Hezbollah Expands Operations on Venezuela’s Margarita Island Amid Declining Tourism
CARACAS, Venezuela — Once a vibrant Caribbean getaway known for its palm-lined beaches and duty-free shops, Margarita Island has quietly transformed into a strategic foothold for Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, according to U.S. officials. As tourism dwindles, the island’s isolation and proximity to key maritime routes have made it an attractive hub for Hezbollah operatives expanding their influence in the Western Hemisphere.
At a recent year-end press conference, Secretary of State Marco Rubio identified transnational terrorist criminal groups, particularly those involved in narcotrafficking, as the most serious threats to U.S. security from the Western Hemisphere. Margarita Island, located just off Venezuela’s northeastern coast, has emerged as a critical node in this network due to its strategic location near Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada in an oil-rich section of the Caribbean.
Melissa Ford Maldonado, director of the Western Hemisphere Initiative at the America First Policy Institute, told Fox News Digital that Margarita Island’s reputation as a drug-trafficking hub stems from its geographic isolation and limited law enforcement presence. “Irregular armed groups, foreign intelligence actors, and criminal networks use it as a departure point for boats carrying illicit shipments out of Venezuela,” she explained.
The island’s transformation into what some officials call a “terror island” traces back over two decades. Under former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the government opened its doors to Hezbollah, allowing the group to establish a significant base of operations. Marshall Billingslea, former assistant secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes at the U.S. Treasury Department, described Margarita Island as Hezbollah’s “center of gravity” in the Western Hemisphere.
Billingslea’s testimony before the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control in October detailed how Hezbollah, with some involvement from Hamas, has broadened its activities on the island, including narcotics trafficking and other illicit operations. This expansion is reportedly facilitated by the Maduro regime’s protection and Iran’s increasing influence in Venezuela.
The implications for U.S. security are significant. Margarita Island’s location along vital maritime routes makes it a potential launch point for smuggling operations and other criminal activities that could reach American shores. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection monitors these routes closely, aware of the risks posed by such transnational networks.
The decline in tourism, with flights down by 50 percent, has further reduced the island’s economic reliance on legitimate visitors, creating a vacuum that Hezbollah and allied groups have exploited. This shift not only undermines Venezuela’s economy but also destabilizes regional security dynamics.
As the Biden administration and Congress consider strategies to counter these threats, experts emphasize the need for coordinated efforts to disrupt the nexus of terrorism, narcotrafficking, and state complicity. The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs plays a critical role in supporting regional partners to address these challenges.
Margarita Island’s evolution from a Caribbean tourist destination to a Hezbollah stronghold underscores the complex security challenges emerging from Latin America. As Hezbollah’s footprint grows closer to U.S. borders, the urgency to counter these transnational threats has never been greater.
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