The Hezbollah networks in Latin America serve the Lebanese terrorist organization linked to Iran as agents to carry out a series of illicit activities in the region aimed at financing its attacks against Israeli, Jewish, and American interests.
This is established by Marzia Giambertoni, a political analyst at the Rand research organization, an expert in national security, terrorism, and the Middle East, who, in “Hezbollah Networks in Latin America: Possible Implications for U.S. Policy and Research,” analyzes the modus operandi and evolution of the terrorist group in Latin America.
The specialist is one of the few researchers aiming to establish and understand the activities of Hezbollah’s network in Latin America, particularly in Venezuela and the so-called Triple Frontier—Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina—as well as its connection with Iran and its strategy of influence in the area to comprehend U.S. security policies.
The Potential Threat of Hezbollah in Latin America
Despite the increasing presence of Hezbollah in Latin America, the United States has given very little importance to the matter in addressing transnational terrorism. This is concerning given that the activities of the terrorist group in the region represent potential threats to U.S. national security.
This situation—the minimal attention to the problem—has created a significant knowledge gap in existing studies, which adds value to Marzia Giambertoni’s research that addresses illicit financing mechanisms, violent operations, and key operational centers of Hezbollah in Latin America.
The specialist refers to Hezbollah’s irregular activities in the broader context of Iran’s diplomatic, economic, and cultural activities in the region. The exploration identifies key operational centers, documented illicit activities, and Iran’s influence as a key sponsor.
Hezbollah’s Evolution and Motivations in Latin America
The Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah was founded in 1982 and has maintained strong ties with Iran since its inception. It operates as a political party, social movement, and militant group, but terrorism and illicit activities are its main objectives in its pursuit to confront and destroy the United States, Israel, and Judaism.
Since the 1990s, Hezbollah has expanded its network and diversified its sources of income in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, with the primary focus in the latter being fundraising for its global activities in the Levant—the eastern Mediterranean basin. The research suggests that U.S. sanctions against Iran might have catalyzed this financial diversification.
While the Iranian regime sponsors between 70 and 80% of Hezbollah’s terrorist activities, the criminal activities developed by the networks in Latin America significantly complement the organization’s finances. These include drug trafficking, arms trafficking, human trafficking, illegal mining, identity theft, and money laundering.
Attacks on Israeli and U.S. Interests
The research establishes that Hezbollah’s activities in Latin America are also directed at attacking Israeli and U.S. interests in the region.
It is noted that the decline in verifiable analyses of such activities in the area is concerning, despite the potential risks these operations pose. This situation—and the consequent reduction in oversight—could result from a shift in U.S. priorities, diverting resources and attention toward challenges posed by China and Russia.
The study also warns that Hezbollah’s weakening in Syria, along with the decrease of conflict in the Middle East, could encourage the group’s allies and operatives in Latin America, given that oversight is lower in the region.
Moreover, it indicates that the potential leadership transition in Hezbollah following the deaths of Hassan Nasrallah and his alleged successor could generate volatility in its international operations, including its sleeper cells in the U.S. and Latin America.
Illicit Activities and Documentation of Hezbollah in Latin America
The study analyzes the main illicit activities that Hezbollah engages in Latin America aimed at its financing.
Let’s take a look:
Drug and Goods Smuggling
Cases of individuals linked to Hezbollah involved in drug trafficking have been documented. This includes the case of Chekri Harb in Colombia, who was arrested in 2008 for operating a smuggling network for black cocaine that paid the terrorist group a 12% tax. Also, the Camel Operation in 2006 complements its involvement in arms trafficking, illegal cigarettes, and digital piracy.
Exploitation of Natural Resources
There is a clear interest from Iran and affiliated networks in Venezuela’s gold reserves as a means to evade sanctions. Although Hezbollah’s direct involvement is difficult to verify, the relationship between Iran and Venezuela suggests opportunities for the group.
Identity Theft
Networks connected to Hezbollah have been found to participate in the production of counterfeit documents to facilitate the movement of the terrorist group’s operational agents.
Financial Crimes
Sophisticated money laundering operations have been documented, such as those involving Ayman Joumaa and Assad Ahmad Barakat’s networks in Argentina. However, the precise organizational direction is not entirely clear.
The efforts from the Department of Homeland Security, the DEA, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury seem insufficient in the face of the persistence of Hezbollah’s networks in Latin America, supported by Lebanese diaspora communities in the region.
Attacks and Espionage
Hezbollah maintains networks in Latin America with the dual purpose of raising funds and potentially carrying out attacks against Israeli facilities, Jewish community institutions, and U.S. interests in the region.
Recently, violent maneuvers have been thwarted, such as the dismantling of a suspicious cell in Brazil in November 2023, which planned attacks against Jewish targets.
The terrorist attacks by Hezbollah against the Israeli embassy (1992) and the AMIA community center (1994) in Buenos Aires, as well as the attack against a commercial airplane in Panama (1994), are part of the terrorist organization’s history of violent actions in the region.
Surveillance activities of potential targets have also been documented, such as an agent arrested in Peru in 2014 and the monitoring of Israeli and U.S. embassies in Panama by Samer El Debek.
Key Operational Centers of Hezbollah in Latin America
The role of state airlines like Conviasa is crucial in the transport of operatives and illegal goods
As operational centers for Hezbollah in Latin America, the area of the Triple Frontier (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay) is cited, as well as Venezuela. In the former, since the early 1980s, and in the latter, since 2013, following Nicolás Maduro’s election.
The Triple Frontier, with a significant Lebanese-Muslim population, poses challenges in border control, making it vulnerable to illicit activities.
Meanwhile, Venezuela, under the regimes of Hugo Chávez and Maduro, provides a permissive environment for Hezbollah through the collaboration of government officials in intelligence, weapons acquisition, identity documents, and the movement of operatives. Key figures such as Fawzi Kan’an and Ghazi Nasr al-Din have been identified.
The strategic alliance between Iran and Venezuela strengthens Hezbollah’s regional position by providing it with resources, diplomatic protection, and operational flexibility. The role of state airlines like Conviasa is essential in the transport of operatives and illegal goods. Similarly, Margarita Island emerges as a center for paramilitary training.
Iran’s Influence in Latin America
Iran has developed a comprehensive strategy to expand its influence in Latin America through cultural diplomacy, media operations, and educational initiatives. This includes the translation and distribution in Spanish of the autobiography of the supreme leader of the Iranian revolution, Ali Khamenei, as an example of its “soft power” strategy to spread its ideology.
Additionally, HispanTV, an Iranian news channel in Spanish, serves as Iran’s primary voice for Spanish-speaking audiences. The media outlet promotes its values and perspective on international events, often criticizing the U.S.
The research indicates that while Iran’s covert operations involve Hezbollah as a proxy, they are largely opaque. It is believed that Iranian diplomatic missions could serve as hubs for covert activities and ideological dissemination.
Concrete operations are known, such as the use of Conviasa for smuggling and participation in illegal gold mining in Venezuela as funding sources for both Iran and Hezbollah.
U.S. Neglect
There is clear neglect by the United States regarding Hezbollah’s activities in Latin America. The last public hearing from the U.S. Congress focused on the issue took place in 2015.
Furthermore, the study highlights the obsolescence of the most recent government reports. In fact, the latest comprehensive analysis from the Congressional Research Service dates back to 2016. The academic literature is also scarce and limited in focus.
The United States faces a critical knowledge gap regarding Hezbollah’s networks in Latin America at a potentially significant time due to changes in the regional dynamics following the Hamas attacks in October 2023 and the Israeli response.
It is suggested that Israel’s covert actions against Hezbollah’s leadership would push the group toward more aggressive tactics via its Latin American networks. The degradation of the terrorist organization in Lebanon might lead to increased use of its infrastructure in Latin America.
Hezbollah’s networks in Latin America could exploit border vulnerabilities, manipulate existing trafficking routes to the U.S., and utilize criminal networks for intelligence or operational support within the United States.
Recommendations for the United States
The report proposes a set of recommendations for U.S. authorities, particularly the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense:
- Establish an interagency task force on transnational threats in the Americas to oversee efforts, report declassified assessments, push for legislative initiatives, and coordinate strategies.
- Strengthen coordination and information sharing of unclassified information between the Office of Intelligence and Analysis of DHS and the Defense Intelligence Agency, through public-private partnerships, open-source intelligence development, awareness programs for local police, exchange protocols with regional partners, academic engagement, and collaboration with chambers of commerce.
- The Office of Intelligence and Analysis of DHS must comprehensively evaluate the matter in unclassified form to fill the existing public knowledge gap.