The governments behind the drug conspiracy

Washington Times:

Iran, Cuba and Venezuela are working together against the U.S. by undermining democracy in Latin America, allowing trafficking of illegal drugs and creating safe havens for extremist groups, intelligence officials said.

Testifying before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Tuesday, National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell said that influence from the three countries — led respectively by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez — has spilled into Bolivia, Nicaragua and Ecuador, which "are pursuing agendas that undercut checks and balances" of democratic governments.

"Moreover, each of these governments, to varying degrees, has engaged in sharply anti-U.S. rhetoric, aligned with Venezuela and Cuba — and increasingly Iran — on international issues, and advocated measures that directly clash with U.S. initiatives," said Mr. McConnell, whose department oversees all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies.

Mr. McConnell's statements only scratch the surface, according to interviews with U.S. intelligence and law-enforcement officials.

Federal law-enforcement officials contend that Islamic extremists and well-financed Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia groups in Latin America are recruiting members and using highly effective routes to smuggle narcotics to raise funds for their counterparts in the Middle East. Hezbollah, founded in 1982, is a Shi'ite Muslim group that believes in the creation of Iranian-style Islamic republic.

"We've known for some time that Islamic extremists groups were gaining momentum and exploiting the region," said one U.S. federal law-enforcement official, on the condition of anonymity, who worked drug operations in Central America. "Iran is no exception — now with Cuba and Venezuela, the door is open. "

Web sites advocating Hezbollah and other Islamic extremist groups in Central America are used to recruit members and espouse extremist ideology.

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Drugs have become the chemical and biological weapons of our enemies. They are using them to undermine and weaken our country and those of our allies and also to raise money for their war against us. However, as the evidence is developed it also gives us an opportunity to decapitate these regimes with a lawfare attack through drug indictments. We need to be pursuing the evidence to support these cases.