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Earlier this month, Beijings state-owned China Southern Power Grid announced the acquisition of nearly $3 billion in assets of Perus electric power grid,giving Chinacontrol of at least 70% of Perus electric distribution market. The deal is remarkable, among other reasons, because it follows months of violent protests that have rocked Peru since December following the impeachment and arrest of socialist president Pedro Castillo. This is no accident. Perus destabilization is opening the door for anti-American forceslike Chinaand Iran, who are seeking a permanent foothold in the Western Hemisphere.

While the mass pro-Castillo riots of January and February have dissipated, smaller waves of protests and road blockades have entered their fifth month in the southern region of Puno, near the Peru-Bolivia border, a reminder that the countrys political crisis is far from over.

At the protests peak, 117 roads were blockaded throughout the country. So far, at least 66 people have died, including a policeman burned alive and six soldiers drowned to death, with dozens of public buildings attacked. In December, when the coup attempt occurred, through January, 859 police officers reportedly had been injured and 43 police stations were looted or burned.

To assume that Perus crisis is occurring in a vacuum or ends with street protests ignores the lessons of other recent turmoil in the region.

In March 2020, for example, the National Defense Universitys Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies releaseda reportthat showed the role of the Bolivarian Joint Criminal Enterprise in inciting protracted social disturbances in Chile, Colombia, and Ecuadorthree long-time AS. partnerssince 2019.

The Bolivarian Joint Criminal Enterprise is one of several terms used to refer to the threat network of the Latin American authoritarian left and their global state and illicit non-state allies. This can be understood plainly as an anti-Americanthreat network.

The Bolivarian threat network incited the 2019 disturbances in Chile, Colombia and Ecuador by using narco-terrorist armed groupsand socialistsolidarity conferences to train and mobilize shock troops that participated in the riots. It also used individual facilitators to fund and coordinate disturbances and deployed social media disinformation accounts.

This does not mean that these protests did not include legitimate grievances or peaceful protesters, but that the network coopted these for its own ends.

The result? U.S.-friendly governments in these countries were forced to make concessions to the rioters and spend scarce resources to address the unrest. The threat network also advanced anti-democratic and anti-American narratives and opened new local spaces for organized crime and U.S. adversaries to operate in.

In subsequent elections, Chile and Colombia voted out U.S.-friendly incumbents and turned to far-left leaders. Chiles last president was pressured to allow a vote to overhaul the countrys decades-old constitutiona tense political battle that continues today.

In Ecuador, coordinated riots have continued and pressures on the current center-right government of President Guillermo Lasso are mounting.

As the threat network understands it, such coordination is a form of warfare, elaborated by former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez as a form of fourth-generation warfare. Such 4thgeneration warfare, a form of asymmetric warfare, aims to counter U.S. influence and bring countries intothe socialistcamp without needing to use conventional force. It is seen as a continuous and deliberately protracted struggle.

Perus turmoil is the latest example of these efforts. According to the National Defense University report, Peru was publicly identified as a next target by the network in 2020.

The December arrest and impeachment of Castillo, a Marxist and threat network ally, following his failed coup attempt against Perus congress created the opening. The network-backed protesters made unconstitutional demands, calling for the ousting of Castillos vice president and successor, current President Dina Boluarte.

Like other protests, Perus have been a mixed composition of organized radical pro-Castillo groups, other protesters disaffected with government corruption, and illicit actors. But the indications that this was a coordinated effort are increasingly clear. Castillo alliesreportedly wireddaily payments to mobilize protesters. The attempt toseize five airportsalso shows a level of sophisticated coordination.

Peruvian authorities found that terrorist elements of the protests included the Shining Path, the historic Maoist terrorist group, and other armed groups, includingthe Etnocaceristas, a separatist group in southern Peru.

Edwar Quiroga, a known operative in the mining-rich Apurimac region in southern Peru, is known tolink the Etnocaceristasto Iranian intelligence. Quiroga previously ran Inkarri Islam, a Shia culture center in Apurimac that offers political and ideological training to young Peruvians. A Castillo ally, Quiroga was arrested last August in southern Peru with19,000 cartridges of dynamite. Just four months later, Perus protests began with an insurgency in Apurimac. Last week, Boluarte reestablished relations with Iranan unprecedented development in Peru.

Additionally, Cubas ambassador to Peru, Carlos El Gallo Zamora, an operative for the Cuban regimes nefarious G2 intelligence directorate, isknown fordecades of recruiting agents to infiltrate anddisrupt the regions democracies.

Moreover, former Bolivian president and key threat network member Evo Morales wasbanned from entering Perufor malign foreign interference. Peruvian authorities found Bolivians chief among the foreign nationals involved in the countrys violent riots. Morales operatives were found to have illegally crossed the Peru-Bolivia border over27 timesbetween 2021 and 2022.

Bolivia, a landlocked countrywhere Chinais active in lithium extraction, depends on Peru for global trade. Russia and Iran are actively involved inuranium mining in Bolivia. The protracted disturbances near the porous Peru-Bolivia border help benefit the trafficking of drugs as well as gold, lithium, and other illicitly mined productsall of which can be used to fund political operations of the threat network.

The confluence of illicit, ideological, and geopolitical interests behind Perus turmoil mirrors that of recent well-recorded cases in neighboring democracies. This also means that the crisis does not end with the end of the protests. In a battle of narratives, protesters now demand that Peru hold early elections while falsely casting the political right as co-governing with Boluarte.

All of this unravels as the U.S. rapidly loses allies and partner governments in the region while anti-American forces make permanent gains. Those who insist that Chinas economic activity in Peru was negatively affected by the protests have been proven wrong by last weeks sale of a large part of Perus electric power grid from private Italian firm ENEL to China. The turmoil might dissuade legitimate private investment from competing in the country, butChinas predatory statefirms stand to benefit.

The U.S. must begin countering the Bolvarian threat networks asymmetric warfare with an informational and public diplomacy response. Congress should press the White House to do so, and it should mandate that the administration update it on Perus illicit trafficking flows and those flows potential links to political activity. It should also urge Perus consumer protection agency, INDECOPI, to reject Chinas recent monopolistic acquisition of electric power.

The last time that another threat network ally governed Peru, a Chinese state-owned company was able tosecure accessto a deep-sea mega-port that is key to Beijings Pacific naval ambitions, andPeru becameanother one of Chinas comprehensive strategic partners.

This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal

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South American Partners Turning Away From U.S. and Toward ... - Heritage.org

ASTANA Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov paid an official visit to Tehran on April 26, meeting with senior Iranian officials to enhance bilateral ties. Export contracts worth $60 million, bilateral documents in tourism, sport, youth work, customs training, and an agreement to develop transportation between the ports of Kuryk and Amirabad are among the key outcomes of Smailovs visit, reported the governments press service.

Smailov and Raisi shake hands during their meeting. Photo credit: primeminister.kz.

Smailovs one-day visit included meetings with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber with the aim to follow up on the implementation of the agreements reached between the presidents of the two countries.

During the meeting with Raisi, Smailov emphasized the importance Kazakhstan places on developing relations with Iran. The two sides discussed trade and economy, investment and cross-border cooperation, and the implementation of joint initiatives in the cultural and humanitarian spheres.

Currently, the governments of the two countries are actively working on the practical implementation of the tasks set at the highest level. I am confident this year will be marked by new high results of our cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats, said Smailov.

The new high results are expected from the first meeting of the Kazakh-Iranian working group on agriculture planned in Tehran this year and the appointment of a special trade representative at the embassy of Kazakhstan in Iran.

Raisi described Kazakhstan as one of the most influential countries in the region.

Although the significant growth of trade relations between the two countries last year has made the situation different from before, this level of relations is not commensurate with the capacities of the two countries, and we have to work hard to improve it, said Raisi, as quoted by his press office.

Raisi also spoke about the investment in transit infrastructure from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf, transportation development to facilitate commercial cooperation, increasing cooperation in agriculture, and using innovative mechanisms in the monetary and banking fields.

Promising areas for trade

Development of trade and economic relations, deepening cooperation in agriculture, attracting investment, implementation of promising projects in the transit and transport sector, and increasing the volume of freight were on the agenda of Smailovs meeting with Mokhber.

Mokhber and Smailov. Photo credit: primeminister.kz.

Iran is one of Kazakhstans key partners in the Persian Gulf, said Smailov. Last year, bilateral trade turnover between the countries grew by nearly 20 percent, reaching $528 million.

Smailov stressed that Kazakhstan is ready to increase exports of 75 commodity items worth approximately $250 million.

I am confident that as our economic potential is fully unlocked, we can bring the mutual trade up to $3 billion. We have significant potential for this in areas including energy, transport and logistics, agriculture and industry, said Smailov.

Agriculture offers substantial opportunities in achieving this goal, accounting for more than 70 percent of the mutual trade. To expand trade in agriculture, Smailov said Kazakhstan is ready to supply the Iranian market with flour, confectionery and pasta products, meat products, and vegetable oils. Kazakhstan is interested in vegetables and fruits from Iran, particularly during the off-season.

Connectivity and transport

The two countries can also leverage their strategic location and transport infrastructure to boost trade and commerce.

Mokhber and Smailov address a joint press conference. Photo credit: primeminister.kz.

Iran, strategically located at the crossroads of the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, has an extensive transport network making it an ideal gateway for trade between Asia and Europe. The same can be said for Kazakhstan, a landlocked country with vast natural reserves and a key transit hub for goods flowing between China and Europe.

Both countries can tap into the development of the North-South transport corridor, a multi-modal transport network that connects the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran and then onwards to Russia and Europe.

The government of Kazakhstan aims to fully implement the tasks set by the heads of our states and bring the Kazakh-Iranian partnership to a qualitatively new level, said Smailov.

Mokhber agreed with Smailov on the untapped potential in trade and said the two countries should stimulate the private sector.

We invite Kazakh companies to take an active part in developing our partnership, stated Mokhber.

Export contracts

Export contracts worth more than $60 million were signed as part of the third trade and economic mission in Tehran for supplies to Iran of Kazakhstans fertilizers, oil and fat products, and cattle meat.

Third trade and economic mission in Tehran on April 26. Photo credit: primeminister.kz.

The event, organized by the QazTrade Center for Development of Trade Policy, was attended by representatives of the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture, the joint Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Commerce, Mining and Agriculture of Iran, 20 Kazakh companies in the food, chemical, construction, light industry, and metallurgy sectors, and more than 150 delegates from the Iranian side.

Iranian companies showed particular interest in Kazakh producers of phosphate fertilizers, ferroalloys, and food products.

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Kazakh Prime Ministers Visit to Iran Results in Commitment to Boost ... - Astana Times

BEIRUT (AP) Irans foreign minister said Thursday that Tehran wants Lebanons rivals to reach an agreement to elect a new president in the crisis-hit country that has been without a head of state since October.

Hossein Amirabdollahian made his comments during his first visit to Lebanon since Iran and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement in China last month to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions that had major repercussions in the tiny Mediterranean country.

The agreement negotiated with China lowers the chance of armed conflict between the Mideast rivals both directly and in proxy conflicts around the region. The effects of the agreement include eased tensions and an exchange of prisoners between Saudi Arabia and Yemens Iran-backed rebels, as well as improved relations between Saudi Arabia and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Lebanese groups are deeply divided between an Iran-backed coalition led by the powerful Hezbollah group and a Western and Saudi-backed alliance. The deep divisions in Lebanon have left the country without a president since the term of President Michel Aoun ended in late October.

Speaking during a joint news conference with Amirabdollahian, Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib told reporters, I am optimistic that every regional agreement and any deal between regional countries is good for Lebanon.

The agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia is important for peace in the region, Bouhabib said. He did not elaborate.

Amirabdollahian said Iran encourages all sides in Lebanon to speed up the elections process.

We will back any election and any agreement that is reached between parties in Lebanon regarding the electing of a president, Amirabdollahian said before heading to a meeting with caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Hezbollahs ally Sleiman Frangieh and army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun, are the top candidates for president. Lebanons parliament held about a dozen sessions over the past months but failed to elect a head of state amid deep divisions.

The largest Christian blocs in parliament have rejected the election of Frangieh and there have been reports in local media that Saudi Arabia is opposed to him becoming president.

On Wednesday, Frangieh gave a long TV interview in which he said that if he is elected president, he will work for better relations between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Frangieh also added that his close relations with Hezbollah and Assad could be used for the good of Lebanon.

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Iran urges Lebanese sides to reach agreement over president - The Associated Press

Last year, protests broke out in Iran against the regime. The slogan Woman, Life, Freedom became the motivating voice behind a movement. Today in Israel, five recently-unveiled murals highlight that very message.

In Jerusalem on Thursday, Hooman Khalili, the producer of the Woman Life Freedom Murals Project, said he wants to show that Jews stand with the people of Iran. He spoke at The Jerusalem Posts Celebrate the Faces of Israel conference at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem.

In an interview with Tamar Uriel-Beeri, managing editor of Jpost.com, Khalili discussed the way he came to lead this unique project. He is a movie-maker who made the first feature film to be filmed on a smartphone and had a theatrical release. The film was called Olive, and Dolly Parton wrote the music for it. As a successful DJ, he also had a line in the film Cars.

The murals project began in San Francisco, he said. He told how he was approached by a muralist in California who wanted to win attention for the protesters in Iran. The first mural painted in California soon went viral, and was then noticed by Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, who invited him to Israel.

Khalili credits a number of people as key to the way this project has seen success and support, including Emily Schrader and former MK Ruth Wasserman Lande. She has helped him to find walls for the project and to speak to mayors of cities where the murals appear. He has now made five murals in Israel. He says these show that Jews stand with the people of Iran.

In an interview, he said, I know Im the only artist invited to Israel to create Murals supporting the Persian people and I had to take this opportunity. Khalili was born Muslim and left Iran with his mother, eventually ending up in San Mateo, California. He became a Christian and was taken in by the Presbyterian Church. When he came to Israel his first mural made a major impact.

I was in the Holy Land praying a lot and so when that first mural went up everyone was blown away and the mural was shown on Iranian television every hour on the hour for 36 hours straight. That was the first one that was in Jerusalem. Both the Iranian government and opposition media showed it, he said.

I prayed a lot and if God wanted it to keep going, I feel like the designs are downloaded from heaven and Im looking at images downloaded from Iran; the whole idea is to unify the Israeli and Persian customs in one image. Youll see the flag of Jerusalem because I want everything pointing to Jerusalem. In Netanya, one image had the nightingale, which is the national bird of Iran, and the one being unveiled on April 30 will have the hoopoe, which is the national bird of Israel, he added.

Khalili says that Persians have been friends of Jews for 3,000 years. From the time of Cyrus, and theyve only been enemies for less than 50 years. I feel like Im called to at least start building that bridge [between Jews and Persians]. If Iran becomes stable, the whole Middle East becomes stable; I will pay for every one of these murals until I go broke or until a wealthy patron comes along, he says. That is how important this project is to him, and he is hoping to make 18 murals in Israel.

That was a divine number that was a given. Two different people prayed over me. One was a Jewish woman and one was a guy named Daniel Lim, who serves as the chief executive officer of the International House of Prayer of Kansas City, and they both said God was telling them the number 18, he said.

He added that he hopes the next 13 murals turn out perfect. All these are 95% there. In the world of art we have this phrase for film-making, which is Great art is never finished, its abandoned, so I have to move on from one and keep going, he said.

My hope is to spread the love throughout Israel with these murals. He says the murals are meant to inspire the Iranian people. They are meant to show the Jewish people are standing with the Persian people. He also praises Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for supporting the people of Iran. In addition, he thinks the recent visit by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi was important. Pahlavi visited the mural in Netanya.

The mural in Nazareth is particularly special, Khalili says. The second mural is in Nazareth, and that wall is owned by a Muslim man. The artist Benzi Broffman said we should pick Nazareth to build a bridge between Arabs and Jews, so you have a wall owned by Muslim men painted by a Jew and organized by a Persian Christian.

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Hooman Khalili: Jews stand with the people of Iran - The Jerusalem Post

The UK, US and EU are today announcing further sanctions on Iranian regime officials responsible for human rights violations, including from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The UK has designated more than 70 Iranian officials and entities for human rights violations since October 2022, with the total number of Iran-related designations amounting to more than 300. The list includes the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in its entirety, the Iranian Prosecutor General and the Morality Police.

The UK, US and EU have taken consistent and coordinated action to hold the regime to account, announcing sanctions on a monthly basis on those response for human rights abuses. The latest UK sanctions are against 4 IRGC commanders, under whose leadership IRGC forces have opened fire on unarmed protestors resulting in numerous deaths, including of children, and have arbitrarily detained and tortured protestors.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

The Iranian regime are responsible for the brutal repression of the Iranian people and for exporting bloodshed around the world. Thats why we have more than 300 sanctions in place on Iran, including on the IRGC in its entirety.

The UK and our international partners are again making clear today that we will not overlook the regimes brutal oppression. We will continue to take a range of action to hold the regime to account for its actions.

Those sanctioned include:

Mohammad Nazar Azimi: IRGC Commander Najaf Ashraf West HQ, responsible for the violent repression of protests in Kermanshah Province, with IRGC forces using machine guns against unarmed protestors resulting in multiple deaths

Habib Shahsavari: IRGC Commander provincial corps West Azerbaijan Province, responsible for repression of protestors in Mahabad and Piranshahr, with IRGC forces using heavy weapons that resulted in multiple deaths. IRGC forces are accused of the death of protestors following torture in detention facilities

Mohsen Karimi: IRGC commander Markazi Province, responsible for the violent repression of protests, including 19-year-old protestor Mehrshad Shahidi who was reportedly beaten to death in an IRGC detention centre, and the arrest of women for failing to wear the hijab (head covering) in public

Ahmad Kadem: IRGC Commander of the Operational Base Karbala, responsible for the repression of protests in the town of Izeh, Khuzestan Province, during which a 10-year-old child was shot and killed. IRGC forces under the command of Kadem in Kohgilyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province are blamed for the abduction of a child labour activist who subsequently died after torture

The UK has also played a leading role in international efforts to hold the Iranian regime to account for its repression, for example through working with partners to kick Iran off the UN Commission on the Status of Women and to establish a UN-led investigation into the response to the protests.

These sanctions will ensure that the individuals on the list cannot travel to the UK and any of their assets held in the UK will be frozen.

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UK and international partners announce new sanctions on Iranian ... - GOV.UK