Versión Español
Spanish – Iran reinforces its military influence over Venezuela. It now conducts courses for Venezuelan military personnel to train them in matters of propaganda and civil war.
The presidential commissioner for foreign relations, Julio Borges, reported that the Nicolás Maduro regime seeks to further control communications between the Venezuelan military and the civilian population.
Tenemos información de que asesores militares iraníes impartieron cursos dentro de la FANB sobre propaganda y guerra popular prolongada, forma parte de los esfuerzos que ya ha venido haciendo Cuba para ejercer control de las comunicaciones de los diversos mandos de la FANB.
— Julio Borges (@JulioBorges) June 22, 2020
“We have information that Iranian military advisors conducted courses for the national armed forces of Venezuela (FANB) on propaganda and prolonged civil war. It is part of the efforts that Cuba has already been making to exercise control over the communications of the various commands of the FANB,” Borges said.
Now, Iran has joined Cuba’s efforts to help Maduro in intelligence matters to further censor Venezuelans and implement further mechanisms of espionage and repression.
Borges’ claim is not surprising. We must remember that in May, it was revealed that with Iran’s help, Nicolás Maduro’s regime was reportedly installing an operations center in the north of Venezuela to monitor all air and sea communications.
The Presidential Commissioner for Security, Iván Simonovis, revealed that the center of operations would be located in Cape San Roman in the state of Falcon in the northwest of Venezuela.
Caracas and Tehran have maintained an alliance for two decades, which they have consolidated with cooperation agreements in different areas, ranging from intelligence services, military technicians, fuel shipments, to the installation of a new supermarket.
Besides setting up the first Iranian supermarket in Venezuela, Iranian technicians are helping Maduro to recover military aircraft. Moreover, there have been alleged efforts to set up a center of operations for espionage in Venezuela. The Iranian flag has even been seen on the intelligence agencies of Maduro’s tyranny.
Simonovis condenó que el Sebin izara la bandera de Irán en El Helicoide (FOTO) https://t.co/D94SLtj7oY
— La Patilla (@la_patilla) May 30, 2020
The greatest cyber army
Nicolás Maduro’s regime made Venezuela the country with the largest presence of cyber troops. It has at least 500 people dedicated to disinformation and manipulation of public opinion to favor Chavismo.
The South American country ranks 11th among the nations with the most systematized personnel in tasks of this nature in the world. In Latin America, it is in the first place.
Research from Oxford University in the UK points out that “in many authoritarian regimes, cyber propaganda has become a tool of information control. And it is strategically used in combination with surveillance, censorship, and threats of violence.”
The report also highlights that social media companies Twitter and Facebook listed Venezuela as one of the seven countries that have government-backed manipulation operations spreading disinformation. The list also includes China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.
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