Bulletin From The Borderlands Special Report
Bulletin From The Borderlands Special Report
Drug Trafficking In The Name Of God: Hezbollah’s Activities In South America - South American News
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Drug Trafficking In The Name Of God: Hezbollah’s Activities In South America
South American News
Along the south coast of Brazil, there is a Turkish man disguised among the bustling streets of Praia Grande. Crowded in a dimly lit room, with his Brazilian counterparts he discusses the plan. Their mission was clear - move their drug shipment from Brazil to the border of Paraguay. Unknown to them, a diligent international law enforcement intelligence network has been monitoring their activities, and as they prepared to set out on their illicit operation, sirens blared and flashing lights illuminated the area. Surrounded by armed police and with their escape cut off, the drug traffickers realized their operation was compromised. The arrest of this one Turkish man marked the end of one of many Hezbollah-linked drug trafficking rings in South America.
What I just described may sound like an action-packed movie however, it is far from fiction. Garip Uç, a Turkish citizen and brother of fugitive Eray Uç, was arrested in June, 2023 in Praia Grande, Brazil. He is a member of a Hezbollah network involved in drug trafficking in South America.Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim political party and militant group based in Lebanon that wields significant power in the country. It’s mission is to oppose Israel and Western powers in the Middle East. Hezbollah functions as a proxy for Iran, its main supporter. You might be wondering why and how there are Hezbollah agents trafficking drugs on the other side of the world in South America. Well, distance is not an obstacle for one of the largest and most sophisticated terrorist organizations in the world. South America has become a second home base of operations for Hezbollah and by extension Iran’s vast intelligence network.
History Of Operations In South America:
Hezbollah's presence in South America can be traced back to the 1980s during the Lebanese Civil War when a significant number of Lebanese refugees arrived on the continent. Taking advantage of this migration, Hezbollah and Iran began planting agents and recruiting sympathizers among Arab and Muslim communities in South America. Their presence was the strongest in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Venezuela. These terrorist networks used South America for recruitment, fundraising, logistics, and planning. Soon Argentina became a battleground between Hezbollah and the large Jewish diaspora community. Multiple high-level terrorist attacks were committed in the 1990s. One such example was on July 18, 1994, when a bombing targeted the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. The attack killed 85 people and injured more than 150. The investigation into the AMIA bombing uncovered evidence of Iranian and Hezbollah involvement, including the role of Mohsen Rabbani, an Iranian operative who had settled in Argentina. Rabbani played a key role in planning and carrying out the attack. Hezbollah soon made many connections to criminal organizations in South America. They leveraged their networks for activities such as money laundering, arms smuggling, and document forgery. This collaboration has allowed the group to exploit existing criminal infrastructures and evade law enforcement.
Operations Today And Iranian Influence:
Hezbollah’s influence in the region has only grown and they have expanded their operations to many different sectors of the criminal underworld. Their operations now include document forging, money laundering, smuggling, piracy; and the trafficking of weapons, drugs, and people. Their increased influence in the region can be attributed to many countries seeking to build better relations with Iran. The political landscape in South America has witnessed a shift toward the left in recent years, often referred to as the "new Pink Tide." Populist leaders have exacerbated a sense of disillusionment among South Americans toward the United States and “the corrupt neo-liberal establishment”. Economic struggles and dissatisfaction with the policies of pro-American governments have contributed to this sentiment.
Iran sees an opportunity in this changing political environment to expand its influence beyond its traditional allies. Countries that have recently elected leftist governments, such as Brazil, Chile, and Colombia, are potential targets for Iran to increase its presence and influence. This sentiment is not without any basis. In February 2023, two Iranian warships, the IRIS Makran, and IRIS Dena, docked in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, despite initial pressure from the United States to prevent their entry. This gesture was symbolic of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's increased attempts at diplomacy with Iran. Iran's influence in the region heavily relies on the strategic cooperation of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua, which are currently subject to broad international sanctions. Iran uses Venezuela as a gateway to the rest of South America. Their agents establish cross-border ties with many of the narco-organized crime groups that operate in Colombia. Iranian human intelligence networks are particularly strong in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. These networks assist Hezbollah in moving drugs, arms, and people between these three countries.
La Triple Frontera:
The Triple Frontier has become a stronghold for Hezbollah. The tri-border region is along the junction of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, where the Iguazú and Paraná rivers converge. This area is characterized by dense tropical rainforests, rivers, and underdeveloped infrastructure. The porous nature of this border has long enabled criminal organizations to operate across the border, facilitating drug, human, and arms trafficking. The US State Department, in a report from 2001, identified the Triple Frontier as a financial sanctuary for Hezbollah and Hamas, linking the presence of Muslim communities in the region to terrorism. The report claimed that these groups facilitated money laundering through ties with their countries of origin. These groups would print counterfeit money in their home countries in the Middle East. They would then smuggle that money into South America (with the assistance of criminal organizations), where they would cash it for checks. Then they would send those checks back to the Middle East. The Brazilian government and the US State Department described the Triple Frontier as a "non-governed" area or a "zone of non-sovereignty," emphasizing the need for action to address not only the terrorist threat but also the activities of organized crime groups.
Colombia:
As previously mentioned Colombia is also a hotspot for Hezbollah activity. In the fall of 2021, local reporting in Colombia suggested that Hezbollah was planning to assassinate an Israeli national as part of a broader operation that also targeted Americans. The motive behind this operation was reportedly to avenge the killing of Iran's Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in January 2020. Iran and Hezbollah took advantage of the Venezuelan refugee crisis to move their operatives into Colombia. They move cocaine from Colombia to Venezuela, and then to Syria, where it is ultimately smuggled into Europe. Hezbollah has benefited greatly from this international drug trafficking network. It is estimated that the group raises anywhere from 300-500 million dollars per year from South America alone.
Who Do They Work With:
Hezbollah has built strong connections across the continent with many different criminal organizations. In Colombia, they work with the mafia group Oficina de Envigado and many other groups who have a strong presence in the border region with Venezuela. The Nassereddine Clan, a group with dual Lebanese and Venezuelan citizenship, has become closely associated with the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela and is involved in criminal activities supporting Hezbollah, including money laundering and arms trafficking. There have even been allegations that officials in Venezuela assisted the group with money laundering and drug trafficking, however, evidence is limited. In the Triple Frontier Hezbollah has strong ties to one of Brazil’s largest and most notorious criminal organizations. The Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) dominates this region and is responsible for the movement of drugs into Paraguay. Paraguay serves as a central hub for drug trafficking. Some of these drugs are moved by either the PCC or local Paraguayan criminal groups down the Paraná River to Rosario in Argentina or ultimately to Europe. In 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department designated an Albanian-Lebanese drug trafficking organization, the Qa'qaa Network, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The network was accused of smuggling cocaine from South America to Europe, and of using its profits to fund Hezbollah.
Combating Hezbollah’s Presence in South America:
General John Kelly, the former commander of the U.S. Southern Command testified before Congress in 2015 about Hezbollah’s activities in South America. In his testimony, General Kelly acknowledged the challenges faced by intelligence agencies in fully understanding the scope and scale of terrorist financing in the region. He highlighted the complex nature of the networks involved, their transnational operations, and the difficulties in tracking their activities and financial flows. General Kelly emphasized the need for enhanced intelligence capabilities to gather and analyze information on these networks effectively.
Additionally, fragmented law enforcement efforts across South American countries contribute to the challenge. Varying capabilities and priorities in combating terrorism and transnational crime hinder cooperation and information sharing between countries and agencies. Political, legal, and bureaucratic obstacles can impede the effort to combat these criminal groups. Corruption within law enforcement agencies, judiciary systems, and other government institutions also heavily undermines efforts to combat terrorist financing and criminal networks. Weak governance and political instability in some South American countries create an enabling environment for criminal activities to thrive. The difficult terrain also makes it very difficult to stop cross-border trafficking. Most of South America is made up of mountains, dense tropical rainforests, and rivers. Many communities are isolated and lack proper infrastructure. Not only does this make it difficult for law enforcement to curtail trafficking it also leaves communities isolated and vulnerable to criminal organizations. These communities serve as bases of support for these criminal groups.
Addressing this issue requires addressing the complex systemic issues plaguing these countries where drug trafficking is so prevalent. This means addressing structural wealth inequality and strengthening government institutions. Many of the people who partake in drug trafficking are doing it because they are left without any alternatives. There must be a considerable effort by South American governments to build proper infrastructure and provide support to isolated rural communities. This will deprive these criminal organizations of their support bases and would seriously deteriorate their ability to conduct cross-border trafficking. The solution also rests in Europe and North America where the demand for drugs is so high. Decreasing demand would weaken the financial incentives to traffic drugs. The US and Europe must seek to strengthen ties and promote transcontinental cooperation in South America. Not only would this decrease criminal activity in the continent it would also promote governments that are friendly to the West and political stability. Hezbollah and other similar terrorist organizations can only thrive in an environment that enables them to do so. A strong and stable South America is not only beneficial to the countries on the continent but also to global security.
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Great read!