Rubio vows no Hezbollah/Iran activities in Venezuela after Maduro capture

The day after elite U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Hezbollah will no longer have alleged operations in the South American state.

Speaking to CBS television, Rubio said: "It's very simple, OK? In the 21st century, under the Trump administration, we are not going to have a country like Venezuela in our own hemisphere, in the sphere of control and the crossroads for Hezbollah, for Iran and for every other malign influence in the world. That's just not gonna exist."

He also told NBC that, in regard to Venezuela, that meant, "No more Iran/Hezbollah presence there."

Walid Phares, who has advised U.S. presidential candidates and is a leading expert on Hezbollah, told Fox News Digital: "Hezbollah has a long history in Venezuela and has emerged as a significant security concern in Latin America, particularly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The origins of Hezbollah’s presence in Venezuela date back to the mid-1980s, when the organization began recruiting members from segments of the local Lebanese diaspora."

He noted that Hezbollah gained greater traction following the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s consolidation of power in 2002. "During this period, Hezbollah’s presence became more visible, with reports indicating that some of its members gained access to Venezuelan state institutions, including security agencies, often through the acquisition of Venezuelan passports and legal documentation. These developments facilitated the expansion of Hezbollah-linked networks throughout Latin America, extending into Brazil, Argentina and Chile, and reportedly reaching as far as the U.S.–Mexico border."

Phares said, "Hezbollah is believed to maintain a substantial presence across Venezuela, including command-and-control elements in Caracas. Margarita Island has been frequently cited in open-source reporting as a logistical hub used for activities ranging from financial operations to intelligence gathering and alleged narcotics trafficking. Additional public reporting has suggested Venezuelan cooperation with Iranian and Hezbollah-linked operations targeting Iranian dissidents abroad, including attempted kidnappings and intimidation campaigns in the Western Hemisphere."

Hezbollah had lashed out at the U.S. after it captured Maduro, saying it "condemns the terrorist aggression and American thuggery against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" and "further affirms its full solidarity with Venezuela -- its people, presidency and government -- in confronting this American aggression and arrogance."