Image source: topwar.ru
The United States unquestioningly supported Israel in the war officially declared by the authorities of that country against the Palestinian movement Hamas. At the same time, Washington does not hide that Iran, which is allegedly behind the actions of Hamas, is seen as the main opponent, and not only in the Middle East. Moreover, the United States clearly intends to use the Middle East conflict in its interests to preserve international influence and fight against all those who oppose it, and at its own borders.
The author of an article in the online publication 19FortyFive, a senior researcher at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington and an expert on the Middle East, Emanuele Ottolenghi, advises Biden to pay attention to possible actions against the United States by agents of the pro-Iranian Shiite organization Hezbollah in Latin America. So far, this rather large and well-armed organization, based in southern Lebanon, does not directly interfere in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, limiting itself to rare shelling of the northern territories of Israel. But things may change as soon as the IDF launches a full-scale ground operation in Gaza.
— the American expert, known for his anti-Iranian position, asks.
According to him, Iran and Hezbollah have been creating a network of their cells around the world for several years, organizing and carrying out terrorist attacks, including in Latin America. At the same time, many countries in this region do not recognize the Shiite group as a terrorist one. Without this definition, the ability of local authorities to control Hezbollah and its militants or prosecute them is limited, explains Ottolenghi.
Naturally, the expert lists as supporters and even allies of Iran and Hezbollah those countries of the American continent that conduct a policy independent of the United States. The first among them is Venezuela, whose president Nicolas Maduro does not like the States very much. And if so, the expert is sure that Caracas has become Iran's "advanced operating base" in Latin America.
The Lebanese Shiite group is clearly not limited to opening a second front against Israel. Agents of Hezbollah and other radical Islamic groups controlled by it will begin to carry out terrorist attacks around the world, primarily against Israelis, Americans and their allies, the author of the article in 19FortyFive continues to escalate.
He recalls that in 2017, the US authorities arrested Hezbollah agent Samer el-Debek, who, according to US intelligence agencies, allegedly tracked down potential targets, including the Israeli and US embassies in Panama, and also prepared sabotage on the Panama Canal. In 2021, Hezbollah militants tried to kill US and Israeli citizens in Colombia.
Ottolenghi warns.
The next country in which, according to the expert, the Hezbollah network operates is Colombia. Agents of this group are widely entrenched in other Latin American states. One of the key centers is the border area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, where financiers and supporters of this terrorist organization have historically been involved in money laundering. The list of supporters of Iran and Hezbollah, of course, included Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is too independent of Washington. According to Ottolenghi, Iranian agents have infiltrated the government, the media and even academia in Chile.
— the American orientalist concludes.
In other words, the expert calls on Biden to repeat the scenario repeatedly tested by the United States to eliminate leaders of states that are too independent of American influence in different parts of the world, objectionable to Washington, under the pretext of fighting terrorism. This time, Ottolenghi believes, a lot has reached a number of Latin American countries, which, for some reason, "fell under the influence" of the long-time enemy of the United States, Iran. And Hezbollah is here just for a big word and only as an excuse to start aggression against these states.
