On September 29th we reported: “The Biden administration and DHS have recently reclassified Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), providing work permits and a shield from deportation to 472,000 that entered before July 31st. The cost of this one TPS grant cost Americans 56,640,000,000!
Uncoincidentally, the southern border is experiencing a surge of predominantly Venezuelan single adults with 4,000 entering this week alone, knowing that Biden has authorized the entry of 30,000 Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans every month under a ‘humanitarian parole program’ and would likely extend the TPS Status to parole’s entering after the current cut-off.”
Arguably, this special Venezuela program will likely result in a catastrophic national security nightmare, and here is why.
Iran, along with its Lebanon-based proxy, Hezbollah, has developed strong connections with Venezuela's central government, primarily through the Lebanese diaspora residing in the country. These ties trace back to the late dictator Hugo Chavez's rise to power in 1999 when he appointed numerous Venezuela-born Lebanese individuals to key cabinet positions. This presence and influence, bolstered by Russia in recent years, has persisted through the regime of Nicolas Maduro after Chavez's passing.
Inside contacts in Venezuela, have extensively reported on the collaboration between Iran, Hezbollah, and the Maduro regime. They are involved in establishing transnational organized crime networks, human smuggling operations, and financial networks spanning South America and even reaching the United States.
Intelligence services from the United States and Israel have long been aware that Iran, Hezbollah, and Venezuela provide these foreign operatives with state-sponsored cover identities and access to government resources like the state-run airline and banking systems, allowing them to operate freely in the Western Hemisphere.
This practice enables terrorist operatives to travel across regions and nations, engaging in illicit activities and building terrorism capabilities, all while keeping their true origins and identities hidden. The process involves the creation of comprehensive fake identities, complete with new birth certificates, passports, banking, and property records, falsely indicating that they were born in Venezuela.
In 2020, Reuters reported that former Venezuelan lawmaker Adel al Zabayar faced accusations from US federal prosecutors for his alleged involvement in a drug conspiracy, alongside President Nicolas Maduro, involving South American and Middle Eastern militant groups. Additionally, he was charged with aiding in the recruitment of Hezbollah and Hamas members for planning attacks against US targets. The charges are part of a broader case against Maduro and several other current and former Venezuelan officials, focusing on narco-terrorism and drug smuggling activities.
Last Monday, in a televised address, Maduro defended his narco-terrorist business partners stating, “We have witnessed in the past massacres and brutal atrocities against the Palestinian people.” The current situation, he pointed out, is a “new apartheid system” against Palestinians. “We demand an immediate ceasefire, respect for UN resolutions, respect for the rights of peoples, and the commencement of peace negotiations to allow the Palestinian people to regain their legitimate rights to independence, land, and peace.”
Maduro went on to state, “The government of Venezuela holds Israel responsible for the current escalation of violence as a result of its continuous violations of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and the systematic provocations against their sacred sites.”
Despite the numerous cases of clandestine Hezbollah agents being uncovered inside the United States, the full extent of their operations remains challenging to ascertain, given the complex mix of Venezuelans fleeing their country's conditions and potential terror figures moving through the same corridors.
We must prioritize our nation's genuine national security interests and reconsider our approach to Venezuelan illegal immigrants, as their unchecked entry could potentially lead to a catastrophic terror attack on U.S. soil. Let us not forget the ominous chants of Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas: "Death to America, Death to Israel."
