The Bush administration ordered U.S. banks on Thursday to freeze any assets found in the United States belonging to a foreign man and his two companies that the government believes helped finance the Islamic militant group Hezbollah. The Treasury Department alleged that Assad Ahmad Barakat, currently in a Paraguay prison for tax evasion, has served as a treasurer of Hezbollah, which the United States has branded a terrorist organization. The government said Barakat, whose place of birth was listed as Lebanon, “has worked closely with numerous Islamic extremists and suspected Hezbollah associates in South America’s tri-border area made up of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.” Full Story