People may wonder why instead of a member of the House’s Latino Caucus, it’s Eliot Engel, one of Israel’s strongest supporters in the House, who was appointed chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. They got an answer on Oct. 27 when the New York congressman held a hearing of the subcommittee "to investigate his "serious concerns about expanded Iranian influence in the region.”
Testimony heard at the hearing, according to Cyril Mychalejko, repeatedly singled out Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and to a lesser extent Brazil.
Despite Iran not having any military presence in the region, Norman A. Bailey, former head of intelligence for Cuba and Venezuela under the Bush Administration, told members of Congress that, “It is becoming increasingly clear that one of the principal motivations of all this activity [by Iran] is to be able to retaliate against the United States if it is attacked.”
Eric Farnsworth, Vice President of the Council of Americas, said he believes that Iran may be looking for uranium, possibly in Venezuela. But Time Magazine reported in an Oct. 8 article that "experts say it’s hardly certain Venezuela even has much, if any, uranium to provide Iran or anyone else." Farnsworth also claimed Iran’s improved diplomatic relations with countries in Latin America is a boon for its intelligence capabilities.
Dina Siegel Vann, another "expert" who testified at the hearing, cited a U.S. State Department Terrorism report published in April that stated the Tri Border Area of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil is a hub for Hezbollah and Hamas sympathizers-something that has been widely disputed. Vann, Director of the Latino and Latin American Institute at the American Jewish Committee noted that the report also cited Bolivia as a possible site for terrorist activity.
"Concerted and decisive action is needed to closely monitor the activity of Iran and the groups it subsidizes, to correctly assess their potential for mischief, and to establish mechanisms to prevent potentially dangerous scenarios," said Vann.
It should be noted that for at least the past two decades, the American Jewish Committee’s Latino and Latin America Institute has been actively but quietly lobbying the governments of Latin America on behalf of Israel.
In the past two years, in recognition of the burgeoning Latin American population in the US, it has also expended considerable effort and money in wooing this critical voting bloc. One of its big and all-too-willing "catches" was Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who told the guests at the opening of last May’s AIPAC annual conference in Washington that," "No Israeli traveling to L.A. will ever be a stranger in a strange land. Israel’s story is part of who I am."
Apparently, despite the AJC’s efforts, the heads of most of the governments south of the border have yet to get the news.
