US offers $10 million reward for information on Hezbollah's activities in Latin America

The United States has announced a reward of up to $10 million for information about Hezbollah’s operations and connections in Latin America, specifically targeting the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

The offer, made through the US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice program, aims to disrupt the financial networks of the US-designated foreign terrorist organization, which has been linked to a range of illicit activities in the region, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The State Department’s announcement, issued in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic, seeks to gather intelligence on Hezbollah’s financial networks. According to the statement, the group is responsible for carrying out terrorist attacks in the Western Hemisphere, including the deadly bombing of the Argentine Jewish Mutual Aid Society on July 18, 1994.

“The group,” the statement reads, “is responsible for carrying out terrorist attacks in the Western Hemisphere, including the July 18, 1994 bombing of the Argentine Jewish Mutual Aid Society.”

Hezbollah has also been implicated in large-scale revenue-generating activities, including trade-based money laundering, narcotics trafficking, charcoal and oil smuggling, the illicit diamond trade, bulk cash smuggling, and the smuggling of cigarettes and luxury goods. Additionally, the group is involved in document forgery and counterfeiting US dollars.

Brazilian authorities have long recognized Hezbollah’s deep involvement with criminal organizations in the region. Brazil’s federal police have been investigating links between Hezbollah and the drug gang First Capital Command since at least 2000. Over time, criminal organizations in Brazil have expanded their operations beyond drug trafficking into other sectors, such as illegal gold mining in the Amazon and the burgeoning fintech industry in São Paulo. These moves reflect their ongoing efforts to diversify revenue streams and extend their influence.

Brazil's Foreign Affairs Ministry declined to comment on the US announcement. 

By Vafa Guliyeva