{"id":3664,"date":"2020-11-17T05:11:31","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T05:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vricmonitor.org\/the-bolivarian-network-is-resurging-in-south-america\/"},"modified":"2024-08-21T14:35:11","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T14:35:11","slug":"the-bolivarian-network-is-resurging-in-south-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vric.securefreesociety.org\/es\/the-bolivarian-network-is-resurging-in-south-america\/","title":{"rendered":"THE BOLIVARIAN NETWORK IS RESURGING IN SOUTH AMERICA"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The contested U.S. election has left a short-term vacuum for the VRIC to advance its interests in the Americas. The weekend after the U.S. election, representatives from VRIC nations arrived in La Paz for the inauguration of President Luis Arce of Bolivia. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad Zarif capitalized on the opportunity to hold bilateral talks in Bolivia with his Chilean and Nicaraguan counterparts. The Russian ambassador in La Paz, Vladimir Sprinchan, visited the new Bolivian head of state, as President Arce stressed, in an interview with Russian state media, the need to restart nuclear cooperation.\u00a0<\/p>

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Already, Arce has stated that Bolivia is restoring ties with Cuba and Venezuela, and will deepen Bolivia\u2019s relationship with Iran. Certain key cabinet members in the new Arce administration suggest that the new MAS government will be closely aligned with the Islamic Republic and Venezuela\u2019s Maduro regime. The return of Evo Morales, settled into the coca-growing region of Chapare, assures that Bolivia is back in the fold of the Bolivarian Network.\u00a0<\/p>

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The resurgence of the Bolivarian Network is being felt in neighboring countries, as well. In Chile, the creation of a new constituent assembly threatens the most developed country in South America and the ongoing political crisis in Peru poses an opportunity for an extremist to rise to power in next year\u2019s elections. The momentum of leftist, socialist movements in South America has prompted Argentine President Alberto Fernandez to call for a revival of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), a defunct regional bloc established in 2008. One of the lesser-known mechanisms within UNASUR is its Defense Council that promotes military exchange among its members. The recent Scientific-Military Commission launched by the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) in Venezuela, with military advisors from Russia, Iran, and China, could be an impetus for potential VRIC arms transfers using Venezuela as a gateway to modernize the weapons systems of select South American nations.<\/p>

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Iran\u2019s interests in intensifying its military presence in Venezuela is evident, with several flights arriving in recent weeks from sanctioned Iranian airlines. The tri-nation tour in November of Foreign Minister Zarif, starting in Venezuela, continuing to Cuba, and ending in Bolivia, seems to shore up Iran\u2019s efforts to build a sanctions-resistance network in Latin America that will inevitably be used to shift its commercial exchange to arms transfers. While in Venezuela, Zarif defended Iran and Venezuela\u2019s military cooperation against U.S. maximum pressure and stressed the need to further cooperation in the defense sector.\u00a0<\/p>

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The U.S. presidential election has distracted many in the media, however, the Trump administration remains focused on countering regional threats in Latin America. In late October, National Security Advisor Robert O\u2019Brien took a second trip to the region\u00a0in three months to announce a $5 billion investment package in Brazil. This visit comes at a critical time, as China exerts its political and economic influence in the region, moving rapidly toward\u00a0military dimensions. The Maduro regime now bears anti-ship missiles from China, as an Argentine firm has sent 10 satellites from Russia and China into orbit.\u00a0<\/p>

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