Australian National Review – Iran/Hezbollah Enabled by Socialist Governments in America

“Latin American countries are of particular importance to Iran’s foreign and defense policies, due to the importance of the highly sensitive South American region,” said Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani.

Hezbollah continues to expand its presence in the Americas, particularly through illegal networks in Latin America. The steady shift toward socialist governments in the region has exacerbated the situation.

In 2022, Chilean President Gabriel Boric made headlines when he refused to accept the credentials of Israeli Ambassador Gil Artzyeli, citing the killing of a Palestinian teenager by Israeli forces. Although the Chilean Foreign Ministry later apologized and rescheduled the ceremony, tensions persisted. In 2023, Bolivia severed diplomatic ties with Israel, while both Chile and Colombia recalled their ambassadors from Israel, with Colombia accusing Israel of genocide.

These incidents reflect broader tensions between left-wing governments in the region and Israel. Boric’s decision has been welcomed by groups including Hamas and Hezbollah and underscores rising anti-Israel sentiment in parts of Latin America.

Brazil has similarly avoided a hard line against Hezbollah, with President Lula da Silva’s government refraining from designating the group as a terrorist organization. Unlike Chile, which rejected Israeli diplomatic credentials, tensions between Brazil and Israel have been more subtle, including the recall of its ambassador during the Gaza conflict in 2024.

This political hostility toward Israel is ironic given Mossad’s crucial role in helping Brazil prevent a major terrorist attack in November 2023. At the time, Brazil’s Federal Police, with Mossad support, foiled a Hezbollah-planned attack on Jewish and Israeli sites in São Paulo. Two individuals with ties to Hezbollah were arrested, including one who was caught at the airport after arriving from Lebanon. Subsequent raids in São Paulo, Brasilia, and Minas Gerais uncovered further evidence of Hezbollah recruitment efforts in Brazil.

In Argentina, President Javier Milei has not shied away from attacking Hezbollah and Iranian agents, accusing them of their activities in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. Milei visited Israel in 2024 to show his support for Israel’s war against Hamas. His hardline stance against globalism and accusations of Iranian and Hezbollah influence have made him a controversial figure, with many opposing his stance.

Nevertheless, Milei is one of the few leaders in the region who is standing up to this growing threat, and he is drawing attention to the broader geopolitical struggle taking place in Latin America between rising leftist governments and their shifting alliances. Latin America’s leftist governments have provided an opening for transnational terror networks, ultimately leading back to Iran via its proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas.

Hezbollah, along with Hamas and the Houthis, serves as one of Iran’s most important vassals, extending Tehran’s influence beyond the Middle East. In the Americas, Hezbollah has strategically expanded its activities since the 1980s, particularly in Latin America. The group has established significant networks, particularly in the Tri-Border Area (Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil) and Venezuela, focusing on financing its global agenda through drug trafficking, money laundering, and smuggling. These illicit activities thrive in regions with weak governance and corruption, allowing Hezbollah to generate significant revenue.

U.S. authorities have responded by imposing sanctions on Hezbollah-linked individuals in Venezuela and the Tri-Border Area, revealing their involvement in fundraising and smuggling operations. In 2020, Colombian authorities disrupted a major Hezbollah-linked money laundering operation linked to cocaine trafficking. Hezbollah has also used the Black Market Peso Exchange to launder drug money between Latin America and Lebanon.

In 2021, U.S. sanctions further targeted Hezbollah financiers involved in drug trafficking, weakening its financial networks. Reports in 2022 highlighted Hezbollah’s growing ties to the Maduro regime in Venezuela, where the group has been involved in training paramilitary forces and facilitating arms trafficking. In 2023, U.S. authorities arrested individuals in Miami linked to a Hezbollah-backed drug trafficking ring, further demonstrating the group’s growing role in the international drug trade and its ability to operate within the U.S.

As Israel intensifies its operations against Hezbollah, the risk of Hezbollah-related attacks inside the United States increases. This conflict is part of a broader proxy war with Iran, a country that not only threatens Israel but also poses a significant threat to the United States. Iran’s growing influence in Latin America is particularly troubling because it has trained Mexican drug cartels in tactics such as car bombs, suicide bombers, and improvised explosive devices to carry out attacks on U.S. soil.

While Israel’s fight against Hezbollah serves its own security interests, it also serves as a crucial line of defense for the U.S. and other Western democracies. An Israeli victory in this ongoing conflict would help reduce the threat Hezbollah poses not only to Israel but also to the U.S. and its allies. Any pressure on Israel to scale back its military campaign against Hezbollah and Hamas would only serve to increase the danger to Israel, pro-American Arab regimes, and the U.S. itself.