The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford and three warships have been sent to the Caribbean, where they are joining a dozen Navy warships already off the coast of Venezuela, in an unprecedented show of military force.
President Trump and his administration are taking aim at the administration of Nicolas Maduro, over his alleged role in the drug trade which presents a national security threat to the United States. It’s clear that if the US succeeds in destabilising and displacing President Maduro’s regime, it would be a blow to the region’s drug traffickers. What is less known is that it would also hit Iran.
Venezuela has long served as a launchpad for Iranian operations to establish a foothold in South America
Venezuela has long served as a launchpad for Iranian operations to establish a foothold in South America. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), its Quds Force, and Iran’s Intelligence Ministry have all had a presence in Venezuela. The Quds Force has used economic delegations to Venezuela and other countries around the world as cover for terrorist activity. According to reports, in September 2020 an Iranian delegation landed in Caracas comprised of businessmen who acted as Quds Force facilitators.
The Quds Force’s Unit 840, which plots terror schemes abroad, has historically been active in Venezuela. Evidence suggests the son of a senior intelligence advisor close to the supreme leader was at one point responsible for Unit 840’s Latin America operations. He has travelled to Venezuela to nurture these illicit networks. His presence shows the importance of Caracas for Iran.
Another Quds Force group, Unit 11000, was recently implicated in a plan to assassinate Israel’s Ambassador to Mexico. Critically, a Unit 11000 operative who spearheaded the plot operated out of Iran’s embassy in Caracas. This is a strategy Tehran has employed elsewhere, particularly Europe, where IRGC Quds Force and intelligence agents are given diplomatic cover and use of Iran’s embassies worldwide as a staging ground for assassinations, bombings and surveillance.
Another arm of the Iranian state, its intelligence ministry, also works out of Venezuela. Majid Dastjani Farahani, who is an Iranian intelligence officer, has launched operations to harm American citizens in retaliation for the killing of the late IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani. Farahani is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and its notice indicates he has ties to Venezuela. It’s the same for Mohammad Mahdi Khanpour Ardestani, another Iranian intelligence ministry officer, who has also worked out of Venezuela.
In a 2021 indictment concerning a plot to kidnap Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad from New York, Iranian operatives researched seizing her and transfer her to Venezuela by sea. The Quds Force has also used Venezuela to fund its campaigns, sending gold from Caracas to generate income in exchange for Iranian oil. In 2024, the US Justice Department successfully seized a former Iranian-owned Boeing aircraft. It had been transferred from the Quds Force-affiliated Mahan Air to a Venezuelan cargo airline. Its crew included a former IRGC commander.
Iran’s proxy Hezbollah has also used Venezuela as a hub to support its own terrorism, drug trafficking and business interests. For example, Ghazi Nasr Al Din, whom the US Treasury Department sanctioned in 2008, doubled as charge d’ affaires at the Venezuelan embassy in Syria and director for political aspects at its embassy in Lebanon. At the same time, he facilitated travel for Hezbollah operatives and raised funds in Venezuela for the terrorist organisation.
A former member of the Venezuelan National Assembly and Maduro ally Adel El Zabayar was indicted in 2020, with the US government alleging he served as a go-between in recruiting terrorists from Hezbollah and Hamas to carry out terror attacks on the United States.
Likewise, Iran’s defence ministry has maintained its own pipeline in Venezuela. Qods Aviation Industries, which is a defense ministry subsidiary, has exported drones to Caracas, including the Mohajer-2.
The defence ministry also manages an oil venture with Venezuela to fund defence projects, according to the US Treasury. In 2023, the US government sanctioned Iran’s then-defense attaché in Caracas for facilitating these deals.
Public reports also suggest Iran has developed a drone development base at El Libertador Air Base, where it trains Venezuelan military personnel. As the Trump administration has intensified its pressure campaign against Caracas in recent months, Venezuela has asked Iran for ‘passive detection equipment’, GPS scramblers, and ‘almost certainly drones with 1,000 km range,’ according to the Washington Post.
Over the years, Maduro has reportedly sought missiles from Iran as well. The possibility of this triggered a crisis for the Biden administration in the summer of 2021, after Iranian warships headed for the region.
If Maduro is ousted, Iran stands to lose many of its assets in Venezuela. Venezuela, much like Syria under the Assad regime, helps further Iranian interests across the region – military, terror, economic, and political. At a time when Tehran and its proxies across the Middle East have been weakened after the war with Israel, the loss of Maduro would be another blow to the Iranian regime.
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