Colombia’s New Israel Alliance Deals a Strategic Blow to Iran and Its Proxies

Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, is presented as opening a new front against Iran and its allies in South America by reviving the country’s security relationship with Israel.

The article portrays de la Espriella’s August 7 inauguration as a rejection of what it calls the “Left-Islamist alliance” that had gained influence under former President Gustavo Petro. For supporters of Israel and opponents of Iran, it describes the election as a shared victory.

It looks back to Álvaro Uribe’s election in 2002, when much of Colombia was controlled by Marxist guerrillas, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The country faced violence, kidnappings and economic paralysis. Uribe turned to Israel for military modernization, intelligence support, training and counterterrorism capabilities.

The article credits that cooperation with helping Colombian forces defeat the armed Marxists within eight years. It says Uribe’s hard-line approach restored state authority, improved security and helped create conditions for economic growth.

It casts Petro’s 2022 presidency as a reversal. Petro, a former M-19 guerrilla, pursued negotiations with armed narco-terrorist groups instead of enforcing state authority, the article says. It also criticizes his anti-Israel foreign policy and support for Islamist groups.

With right-wing governments in Ecuador and Bolivia and Nicolás Maduro arrested in Venezuela, the article describes Petro’s Colombia as one of Iran and Hezbollah’s last major footholds in South America. It argues that de la Espriella’s government could give Colombian forces renewed access to Israeli technology and counterterrorism expertise.