Israel's ambassador to Costa Rica, Michal Gul-Ariyeh, on Monday accused Hezbollah and other Iranian extremist groups of establishing bases in Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Gul Arie issued the warning over comments made by communist dictator Daniel Ortega during a recent online press conference with exiled Nicaraguan journalists on the topic of Israeli-Nicaraguan relations. The press conference was hosted by the Israeli diplomatic mission in Costa Rica. rupture Diplomatic relations between Nicaragua and Israel.
“I would say there are other countries in the region that have Iranian and Hezbollah bases, especially Venezuela and Bolivia,” Ghar Aliyeh said. said journalists.
The Israeli diplomat said his government was monitoring Hezbollah's presence and that “we will work with governments in the Americas if we see an opportunity to stop these terrorists.”
Gul Aliyeh was asked whether Israel maintains cooperation with the United States in Latin America against Hezbollah, and the diplomat answered in the affirmative.
“We have a very close relationship…we share information,” she said, stressing that due to the nature of the information, “I can't say more than that in the media.”
The Iranian regime and its terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, have maintained a presence in the region for decades, but have increased dramatically in recent years under the auspices of left-wing governments such as the socialist regime in Venezuela and Mr. Nicolas Maduro has made his presence known publicly. I lamented The death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) airstrike at the end of September.
Bolivia is led by socialist and pro-Iranian President Luis Arce. condemned Experts called it the Islamic regime's “most successful project” in expanding its influence in the region. The Arce government signed several agreement Relationship with the Iranian regime transaction These include the purchase of Iranian drones and the highly controversial Defense and Security Memorandum, the contents of which have not been made public.
Bolivia is one of the leftist-led Latin American countries. broken In response to the start of self-defense operations against the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas, Japan establishes relations with Israel.
Ambassador Gar Aliyeh did not provide specific details to Nicaraguan journalists, but he cited Hezbollah's terrorist attacks on Israeli targets in Argentina as an example, saying that the Israeli government said “those terrorist attacks were carried out inside the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires.'' “I clearly know that it was processed in ”
The Argentine government believes that Iran, through Hezbollah, person in charge The 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israel Mutual Association (AMIA) were the worst terrorist attacks in the Western Hemisphere before the September 11, 2001 attacks.
“All we can say is that we have information about past attacks and are still monitoring the situation,” Ghar Aliyeh said.
Similarly, the Ambassador asserted that “there is cooperation all over the world…Unfortunately, there is very close cooperation between terrorist organizations and organized crime.”
“They work together in a very fluid manner. In fact, many of these terrorist groups are so deeply involved in organized crime that it is generally not clear when organized crime ends and terrorism begins. “No,” she insisted.
In a statement, the Bolivian government rejected Gul Arie's “irresponsible statements.” Note “Bolivia is a pacifist country that promotes a culture of peace, which is why it constitutionally prohibits the establishment of foreign military bases within its territory,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Tuesday. insisted.
“Unsubstantiated statements such as those made by Israeli diplomats are contrary to the objectives outlined by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to unite Latin America and the Caribbean. “As a peaceful zone,” the statement reads.
“The Plurinational State of Bolivia calls on its brotherly Latin American countries not to fall prey to such provocations that seek to affect the brotherly relations between the countries and peoples of the region,” it continued.
Ahead of Monday's press conference, Ortega's administration issued a statement condemning other statements made last week by Israeli Ambassador and Consul Amir Lockman. accused The communist regime has allowed Iran-linked terrorist groups to operate freely in Nicaragua. turning turning the country into a “regional terrorist platform”;
“Israeli officials claim that terrorist bases in Nicaragua are currently being used as bases for terrorist attacks in the region. “We reject statements like this that aim to divert attention from the United Nations,” the statement said. reportedly read.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
