Iran’s Activities in Venezuela Near U.S. Territory Raise Concerns

Iran is reportedly utilizing Venezuela as a strategic base to expand its influence in the Western Hemisphere, specifically through a new drone supply network. This was highlighted in a report issued recently.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action by sanctioning several individuals and organizations linked to the arms trade between Iran and Venezuela, which they claim endangers U.S. interests in the region.

The list of sanctioned entities features Empresa Aeronautica Nacional SA (EANSA) along with its president, Mr. Jose Jesús Urdaneta González. EANSA is involved in the assembly and maintenance of Iranian-made Mohajer UAVs in Venezuela. According to OFAC, the company’s efforts facilitated substantial sales of these drones to Venezuela, with Urdaneta acting as a key contact between Venezuelan and Iranian military officials.

OFAC emphasized that these sanctions align with directives from President Trump’s national security memorandum aimed at tightening pressure on Iran’s regime and preventing access to nuclear weapons.

This week, the Center for Secure Free Societies (SFS) released a report entitled “Venezuela as a Beachhead: Treasury Sanctions Expose Iranian Drone Capabilities Moving Closer to the United States.” They commended the U.S. sanctions, stating it marks the first acknowledgment from the U.S. that Iran is leveraging Venezuela to pose a threat against it in the region. The SFS has been advocating for this viewpoint for several years.

“This is not merely about economic pressure,” stated the SFS. “It illustrates that Tehran and Caracas have built a logistics and industrial framework encompassing everything from assembly to military capabilities within the Western Hemisphere.”

OFAC’s announcement also noted that Venezuela and Iran have been collaborating on drone technology since around 2006, particularly with the Mohajer series, which is known as the ANSU series in Venezuela. They highlighted that the ANSU-100 drone can deploy bombs developed by Iran.

Alongside EANSA and Urdaneta, this latest round of sanctions also targeted Iranian individuals attempting to acquire chemicals for ballistic missiles for Parchin Chemical Industries, associated with Iran’s Defense Industries Organization.

The SFS reiterated that these sanctions reflect its ongoing analysis that Iran’s strategy in Latin America is intentional and conflict-driven, with Venezuela playing a crucial role in that strategy. A June 2025 report elaborated on how Venezuela serves as a pivotal component in Iran’s influence in the hemisphere.

The report detailed the ways in which strategic alliances and networks create a basis for operational efforts against U.S. interests, pointing toward military mobilizations that the U.S. Treasury aims to address through sanctions.

Furthermore, the SFS claimed that Iran’s drone ambitions this week represent a continuing story that began under the late leader Hugo Chávez, during which Venezuela transitioned from being just an ideological ally of Iran to acting as an operational front for the regime’s activities in the hemisphere.

Numerous analyses have suggested that it was during Chávez’s tenure that Iran solidified its regional presence via Caracas, which facilitated diplomatic outreach and advanced Iranian interests in the Western Hemisphere.

The report elaborated on the formalization of this partnership through various agreements often framed as economic cooperation, which enabled the movement of personnel, resources, and operational capabilities between Caracas, Damascus, and Tehran—singled out as “aviation terrorism” in security discussions.

Moreover, both governments have worked on enhancing documentation and identity cooperation through mechanisms like passport and visa management facilitated by the Venezuelan government.

The SFS urged the Trump administration to broaden its sanctions to also include entities from China and Russia, claiming that these nations are backing the Maduro regime and colluding with Iran to challenge U.S. dominance in the area.

“This historical overview aligns with the strategic paradigm that we’ve been developing, illustrating how the actions of Venezuela, Russia, Iran, and China constitute a form of hybrid warfare,” the SFS remarked.

While the organization affirmed the necessity of the OFAC sanctions, they emphasized that these measures should not be the endpoint. They proposed several steps including tighter controls on dual-use goods, enhanced customs measures, and framing the Iran-Venezuela partnership as not just a unique case but rather a broader model that has been replicated in other regions through political cooperation and institutional infiltration.

“The crucial takeaway is that Tehran’s involvement is not only ideological; it has grown increasingly dynamic and infrastructural,” the SFS concluded.