Earlier this month, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper told Congress that “Iranian officials” at the highest levels “are now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States….” The next logical question is, “What is that hostile regime doing with the support of its trusted allies very close to our borders?”
Tomorrow morning, Senator Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) will initiate an inquiry into Iran’s activities in Latin America at a 10a.m. hearing of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I am honored to have the opportunity to share my views on this troubling phenomenon and to make recommendations on an appropriate response. My observations are based on AEI’s ongoing project to monitor and expose Iran’s dramatic push into our neighborhood during the last seven years.
My testimony will review some startling findings about the clandestine network that Iran is building in Latin America with the support of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez, which represents a clear and present danger to U.S. security and interests. By aiding Iran’s evasion of international sanctions and search for uranium, Chávez and other regional despots are abetting Teheran’s rogue nuclear program. And wherever Iran goes, Hezbollah is not far behind. I will expose the growing presence of two terrorist networks—one a home-grown Venezuelan clan and another cultivated by a notorious agent of Iran’s Qods Force—that proselytize, fund-raise, recruit, and train operatives on behalf of Iran and Hezbollah in many countries in the Americas.
The dangerous activities of Iran and Hezbollah so near our borders demand a whole-of-government strategy, beginning with an inter-agency review to understand and assess the transnational, multifaceted nature of the problem; educate friendly governments; and insist on inspection of suspicious operations and military compounds. Our government must be prepared to implement effective measures—unilaterally and with willing partners—to disrupt and dismantle illicit operations and neutralize unacceptable threats.
A year after the devastating 2010 earthquake, Haitians are trying to clear away the rubble of incompetent, corrupt, and failed political leadership by electing a new president. Unfortunately, incumbent President René Préval—abetted by Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez and the unprincipled head of the Organization of American States (OAS)—is trying to deny the Haitian people a president of their own choosing. The dramatic return of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier to Port-au-Prince on Sunday has raised the stakes for U.S. diplomats and others, who must act boldly to salvage the democratic process so Haitians can look to their future.
Venezuela’s democratic opposition leaders say that they have scored a stunning victory in yesterday’s national assembly elections, with their slate of candidates winning a slight majority of the popular votes cast. Because Venezuelan caudillo Hugo Chavez rigged the rules, the opposition’s majority vote would translate into only about 64 of the 165 assembly seats. But that would leave Chavez with no more than 101 seats—less than the super-majority he needs to force through major reforms.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know why Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez would want a nuclear bomb. Although most observers would dismiss the notion of Chavez building such a weapon, a man who used to help build them for the United States didn’t think the idea was so crazy.
After winning nearly 70 percent of the 13 million votes cast in Colombia’s Sunday presidential run-off, ex-defense minister Juan Manuel Santos promised to deliver “national unity” and to expand access to “prosperity, health, quality education, and decent housing.” He also vowed to fight “corruption and impunity” and to smooth over the very tense relations between the executive branch and the judiciary. Santos’s election challenges Washington to define a coherent policy by delivering a promised free-trade agreement and continued security aid, both of which face an uncertain future in the Congress.
In a private luncheon at a regional summit in Cancún yesterday, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe took his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez to task for imposing a de facto embargo on Colombian trade and investment. The Venezuelan dictator—who is known for his own bombastic declarations and wild accusations against Colombia—took offense when Uribe compared Chávez’s hostile treatment of Colombia with the embargo on Cuba. Chávez accused Uribe of dispatching assassins to kill him, and he threatened to storm out of the summit. According to diplomats who witnessed the event, Uribe then shouted at Chávez, “Be a man! You’re brave at a distance, but a coward face-to-face.” The Venezuelan responded by telling Uribe, “Vete al carajo!” the most polite translation of which is, “Go to hell!”
On Sunday, Chile’s voters chose conservative entrepreneur Sebastián Piñera as their new president, giving him a 52–48 percent margin of victory and the task of restoring economic dynamism, creating 600,000 new jobs, and pushing their country to a new level of development. Piñera’s win is historic, defeating former president Eduardo Frei and the center-left coalition that has held power since the end of military rule 20 years ago.