Beneath the mentorship of Fidel Castro, Chavez escalated their anti-U.S. agenda. Much more influential in Chavez’s ideological radicalization had been Argentine sociologist Norberto Ceresole, a notorious Holocaust denier and anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist.[11] It absolutely was Ceresole whom first convinced Chavez to align himself with Iran’s expansionism as well as the very first to propose the creation of a working office of Strategic Intelligence become financed by Hezbollah.[12]

The task never ever came into existence, but Chavez showed some initial sympathies toward jihadist motions, no matter their sectarian affiliation. For instance, he sympathized with all the notorious Venezuelan terrorist Illich Ramirez (aka Carlos the Jackal, whom hid in Sudan under Omar Bashir’s tenure and whom fundamentally changed into Islam)[13]: “[Ramirez] was at reality a revolutionary warrior; I help him.”[14]

The increase of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (left), right right here with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez during 2009.

The 2005 increase of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Iranian president facilitated the cooperation involving the two nations, culminating much more than 2 hundred bilateral agreements. Read more