WASHINGTON, D.C., October 21, 2022 – The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) recently published a report "Colombia's New President Gustavo Petro And The Dawn Of A New Era Of Opportunity For Iran In Latin America" by MEMRI Research Fellow Emmanuel Cadieux. The report is part of the Iran Threat Monitor Project (ITMP), an offshoot of the Iran Studies Project, that delivers vital information and translations related to the Iran threat from Farsi and Arabic, from Iran, its proxies, and its allies.
In the report, Cadieux details how "for the first time in its history, Colombia elected a leftist president, Gustavo Petro, and will now have a leftist government. This historic departure from Colombia's traditional right-leaning and U.S.-aligned foreign policy led many countries, among them Iran, to rejoice at the prospect of the opportunities presented by the new president."
This new report reviews and analyzes Iran's main Spanish-language media outlet, HispanTV, in the lead-up to and following Petro's election as Colombia's first leftist president. Cadieux notes how analysis of HispanTV's recent content "reveals that Iran is hoping for three main things under the new Colombian government: One, that President Petro will put an end to all military cooperation between Colombia and the U.S., which would allow Iran and its Lebanon proxy Hizbullah to continue their military buildup in Venezuela. Two, that there will be a restrengthening of Iran-Colombia diplomatic relations, which have been uninterrupted since 1975, and that under Petro's anticipated leadership in the region Iran will have free rein to continue spreading its Islamic revolutionary ideology in Latin America. Three, that Petro's agenda of a) restoring damaged diplomatic ties with its neighbor Venezuela, b) implementing the previously signed peace agreement with the Colombian guerilla organization FARC, and c) signing a new agreement with the Colombian guerilla organization ELN will all contribute to further facilitating Hizbullah's activity at the Colombia-Venezuelan border."
Moreover, the report examines Iran's three main expectations of Colombia's new leftist president, Gustavo Petro, and his government, as reflected in content published by Iran's Spanish-language HispanTV.
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