ABSTRACT
The security implications for Latin America of its relations with the Middle East are best understood if they are analyzed from the perspective of the long history the Middle East has in Latin America. The presence of Iran in the region since 2005, when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president of Iran, is particularly relevant, since Iran and a number of Latin American countries share some interests: economic relations, anti-U.S. sentiment, and diversification of trade and foreign relations (Woodrow Wilson Center Reports on the Americas 2010). Except for an undercurrent of anti-Semitism prevalent in the region, particularly as it relates to Israel’s actions in Palestine, Latin America sees its relations with the Middle East as an economic opportunity rather than political cooperation.
