S. border for profit and developing ties with Mexican drug cartels. [61]
Nicaragua
In March 2007, Iran and Venezuela pledged $350 million for the construction of a deep-water seaport at Monkey Point, on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast. [62]
Also in 2007, Iran gave Nicaragua a $231 million loan to build a hydroelectric dam. [63]
In July 2007, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega allowed 21 Iranians into the country without visas. [64]
In August 2008, Iran donated $2 million to Nicaragua to construct a hospital. [65]
In Iran's embassy in Managua, Nicaragua, Iranian officials have immunity to travel without any restrictions. Since the embassy is well-protected from outside observers, U.S. official's fear that the embassy will be become a hub to transport weapons. [66]
In February 2009, the Iranian ambassador to Nicaragua revealed that Iran plans to invest over $200 million in Nicaragua for the construction of a dam and a hydroelectric power station. [67]
Panama
Panama's upcoming May 2009 presidential elections may enhance Chavez's - and by proxy Iran's - influence in the region. Favorite Balbina Herrera (from the Democratic Revolutionary Party) could potentially join Venezuela's strategic alliance with China, Russia and Iran against the United States, while continuing to give lip service to the pro-business, U.S.-friendly electorate in Panama. [68]
On Sept. 8, 2009, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said Banco Internacional de Desarrollo CA, a division of Iran's Export Development Bank, developed ties with banks in Panama and Venezuela as a means to circumvent international sanctions resulting from its nuclear program. [69]
Paraguay
The Hezbollah operation in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay "funnels large sums of money to militia leaders in the Middle East and finances training camps, propaganda operations and bomb attacks in South America." [70] According to estimates by the U.S. Southern Command, Hezbollah raises $300 million - $500 million a year in Latin America. [71]
In August 2008, leftist Fernando Lugo was elected with heavy support from the country's large Muslim population. Fundraising efforts in Muslim areas were supported by Iran and Venezuela. Upon Lugo's victory, Ahmadinejad congratulated him and called him a "man of God and an enemy of the Great Satan." [72]
Uruguay
In October 2007, Uruguayan investigators caught their government attempting to purchase munitions from Iran. The purchase was diverted through Venezuela in order to bypass UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The shipment, on a Uruguayan navy ship, included some 15,000 rounds of Iranian ammunition that was part of a larger illegal deal involving the sale of 18,000 Iranian-made automatic rifles. [73]
In October 2008, Ahmadinejad met with the new Uruguayan ambassador to Tehran, Fernando Alberto Arroyo, stressing that Iran is determined to broaden relations with Uruguay. [74]
Venezuela
Venezuelan businesses launder money for Hezbollah. In 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department froze assets of a Venezuelan diplomat and a prominent businessman with connections to terrorist group funds. [75]
According to Iranian dissident and journalist Manuchehr Honarmand - who was imprisoned for three years in Venezuela - Iranian officials are involved in every sector of Venezuela's economy. [76]
Ahmadinejad and Chavez have met seven times as of November 2008. [77]
Since 2001, Iran and Venezuela have signed more than 180 trade agreements worth more than $20 billion in potential investment. [78]
In early 2007, Iran and Venezuela set up a $2 billion Liberation Fund for countries wishing to free themselves from supposed "U.S. domination." Ahmadinejad said Iran and Venezuela are "promoting revolutionary thought in the world." [79]
In March 2007, IranAir began operating flights on a Tehran-Damascus-Caracas route. The following October, Venezuela's state-run airline Conviasa also began such a route. A Syrian official said the flights were a way to circumvent the 'harassment' that Muslim travelers were undergoing after Sept. 11, 2001. [80]
In December 2008, the Italian newspaper La Stampa reported that several Conviasa flights had transported intelligence officials, military officers and materials banned by the UN, including components for Iran's ballistic missile program. [81]
Iranian diplomats, as well as members of Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guard, can now fly directly to Venezuela and then to other Latin American countries. In fact, members of Hezbollah are flying back and forth, some for "training in Iran." Recent American intelligence suggests that Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard have a task force in place to kidnap Jewish travelers in Venezuela and ship them via IranAir to Lebanon. [82]
In July 2007, Iran and Venezuela began construction on two joint petrochemical complexes, one in Iran and one in Venezuela, at a combined cost of $1.4 billion. [83]
In November 2007, Chavez and Ahmadinejad signed four memorandums of understanding with the intention of creating a joint bank, a fund, an oil industry technical training program and an industrial accord. [84]
Tarek El-Aissami, the recently appointed Minister of Interior and Justice in Venezuela, is accused of having affiliations with Hezbollah. El-Aissami is accused of giving false documentation and illegally issuing passports to members of Hamas and Hezbollah when he was the head of the country's passport and naturalization service, the Onidex. [85]
In January 2008, Turkish officials stopped an Iranian shipment bound for Venezuela that contained laboratory equipment capable of producing explosives. "The equipment was enough to set up an explosives lab," a customs official told The Associated Press. [86]
On April 3, 2009, Chavez visited Tehran to inaugurate the Iran-Venezuela Development Bank, which was established by the Export Development Bank of Iran that was placed under sanctions by the U.S. Treasury for allegedly financing Iran's nuclear program. An Iranian state media report said the bank's initial capital totaled $2 million, but, "The capital will be raised to 1.2 billion dollars with the aim of supporting joint economic, industrial and mining projects as well as speeding up the current projects." [87]
In September 2009, Chavez made his eighth official visit to the Islamic Republic during which he agreed to export 20,000 barrels a day of gasoline to Iran that will ease Tehran's fuel deficiency resulting from international sanctions against such energy-related imports. [88]
In October 2009, President Hugo Chavez announced that Iran is helping Venezuela explore and eventually mine its uranium deposits. Venezuela reportedly has 50,000 tons of uranium reserves and Chavez is seeking Iran's help to develop a "nuclear village." [90]
Footnotes:
[1] "Iran, Brazil Want N. Energy 'for Everyone,'" Fars News Agency, Oct. 28, 2009, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8808060756
[2] Giraldi, Renata, "Israel e Autoridade Palestina querem apoio do Brasil para acordo no Oriente Médio," Agência Brasil, Nov. 8, 2009, http://www.agenciabrasil.gov.br/noticias/2009/11/06/materia.2009-11-06.3779116832/view
[3] Kraul, Chris and Sebastian Rotella, "Hezbollah presence in Venezuela feared," The Los Angeles Times, Aug. 27, 2008, http://articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/27/world/fg-venezterror27; Ferrand, Nicole, "Tehran threat in the US' backyard," The Americas Report, Feb. 14, 2008, http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/p16329.xml?genre_id=5
[4] Karmon, Ely, "Iran and its Proxy Hezbollah: Strategic Penetration in Latin America," Real Instituto Elcano, April 8, 2009, http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano_eng/Content?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/international+terrorism/dt18-2009
[5] Goodman, Joshua and Nasseri, Ladane, "Iran's Ahmadinejad Cancels Brazil Trip Indefinitely (Update2)," Bloomberg, May 4, 2008, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=apRIS8bKWwPw
[6] "Brazilian Trade Minister to Visit Tehran in February," Fars News Agency, Nov. 1, 2009, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8808101516
[7] "Brazil Defends Iran's N. Rights," Fars News Agency, Sept. 24, 2009, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8807020768
[8] "Israeli president to visit Brazil just before Iranian leader," Agence France-Presse, Nov. 5, 2009, http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091105/wl_mideast_afp/brazilisraelirandiplomacy
[9] "Iran, Brazil can play major roles in new world order: FM," Xinhua, Sept. 10, 2009, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/10/content_12031992.htm
[10] Goodman, Joshua and Nasseri, Ladane, "Iran's Ahmadinejad Cancels Brazil Trip Indefinitely (Update2)," Bloomberg, May 4, 2008, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=apRIS8bKWwPw
[11] "State Sponsors of Terrorism," U.S. Department of State, Apr. 30, 2009, http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2008/122436.htm
[12] Thomas, George, "Iran trains 'ultimate martyrs,'" Christian World News, May 12, 2006,
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[13] Levitt, Mathew A., "Islamic extremism in Europe," Testimony to the Committee on International Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats, United States House of Representatives, April 7, 2005, http://wwwa.house.gov/international_relations/109/lev042705.pdf
[14] Pessin, Al: "Military Commander Warns of ran-Hezbollah Influence in Latin America," Voice of America, March 17, 2009, http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2009-03/2009-03-17-voa44.cfm?CFID=181082522&CFTOKEN=17261591&jsessionid=003062cf040c80c658df3ce70343d0671b68
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