Politico | US warns Venezuela and Cuba to turn away Iranian ships believed to be carrying arms
- Caracas is trying to gear the situation to gain relief from US sanctions, officials said
- A Biden administration official said the ships are thought to be carrying weapons to fulfil a deal that Iran and Venezuela made a year ago
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Lara Sliegman, Andrew Desiderio, Betsy Woodruff Swan and Nahal Toosi on politico.com on June 9, 2021.
The Biden administration is urging Venezuela and Cuba to turn away two Iranian warships believed to be carrying arms intended for transfer to Caracas, while vowing that the US will take “appropriate measures” to deter what it sees as a “threat” to America’s partners in the Western Hemisphere.
The warnings – some public and some private, according to three people briefed on the situation – come as the vessels have travelled a significant distance across the Atlantic Ocean. A senior Biden administration official said the ships are thought to be carrying weapons to fulfil a deal that Iran and Venezuela made a year ago.
The official did not specify the types of weapons involved, but last summer there were reports that Venezuela was considering purchasing missiles from Iran, including long-range ones, and aides to then-President Donald Trump repeatedly warned Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro against such a move.
The intelligence community, meanwhile, has evidence that one of the ships, the Makran, is carrying fast-attack boats, likely intended for sale to Venezuela, according to a defence official and another person familiar with the intelligence.
