Cuba has allowed a group of Hezbollah operatives to establish a base for external terrorist operations in the region, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera.
Reports of a Hezbollah base on Cuba are still in the early stages, but Investor's Business Daily has already referred to the base described by Corriere as "Cuba's Terror Smoking Gun," and wrote of the operation's details that:
"Three Hezbollah terrorists operating out of Mexico have left that country to establish a permanent "bridgehead" to the communist island, calling their clandestine operation "The Caribbean Dossier." Twenty-three other terrorists from the Iran-linked terror group are expected to join the operation, which has a startup budget of more than $500,000...Corriere reported that the mission in Cuba is to provide logistical support for upcoming terrorist attacks planned in the hemisphere."
Hezbollah has been considered active in Latin America for years, particularly South America's Tri-Border area. There have also been press reports on the strengthening ties between Mexican drug cartels and the terrorist group.
After its annual review a few weeks ago, the U.S. State Department kept Cuba on its State Sponsors of Terrorism list, mostly because of its ties to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Cuba has been designated on the list since 1982.
