A base for Iran and Hezbollah… A new accusation from Washington against Venezuela
The United States has leveled a new accusation against Venezuela. In addition to considering it a platform for drug trafficking, Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Caracas of being “a base for Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah” in South America.
Rubio said Wednesday, in an interview with Fox News, that Venezuela provides a foothold for Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and even Hezbollah, which he claimed has a clear presence there. He added that “the Venezuelan regime is a source of instability for the entire region.”
Rubio noted that US President Donald Trump had authorized a counter-narcotics mission in the region, saying that “the anger of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over this mission indicates that drugs are leaving his country.”
Fox News reported that “the administration is moving forward with plans to end the temporary protected status of about 600,000 Venezuelans living in the United States.”
Rubio said: “More than 8 million Venezuelans have poured into neighboring countries as a result of the regime’s activities in their homeland, including the United States.”
He accused Maduro’s regime of cooperating “openly” with drug traffickers and said its leadership is fueling instability in South America.
The Trump administration ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford to move toward the US Southern Command, prompting Maduro to accuse Trump of “starting a new war.”
Rubio said: “If you want to make a deal with him (Maduro), I don’t know how you would do it. He has broken every deal he ever made. Maduro has made five deals with different parties over the past ten years and violated all of them,” noting that a “failed” agreement between former President Joe Biden and the Venezuelan leader was among them.
He added: “They fooled Joe Biden, but they will not fool Donald Trump.”
He continued: “The president (Trump) is a unique figure in modern American history. He is willing to sit and talk with anyone. But in the end, there must be someone with whom a deal can actually be kept. Maduro has never adhered to one. That doesn’t mean the president won’t try.”
