Colombia accused the Lebanese Hezbollah on Sunday of conducting "criminal activities" on its territory, noting that it is monitoring its actions. Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano stated in an interview with the local newspaper "El Tiempo," "Two months ago, we had to deal with a situation that forced us to initiate an operation to arrest and deport two criminals dispatched by Hezbollah, who intended to commit a criminal act in Colombia." The minister did not provide further details about this operation, but the newspaper reported that according to sources from military intelligence, Hezbollah may have attempted to track the movements of American and Israeli diplomats and businessmen in Colombia, which has a large Lebanese community.
Molano added that there is "a risk from Hezbollah in Venezuela and what its connections to drug trafficking or terrorist groups on the Venezuelan side could create for national security." Colombia accuses neighboring Venezuela of harboring and supporting armed groups opposed to Bogotá, and relations between the two countries are very tense, with their shared border being almost entirely closed since 2015. A week prior, the same minister, who accompanied Colombian President Ivan Duque on an official visit to Israel, stated that the two countries have a "common enemy, which is Iran and Hezbollah, who operates against Israel and also supports the regime in Venezuela," according to Molano. However, he later retracted his anti-Iran comments on Sunday, affirming they were "hasty remarks," after they caused a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
His comments elicited a response from the Iranian government, with which Colombia has maintained relations since 1975. Iranian Ambassador to Colombia Mohammad Ali Ziaei stated in a statement, "Iran and Colombia are friendly nations with a historical relationship. Destroying this relationship does not benefit the people."
