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For Israel, the significance of Washington’s weekend arrest of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro extends far beyond the shockwaves it sent through Caracas or the unease it likely stirred in Tehran.
While images of a defiant anti-American autocrat removed by a US-led operation may heighten anxiety among Iran’s leadership, the deeper meaning lies in the steady dismantling of Tehran’s global support network. Venezuela was never an Iranian proxy in the mold of Hezbollah or Hamas, but it played a crucial supporting role.
Maduro’s downfall follows a series of setbacks for Iran across the Middle East. Israel has severely weakened Hamas in Gaza, decapitated Hezbollah’s senior leadership in Lebanon, and degraded Houthi capabilities in Yemen. The collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria further narrowed Tehran’s regional reach.
Taken together, these developments illustrate a broader pattern of contraction. Iran’s challenge today is not limited to domestic protests or military losses, but to the unraveling of far-flung systems it spent years and billions of dollars constructing abroad.
Venezuela occupied a unique place in that architecture. It was not under Tehran’s direct operational command, nor did it host Iranian forces on the scale seen in Syria or Lebanon. Yet through Hezbollah, Caracas became a critical offshore hub for Iran’s interests.
Investigations by US law enforcement and research institutions have long shown that Hezbollah’s presence in Venezuela was neither symbolic nor dormant. Instead, it functioned as a sophisticated crime-terror enterprise, embedded in the Venezuelan economy and shielded by the state.
From cocaine trafficking to money laundering and weapons transfers, Hezbollah used Venezuela to generate enormous revenues. As early as 2018, the US Justice Department concluded that the group rivaled major Latin American cartels in scale and sophistication.
The difference, however, was strategic purpose. Profits earned in South America were funneled to Lebanon, helping finance Hezbollah’s military buildup against Israel. Venezuela thus became an indirect but essential contributor to Iran’s confrontation with the Jewish state.
Beyond finances, Caracas offered logistical value. A protected air and maritime corridor linked Tehran, Damascus, and Venezuela, facilitating the movement of personnel, fuel, cash, and dual-use goods. This distant bridge allowed Iran to project power far beyond the Middle East.
The ideological alignment between Caracas and Tehran became evident in the aftermath of Maduro’s arrest. Vice President Delcy Rodríguez claimed the US operation had “Zionist undertones,” invoking Israel as a convenient scapegoat.
There was no evidence of Israeli involvement. Yet the accusation revealed how deeply Venezuela’s leadership had absorbed Iran’s worldview, where domestic failures are explained through foreign conspiracies and “Zionism” serves as a catch-all villain.
For Israel, Maduro’s removal matters because it eliminates another quiet enabler of Iran’s war effort. The struggle with Tehran has long focused on nuclear ambitions, missiles, and deterrence. Less visible has been the contest over financing, access, and safe havens.
Venezuela was part of that quieter front. It was distant and often overlooked, but valuable precisely for those reasons. Its loss narrows Iran’s options at a moment of mounting internal and external pressure.
The country’s future remains uncertain, but signs point toward a profound shift. Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado has openly described Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas as foreign forces that penetrated Venezuela under Maduro.
In rare language for Caracas, Machado has spoken warmly of Israel. In a recent interview, she said a post-Maduro Venezuela would restore ties with Jerusalem and potentially move its embassy there, calling Israel a natural ally against “crime and terror.”
For Israel, these words signal a conceptual break with decades of hostility rooted in Chávez-era ideology. They suggest not guaranteed policies, but a rejection of the framework that aligned Venezuela with Tehran.
Iran once sought to demonstrate limitless global reach. Today, from Gaza to Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and now Venezuela, the picture tells a different story. Tehran’s power, built patiently piece by piece, is now being dismantled the same way.