The Trump administration has been privately advocating for Bolivia to remove people suspected of being Iranian spies from the country and designate Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorist organizations, Reuters reported on Jan. 24.
The report cited two anonymous sources with “direct knowledge of the matter,” who said U.S. officials view Bolivia as “an important base for Iran’s diplomatic and intelligence operations throughout the continent.”
“In part, that is because of what U.S. officials have described as a permissive counterintelligence environment, as well as the nation’s central location bordering several other nations, some of which have allegedly been the victim of attempted Hezbollah plots in recent years,” the report stated.
Reuters stated that Hezbollah has been active in Latin America as a means to raise funds through “illicit smuggling networks.” It also reported that, last year, an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the Israeli ambassador to Mexico was foiled.
The U.S. State Department did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The Bolivian foreign ministry told the outlet that “there is still no completely defined position regarding this matter.”
According to the report, Washington has also been pressing other countries in the region, such as Panama, Chile and Peru, to designate the IRGC, Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist groups. The outlet noted that Ecuador took that step in September, while Argentina designated the Quds Force, an IRGC branch, as a terror organization on Jan. 17.
