US fails to safeguard its 'backyard' from Iranian influence: Rep.
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Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar criticizes the Biden Administration for its inability to thwart cooperation between non-allied Latin American nations and Iran.
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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi prepare to sign a bilateral agreement at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, June 12, 2023. (AP)
US internal discord grows amid Iranian Ebrahim Raisi's 5-day Latin America tour of three countries - Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba.
Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, chair of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, slammed the Biden administration for its failure to establish a clear vision for Latin America. According to Salazar, this lack of leadership has provided an opportunity for "rival nations" like Iran to expand their ties with countries in what she claimed is the United State's "hemisphere".
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Salazar expressed her concerns about the consequences of Biden's weak leadership, stating, "Weak leadership from the Biden Administration has allowed the world’s worst actors to penetrate our hemisphere with impunity."
At his first stop in Caracas, Venezuela, Raisi who headed the Iranian delegation, signed a total of 25 agreements on economic, cultural, and scientific cooperation with the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
During an interview for the Caracas-based TeleSUR news outlet, the Iranian President hailed the region's nations that sought their independence and sovereignty despite threats and pressure.
"Washington used to consider Latin America as its backyard," Raisi said, adding that this has changed now thanks to the spirit of the people.
The Iranian leader's Latin America tour takes special interest in countries sanctioned by the United States. Upon arrival in Managua, Nicaragua, on Tuesday evening, Raisi said, "The US sought to stop our nation through sanctions and threats, but not only our nation did not give in, but it also created an opportunity out of threats and sanctions and made progress."
US to lose control over Western Hemisphere
To this, Salazar said the US must repair its relationships with allied Latin American regimes to form a front against the non-complying nations, to counter the US' declining authority in the region.
Salazar's concerns are reaffirmed by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies senior fellow Emanuele Ottolenghi who said that Iran’s main goal is to "build alliances with like-minded movements and governments" as it seeks "to erode U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere and challenge the U.S. in its own backyard."
The expert also pointed to Iran's cooperation with Venezuela to "rebound, refurbish, recover" its oil industry which has been heavily sanctioned by successive US administrations.
"[Raisi] subscribes to the emerging notion of a multipolar world, a world that challenges once again the U.S. dominance and rules-based order that the U.S. supports and has largely created," Ottolenghi highlighted
He also said the three countries Raisi visited "all benefit from shifting their outlook, trade alliances, cooperation towards pricing powers, and Iran is one of them."
