Venezuela

Venezuela
Terror FinanciersVenezuela
ThreatsTerrorists Attacks
VenezuelaVenezuela
Terror EventsVenezuela
Terror Extremists

Venezuela has been a willing partner to countries such as Iran, Syria, North Korea, and Cuba.

With the exception of North Korea, each of these countries has been designated as a state sponsor of terrorism by the U.S. Government. Senior officials within the Venezuelan government have also provided material support to Hezbollah, a terrorist organization. They have also maintained ties with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC; ELN; and ETA.

Terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and the FARC are officially linked to government officials; and, third, Venezuela is supporting Iran and Iran’s desire for a nuclear weapon.

Under Hugo Chavez, Venezuelabecame a hub money laundering and transshipment of illicit goods. In recent years, the relationship between drug trafficking and terrorist organizations has become closely intertwined.

As Chavez has provided Venezuela as a safe haven for these narcoterrorists, the FARC, a drug trafficking and terrorist organization who largely operates in remote sections of Colombia, have long received assistance, relief, and material support from Venezuelan authorities.

There is evidence supporting significant cooperation with officials from Venezuela, the Venezuelan government and the FARC. So clearly, if we go back to the definition of state sponsor of terrorism, you can check that box off, that there is a close tie and relationship between terrorist organizations and the government in Venezuela.

Though Iran and Venezuela have been linked since the founding of OPEC in 1960, the two countries recently strengthened that relationship. It is especially troubling because of potentially harmful activity undertaken under the guise of diplomatic relationships. One example is the absence of customs enforcement, for example. On weekly flights from Caracas to Tehran via the Venezuelan airline Conviasa, it is unclear who or what is being transported, but reports indicate that the flights do carry weapons for terrorists.

There are longstanding concerns regarding the activities of terrorist groups in Venezuela, particularly Venezuelan links to the Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah.

An example of this is an action took, targetting a Hezbollah facilitator and Venezuelan diplomat, Ghazi Nasr al Din. Nasr al Din was a Venezuelan diplomat who served as their Charge d’Affaires in Damascus, Syria, and utilized his position in the Venezuelan government, and is the president of a Caracas-based Islamic center, to provide financial support to Hezbollah. Among his activities were providing Hezbollah donors with specific information on how to route their contributions such that they would go directly to Hezbollah. Nasr al Din met with senior Hezbollah officials in Lebanon to discuss operational issues and facilitated the travel of Hezbollah members to and from Venezuela.

At the same another Venezuelan-based Hezbollah supporter was exposed , Fawzi Kan’an, and two travel agencies that he operated out of Caracas.

In recent years, the Maduro regime encourages international terrorist groups to run free in Venezuela. Colombian and religious terrorist organizations inside of Venezuela that are permitted to operate in the country as well as, encouraged to stay by the illegitimate leader Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro and his associates use criminal activities to help maintain their illegitimate hold on power, fostering a permissive environment for known terrorist groups including dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-D), the Colombian-origin National Liberation Army (ELN), and Hizballah sympathizers.

FARC-D and ELN both profit from and run parts of the illegal international drug trade from Venezuela. ELN oversees illegal mining operations and derives money from kidnapping civilians for ransom.

While neighboring Colombia has tried to stop the groups’ influence in South America, Maduro allows it. The regime did not update its counterterrorism legislation in 2019 to reflect the growing presence of either terrorist organization in Venezuela, nor has it made any efforts to prosecute the groups.

Nicolas Maduro has openly welcomed former FARC leaders who announced a return to terrorist activities.
On July 28, 2019, during the São Paulo Forum in Caracas, Maduro said Iván Márquez and Jesús Santrich — former FARC leaders — were welcome in the country. A month later, both Márquez and Santrich appeared in a video, rallying FARC to return to arms against the Colombian government, the report says.

Some members of the illegitimate Maduro regime and armed forces maintained financial ties with FARC dissidents, ELN, and Venezuelan paramilitary groups.

The ELN continued to expand its presence beyond its historic base in the border zone with Colombia and to consolidate its social control where its presence is strongest. According to local and international media, ELN was present in 12 of Venezuela’s 23 states (with particular strength in Amazonas, Anzoátegui, Apure, Bolívar, Táchira, and Zulia states). Media reported an increasing role for the ELN in state-subsidized food distribution, contraband (gas, basic goods, meat), extortion, illegal mining, and recruitment propaganda, at times through control of radio stations.

Maduro and his associates’ complicated relationship with terrorist groups was characterized by both conflict and cooperation. Given increasingly scarce resources, there was greater confrontation among ELN, FARC dissidents, and regime-controlled government forces. In September the press reported that 19 persons died in a shootout between the Venezuelan Armed Forces and the FARC dissident Frente 10 group in Apure state, although Maduro’s associates have refused to publicly acknowledge such skirmishes, preferring to blame generic criminal elements rather than the FARC dissidents.

Nicolas Maduro continues to claim to be the leader of Venezuela and retains control and the loyalty of the Venezuelan Armed Forces (FANB). Members of the Maduro regime continue to engage in criminal activities and members of several Colombian FTOs — including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP), Segunda Marquetalia, and the National Liberation Army (ELN) — continue to operate in Venezuelan territory with relative impunity.

Nicolas Maduro continues to claim to be the leader of Venezuela and retains control and the loyalty of the Venezuelan Armed Forces (FANB). Members of the Maduro regime continue to engage in criminal activities and members of several Colombian FTOs — including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP), Segunda Marquetalia, and the National Liberation Army (ELN) — continue to operate in Venezuelan territory with relative impunity.

Too often, Hezbollah in Venezuela is characterized as only a potential terrorist threat. t was believed thet Hezbollah activity in Venezuela was only limited to fundraising. n reality, the Lebanese terrorist group has helped to turn Venezuela into a hub for the convergence of transnational organized crime and international terrorism.

Hezbollah’s crime-terror network in Venezuela has facilitated Iran’s cooperation with the Maduro regime.