WASHINGTON, DC — The struggling socialist Venezuelan regime, a global hub for crime-terror convergence, has been harboring criminal and terrorist groups such as Iran’s proxy Hezbollah, Chinese Triads, the Russian Mafia, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), an expert on Latin America told lawmakers.
On Tuesday, Joseph Humire, the executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society (CFS), told a hearing by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance:
Whether it’s [Iran’s narco-terrorist proxy] Hezbollah, Chinese Triads, the Russian Mafia, or the FARC—the Venezuelan government has proven to be complicit in providing a haven for criminal and terrorist networks. This is a complex challenge for U.S. national security and one that requires thinking outside the box.Increasing evidence indicates that the Venezuelan regime is using its state apparatus to provide cover and concealment for terrorists and traffickers alike. It’s time we consider designating their government as a state sponsor of terrorism and transnational organized crime.
Humire testified among various other experts, warning lawmakers:
The convergence of criminals, drug traffickers, terrorists, insurgents, and organized crime has increased and evolved. … No other organization on [the U.S. State Department’s] FTO [foreign terrorist organization] list embodies the crime-terror convergence than Lebanese Hezbollah. Of the close to 2,000 actors designated by our government as Foreign Narcotics Kingpins, several are affiliated or connected to Hezbollah. READ MORE
