The Minister of Security of Argentina, Patricia Bullrich, outlined in Chile on Thursday how the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah operates in the Triple Border region between Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina, where it engages in money laundering. These activities have been extensively documented by investigations conducted by Brazilian police officers.
According to Bullrich, Hezbollah uses organizations like the PCC from Brazil, as well as Argentine and Paraguayan groups involved in kidnappings, robberies, and drug trafficking to launder money. The group uses “facade organizations” and its operators pose as merchants or businessmen in the region.
Bullrich emphasized that Argentina has a special sensitivity to this issue, as their highest criminal court recently ruled that Iran acted as a terrorist state in Argentina with the help of Hezbollah. She also mentioned that other organizations may be using similar tactics, appearing with a level of sophistication and planning typical of contexts linked to the Armed Forces.
The judicial decision referenced by Bullrich attributed responsibility to Iran for the two major terrorist attacks in Argentina: the 1994 attack at the headquarters of the Associação Mutual Israelita Argentina (Amia) and the attack on the Israeli Embassy in 1992. The attacks were carried out by Hezbollah under the direction and financing of Iranian organizations.
The Argentine government has called for the international arrest of those responsible for the Amia attack and requested the arrest of the Iranian Interior Minister in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Last week, Chilean President Gabriel Boric expressed concern over Bullrich’s statements about Hezbollah’s presence in Iquique, to which Bullrich later apologized.
At a forum in Santiago de Chile, Bullrich discussed Hezbollah’s operations in the Triple Border region, highlighting the group’s sophisticated money laundering activities and connections to state-sponsored terrorism. The minister’s remarks shed light on the complex challenges posed by terrorist organizations in the region and emphasized the need for international cooperation to combat these threats effectively.