(Washington Times) Joseph Humire - In April 2009, the current Iranian commander of the Basij paramilitary force, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Naqdi, accompanied then-Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar on a high-level visit to Caracas at the invitation of then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his foreign minister (now President) Nicolas Maduro. According to sources within the Venezuelan military, Gen. Naqdi's role was to serve as an adviser to Venezuela's Ministries of Defense and Interior to aid in training their civilian militias, the now-infamous colectivos. According to leaked government documents, during the 2012 presidential election in Venezuela, the Chavistas planned to mobilize the colectivos as a quick-reaction force modeled after the Iranian Basij called Redes de Movilizacion Inmediata, to quell opposition rallies and gain territorial control.
2014-03-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive