IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 435 

Expressing concern relating to the threatening behavior of the Iranian regime 

and its leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the activities of terrorist 

organizations sponsored by that regime in Latin America. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2007 

Mr. KLEIN of Florida (for himself, Mr. MACK, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. 

MCCAUL of Texas, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. KIRK, Mr. BOUSTANY, 

Mr. LANTOS, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. CANTOR, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. CARNAHAN, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. ANDREWS, 

Mr. ROTHMAN, Ms. WATSON, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. SIRES, Mr. 

LYNCH, Mr. FOSSELLA, Ms. BEAN, Mr. FORTUN ̃O, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. 

HASTINGS of Florida, Mrs. BONO, Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina, Mr. 

PENCE, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, 

Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. CARNEY, and Mrs. 

MYRICK) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing concern relating to the threatening behavior of 

the Iranian regime and its leader Mahmoud 

Ahmadinejad, and the activities of terrorist organizations 

sponsored by that regime in Latin America. 

Whereas the Department of State has said that Iran is the 

‘‘most active state sponsor of terrorism’’; 


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•HRES 435 IH 

Whereas the Department of State 2007 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report moved Iran to a ‘‘Jurisdiction of Primary Concern’’; 

Whereas in February 2006, the chairman of the Iranian legislative body announced plans to assist Venezuela with its 

nuclear program; 

Whereas in February 2006, Cuba, Venezuela, and Syria were 

the only 3 member nations of the 35-nation board of the 

International Atomic Energy Agency to vote against referring Iran to the United Nations Security Council for 

its nuclear program; 

Whereas in January 2007, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, made his second visit to Central and South 

America in 5 months to meet with Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, to visit Daniel Ortega, president of 

Nicaragua, and to attend the inauguration of Rafael 

Correa, president of Ecuador; 

Whereas in February 2007, Mr. Ahmadinejad hosted Iran’s 

first day-long conference on Latin America and the conference was attended by parliamentarians from Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil, Uruguay, Italy, 

and the Russian Federation; 

Whereas at the Iranian conference on Latin America, Iran 

announced that it would reopen embassies in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Uruguay and send a 

representative to Bolivia; 

Whereas routine civilian airline flights have been established 

from Tehran, Iran directly into Caracas, Venezuela, and 

the Government of Venezuela has been found to be indiscriminate in the issuance of Venezuelan passports and 

other identifying documents that could help terrorists 


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•HRES 435 IH 

and other criminal elements enter the United States with 

these documents; 

Whereas Mr. Ahmadinejad and Mr. Chavez have announced 

plans for a $2,000,000,000 shared fund to invest in 

projects in countries seeking to ‘‘liberate themselves from 

the U.S. imperialist yoke’’; 

Whereas Iran’s proxy terrorist group, Hizbollah, executed the 

deadliest terrorist attack against Americans abroad since 

World War II, the 1983 suicide bombing of a United 

States Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 

241 American servicemen; 

Whereas Iran and Hizbollah were involved in the two deadliest terrorist attacks in Argentina: the March 1992 

bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the July 1994 attack against the ArgentineIsraeli Mutual Association (AMIA); 

Whereas the Government of Argentina is currently seeking 

legal action against the perpetrators of the 1994 AMIA 

terrorist attack, and INTERPOL has issued arrest warrants for several former Iranian officials and a Hizbollah 

leader in connection with the attack; 

Whereas the 2006 State Department’s Country Reports on 

Terrorism stated that Venezuela is ‘‘not fully cooperating’’ with United States antiterrorism efforts; 

Whereas the relationship of the Government of Venezuela 

with its Jewish community is at its ‘‘worst in 40 years’’, 

according to Venezuela’s chief rabbi, with increasing instances of graffiti on local synagogues, and more frequent 

anti-Semitic cartoons and statements in the media, none 

of which the Government of Venezuela denounced; 


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•HRES 435 IH 

Whereas on October 23, 2006, the police in Caracas, Venezuela found two explosive devices near the United States 

Embassy, one of which was in a box that contained brochures referencing Hizbollah; 

Whereas in October 2006, Teodoro Darnott, leader of an organization in Venezuela that calls itself ‘‘Hizbollah Latin 

America,’’ announced that 2007 would be the beginning 

of the ‘‘Jihad in America’’; 

Whereas according to a Naval War College report, Hizbollah 

raises an estimated $10,000,000 each year in the tri-border region of South America where Brazil, Paraguay, and 

Argentina meet; 

Whereas in 2004, the United States Southern Command, 

which is responsible for providing contingency planning, 

operations, and security cooperation for Central and 

South America, estimated that Islamist terrorist groups 

raise between $300,000,000 and $500,000,000 each year 

in the tri-border region, in northern Chile, in Maicao, Colombia, on Margarita Island in Venezuela, in Panama’s 

Colon Free Trade Zone, and in other areas; 

Whereas in March 2007, Brazilian officials arrested 31 people for illegally issuing passports over the past 14 years, 

and press reports indicate that some of these passports 

may have been provided to members of terrorist organizations, including members of Hizbollah; 

Whereas Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and the United States 

have formed the 3+1 Group, which has focused on the 

financing of terrorism, drug and arms trafficking, and 

border security, as well as the exchange of information, 

with the purpose of preventing terrorism and 

transnational crimes; 


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•HRES 435 IH 

Whereas in November 2006, Brazil established a new Regional Intelligence Center in the tri-border region, dedicated to coordinating intelligence activities of the police 

forces of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, and invited 

Argentina and Paraguay to send official representatives 

to the center; and 

Whereas in March 2007, the Organization of American 

States’ Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism 

(CICTE) reaffirmed, ‘‘terrorism in all its forms and 

manifestations, whatever its origin or motivation, has no 

justification whatsoever, affects the full enjoyment and 

exercise of human rights, and constitutes a grave threat 

to international peace and security, democratic institutions, and the values enshrined in the OAS Charter, the 

Inter-American Democratic Charter, and other regional 

and international instruments’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) expresses concern over the emerging na3 tional security implications of the relationships be4 tween the leaders of Iran and regimes in the West5 ern Hemisphere like Venezuela; 

6 (2) expresses its continued support for the peo7 ple of Iran and Venezuela as they strive for freedom, 

8 respect for human rights and civil liberties, demo9 cratic self-governance, and the establishment of the 

10 rule of law; 

11 (3) supports the existing counterterrorism ef12 forts of Latin American countries, including the suc13 cessful counterterrorism efforts of the 3+1 Group 


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•HRES 435 IH 

1 (consisting of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and the 

2 United States); 

3 (4) emphasizes the importance of eliminating 

4 Hizbollah’s financial network in the tri-border region 

5 of South America where Brazil, Paraguay, and Ar6 gentina meet and throughout the Western Hemi7 sphere; 

8 (5) calls on the United States government to 

9 work with governments in the Western Hemisphere 

10 to pursue an antiterrorism campaign based on co11 operation and constant vigilance; 

12 (6) urges the United States Government to 

13 work bilaterally and multilaterally with countries in 

14 the Western Hemisphere to create antiterrorism leg15 islation that would give governmental authorities 

16 new tools to take action against terrorist networks; 

17 and 

18 (7) recommends that the President of the 

19 United States create more mechanisms for joint 

20 counterterrorism operations and intraregional infor21 mation sharing among supportive countries in the 

22 Western Hemisphere, especially in light of Iran’s in23 creased involvement in the region. 

Æ 


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