| (WASHINGTON) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, commented today on remarks made by Daniel Ayalon, Israel’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, that Hugo Chavez is turning Venezuela into an “Iranian outpost.” Statement by Ros-Lehtinen:
“Vice Minister Ayalon is right: Chavez is turning Venezuela into nothing less than an outpost for Iran in the Western Hemisphere.
“Ahmadinejad and Chavez are perfect partners for weapons trading, extremist financing, money laundering, and drug smuggling to breed instability in two regions and threaten democratic nations.
“Ahmadinejad is wasting no time in expanding the Iranian regime’s network and influence to further an extremist agenda. This must not go unanswered.
“Free, democratic nations must join forces to counter this realignment among repressive regimes and must impose maximum economic and political pressure to compel these rogues to end their destructive behavior.
“The people of Iran and Venezuela deserve better. They deserve to live in freedom, where their fundamental rights and civil liberties are protected.”
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