In the midst of the Colombian government’s visit to Israel, Minister Diego Molano assured that Iran is an enemy of ColombiaDeclarations that are far from the diplomatic relations that have been maintained so far with that Islamic country.
In a meeting between President Iván Duque and his counterpart Isaac Herzog in Israel, the Colombian president ratified the trade agreements, the construction of an INNpulsa office in Jerusalem and a common struggle. “Colombia and Israel share intelligence information, strategic information and fight against international terrorism. In fact, we have struck very important blows thanks to that cooperation “said the head of state.
Molano accompanied the president at the meeting and explained the reasons for the collaboration in security: “Here we have a common enemy and this is the case of Iran and Hezbollah that operate against Israel, but also support the Venezuelan regime. It is an important information and intelligence effort that we are developing with the military forces and the Israeli Defense Ministry ”.
The concern of the Colombian authorities, according to Molano, It is the confirmed presence of the terrorist group considered one of the wealthiest in the world, Hezbollah, on the border with Venezuela that, he added, would be in the territory with the support of the Nicolás Maduro regime, considered a dictator by the Colombian government.
The Defense Minister affirmed that the collaborations have been presented before and the border with Venezuela has special monitoring and follow-up due to the information on the Asian terrorist group. He even recalled that recently there was an operation against two members of the organization who would have been present in Colombia.
“There are four axes in which work is done on a border security scheme: cybersecurity and cyberdefense, strategic intelligence and the move towards aerospace issues”said Minister Molano regarding the activities that the two countries support.
Molano even met with his counterpart in the Asian country, Benjamin Gantz, Israel’s Defense Minister, whom he described as “an ally of Colombia” and assured that the national military forces “They cooperate to strengthen capacities for border security, cyber defense and aerospace activities.”
Colombia has had diplomatic relations with Iran since April 1975, although it does not have a consular office in the country and the procedures are carried out through the Colombian Embassy in Turkey. In contrast, the Islamic Republic of Iran does have an embassy in the country.
During the government of Juan Manuel Santos, extensive diplomatic relations were maintained with that country. Even, Carlos Holmes Trujillo, when he served as chancellor in the Duque government, received the Iranian ambassador to Colombia, Mohammed Ali Ziyaee.
The Iranian diplomat pointed out in January, in dialogue with RCN Radio, that his country does not represent a danger to Colombia or the region because it maintains relations with Venezuela. He affirmed that it is a position that the United States has assumed and that it influences the relations of other countries with the Islamic Republic.
“For us, Nicolás Maduro is the official government of the country and the countries that do not accept Maduro, as the official government, is not valid for us. The Venezuelan government, like everyone else, has problems and people they don’t like, that’s normal, ”Ali Ziyaee told the station.
Regarding relations with Israel, These were established in 1957 and have focused on supplying the military arsenal that boomed in the Uribe and Santos governments. In 2017, the ex-president signed a commercial agreement and Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli president to travel to Colombia. A relationship that has been sustained and that now Duque assures that it is at “the highest point”.
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