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Iran Tries to Gain Sway in Latin America
(Wall Street Journal) Martin Arostegui - In Venezuela, Iran says it has signed 70 joint venture deals valued at up to $17 billion in industries like energy, construction and fisheries, and including a factory to assemble cars and tractors. Iran has announced an additional $1 billion in joint venture deals with Bolivia, though to date, Iran's total investment in Bolivia is less than $10 million, according to Bolivian government sources. Iran has almost doubled its number of diplomatic missions in Latin America to 11 in recent years by opening up embassies in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Nicaragua and Uruguay, says the State Department. Iran has tried to attract Latin American engineers to work in its nuclear projects through a scholarship program offered to students in Bolivia, Cuba and Venezuela, say people who have participated in the program.