Iran, Hezbollah Accused Of Establishing Terrorist Operations in Latin America

In a recent 500-page report, an Argentine prosecutor asserts that over the last several decades Iran and Hezbollah have been involved in terrorist activities in Latin America.

The accusation comes on the heels of an ongoing investigation by Alberto Nisman, special prosecutor in Argentina, focusing on the bombing of the 1994 AMIA (Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association) building, in a Jewish neighborhood of Buenos Ares.

The attack claimed the lives of 85 people, the worst bombing incident in Argentine history. Several prosecutions have been made in the nearly 20 years since the attack, however none have been successful.

Prosecutor Nisman’s report claims that Iran has been actively involved in intelligence activities and covert operations in Latin America since the 1980s. The report explains that these actions have, at times, been carried out and overseen directly by Iranian officials. At other times, Iran has used the militant Islamic group, Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, a radical Shi’ite Muslim group founded in opposition to Israel and Zionism in the Middle East has since become well-known as Iran’s foreign terrorist arm, currently making headlines for their support of Syrian President Assad’s regime and their presence in Lebanon.

Nisman’s report suggests that Iran and Hezbollah operations may have been carried out in countries including but not limited to Brazil, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Suriname, Paraguay and Chile. A good deal of these operations, says the report, have been moves aimed at accumulating financial resources, primarily in the form of drug trafficking.

Iran denies any involvement in the 1994 AMIA bombing and an other accusations linking Iran and Hezbollah to the 1992 bombing of an Israeli embassy in Buenos Ares. Iran has gone so far as to publicly denounce Nisman’s allegations, reportedly calling him a “Zionist.”

While it may not yet be certain what the extent of Iran and Hezbollah’s terrorist operations in Latin America are – or whether their intentions are more than financial – their growing presence in Latin America has begun to draw the attention of regional governments and law enforcement organizations.

[Image via Sadik Gulec / Shutterstock.com]