Sec. 2. Findings
694 words·~3 min read·
/bill/115/hr/3118/ih/section-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: On June 26, 2017, Ali Issa Chamas, a dual Paraguayan-Lebanese national reportedly with ties to Hizballah, was indicted by a Miami Federal grand jury for drug trafficking after being arrested in the Tri-Border Area of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil for allegedly trying to smuggle cocaine to the United States. On June 8, 2017, the Department of Justice announced the arrest of Ali Kourani and Samer El Debek for attempting to provide support to Hizballah, including in Panama, which involved locating the United States and Israeli Embassies and casing security procedures at the Panama Canal.
In April 2017, Commander, United States Southern Command, Admiral Kurt Tidd testified to Congress that as a continuing state sponsor of terrorism, Iranian involvement in the Western Hemisphere is always a matter of concern [and] with the easing of economic sanctions, Iran may be seeking to rebuild its relationships in the region . In February 2017, the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami, designating him as a drug kingpin for facilitating narcotics to the United States.
A subsequent CNN investigation linked El Aissami to 173 Venezuelan passports and IDs that were issued to individuals from the Middle East, including people connected to the terrorist group Hezbollah . In September 2016, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani conducted his first visit to Latin America, visiting Venezuela and Cuba. In the same month, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also visited Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. In February 2016, a Federal prosecutor in Argentina alleged that Special Prosecutor Alberto Nisman’s death in January 2015 was a homicide.
Nisman had previously published two reports documenting Iranian activities in several countries in the region and filed a judicial complaint against former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner for minimizing Iranian involvement in the 1994 terrorist attack against the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association
(AMIA)that killed 85 people. In February 2016, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA)announced the disruption of a Hizballah network as part of DEA’s Project Cassandra , which affirmed that members of Hizballah’s External Security Organization Business Affairs Component
(BAC)had established business relationships with South American drug cartels, such as La Oficina de Envigado. According to the Department of State’s 2015 Country Report on Terrorism, Hezbollah maintains a presence in the Western Hemisphere with members, facilitators, and supporters engaging in activity in support of the organization , which includes efforts to build Hezbollah’s infrastructure in South America and fundraising, both through licit and illicit means . In 2015, former Commander, United States Southern Command, General Kelly testified to Congress that our limited intelligence capabilities make it difficult to fully assess the amount of terrorist financing generated in Latin America, or understand the scope of possible criminal-terrorist collaboration . In November 2014, Brazilian media published police reports that revealed that Hizballah helped a Brazilian prison gang, the First Capital Command (PCC), obtain weapons in exchange for the protection of prisoners of Lebanese origin tied to Hizballah. Those same reports also found that Lebanese traffickers tied to Hizballah helped sell C4 explosives that the PCC allegedly stole in Paraguay. In November 2014, Peruvian counterterrorism police arrested Mohammed Amadar, a Lebanese citizen, who was reportedly a Hizballah operative, after finding traces of explosive materials and detonators at his home. His targets reportedly included places associated with Israelis and Jews in Peru, the Israeli embassy in Lima, and Jewish community institutions. Hizballah is classified by the Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, but multiple reports have found that Hizballah has significant and expanding ties to transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, and money-laundering activities in the Western Hemisphere, including partnerships with Mexico’s Los Zetas, Colombia’s Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and Brazil’s Primeriro Comando de la Capital. As of June 2017, the United States has sanctioned 11 individuals and four companies in the Tri-Border Area of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil for their involvement with Hizballah’s terror finance networks. However, multiple reports show that despite United States measures, some of these individuals who are Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order 13224 of September 2001 continue to have access to the global financial system.
Connectionstraces to 1
Traces to 1 document
register