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Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-882304
Iran's Friends Are Vanishing: Why Maduro's Arrest Matters for Israel
(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - The arrest of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro likely sent a shiver down spines in Tehran. It also marks the dismantling of yet another supporting pillar in the global network Iran painstakingly constructed to finance, shield, and sustain its war against Israel. Through Hizbullah, Venezuela became a critical offshore hub that generated cash, laundered funds, moved operatives, and enabled Iran to project power far from the Mideast. Hizbullah functioned in Venezuela as a crime-terror enterprise intermeshed in the Venezuelan economy and protected by the government. Hizbullah trafficked cocaine from Venezuela, transferred weapons, and helped the Islamic Republic evade U.S. sanctions. Revenue generated in South America was sent to Lebanon, where it helped pay for Hizbullah's military buildup. Venezuela's most prominent opposition figure, Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, was asked in a November Israel Hayom interview whether a post-Maduro Venezuela would restore relations with Israel. Machado replied: "Certainly. Venezuela will be Israel's closest ally in Latin America." Maduro's fall represents another incremental setback in Iran's global posture.