CIUDAD DEL ESTE, Paraguay - The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia has taken root in South America, fostering a well-financed force of Islamist radicals boiling with hatred for the United States and ready to die to prove it, according to militia members, U.S. officials and police agencies across the continent. From its Western base in a remote region divided by the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina known as the Tri-border, or the Triple Frontier, Hezbollah has mined the frustrations of...

Editor’s Note: On September 2006, Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chavez, in a speech at the United Nations delivered a series of personal attacks on U.S. President George W. Bush. While this is not the first instance of Chavez railing against President Bush, it is an important event, as it could signal that the covert war, originally described by Dr. Duarte on March 11, 2006 [ ] has hit a new phase. In this analysis, originally posted on 9-22-06, at , Dr. Duarte looks at the...

WASHINGTON -- The Lebanon-based, Iran-backed Hizballah is now the major international terrorist group active in Latin America, a senior State Department official told Congress. Coordinator for Counterterrorism Philip Wilcox Jr. testified Sept. 28 to the House Committee on International Relations, warning lawmakers that two bombings and other actions over the last three years point to Teheran as Hizballah's chief supporter. He described Hizballah's recent actions in the region, particularly...