Southern Exposure: Iran, Terror Groups Setting Up Shop in South America

U.S. News and World Report ^ | 3/7/2012 | U.S. News and World Report

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Iran and Middle East-based extremist groups are stepping up their activities in South America, aiming to make friends and score cash, a senior U.S. military official says.

Tehran intends to build military drones in Washington's backyard for the Venezuelan military led by Hugo Chavez, U.S. Southern Command chief Gen. Douglas Fraser told reporters Wednesday during a breakfast meeting in Washington "I would put it in the Scan Eagle class of UAV," Fraser said. "It's not up into the Predator class."

The Southern Command chief was referring to two U.S.-made drone aircraft used by the American military. The Scan Eagle is about 10 feet long and is used for surveillance while the MQ-1B Predator drone can be armed with air-to-ground Hellfire missiles and is about 27 feet long.

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