Israel used to be a natural ally to many Latin American countries. With a recent trip across the continent, Israeli Foreign Secretary Avigdor Lieberman tried to rebuild this old relationship and to counter the growing influence in the region from Iran and Russia.

By our correspondent Maria Isabel Garcia

Lieberman travelled to Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Colombia. His two main goals were to strengthen commercial ties between these countries and Israel, and to put some diplomatic pressure on their governments.
 

Military manoeuvres
Lieberman’s trip coincided (whether or not deliberately) with the end of military manoeuvres on the American army base Manta in Ecuador and the announcement of the deployment of fresh American troops to four Colombian bases. At the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, representatives of the Colombian air force were handed the first supply of Kfir fighter planes by the Israeli air force.
 

Hezbollah
Two weeks earlier, Dorit Shavit, the Latin American director at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, stated in a Colombian newspaper that Iran remains a ‘strategic enemy’ of Israel. She warned of the ‘Islamist threat’ in the Latin American region. “First we had the Hezbollah cells on the Argentina-Paraguay border and they have now also been reported on the isle of La Guyaiira near the Colombia-Venezuela border”, she said.

Ms Shavit added that there are now direct flights between Tehran and Caracas. These are not commercial flights, however, as they do not carry tourists.
 

FARC
Political analyst Pedro Medellin fears that Colombia will join Israel’s anti terror strategy, simply to look after America’s interests in the region. Mr Medellin says this could drive Colombia’s FARC rebel group and Hezbollah into each other’s arms and plunge the country in a war that would be difficult to end.

Enrique Serrano, who is a professor in International Studies at the Rosario University in Bogota, has published extensively on relations between East and West. In an interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide, he says the assumption that Hezbollah is represented in Colombia is unfounded.
 

“Lieberman simply wants to build a bridge to Latin America”, he says. “Especially now that relations between his country and Venezuela have been broken in favour of Iran and Russia. One can expect this to worry the Israeli and US governments”.

Shift
Professor Serrano notes that there has been a major shift in relations between Colombia and Israel in recent years. Military relations have been tightened, which according to Professor Serrano is part of America’s strategy to eradicate Colombia’s coca production. It also has to do with other geopolitical aspects. The triangular relationship between the US, Israel and Colombia has serious consequences for America’s aid to Colombia and Israel. “We can expect this relationship to be even more tighter in the future”, Prof. Serrano says.

Lieberman’s trip is the result of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s desire to tighten relations with old allies in the region. Some of these – Mexico, Colombia and Brazil – have an important position in the region. The fact that the radicalisation of Venezuela has led to an end to the historic ties with Israel, will undoubtedly worry the foreign offices in the US and Israel.