Southern Command chief says there is no Iranian military presence in Venezuela

A senior US Army general on Tuesday dismissed any role of Iranian special forces in Venezuela, saying that Tehran’s activities there were diplomatic and commercial in nature, and not military.

His comments appeared to run counter to a Pentagon report forwarded to the US Congress earlier in April. The report claimed that the elite Qods Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps had a growing presence in Latin America, “particularly in Venezuela,” Reuters reported.

President Hugo Chávez has strongly denied this claim.

Gen. Douglas Fraser, head of the US Southern Command, which oversees most of Latin America, told a group of journalists that Iran had no military presence in Venezuela.

“We see a growing Iranian interest and commitment with Venezuela (…) Iran has a diplomatic, commercial presence. I have not seen evidence of a military presence,” said Fraser.

Asked whether he was contradicting the Pentagon report and previous comments thereon by the director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, Fraser said: “I do not see this as a contradiction.”

“I see a growing presence of Iran in Latin America (…) I have no full details of what that means,” he said.

The United States has accused the Qods Force of supporting militants in Iraq and Lebanon. The military also said that this unit has an influence on Iranian diplomacy, while the Pentagon report identified Iran’s incoming ambassador to Iraq as an officer of Qods.

Chavez, the fiercest critic of the US in Latin America, on Monday rejected the assertion of the Pentagon report and wondered whether it was an “open threat against Venezuela.”

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on a trip to South America earlier this month that he did not see Venezuela as a military threat, a view that Fraser stressed in its comments made in Washington.

“From a military standpoint, I see no military threat to the United States from Venezuela (…) I do not any potential for a conflict,” he said, although he acknowledged tensions between Venezuela and Colombia.

Asked about Chavez’s political staying power in Venezuela, Fraser said: “He continues to solidify his position in power and so from everything I see he is solidly in place and I don’t see a capacity (within Venezuela) to oppose his position.”

Fuente: ElUniversal.com