2023-11-13 15:01:43
A series of arrests this week in Brazil of two people who are accused of planning “terrorist attacks” in the Rio country, orchestrated according to Israel by Hezbollah, has raised questions regarding the Lebanese group’s alleged activities in South America and the possible influence it might have. in Latin American nations.
Backed by Iran, Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shiite movement with close ties to Hamas, locked in a bloody conflict with Israel in the Gaza Strip, following the October 7 massacre by the Palestinian Islamist group of 1,200 people on Israeli soil, in its majority civilians, according to the latest Israeli balance sheet.
This is what is known—and what is not—regarding Hezbollah’s presence in South America, considered by the United States a major security risk.
Pro-Iran Hezbollah militants parade during a mass rally in the southern suburb of Beirut to mark Ashura, a day when Shia Muslims around the world commemorate the martyrdom of the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Husayn ibn Ali. | Photo: (c) 2023, dpa (www.dpa.de). All Rechte vorbehalten
“Lawless land” in triple border
Investigations into Hezbollah’s alleged operations in the region have focused on the border area between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, countries with a significant population of Lebanese origin. The economic hub is Ciudad del Este, in Paraguay, a busy center of merchants and traffickers who sell all kinds of products, from pirated DVDs and household appliances to weapons.
The United States ambassador to Paraguay, Marc Ostfield, said in January that Hezbollah “has regularly held private events in that South American country where politicians made agreements” with the movement in exchange for “favors.” The diplomat included former president Horacio Cartes (2013-2018), who denies the accusations.
Brazil’s Federal Police announced on November 8, 2023 that it had arrested two people suspected of preparing “terrorist attacks”, which, according to the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, were aimed at the Jewish community and were being encouraged by the Lebanese Hezbollah. . | Photo: AFP or licensors
Organized crime
Hezbollah is accused of financing itself in the region by supporting organized crime with money laundering. In 2014, Brazilian newspaper O Globo cited leaked federal police documents indicating that Lebanese traffickers linked to Hezbollah helped the Primeiro Comando Capital (PCC), one of Brazil’s largest drug trafficking gangs, buy weapons and sell stolen explosives.
Attack in Buenos Aires
In 2006, the Argentine justice system accused Hezbollah of having carried out the worst attack in the country’s history: the 1994 attack once morest the Association of Israeli Mutual Associations of Argentina (AMIA), in Buenos Aires, which caused 85 deaths and 300 injuries.
Lebanese Hezbollah fighters take part in cross-border raids, part of a large-scale military exercise, in Aaramta, on the border with Israel, on May 21, 2023. | Photo: Fadel Itani/NurPhoto
Lists and arrest warrants
The United States Department of the Treasury has included several South Americans on its blacklist of people and entities that finance Hezbollah, including the Lebanese nationalized Paraguayan Assad Barakat, who was imprisoned in Brazil and Paraguay for crimes related to advocacy of crime and evasion of taxes.
In June, Argentine justice requested the international capture of four Lebanese allegedly linked to Hezbollah, three with dual Paraguayan and/or Brazilian nationality. Argentina and Paraguay consider Hezbollah a “terrorist organization,” like the United States and Israel.
“Lack of evidence”
Brazil and Paraguay have challenged the United States to provide evidence of “terrorist” activities linked to Islamists in the border area.
“In the last three decades of accusations (from the United States) in the border area, evidence has been lacking,” Brazilian International Relations expert Isabelle Somma de Castro said in a recent article.
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