Report: West fears Hezbollah setting up cells in Venezuela

The budding strategic partnership between Venezuela and Iran has prompted fears from Western governments that Hezbollah is establishing a growing number of operational cells in the South American country, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site on Thursday.

The Lebanon-based Shi'ite organization is believed to be one of a number of anti-Western terrorist and non-state actors that have moved "people and things" into South America, an anti-terrorism expert told the Times.

Officials in the Bush administration and Jerusalem have expressed concern that Hezbollah is taking advantage of the close relationship between its Iranian patrons and Venezuela's anti-American president, Hugo Chavez, the LA Times said.

Iran is long believed to have undertaken covert activity in South America in concert with Hezbollah. The LA Times reported that the U.S. State Department believes Iranian operatives were behind two terrorist attacks in Buenos Aires - the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center building. Both attacks killed dozens of civilians and wounded scores more.

New intelligence on Hezbollah's intentions to abduct Israelis abroad prompted the government's counterterrorism unit last week to issue a warning to travelers, who were advised to take special precautions.

In its warning last Wednesday, the Prime Minister's Office Counterterrorism Bureau explained that intelligence reports suggested Hezbollah is planning abductions as its revenge for the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, the militia's operations chief, who was killed in a Damascus car bombing in February.

Israel has denied any involvement in the bombing. But the Sunday Times in London quoted "informed Israeli sources" that the Mossad spy agency carried out the car bombing that killed Mughniyeh.

Hezbollah has vowed to avenge Mughniyeh's death by attacking Israel or Israelis abroad. The travel advisory was a general warning, applicable to the entire world, not any specific travel destinations. According to people within the intelligence community, Israel does possess specific information regarding the location where Hezbollah plans to attack. But the Counterterrorism Bureau's warning says it applies to all countries.