{"id":3674,"date":"2020-05-01T06:09:29","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T06:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vricmonitor.org\/iran-comes-out-of-the-shadows-in-venezuela\/"},"modified":"2024-08-21T14:33:34","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T14:33:34","slug":"iran-comes-out-of-the-shadows-in-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vric.securefreesociety.org\/es\/iran-comes-out-of-the-shadows-in-venezuela\/","title":{"rendered":"IRAN COMES OUT OF THE SHADOWS IN VENEZUELA"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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As the COVID-19 pandemic took center stage, the Venezuela conflict, and its long stalemate, was left on the back burner. That is, until early May, when a group of Venezuelan military defectors and two former American Green Berets were apprehended by the Maduro regime as they attempted to insert into one of the country\u2019s most crowded ports just north of Caracas. Maduro is using this botched raid as an opportunity to accuse the United States and Juan Guaid\u00f3 of conspiring against him, while distracting from troubling reports of regular flights from Iran to the northernmost point in Venezuela, the Paraguana Peninsula. In April, the Islamic Republic became an increasingly visible player in Venezuela adding to Cuba, China, and Russia\u2019s external support to the Maduro regime.<\/p>

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Appointing Tareck El Aissami to take charge of Venezuela\u2019s largest commodity, its oil sector, illustrates the Maduro regime\u2019s increasing infrastructure management from the Middle East. This infrastructure, often in the shadows, rose to the forefront when the Quds Force\u2019s dedicated airline, Mahan Air, began regular flights to Venezuela on April 22nd, the same day Iran launched its first satellite into space.\u00a0<\/p>

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In the face of intense U.S. economic pressure, the VRIC seems to be shifting from a sanctions-evasion to a sanctions-resistance strategy, leveraging its weight in the United Nations Security Council. While Russia proposes\u00a0\u201cgreen zones\u201d for sanctions-free transport routes, China unveils its long awaited digital currency in four cities. Meanwhile, Iran becomes the latest VRIC member to receive gold from Venezuela\u2019s cash strapped Central Bank.\u00a0<\/p>

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Venezuela is far from the only country in the region with VRIC presence. Its ally Cuba continues to team with China in a worldwide effort to regain legitimacy through medical diplomacy. Many nations, however, are starting to renounce this support as China\u2019s medical supplies and test kits prove faulty and Cuban doctors are expensive. This medical diplomacy is coupled with a robust disinformation campaign by the VRIC that falsely accuses the U.S. of manipulating the coronavirus as a bioweapon, while positioning China as the solution to COVID-19. This propaganda has become increasingly active in Spanish, Portuguese, and other native languages in Latin America.<\/p>

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Tensions between the VRIC and the U.S. are heating up elsewhere in the world. Iran continues to attack U.S. military forces in the Middle East, China increases its aggression in the South China Sea, and the U.S. recently sent Naval ships to the Arctic to counter Russian and Chinese presence. Closer to home, President Donald Trump activated members of the Select Reserve to augment the U.S. Navy\u2019s counter-narcotics operation in the Caribbean. A mission that could quickly become\u00a0a military deterrent if the VRIC continues to escalate in Central and South America.<\/p>

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