The head of U.S. Southern Command was cited as saying that Iran had “sent arms and dispatched paramilitary operatives to help Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro maintain his hold on power”. Admiral Craig Faller described the “growing Iranian influence” in Venezuela as “alarming and concerning”, adding: “It’s not just oil shipments, it’s arms shipments as well… We saw an uptick in that this year. We are watching the rate of change very carefully”.