The persistent efforts of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to dismantle Hezbollah are likely to drive the organization’s overseas operators to increase their criminal activities. This increase aims to generate necessary resources for recovery efforts and to strengthen Hezbollah’s overall capabilities. This report examines the connections between the Venezuelan regime and Hezbollah, particularly in light of possible changes in Hezbollah’s leadership.
The potential removal of Hassan Nasrallah as Hezbollah’s leader could create a leadership vacuum, leading to instability within the organization. Such instability may require operational adjustments in Latin America, as Hezbollah seeks to maintain cohesion and effectiveness in its activities. The Venezuelan regime is expected to maintain its political and operational support for Hezbollah, framing this relationship as part of its anti-imperialist strategy. This support includes facilitating Hezbollah’s movements within Venezuela, providing financial resources, and engaging in intelligence sharing to enhance operational effectiveness.
The Venezuelan government could channel funds to Hezbollah through state-owned enterprises while also facilitating drug trafficking and arms smuggling operations that benefit both organizations. This collaboration is crucial for sustaining Hezbollah’s operations and financial stability during recovery efforts. It is likely that the regime will offer training to Hezbollah operatives, improving their skills in areas such as guerrilla warfare, urban combat, and intelligence gathering. This support will enhance Hezbollah’s operational capabilities in the region and prepare them for potential confrontations.
Hezbollah representatives are permitted to conduct recruitment activities within Venezuela, targeting local communities to expand their influence and operational base. This recruitment strategy is vital for sustaining manpower and resources as they seek to recover and regroup. In response to international scrutiny, the Venezuelan government may adopt a denial strategy regarding Hezbollah’s activities. By presenting their presence as benign and focused on humanitarian efforts, the regime aims to mitigate potential negative reactions from the international community.
The Venezuelan regime could seek to consolidate alliances with other nations that support Hezbollah, improving collective efforts against U.S. influence in the region. This geopolitical maneuvering could lead to increased collaboration among like-minded governments. As Hezbollah faces heightened scrutiny due to the actions of the Israel Defense Forces, both the Venezuelan regime and Hezbollah may need to adapt their strategies. This adaptation will be crucial for effectively navigating potential challenges and threats of retaliation.
Hezbollah’s presence in Latin America has historical roots, especially in the Triple Frontier region between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, where it has been involved in recruitment, money laundering, and fundraising since the 1980s. The 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires highlighted the organization’s activities in the area. Connections between Iranian officials and local operatives further complicate the landscape, revealing a network of financial and logistical support for Hezbollah.
Venezuela has become a key stronghold for Hezbollah in Latin America, particularly since the alliance between Hugo Chávez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2000s. This partnership has allowed Hezbollah to expand its influence, with Venezuelan officials facilitating operations and providing substantial financial backing. Tareck El Aissami has played a significant role in managing Hezbollah’s activities in Venezuela, overseeing the establishment of systems that support the organization’s operations.
Collaboration with Iran includes significant financial contributions and logistical support, with estimates suggesting that Hezbollah receives approximately $1 billion annually. The presence of Iran-backed groups and the facilitation of arms transport have raised alarms regarding the potential for terrorist activities directed at regional and international interests.
Recent developments, such as the arrest of individuals linked to Hezbollah and their operations in countries like Mexico, Ecuador, and Colombia, underscore the ongoing threat posed by the organization. The links between Hezbollah and drug cartels have been well-documented, with accusations of collaboration in drug trafficking and money laundering highlighting the complex interconnections between organized crime and terrorism.
As Hezbollah continues to strengthen its presence through local alliances and operational adaptations, the potential for new attacks and destabilization in the region remains a pressing concern. The evolving geopolitical landscape, along with rising antisemitism and anti-Western sentiment, creates fertile ground for Hezbollah’s recruitment and activities.
The recent “Operation Trapiche,” which dismantled a Hezbollah cell in Brazil, raises a crucial question: How present is this terrorist organization in Latin America, and what is the real risk it poses? It is essential to track Hezbollah’s presence on the continent and understand the longevity of its infiltration. This analysis will reveal how they operate, who their allies are, and how deeply rooted their network is within local governments and economies.
Since the 1980s, the Triple Frontier between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay has been a historical enclave for recruitment, money laundering, and fundraising for Islamic terrorism. Following the AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires in July 1994, the region returned to the spotlight. Buenos Aires police commissioner Juan José Ribelli, investigated for his involvement in the local connection to the bombing, made a trip to the Triple Frontier shortly before the attack and received a transfer of $2.5 million that he justified as family inheritance. The investigation into this transfer and other contacts of Ribelliwith the Triple Frontier was obstructed by interference from the government of peronist Carlos Menem. Progress in proving these links was annulled by “procedural errors.” Menem even obstructed the deepening of other leads, such as the one investigating the relationship of his personal physician, Alejandro Tfeli, of Syrian origin, with the Syrian-Lebanese community involved. The investigation ultimately demonstrated that the attack was led by Moshen Rabbani, the cultural attaché of the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires, linking Hezbollah to other countries in the region.
Rabbani’s brother, Mohamed Baquer Rabbanni Rezavi, founded the Iranian Association of Brazil, which hosts at least one million Muslims. One of his associates, Khaled Taki Eldyn, leads the mosque in São Paulo, the city with the largest Jewish community in Brazil. Despite the annulment of the case related to the bombing, a parallel process against Iranian officials continued, resulting in a red alert from Interpol for their capture. Faced with the risk, Rabbani left his post in Buenos Aires and appeared in Caracas in 2010.
Venezuela has become the main bastion of Hezbollah in Latin America. Since the alliance between Hugo Chávez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2000s, the chavista regime has acted as a representative and platform for Hezbollah to expand its influence in the region. This agreement included the sale of uranium for the Iranian nuclear program and the triangulation of Argentine atomic technology, generating substantial profits for the governments of Néstor and Cristina Kirchner.
The link with Hezbollah in Venezuela has been managed by Tareck El Aissami, former governor of Aragua and former vice president under Nicolás Maduro, along with members of Al Quds, the external branch of the Iranian theocratic regime. In 2007, Ghazi Nasserddine, a Lebanese nationalized Venezuelan, was appointed as second in the Venezuelan Embassy in Syria, from where 10,000 passports were issued between 2008 and 2009. Under Nasserddine’s direction and at El Aissami’s behest, a property buying system was established in Isla Margarita, creating a sanctuary and meeting place for Hezbollah terrorists and other groups like Hamas. Ghazi’s brother, AbdallahNasserddine, president of the Federation of Arab Entities in Latin America, facilitated the expansion of Iranian influence in the region.
Al Quds manages Hezbollah with estimated annual contributions of $1 billion and an arsenal that includes 70,000 rockets and long-range missiles, which pose a threat to Israel. Al Quds also controls Mahan Air, the airline that transports arms to Hezbollah via Syria. A Mahan Air plane was sold to the Venezuelan state-owned EMTRASUR to establish a cargo line in Latin America, operating under the state-owned Conviasa.
In June 2022, a Boeing 747 from EMTRASUR arrived in Argentina, piloted by two Iranians linked to Al Quds. Despite alerts from four intelligence agencies, officials close to Cristina Kirchner ignored the situation. Only after a public scandal did the Argentine government intervene, although attempts were made to justify the presence of 19 crew members and facilitate the departure of the Iranians from the country.
For its collaboration with Iran and its terrorist groups, Vice President Kirchner is facing trial for “treason to the homeland” related to an attempt to protect those responsible for the AMIA bombing from an international arrest request. The Kirchner government has demonstrated its alliance with Iran by failing to send an arrest request to Nicaragua in January 2022 during the visit of Moshe Rezai, one of the suspects in the bombing. Nicaragua, along with Venezuela, votes in favor of Iran at the UN, as does the Cuban dictatorship.
In 2017, U.S. justice declassified a message from Mossad directed to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, warning of Hezbollah’s intention to open a headquarters in Cuba to organize attacks against Jews in America and Europe. Negotiations with Cuban intelligence were conducted by Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, seeking to avenge the death of Imad Mugniyeh, a group leader involved in the attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992.
The shadow of another AMIA attacker was evident when SamelAkil Rada attempted to traffick 500 kg of cocaine from Costa Rica to Panama, with the shipment being detained in El Salvador. This individual is the brother of Amer Mohamed Reda, from the Islamic Jihad.
In Mexico, Hezbollah has collaborated with the Sinaloa cartel in money laundering activities since 2011. Its presence dates back to 2002 when Salim Boughader Mucharrafille, a Lebanese citizen, was arrested for operating a network that introduced at least 200 people into the U.S., including suspects of being part of the terrorist group. In 2005, Mahmoud Youssef Kourani was detained after illegally entering the U.S. from Mexico and raising funds for Hezbollah in the Muslim community of Michigan. His brother was the head of Hezbollah operations in southern Lebanon.
Since then, multiple indications of the link between Hezbollah and drug cartels have emerged. U.S. authorities have reported similarities in the technology used by both groups to manufacture explosives and build tunnels in critical areas. The relationship between Hezbollah and cartels like Los Zetas is evident. Money laundering, perfected by terrorism, allows drug traffickers to finance their global network. The assassination of Paraguayan prosecutor Marcelo Pecci in Colombia in May 2022 underscores the extent of the problem, leading the U.S. to request the extradition of individuals associated with Hezbollah.
In 2021, Adalberto Fructuoso Comparán Rodríguez, former mayor of Aguillila, Michoacán, was arrested in Guatemala and extradited to the U.S. for trafficking 550 kilos of methamphetamines. During his detention, he confessed that the drugs came from laboratories controlled by Hezbollah. This shipment, which contained Captagon, a methamphetamine produced in the Syrian Bekaa Valley, has become another source of income for Hezbollah. Comparán Rodríguez established contact with terrorists in Cali, Colombia.
Adalberto Fructuoso Comparán Rodríguez
The arrest of Colombian-Lebanese Ayman Joumaa evidenced Hezbollah’s collaboration with production areas in Colombia. Investigations revealed that Joumaa maintained contact with Hezbollah members and used his money laundering network, with hundreds of millions of dollars being laundered and his participation in drug trafficking from Colombia and Venezuela to Mexico and the U.S.
The relationship between Chavismo and its Cartel del Sol with the Colombian FARC has led to allegations that Hezbollah assists in obtaining weapons and laundering assets in exchange for protection on trafficking routes. In Operation Cassandra, launched by the U.S. in 2008, drug trafficking networks were infiltrated, identifying 22 figures linked to Islamic terrorism and Iran. Among others, “La Oficina,” a cartel dedicated to money laundering for the Cali Cartel, was dismantled, which was related to Hezbollah through Lebanese individuals like Mohamed Ahmad Ammar and Ghassan Diab. This operation demonstrated the existence of an extensive network of high-level complicities, identifying Hezbollah groups in seven countries and a circuit that raised $1 billion annually to finance terrorism.
Udy Levy, a former Mossad agent in Ecuador, delved into the links between high-ranking officials, drug trafficking, and Hezbollah. In 2022, he had to leave Ecuador due to the risks of exposing local figures in the plot.
In Paraguay, Hezbollah’s presence in the Triple Frontier has raised suspicions of broader complicities. This led the U.S. DEA and OFAC to sanction former President Horacio Cartes for his ties to the terrorist group’s financial network. Sanctions also reached his former vice president, Hugo Velázquez, who is under investigation for his relationship with Hezbollah cleric Ali Hijzi.
In 2017, Assad Barakat, Hezbollah’s financial chief in the Triple Frontier, was arrested, proving key to unraveling the businesses connecting companies in Argentina, Chile, Lebanon, and the U.S.
So far, Hezbollah’s presence has been evidenced in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba, Chile, and Paraguay. Although a significant portion of the continent’s population and area has been covered, more states are still missing. Moshen Rabbani, before fleeing to Venezuela, established his regional network. His disciple Edgardo Assad, an Argentine-Lebanese, heads the Iranian-Latin American Cultural Exchange Center in Chile, which organizes tours for social and political figures to Iran, promoting the principles of the Islamic Revolution. This center is broadcasted by HispanTV, a station funded by Iran, and has dedicated programs to Assad’s ideology.
Another disciple of Rabbani, Aubrey Michael Seaforth, known as “Abdul Kadir,” was arrested in 2007 for planning a Hezbollah attack on JFK airport in New York. In 2017, Dino Bouterse, son of the former president of Suriname, was convicted of conspiring with Hezbollah and Iran to attack U.S. interests.
The link of Assad in Chile has been associated with EdwarQuiroga Vargas, a Peruvian politician linked to Iran, who founded the group “Inkarri Islam.” Quiroga Vargas seeks to extend his influence in the coca-growing area of Peru and Bolivia, supporting Movadef, an organization associated with Shining Path.
Hezbollah’s presence in Peru is not new. Muhamad GhalebHamdar, a Lebanese who entered the country with a false passport in 2014, was arrested on terrorism charges, confessing to being part of Hezbollah. Weapons and photographs of possible targets of the terrorist group were found at his home, but the case was annulled due to procedural errors.
Here we share a current case of drug trafficking by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding how the Maduro regime supported these activities. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-member-venezuelan-national-assembly-charged-narco-terrorism-drug-trafficking-and
Iran’s intention to expand its influence in the Andean region was strengthened with the government of President Arce in Bolivia. After signing a mutual defense agreement with Tehran, Bolivia broke diplomatic relations with Israel. A cable from the Argentine embassy in Iran indicated the massive delivery of passports to Iranian citizens by the Bolivian ambassador, Romina Pérez.
The agreement signed between the Bolivian Defense Minister and his Iranian counterpart includes technology transfer for cybersecurity and the supply of drones and military boats from Iran. This pact is related to a similar agreement signed by Venezuela, consolidating a collaboration axis between these three countries.
Iran’s diplomacy and propaganda have exploited anti-Semitic sentiments in parts of the Latin American population, facilitating its recruitment and collaboration. This reality raises concerning conclusions: Hezbollah, backed by Iran, has consolidated its presence in the region for over four decades and has woven a network of economic and political complicities with local actors.
The resurgence of anti-Semitism in the world reinforces recruitment and collaboration with Hezbollah. This phenomenon also provides them with political allies. In societies where anti-Jewish discourse prevails, collaboration with Hezbollah can be favored or penalized depending on the political context.
The involvement of local groups was crucial in the AMIA bombing and the attack on the Israeli Embassy in 1992. The threat posed by Hezbollah can manifest in various forms; it is not limited to individuals wearing turbans or typical Palestinian clothing. America, from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska, is a potential field where Iran can continue its offensive against Israel, especially when it is limited in the Middle East.
The detention of Hezbollah cells in Brazil is an alarming symptom of its growing presence in the region. The Jewish community in Latin America, with 350,000 members, and the 6 million in the U.S. are potential targets for terrorist attacks. Iran has already carried out attacks in Argentina, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries. History shows that it is willing to use its pawns to attack where opportunities arise.
The warning is clear: Hezbollah is already among us, strengthening itself with those who share its hatred. The evidence is overwhelming, and the reality is that, when they explode, bombs do not discriminate. They affect everyone, including those who believe they are not part of any side.
Conclusion
The situation of Hezbollah in Latin America is alarming and complex. The terrorist organization, backed by the Venezuelan regime and supported by Iran, has consolidated its presence in the region through a network of alliances and criminal activities. The combination of recruitment, money laundering, and drug trafficking, along with political and economic influence, strengthens not only Hezbollah but also local criminal groups. International vigilance is essential to counter this growing threat, which not only affects the Jewish community in the region but also poses a risk to the overall stability of Latin America and global security.
By: William L. Acosta, Jesús Romero
Credits
Information Credits:
Semana – Colombian magazine that has covered issues related to organized crime and Hezbollah in Latin America
The Center for a Secure Free Society – Organization that has researched and published reports on Hezbollah’s influence and illicit networks in Latin America
U.S. Department of the Treasury (OFAC) – Sources of sanctions and terrorist designations related to Hezbollah and its ties in the region
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Information on individuals of interest linked to Hezbollah
Bloomberg – Reports on the economic situation in Venezuela and the exchange of resources with Iran
Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Official documents and statements on Venezuelan foreign policy regarding Iran and Hezbollah
Infobae – Articles on politics and organized crime in Venezuela, including interviews with sources close to Tareck El Aissami
Other reports and academic studies – Various investigations examining the intersection of organized crime and terrorism in Latin America
Hezbollah has already arrived in Latin America
By Ignacio Montes de Oca
Reports from various intelligence sources and media.
