Hezbollah is active in Venezuela, the US secretary of state has said, as the Trump administration ratchets up pressure on the Latin American nation amid a crippling political and economic crisis.
“People don’t recognise that Hezbollah has active cells” in the country, Mike Pompeo told Fox Business. “The Iranians are impacting the people of Venezuela and throughout South America. We have an obligation to take down that risk for America.”
The US has long considered the Iranian-backed Lebanese group a terrorist organisation, and sanctions on people in Venezuela linked to Hezbollah have been imposed as far back as the George W Bush administration.
Washington also believes Latin America has served as a base of fund-gathering for the group for some years, including through drugs and money-laundering schemes, according to past reports.
Venezuela’s former president Hugo Chavez formed tight links with Iran under Mahmoud Ahmedinejad’s leadership.
Mr Pompeo’s claim came as the US, the UK and other EU countries put pressure on Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, to cede power and call new elections.