Highlights
– Wave of worldwide sanctioning by United States government includes Venezuelan citizens with alleged connections to Hezbollah
– Treasury sanctions target diplomat and businessman in Venezuela accused of transferring funds and making trips to meet with Hezbollah leaders
– Venezuelan officials refute claims of terrorist connections, damaging already strained relations with the United States in the mid-term
In recent weeks, the United States (US) has levied sanctions against a number of foreign individuals believed to be involved with terrorist groups such as Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Philippines’ Rajah Solaiman Movement , the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, and al Qaeda. In South America, the US Treasury department has continued these actions against Venezuelan citizens believed to have connections with the Syrian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group. The US has labeled Hezbollah a terrorist organization and claims no official contact with the organization. Further, the actions taken against foreign citizens such as those in Venezuela will halt all American dealings with those individuals as well.
United States’ Allegations
On June 18, 2008, the US Treasury Department added a Venezuelan official and a businessman to the Specially Designated Global Terrorists list for allegedly providing support to Hezbollah. The department targeted Ghazi Nasr al Din, Fawzi Kan’an, and two Venezuela-based travel agencies, Biblos and Hilal. The sanctions will freeze any assets held by the men or the businesses within the US, as well as forbid Americans from doing business with them.
The US stated that Ghazi Nasr al Din is a Venezuelan diplomat, but reports differ over whether he was stationed in Lebanon or Syria. Al Din is also the president of a Shi’a Islamic Center based in Caracas, a position that he may have exploited to provide financial assistance to Hezbollah. The center is known as the Imam al Hadi Venezuelan Islamic Center and local residents deny the organization has any connections to Hezbollah. The US alleges that al Din counseled Hezbollah donors on fundraising efforts and provided donors the specific bank account information were “donors deposits would go directly to Hezbollah”. Additionally, al Din was involved in arranging travel of Hezbollah members to Iran.
Lebanese-born businessman Kan’an is also seen as a “significant provider” of funding for the terrorist group, using the travel agency Biblos that he owns as a front business. He has traveled with other Hezbollah members to Iran, using his travel agency to transport funds to Lebanon. In Iran, the US Treasury claims that Kan’an received instructions for how to plan kidnappings and other terror attacks. Reporters contacted Kan’an after the announcement of the sanctions; and he staunchly denied the allegations as “pure lies”. Kan’an states that both of his travel agencies, Biblos and Hilal, have been closed for over a year, and that the accounts he holds in the US “have not been frozen”.
Venezuela Reacts
The day after sanctions were announced, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s administration adamantly denied any Hezbollah connections. While Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro did not specifically refer to al Din or Kan’an in his statements, the minister announced that “there are no terrorist here”, and that investigating officials should instead be looking at the assets of President Bush. He stated that “if [investigators] want to search for terrorists, look for them in the White House”. Maduro’s statements reflect the ongoing rhetoric directed at the US by the Venezuelan government.
Moving Forward
The US has stated that it is “extremely troubling to see the government of Venezuela employing and providing safe harbor to Hezbollah facilitators and fundraisers” and remains adamant in its goal of halting financial transactions between foreign citizens and terrorist groups. The recent sanctions of al Din and Kan’an represent one of the first instances that the government has directly and publicly linked Hezbollah funding to Venezuela. While far-right groups and politicians within the US have alluded to possible Hezbollah operations in Venezuela, the government had failed to provide concrete confirmation of these accusations.
Hezbollah operatives have been active in the lawless tri-border region of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay for some time, but efforts by security forces in recent years have largely moved the groups’ operations elsewhere. However, the US remains concerned that continuing sympathizers, including President Chavez’s own sympathies towards Iran, could allow for Venezuela to serve as a staging area for Hezbollah cells attempting to execute attacks within the US (Previous Report).
Though no concrete connections have been reported, tensions are likely to remain strained between the US and Venezuela in the near to mid-term while further investigations will continue to establish the degree in which the men were actively connected to Hezbollah.
