This week’s arrest in Brazil of two people suspected of “preparing terrorist attacks” once again raised the question: Is the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah active in South America?
When Brazilian authorities did not provide details of the investigation, Mossad said it helped foil “an attack planned by (…) a Hezbollah terrorist cell” in Brazil. Israeli intelligence also claimed that websites linked to the Jewish community in Brazil were targeted.
These statements provoked Brazilian Justice Minister Flavio Dino, who accused the Mossad of wanting to “predict the outcome of an ongoing investigation (…) for political propaganda purposes.”
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite movement, is allied with Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist group that has been embroiled in a bloody conflict with Israel for a month.
Here’s what we know – and what remains to be clarified – about the presence in South America of the group that the United States has viewed as a threat in the region for years.
Triple limit
Suspicion of Hezbollah’s presence in South America focuses primarily on the region on the tri-border between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, three countries in which many residents of Lebanese origin live.
The largest city in this region is Ciudad del Este, a Paraguayan metropolis with a sulphurous reputation. Located in a free zone where tourists buy tax-free household appliances, it is also a hub of illegal trade, from pirated DVDs to weapons.
According to the United States Counterterrorism Bureau, the region is used by Hezbollah as a base for fundraising.
The American ambassador to Paraguay confirmed in January that Hezbollah “regularly” holds events there in which the Lebanese Islamist movement greases the paws of Paraguayan politicians, including former President Horacio Cartes (2013-2018), in exchange for all kinds of favors . Mr. Cartes’ environment refutes these allegations.
Organised crime
According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Hezbollah is accused of raising money by helping local gangs launder money through currency exchange offices run by people of Lebanese origin.
In 2014, Brazilian daily O Globo, citing leaked police reports, claimed that Hezbollah helped one of Brazil’s largest organized crime groups, the PCC, buy weapons and sell stolen explosives.
Attack in Argentina
In 2006, Argentine prosecutors accused Hezbollah of carrying out the country’s deadliest bombing in 1994 against a Jewish investment fund (Amia), killing 85 people and wounding 300.
Those prosecutors have accused senior Iranian officials of ordering the attack, but the case remains unresolved. Tehran denies any involvement.
Indictments and arrest warrants
The United States government has accused several South American citizens of funding Hezbollah, including Lebanese-Paraguayan Assad Barakat, who was convicted of money laundering.
In June, Argentina asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice for the arrest of four Lebanese suspected of being linked to Hezbollah. Three of them had dual nationality: Brazilian or Paraguayan.
Argentina and Paraguay describe the Lebanese Shiite movement as a “terrorist organization.”
“Lack of evidence”
But the accusation that the triple limit was linked to Islamist movements often caused uproar among the authorities in the affected countries. Brazil and Paraguay have repeatedly called on Washington to provide evidence of possible “terrorist” activity.
“US allegations about the tri-border area have always been characterized by a lack of evidence over the past three decades,” Brazilian expert Isabelle Somma de Castro recently wrote.