U.S. Accuses Venezuela of Hosting Hezbollah; Experts Say Impact May Be Limited

After American forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the country had become a regional platform for Iranian influence and accused the government of hosting Hezbollah. Mr. Rubio told CBS that among the reasons for capturing Mr. Maduro on Jan.

2 the U.S. wanted to ensure Venezuelan leaders “no longer cozy up to Hezbollah and Iran in our own hemisphere,” and he pressed Delcy Rodríguez to sever ties with both Iran and Hezbollah. U.S. authorities have long accused Hezbollah of complicity in drug trafficking and money laundering schemes in Venezuela, a connection that grew out of close economic and political ties between Iran and Venezuela.

The two countries maintained relations before Iran’s 1979 revolution, and the relationship deepened after Hugo Chávez became president in 1999, with Iran investing billions in Venezuelan oil, energy and other projects that the report says often had little financial return but gave Iran a foothold.

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration initiative begun in 2008 found what investigators described as Hezbollah involvement in trafficking cocaine from Colombia through Venezuela and collusion with Venezuelan officials. That probe produced a criminal indictment of Ayman Saied Joumaa, who was never arrested and has not publicly commented; U.S.

Key Topics

World, Hezbollah, Venezuela, Iran, Nicolás Maduro, Marco Rubio