Last week, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi completed a five-day tour of Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, where he was received warmly by the respective heads of state, engaged in anti-U.S. rhetoric, and signed various agreements. Tehran has long had extensive connections with Latin America, where its terrorist networks operate extensively. But Elliott Abrams focuses on the what the trip was missing:
Predictably, nothing came of the Managua stop because the regime of Daniel Ortega has nothing to offer and Raisi won’t throw good money after bad. This stop was symbolic of their common political and global stance. Venezuela is different, because it is now exporting about 500-600,000 barrels of oil each day. Given the apparent weakening of U.S. sanctions on Venezuela by the Biden administration, that number may rise. This gives the Nicolas Maduro regime a commodity with which to pay for Iranian help (such as aid keeping refineries working, weapons, or intelligence assistance). Moreover, given the very visible weakening of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports, Iran can disguise Venezuelan oil as its own and sell it in international markets.
What is perhaps more interesting is where Raisi did not go. No invitation from leftist governments in Brazil, Colombia, or Chile? Did Raisi ask and get turned down, or did his diplomats tell him that asking would only lead to tension and disappointment?
Having no access to the relevant intelligence information, I can only keep guessing. And my guess is that Raisi took quiet soundings and was disappointed to visit only three countries and to miss out on regional powers like Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Colombia. So toxic is Iran’s vicious internal repression and its support for terrorism that even democratic leftists in good standing will not allow its president to visit. Only the ones that share brutal levels of repression with Iran gave him the photo-ops he sought.
Read more on Pressure Points: https://www.cfr.org/blog/president-raisi-visits-latin-america