The socialist regime in control of Venezuela, a key Iranian ally in Latin America, blamed Israel for an unprecedented Iranian missile and drone assault on the Israeli homeland on Saturday.

Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry claimed Israel’s “irrationality,” apparently referring to the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) ongoing self-defense operations against the Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hamas, forced Iran to shoot hundreds of missiles at the country.

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Saturday claiming that it is following the “worrying events” in the Middle East – which, the Ministry claimed, are the result of “the genocide in Palestine and the irrationality of the Israeli regime,” as well as the “inaction of the United Nations.”

Jihadist entities and their allies refer to the IDF operation in Gaza, which is intended to neutralize Hamas after the mass murder of civilians in Israel on October 7, as a “genocide” – and by and large do not apply the same terminology to the October 7 killings.

A woman touches photos of Israelis missing and held captive in Gaza, displayed on a wall in Tel Aviv, on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File).

“As most countries in the international community have warned, peace will only be guaranteed once justice and international law are reestablished, mainly concerning the Palestinian people and State [sic],” the socialist regime asserted. “Venezuela advocates the construction of peace with justice as most of the countries of the world want it”:

The socialist regime in Venezuela is a close ally of Iran’s Islamic regime, allowing Tehran to spread its nefarious influence, both directly and through terror proxies such as Hezbollah, liberally. Since the mid-2000s, both rogue regimes have progressively deepened their ideological ties through their shared anti-U.S. and anti-Israel ideology. 

Late dictator Hugo Chávez pioneered warming Caracas’s ties to Tehran while maintaining public animosity towards Israel. Chávez unilaterally severed Venezuela’s ties with Israel in January 2009, expelling Jerusalem’s diplomatic personnel. Then in April 2009, Chávez established ties with the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank but is not a state actor.

Socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, much like other leftist leaders in the region, such as Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, has accused Israel of committing “genocide” against the terrorists of Hamas following October 7.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) and Colombian President Gustavo Petro shake hands during a meeting for talks on the protection of the Amazon Forest, in Leticia, Colombia, on the border with Brazil, on July 8, 2023 (Juan BARRETO/AFP).

In recent years, Maduro has relied on Iran’s assistance to keep his authoritarian regime afloat as Venezuela approached complete economic and society collapse, causing the worst migrant crisis in the region. More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have fled from socialism, according to international organization estimates.

The Maduro regime and Iran further bolstered their cooperation by signing a 20-year cooperation deal during Maduro’s visit to Tehran in June 2022. One year later, in June 2023, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi traveled to Caracas as part of a broader Latin American tour. After meeting with Maduro, Raisi asserted that Iran and Venezuela’s ties are a “strategic relationship” anchored by “common interests, views,” and “enemies.”

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (R) and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (L) attend Venezuela – Iran Joint Commission in Caracas, Venezuela on June 12, 2023. Venezuela is the first stop of Raisi’s Latin America tour, which includes Cuba and Nicaragua (Pedro Rances Mattey/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images).

The IDF released a video documentary in March warning that Iran’s increasing influence in Venezuela has allowed it to place Iranian-made military weapons on Venezuelan soil. The weapons, the IDF stressed, could pose a threat to American cities that are within its attack distance, such as Miami, Florida.

In February, the executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS), Joseph Humire, released a report warning of the growing influence that Iran has in Latin American countries led by leftist regimes. The report described Bolivia as Iran’s “most successful” project in the region. In the case of Venezuela, Humire explained that the Islamic regime has been able to maintain a “legitimate” presence for its military through defense agreements signed by both countries.

“The Venezuelan Armed Forces are the first to have armed drones in their inventory, courtesy of Iran. As well as the shipment of Iranian-made precision-guided short-range missiles, probably to arm the drones,” Humire explained in the report. “All has been delivered under the guise of commercial cargo shipment. This has been Iran’s modus operandi, as it did with Yemen; now we are seeing it in the region.”

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.