The Terror-Crime Nexus Hezbollah’s Global Facilitators

BY CELINA B. REALUYO1

ver the past decade, a convergence of illicit networks has empowered terrorists, crimi- nals, and proliferators around the world and amplified transnational threats against Onation-states. Hezbollah, the militant Shiite Muslim group in , designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the and the European Union, has capitalized on these illicit networks, leveraging facilitators in the Lebanese community to secure financ- ing and support from overseas. Hezbollah and its global activities perhaps best represent the terror-crime convergence phenomenon through its networks in the , Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Before the tragic attacks of September 11, 2001 perpetrated by al-Qaeda, Hezbollah was the terrorist group responsible for the most U.S. casualties from terrorist attacks. More recently, Hezbollah has been in the headlines for its active political and military support for the Bashar al-Assad regime in . This article will illustrate how Hezbollah uses its global facilitators to finance itself through criminal activities and will underscore the need for more cross-border collaboration among military, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies to combat the convergence of illicit networks and groups like Hezbollah. Since these illicit networks cannot operate without facilitators who enable their activities, it is imperative that governments pursue, detain, and prosecute facilitators as aggressively as they do the criminals and terrorists themselves. Introduction

In the age of globalization, we have witnessed a convergence of illicit networks with terrorist groups increasingly relying on crime to support themselves while criminal groups are using ter- rorist tactics to dominate their operating areas. Traditionally, organized crime was considered a domestic public security problem and was addressed by state and local law enforcement author- ities. Meanwhile, terrorist and insurgent groups were regarded as armed groups with political objectives, including regime change, that directly threatened the sovereignty of the nation-state. These illicit actors actively seek out governance gaps, socioeconomic vulnerabilities, and charac- ter weaknesses as openings to conduct their nefarious activities and expand their power and influence throughout the world. With globalization, terrorists and criminals groups have

Celine B. Realuyo is Professor of Practice at the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies at the National Defense University.

PRISM 5, no. 1 FEATURES | 11 7 REALUYO internationalized their support and opera- designated Hezbollah’s militant wing as a ter- tions, brokered formidable alliances, and pres- rorist organization and consider Hezbollah a ent complex transnational threats that put global terrorist threat and a menace to regional security and prosperity at risk around the stability. world. Hezbollah has close ties with Iran and is After the fall of the Berlin Wall, many ter- considered one of its surrogates. In its infancy rorist groups lost state sponsorship, namely in the 1980s, Hezbollah obtained critical from the Soviet Union, and were forced to turn financial support and training from Iran’s to crime to maintain themselves and their Revolutionary Guards. The suicide attacks on agendas. Organizations that represent this the U.S. Embassy and Marine barracks in dangerous terror-crime nexus include the Beirut in October 1983 that left 258 Americans Taliban and Haqqani Network in Afghanistan dead and withdrawal of U.S. Marines from the and Pakistan, the Revolutionary Armed Forces multinational peacekeeping force in Lebanon of (FARC), Shining Path in Peru, al- furthered Hezbollah’s image as leaders of the Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and Lebanese Shiite resistance. In its 1985 founding mani- Hezbollah. Hezbollah is considered perhaps festo, entitled “Nass al-Risala al-Maftuha allati the best organized and most business savvy wajahaha Hizballah ila-l-Mustad’afin fi terrorist organization that relies on global Lubnan wa-l-Alam,” Hezbollah pledged its facilitators engaged in drug, arms, counterfeit loyalty to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah trafficking and money laundering for funding Khomeini, urged the establishment of an and support. To address this convergence of Islamic regime, and called for the expulsion of terror-crime networks, governments need to the United States, , and from engage in more cross-border collaboration Lebanese territory, as well as for the destruc- among military, intelligence, and law enforce- tion of the state of Israel. In an abridged ment agencies to better understand and com- English translation provided by the Jerusalem bat illicit networks like Hezbollah. Quarterly, it stated:

The Rise of Lebanese Hezbollah “Our primary assumption in our fight against Israel states that the Zionist entity Before al-Qaeda, there was Hezbollah (“Party is aggressive from its inception, and built of God”), founded in 1982 in response to the on lands wrested from their owners, at the Israeli invasion of South Lebanon in the First expense of the rights of the Muslim people. Lebanon War. Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim Therefore our struggle will end only when political group in Lebanon that views itself this entity is obliterated. We recognize no principally as a resistance group opposed to treaty with it, no cease-fire, and no peace the state of Israel and Western involvement in agreements, whether separate or consoli- the Middle East. With significant support from dated.”2 Iran and Syria, the group maintains an exten- sive security apparatus, political organization, In October 1997, the U.S. State and social services network in Lebanon, where Department designated Hezbollah as a Foreign the group is often described as a “state within Terrorist Organization and believes the group the state.” The U.S. and European Union have operates terrorist cells in Europe, Africa, ,

11 8 | FEATURES PRISM 5, no. 1 THE TERROR CRIME NEXUS

and .3 The Obama ■■ 2012 Suicide bombing of Israeli tourist Administration described Hezbollah in 2010 bus in as “the most technically capable terrorist group in the world.” With Iranian sponsorship, Hezbollah’s recent terrorist activities have “Hezbollah’s terrorist activity has reached a not been limited to the Middle East. tempo unseen since the 1990s,” according to Hezbollah was blamed for the deadly July 18, a 2013 State Department fact sheet.4 Western 2012 suicide bombing attack on a bus trans- diplomats and political analysts in Beirut have estimated that Hezbollah received up to $200 The Obama Administration described million a year from Iran.5 With Iran under Hezbollah in 2010 as “the most technically increasing hardship from the strict economic capable terrorist group in the world.” sanctions imposed by the West for its nuclear ambitions, it is believed that Iranian financing and support of Hezbollah has decreased and porting Israeli tourists at the Burgas airport in has forced Hezbollah to rely more on fundrais- Bulgaria.7 The attack killed five Israelis and the ing from sympathizers among the Lebanese Bulgarian driver, and injured 32, and served as diaspora. the catalyst for the European Union’s intensely Several major terrorist operations across debated decision in July 2013 to designate the globe have been attributed to Hezbollah or Hezbollah as a terrorist group. Since 2012, its affiliates, though the group disputes alleged Hezbollah operatives have been involvement in many. detained in , Thailand, and Cyprus, where a court convicted a Swedish-Lebanese HEZBOLLAH TERRORIST OPERATIONS6 man for plotting multiple attacks on Israeli ■■ 1983 Suicide truck bombing of the U.S. targets.8 These incidents and foiled plots illus- Embassy in Beirut trate the global reach of Hezbollah. Given ■■ 1983 Bombing of the U.S. Marine bar- Hezbollah’s current, active political and mili- racks in Beirut tary support of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in ■■ 1984 Attack on the U.S. Embassy annex Syria, U.S. officials suspect that Hezbollah is in Beirut using the proceeds from illicit activities to sup- ■■ 1985 Hijacking of TWA Flight 847 from port its operations against the Syrian rebels.9 Athens to Rome Support From The Tri-Border Area Of South ■■ 1986 Khobar Towers attack in Saudi America Arabia ■■ 1992 Israeli Embassy bombing in There is a significant Lebanese diaspora com- Buenos Aires munity, comprised of Christians and Muslims, ■■ 1994 AMIA Jewish Community Center that eclipses the actual population in Lebanon. bombed in Most emigrated from Lebanon to North ■■ 2005 Assassination of Lebanese Prime America, Latin America, Europe, and the Gulf Minister Rafik Hariri to escape from the between ■■ 2006 Northern Israel border post raided, 1975 and 1990. The largest Lebanese expatri- two Israeli soldiers taken captive ate communities in Latin America are in ,

PRISM 5, no. 1 FEATURES | 11 9 REALUYO

Argentina, , Colombia, , and the frontiers of Argentina, Brazil and . .10 Some of the most famous Latin From this base in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, Americans of Lebanese descent include the Hezbollah set up illicit enterprises to fund its wealthiest man in the world, of operations in the Middle East and elsewhere; Mexico, and pop-music artist, from the organization’s endeavors included money Colombia. Within the diaspora community, laundering, counterfeiting, piracy, and drug there are both Sunnis and Shiites, including trafficking.11 A 2004 study for the Naval War some Hezbollah sympathizers among the College determined that Hezbollah’s opera- Muslim Shiite Lebanese expatriates in Latin tions in the TBA generated about $10 million America. annually, while a 2009 Rand Corporation The 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy report said Hezbollah netted around $20 mil- and 1994 bombing of the Jewish Cultural lion a year. For Paraguay, the dark side of glo- Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina attributed to balization, manifested through drugs, arms, Hezbollah and Iran, focused attention on and counterfeit goods smuggling, as well as Hezbollah’s networks in Latin America. the money laundering that accompanies these According to Argentine special prosecutor illicit activities, is a threat to the country’s eco- Alberto Nisman, Hezbollah began its infiltra- nomic prosperity and security. Counterfeit tion of Latin America in the mid-1980s, with goods sold in the black market, such as fake its first major stronghold in the Tri-Border Area pharmaceuticals, threaten the safety and health (TBA), a relatively ungoverned region along of consumers, defraud those who researched

Security staff look at one of the damaged buses carrying Israeli tourists that was hit by a bomb explosion on July 18, 2012 at Bourgas Airport in Bulgaria. Hezbollah was blamed for the attack.

120 | FEATURES PRISM 5, no. 1 THE TERROR CRIME NEXUS and developed the patents for those products, despite receiving technical assistance from and deny the government vital tax revenues. partner nations like the U.S.14 According to the Paraguayan authorities acknowledge the U.S. State Department, Paraguay continues to threat of Hezbollah and its facilitators operat- be hampered by ineffective immigration, cus- ing in the Tri-Border Area. They have estab- toms, and law enforcement controls along its lished specialized units monitoring suspected porous borders, particularly the TBA with supporters and detecting money laundering Argentina and Brazil. Limited resources, spo- and terrorist financing schemes. Director of radic interagency cooperation, and corruption Paraguay’s Secretariat for Terrorism Prevention within customs, the police, the public ministry, Carlos Benitez explained his team is working and the judicial sector hinder Paraguay’s law with their Argentine and Brazilian counter- enforcement initiatives throughout the coun- parts on several investigations.12 In 2011, try. Meanwhile, Paraguay has been confronted Paraguay extradited suspected Hezbollah by an internal insurgent group, the EPP financier, Moussa Ali Hamdan, a dual U.S.- (Paraguayan People’s Army), which has been Lebanese citizen, who had been detained in conducting terrorist attacks on government Ciudad del Este, to the United States where he security forces; this has resulted in public was charged in a conspiracy to provide mate- demands for governmental response and kept rial support to Hezbollah, in the form of pro- terrorism in the policy forefront throughout ceeds from the sale of counterfeit currency, the year.15 U.S. officials have long known about stolen (genuine) cash, and fraudulent pass- Hezbollah support networks operating in the ports. TBA where the group runs drugs and large According to the indictment, Hamdan and scale counterfeiting rings, but are now con- several other defendants were charged with cerned about support networks beyond the transporting stolen goods and trafficking in Tri-Border Area to other parts of Latin counterfeit goods. These stolen goods included America.16 cellular telephones, laptop computers, Sony Funding Terror Through Drug Trafficking Play Station 2 systems, and automobiles, which the conspirators transported to such Drug trafficking continues to be the most overseas destinations as Lebanon and Benin lucrative criminal activity in the world. The (Africa). Hamdan also allegedly bought coun- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime terfeit goods—namely, counterfeit Nike® shoes (UNODC) and European crime-fighting and Mitchell & Ness® sports jerseys from a agency EUROPOL estimate the global drug cooperating witness.13 Hamdan is a member of trade at around $435 billion a year, with the the Lebanese diaspora in the United States annual cocaine trade worth $84 billion.17 From who sympathize with and support Hezbollah. the mountains of Afghanistan to the jungles of Paraguayan security officials are engaged Latin America and Southeast Asia, nation- in several ongoing investigations of transna- states have been engaged in the so-called “War tional criminal organizations and Hezbollah on Drugs” for decades. In these zones of insta- facilitators; however, they admit that they lack bility, we are witnessing terrorist groups sufficient intelligence and law enforcement increasingly engaged in criminal activities, capabilities to effectively counter these threats including drug trafficking. Indigenous terror

PRISM 5, no. 1 FEATURES | 121 REALUYO

groups, like the FARC in Colombia and 2008, but terrorism-related charges were not Shining Path in Peru, are directly engaged in filed. The suspects allegedly worked with a the cocaine business in Latin America, but Colombian cartel and a paramilitary group to these businesses are going global, and smuggle cocaine to the United States, Europe, Hezbollah and its supporters are increasingly and the Middle East. getting into the act. Colombian authorities explained that the case originally began as a money laundering investigation, but as agents “followed the Operation Titan’s revelations illustrate money trail,” they discovered the links how Hezbollah receives direct support from between Harb and Hezbollah operatives.21 sympathetic members of the Lebanese diaspora Investigators employed 370 wiretaps and mon- community in Latin America to finance its itored 700,000 conversations. Harb logged activities. extensive travel to Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria, and was in phone contact with Hezbollah fig- ures, according to Colombian officials. The Operation Titan was a joint endeavor by inquiry grew into Operation Titan over the U.S. and Colombian investigators that in course of two years of U.S-Colombian collabo- October 2008 dismantled an international ration.22 Operation Titan’s revelations illustrate cocaine smuggling and money laundering ring how Hezbollah receives direct support from that allegedly directed part of its profits to sympathetic members of the Lebanese dias- finance Hezbollah. The two-year investigation pora community in Latin America to finance resulted in more than 130 arrests and the sei- its activities. In the case of Chekry Harb, it was zure of $23 million by Colombian and U.S. through the laundering of proceeds of cocaine agents.18 Among those arrested was Lebanese trafficking from Colombia; drugs destined for kingpin, Chekry Harb in Bogota, Colombia. the United States and beyond. He used the alias “Taliban” and acted as the For decades, Colombia has focused on hub of an alarming alliance between South vanquishing the FARC, a Marxist-Leninist rebel American cocaine traffickers and Middle group, intent on regime change since the Eastern militants, according to Colombian 1960s. In the 1990s, the FARC, which had pro- investigators.19 Harb was accused of being a vided security services for the powerful Cali, “world-class money launderer” of hundreds of Medellin, and Norte del Valle drug cartels, suc- millions of dollars each year, from Panama to ceeded the drug cartels once they were defeated Hong Kong, while paying some 12 percent of and dismantled by Colombian and U.S. coun- profits to Hezbollah, according to Gladys ternarcotics operations. The FARC not only Sanchez, lead investigator for the special pros- filled the power vacuum in Colombia’s illicit ecutor’s office in Bogota. She cited “this (case) economy but also filled its own coffers with as an example of how narco-trafficking is a the proceeds from the lucrative cocaine trade. theme of interest to all criminal organizations, Experts estimate the FARC takes in between the FARC, the paramilitaries, and terrorists.”20 $500 million and $600 million annually from Harb was charged with drug-related crimes in the illegal drug trade. The group also generates a sealed indictment filed in Miami in July income from kidnappings, extortion schemes,

122 | FEATURES PRISM 5, no. 1 THE TERROR CRIME NEXUS

and an unofficial “tax” that it levies in the Rastrojos, in Nariño, Cauca and Putumayo; countryside for “protection” and social ser- and El Bloque Meta, Los Libertadores de vices.23 The FARC’s wealth has allowed it to Vichada, Renacer and Los Machos, in Meta, equip, train, arm, and support its guerrillas Vichada and Guainía. and wage a prolonged and aggressive insur- According to the National Police, the gency in Colombia. BACRIM are deeply rooted in narco-trafficking, Operation Titan uncovered the links from growing coca – the main ingredient used between Hezbollah’s facilitators and the FARC to produce cocaine – to turning it into cocaine as well as other Colombian armed groups. before they export it or sell it to international While these groups may not espouse the same narco-trafficking groups. According to a political aspirations or ideology, they do Colombian newspaper El Tiempo’s investiga- engage in lucrative illicit activities like narco- tion, it is believed that the BACRIM now con- trafficking and money laundering that support trol 50 percent of the cocaine produced in their respective networks. The case of the Colombia.24 FARC, at times described as a narco-insur- The BACRIM have crossed Colombia’s gency, is one of the best examples of the terror- borders, expanding their markets in search of crime nexus in Latin America. The Colombian better profit margins and eluding Colombian government under President Santos and the authorities. At the same time they are supply- FARC are currently engaged in a peace process ing the Mexican drug cartels’ expanding opera- that may bring an end to this 50-year old tions into Central America. Moreover, security insurgency but will not stop the cocaine trade. officials believe the BACRIM are the new sup- Just as the FARC replaced the Colombian pliers of cocaine to traffickers associated with drug cartels in the 1990s, Colombian officials Hezbollah. The BACRIM are primarily moti- and security analysts anticipate that the vated by profit, in contrast to the FARC with its BACRIM (Bandas Criminales) or criminal political agenda, and will replace the FARC to bands already engaged in organized crime capitalize on the illicit economy to enrich activities, such as drug trafficking, extortion, themselves.25 Given their international illicit kidnap for ransom, and illegal smuggling in activities, the BACRIM are considered a trans- Colombia, will succeed the FARC. The BACRIM national criminal organization (TCO) by the are the heirs to the AUC (United Self-Defense U.S. government. Forces of Colombia) that were formed in the With the Colombian government and late 1990s to fight the FARC, citing the state’s FARC rebels negotiating a peace settlement, inability to do so effectively. Despite the Colombia is dedicating more security and demobilization of some 31,670 members of judicial resources to address the growing threat the AUC in August 2006, several armed groups from the BACRIM. Deputy Director of the continued the AUC’s lucrative illicit activities. Colombian National Police’s anti-narcotics According to the Colombian National Police, force, Colonel Esteban Arias Melo, said his 3,870 people make up the six key emerging 7,600 officers “focus on both drug trafficking criminal groups; Los Urabeños, in the depart- as well as fighting the restructured Bacrim ments of Antioquía, Chocó, Bolívar, (organized crime groups), as it’s now impos- Magdalena and Norte de Santander; Los sible to separate these two factors.”26 In 2013,

PRISM 5, no. 1 FEATURES | 123 REALUYO

pressure from the combined forces of the Army Lebanese diaspora community comprised of and National Police led to the apprehension Muslims and Christians who maintain close of 1,738 BACRIM members, including 168 ties with Lebanon. On November 23, 2011, a members of demobilized paramilitaries. U.S. federal grand jury indicted Lebanese drug Additionally, 300.5 tons of narcotics were kingpin Ayman Joumaa, a.k.a “Junior,” in seized.27 absentia, for distributing tens of thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia through Central America to Los Zetas in Mexico and for Joumaa and his associates allegedly shipped an laundering millions of dollars of drug money estimated 85,000 kilograms of cocaine into the from Mexico, Europe and to United States and laundered more than $850 Colombia and Venezuela.29 million in drug money coming out of Mexico According to the U.S. Justice Department from the Los Zetas cartel through various front and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), companies and the Lebanese Canadian Bank Joumaa and his associates allegedly shipped (LCB). an estimated 85,000 kilograms of cocaine into the United States and laundered more than $850 million in drug money coming out of To complement the anti-BACRIM opera- Mexico from the Los Zetas cartel through vari- tions of the security forces, the Colombian ous front companies and the Lebanese government has expanded its specialized, vet- Canadian Bank (LCB). In February 2011, LCB ted unit of top prosecutors in the Attorney was designated by the U.S. Treasury as a General’s Office to bring those associated with “Primary Money Laundering Concern.” U.S. the BACRIM to justice. The unit examines the officials said some officers of LCB and subsid- different criminal activities of the BACRIM to iaries had connections with Hezbollah. During include kidnapping, corruption, arms traffick- the course of the conspiracy, Joumaa typically ing, counterfeit smuggling, money laundering, picked up between $2 – 4 million at a time in and drug trafficking. Some of their BACRIM Mexico City.30 He was allegedly charging fees investigations are exploring links among the between 8 – 14 percent for laundering the BACRIM, the Mexican cartels, and Hezbollah funds and remitted the funds to Hezbollah. facilitators particularly in the cocaine trade.28 According to the 2011 indictment, Joumaa’s coordination of money laundering Ayman Joumaa; A Critical Hezbollah activities occurred in Benin, Colombia, the Facilitator Democratic Republic of Congo, Lebanon, Many terrorist groups and criminal organiza- Panama, the United States, and elsewhere. This tions rely on key facilitators for support, illustrates the global nature of Joumaa’s activ- financing, and logistics. Ayman Joumaa, a dual ities. U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said, “money Colombian-Lebanese citizen, engaged in fuels the drug trade, and Mr. Joumaa is alleged global narcotics trafficking and money laun- to be at the center of it all, working with those dering operations, is one such facilitator for producing the vast majority of the world’s Hezbollah. In certain countries in Latin cocaine to get their drugs safely into the hands America like Colombia, there is a significant of Mexican cartels, and then moving hundreds

124 | FEATURES PRISM 5, no. 1 THE TERROR CRIME NEXUS

of millions in proceeds all around the world Zetas, the most violent Mexican cartel in the so the money can’t be traced back to him in drug trade, is a disturbing development of the Colombia.”31 terror-crime nexus that challenges security Although indicted and designated as a forces around the world. While it is unclear narcotics kingpin, Ayman Joumaa remains at how well corroborated this alliance is between large at the time of this writing. This case Hezbollah facilitators and Los Zetas, these shows the extensive financial support network illicit actors share a deep profit motive in the Hezbollah enjoys in Latin America and narcotics trafficking trade and present a threat beyond. This partnership between Joumaa, a to security around the globe. prominent Hezbollah facilitator, and Los Israel Defense Forces

Hezbollah finances its terrorism using a sophisticated drug-trafficking operation where it combines its drug profits with proceeds from used-car sales in Africa.

PRISM 5, no. 1 FEATURES | 125 REALUYO

Lebanese Canadian Bank – Hezbollah’s highlighted the bank’s role in facilitating the Bank Of Choice money laundering activities of an interna- Facilitators of terrorism and crime can be indi- tional narcotics trafficking and money laun- viduals, groups, and even institutions. This dering network. The network also engaged in was the case of the LCB. As of 2009, LCB was trade-based money laundering, involving con- Lebanon’s eighth-largest bank, headquartered sumer goods throughout the world, including in Beirut, with approximately 35 branches through used car dealerships in the United throughout Lebanon, and total assets worth States. The Treasury Department had reason to more than $5 billion.32 This bank and a series believe that LCB managers were complicit in of Lebanese exchange houses served as con- the network’s money laundering activities. This duits for money laundering and the funding of action exposed Hezbollah’s links to LCB and Hezbollah through a sophisticated used car the international narcotics trafficking and sales scheme through the Americas, Africa, and money laundering network.33 the Middle East. According to U.S. authorities, at least $329 The February 10, 2011, Treasury million was transferred by wire from LCB and Department designation of LCB as a financial other financial institutions to the U.S. to pur- institution “of primary money laundering con- chase used cars that were then shipped to West cern” under Section 311 of the PATRIOT Act Africa from January 2007 to early 2011. Cash

A diagram detailing Hezbollah’s criminal activities provided by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

126 | FEATURES PRISM 5, no. 1 THE TERROR CRIME NEXUS from the sale of the cars, along with the pro- Regardless of how or where, DEA will ceeds of narcotics trafficking, were funneled to relentlessly pursue global drug criminals Lebanon through Hezbollah-controlled and their huge profits, in particular those money-laundering channels. LCB played a key associated with terror networks such as role in these money-laundering schemes and Hezbollah. This settlement is significant conducted business with a number of and addresses the role the Lebanese Hezbollah-related entities.34 Reflecting on this Canadian Bank played in facilitating illicit case, DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart money movement from the United States stated, “DEA and its partners have exposed the to West Africa to Hezbollah-controlled Lebanese Canadian Bank as a major money money laundering channels. Drug traffick- laundering source for Hezbollah. The connec- ing profits and terror financing often grow tion between drug traffickers and terror net- and flow together. One of DEA’s highest works is evident. By attacking the financial priorities will always be to promote U.S. networks of those who wish to harm innocent and global security by disrupting these Americans, DEA is strengthening national narco-terror schemes and protecting the security making our citizens safer.”35 The com- systems they abuse.36 plex investigation of LCB and the illicit net- works transacting with LCB was a great exam- The LCB case provided important insight ple of U.S. interagency cooperation between into how Hezbollah’s facilitators are leveraging the Treasury and Justice Departments as well global trade and international financial institu- as specialized law enforcement agencies like tions to realize their criminal activities around the DEA. the world and support the terrorist organiza- To settle this case, LBC agreed to pay a tion. It also served as a valuable example of $102 million settlement on June 23, 2013, a how financial intelligence and “following the fraction of the amount of money allegedly money trail” are actively targeting and pursu- laundered by the institution on behalf of illicit ing the facilitators of terrorism and crime. actors. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Due to the lucrative nature of the narcot- of New York Preet Bharara said: ics trade and money laundering, other finan- cial institutions such as money-exchange The settlement shows that banks launder- houses have taken the place of LCB to serve as ing money for terrorists and narco-traffick- conduits for terror-crime networks like ers will face consequences for their actions, Hezbollah. Following the Treasury wherever they may be located. This type of Department’s action against LCB, Ayman money laundering network fuels the opera- Joumaa’s narcotics network turned to Rmeiti tions of both terrorists and drug traffickers, Exchange and Halawi Exchange to handle its and we will continue to use every resource money-laundering needs according to the at our disposal to sever the connection Treasury Department’s top counter-terrorism between terrorists, narco-traffickers, and official David Cohen. Kassem Rmeiti & Co. for those who fund their lethal agenda. Exchange, moved nearly $30 million in drug The DEA Administrator also commented: proceeds through the U.S. since 2008, accord- ing to Treasury and DEA officials. The

PRISM 5, no. 1 FEATURES | 127 REALUYO

company’s owner, Haitham Rmeiti, has also their activities that endanger security and pros- emerged as “a key facilitator for wiring money perity around the world. While indigenous ter- and transferring Hezbollah funds,” the rorist groups like the FARC in Colombia and Treasury and DEA said. Meanwhile, a second Shining Path in Peru exploit the lucrative drug exchange, Halawi Exchange Co., was facilitat- trade and focus on national regime change ing the shipment of more than $220 million objectives, Hezbollah is a foreign terrorist of used cars, which originated in the U.S., into organization that does not limit its operations the West African country of Benin in 2012 as and logistical support to Lebanon and the part of the same drug-trafficking operation, Middle East. It targets U.S. interests and those U.S. officials alleged. of its allies, especially Israel, and draws the On April 23, 2013, the Treasury support of global facilitators. The organization Department named both exchange houses as has been responsible for several terrorist “primary money laundering concerns” under attacks and plots beyond the Middle East, the Patriot Act, an action that bans these firms including the 2012 Burgas, Bulgaria bombing from the U.S. financial system, and freezes of a bus filled with Israeli tourists. More their dollar-based assets.37 Lebanon’s central recently, Hezbollah is playing an active role in bank governor, Riad Salameh, said in an inter- the Syrian civil war supporting and fighting view in April 2013 that Beirut’s financial regu- alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. lators had independently been scrutinizing the In its 2012 Country Reports on Terrorism businesses of both exchange houses. U.S. offi- the State Department Bureau of cials are particularly worried about the opera- Counterterrorism indicated that there were no tions of money exchange houses in Lebanon known operational cells of either al-Qaeda or and the broader Middle East because of their Hezbollah in the Western Hemisphere; how- focus on moving bulk cash and the fact they ever, it acknowledged that sympathizers in are less regulated and monitored than banks.38 South America and the provide Thus, efforts to identity, pursue, and dismantle financial and ideological support to those ter- the networks of terror-crime facilitators con- rorist groups. The State Department also tinue around the globe. reported that the TBA area of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay continued to be an important The Implications Of the Convergence Of Terrorism And Crime regional nexus of arms, narcotics, and human smuggling, counterfeiting, pirated goods, and In the age of globalization, we are witnessing money laundering that are all potential fund- an emerging threat – the convergence of terror- ing sources for terrorist organizations.39 crime networks that capitalize on global The cases of Operation Titan, Ayman resources, supply chains, markets, capital, and Joumaa, and the Lebanese Canadian Bank facilitators to pursue their political and profit demonstrate how Hezbollah relies on overseas agendas, respectively. Threats from illicit net- support from facilitators among the Shiite works, including terrorists, criminals, and pro- Lebanese diaspora community in Latin liferators are nothing new, but the drivers of America. These cases illustrate the complexity globalization have broadened the scope, accel- and sophistication of these illicit networks and erated the pace, and magnified the impact of their ties to terrorism. These facilitators are

128 | FEATURES PRISM 5, no. 1 THE TERROR CRIME NEXUS allegedly interacting with illicit actors includ- Notes ing the Mexican drug cartels and Colombian armed groups like the FARC and BACRIM. The drug trafficking, money laundering, and coun- 1 The views expressed in this chapter are those terfeit trade in Latin America that fund of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Hezbollah are impacting U.S. consumers, Studies, the National Defense University, the financial institutions, and markets. The global Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. operations and reach of these networks present 2 An Open Letter: The Hizballah Program, formidable challenges to counterterrorism and January 1, 1988, http://www.cfr.org/terrorist-organizations- and-networks/open-letter-hizballah-program/p30967 counter-crime officials. These illicit networks 3 U.S. Department of State Bureau of are often better armed, equipped, and funded Counterterrorism, Foreign Terrorist Organizations, than government forces. Hezbollah may not http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm 4 State Department Country Reports on be conducting or plotting terrorist operations Terrorism 2012, Chapter 6, Foreign Terrorist in the U.S. and Latin America, but security Organizations, Hizballah, http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/ forces and intelligence services must remain crt/2012/209989.htm 5 vigilant and be prepared for potential threats. Scott Wilson, “Lebanese Wary of a Rising Hezbollah: Fears of Militia’s Broader Ambitions The 2011 White House National Strategy for Reignite Debate Over Its Populist Agenda,” Counterterrorism and National Strategy to Washington Post, December 20, 2004, http://www. Combat Transnational Organized Crime rec- washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12336-2004Dec19_2. ognizes these emerging threats and the terror- html 6 Compiled from State Department and crime convergence phenomenon. They seek to Council on Foreign Relations websites. Several events channel the appropriate U.S. government are disputed regarding attribution of responsibility. resources to address them. To confront the 7 Nicholas Kulish and Eric Schmitt, “Hezbollah Is Blamed for Attack on Israeli Tourists in Bulgaria, convergence of illicit networks, we need to July 19, 2012, New York Times, http://www.nytimes. promote more effective interagency and inter- com/2012/07/20/world/europe/explosion-on-bulgaria-tour-bus- national cooperation, such as joint task forces kills-at-least-five-israelis.html?pagewanted=all 8 and vetted units, to better understand, analyze, Council on Foreign Relations Backgrounder on Hezbollah, http://www.cfr.org/lebanon/hezbollah-k- and devise specific measures to impact these hizbollah-hizbullah/p9155 illicit networks. PRISM 9 Jay Solomon, U.S. Moves Against Hezbollah ‘Cartel’, Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2013, http://online. wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323735604578441 251544900808 10 Lebanese Diaspora – Geographic Distribution, The Identity Chef, http://theidentitychef. com/2009/09/06/lebanese-diaspora-worldwide-geographical- distribution/ 11 Arthur Brice, “Iran, Hezbollah mine Latin America for revenue, recruits, analysts say,” CNN, June 3, 2013, http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/03/world/ americas/iran-latin-america/ 12 Eduardo Szklarz, “Hezbollah Threatens Latin America,” InfoSurHoy.com, http://infosurhoy.com/en_GB/ articles/saii/features/main/2013/09/06/feature-01

PRISM 5, no. 1 FEATURES | 129 REALUYO

13 FBI Philadelphia Field Office, Alleged Dialogo, September 13, 2013, http://dialogo-americas.com/ Supporter of Terrorist Group Extradited from en_GB/articles/rmisa/features/regional_news/2013/09/13/ Paraguay Press Release, February, 25, 2011, http://www. colombia-bacrim fbi.gov/philadelphia/press-releases/2011/ph022511a.htm 27 Ernesto Suárez Gómez, BACRIM: Heirs to 14 Author’s interviews with Paraguayan Colombia’s paramilitary groups,” Infosurhoy.com, National Police and Central Bank Financial September 18, 2013, http://infosurhoy.com/en_GB/articles/ Intelligence Unit officials in Asuncion, Paraguay, saii/features/main/2013/09/18/feature-02 November 8, 2013 28 Author’s interview with Colombian Attorney 15 State Department Country Reports on General’s BACRIM Unit, Bogota, Colombia, Terrorism 2012, http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/ September 25, 2013 crt/2012/209984.htm 29 The United States Attorneys Office - Eastern 16 Jason Ryan, “Lebanese Drug Lord Charged in District of Virginia, “U.S. Charges Alleged Lebanese US: Links to Zetas and Hezbollah,” ABC News, Drug Kingpin With Laundering Drug Proceeds For December 13, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/ Mexican And Colombian Drug Cartels,” Press Release, politics/2011/12/lebanese-drug-lord-charged-in-us-links-to- December 13, 2011, http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae/ zetas-and-hezbollah/ news/2011/12/20111213joumaanr.html 17 UNODC website, http://www.unodc.org/unodc/ 30 Jason Ryan, “Lebanese Drug Lord Charged in en/drug-trafficking/ US: Links to Zetas and Hezbollah,” ABC News, 18 Chris Kraul and Sebastian Rotella, “Drug December 13, 2011, http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/ probe finds Hezbollah link: Officials say they’ve politics/2011/12/lebanese-drug-lord-charged-in-us-links-to- broken up Colombian ring that helped fund the zetas-and-hezbollah/ militant group,” LA Times, October 22, 2008, http:// 31 Ibid. articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/22/world/fg-cocainering22 32 Department of Treasury Press Release, 19 Ibid. “Treasury Identifies Lebanese Canadian Bank Sal as a 20 Matthew Levitt, “South of the Border, a “Primary Money Laundering Concern,” February 10, Threat from Hezbollah,” Journal of International 2011, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/ Security Affairs, Spring 2013, http://www.washingtoninsti- pages/tg1057.aspx tute.org/policy-analysis/view/south-of-the-border-a-threat-from- 33 Ibid. hezbollah 34 FBI NY Field Office Press Release, “Civil Suit 21 Author’s interviews with Colombian Seeks More Than $480 Million from Entities That Attorney General’s Terrorist Finance Unit in Bogota, Facilitated Hizballah-Related Money Laundering August 2013. Scheme,” December 15, 2011, http://www.fbi.gov/ 22 Chris Kraul and Sebastian Rotella, “Drug newyork/press-releases/2011/civil-suit-seeks-more-than- probe finds Hezbollah link: Officials say they’ve 480-million-from-entities-that-facilitated-hizballah-related- broken up Colombian ring that helped fund the money-laundering-scheme militant group,” LA Times, October 22, 2008, http:// 35 FBI NY Field Office Press Release, “Civil Suit articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/22/world/fg-cocainering22 Seeks More Than $480 Million from Entities That 23 Council on Foreign Relations, “FARC, ELN: Facilitated Hizballah-Related Money Laundering Colombia’s Left-Wing Guerrillas Backgrounder,” Scheme,” December 15, 2011, http://www.fbi.gov/ August 19, 2009, http://www.cfr.org/colombia/farc-eln- newyork/press-releases/2011/civil-suit-seeks-more-than- colombias-left-wing-guerrillas/p9272 480-million-from-entities-that-facilitated-hizballah-related- 24 “Más de mil militares y policías colombia- money-laundering-scheme nos en nexos con el narco,” El Excelsior, February 27, 36 U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of 2011, http://www.excelsior.com.mx/node/717934 New York Press Release, Manhattan U.S. Attorney 25 Ernesto Suárez Gómez, BACRIM: Heirs to Announces $102 Million Settlement Of Civil Colombia’s paramilitary groups,” Infosurhoy.com, Forfeiture And Money Laundering Claims Against September 18, 2013, http://infosurhoy.com/en_GB/articles/ Lebanese Canadian Bank,” June 25, 2013, http://www. saii/features/main/2013/09/18/feature-02 and author’s justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/June13/LCBSettlementPR.php interviews with Colombian police investigators in 37 U.S.Treasury Department Press Release, Bogota, Colombia March 7, 2014. Treasury Identifies Kassem Rmeiti & Co. for Exchange 26 Robert Shaw, “Colombian National Police and Halawi Exchange Co. as Financial Institutions of Lead Fight Against Organized Crime, Drug Trade,” “Primary Money Laundering Concern,” April 23,

130 | FEATURES PRISM 5, no. 1 THE TERROR CRIME NEXUS

2013, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/ Pages/jl1908.aspx 38 Jay Solomon, U.S. Moves Against Hezbollah ‘Cartel’, Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2013, http://online. wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323735604578441 251544900808 39 U.S. Department of State, 2012 Country Reports on Terrorism, Western Hemisphere Overview, http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2012/209984.htm

PRISM 5, no. 1 FEATURES | 131 Book Reviews

Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of terrorist activities of groups inspired by radical Lebanon’s Party of God Sunni Islam and those inspired by radical Shi’a Islam in non-combat zones around the world. By Matthew Levitt Lebanese Hezbollah was a feature Shi’a player Georgetown University Press, 2013 in this comparative analysis. Levitt’s work 407 pp., $29.95 promised a much deeper dive into the world ISBN:9781626160132 (1626160139) of radical Shi’a terrorist groups. With very minor exceptions, Levitt’s work REVIEWED BY THOMAS F. LYNCH III lives up to expectations. It is lucidly written with a compelling narrative, strong on detail welcomed with great anticipation my copy regarding specific terrorist events and activities of Matthew Levitt’s Hezbollah: The Global attributable to Hezbollah and its affiliate I Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God. Levitt is groups, and features a trove of unique and also the author of a 2006 book, Hamas: Politics, interesting sources – including many non- Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad. My American sources. Levitt effectively sketches anticipation for Hezbollah was driven in part by the wide panoply of international activities Levitt’s noteworthy background in the subject undertaken by Hezbollah’s terrorist network of terrorist groups, with his work as a over the past 30. He also leaves the reader no researcher and scholar at The Washington doubt that Hezbollah’s global terrorist activi- Institute for Near East Policy, and as a practi- ties link directly to Iran, with especially com- tioner at the U.S. Department of State, pelling evidence of the consequences of this in Department of the Treasury and the FBI. Its the Levant – in Lebanon, in Syria, and against timing was stimulating, for the book arrived in Israel in particular. While his portrait of the midst of controversy and concern regard- Hezbollah’s terrorism threats in the majority ing Hezbollah’s deepening role in the Syrian of the world, vice its fundraising and money civil war. My anticipation also was fueled by laundering ones there, do not appear yet to the chance to read Levitt’s work as a detailed meet the standards for declaring it the kind of refresher to my own late 2008 monograph international threat against non-Israeli targets published by the Combating Terrorism Center he seems to suggest, Levitt’s book achieves its at the United States Military Academy titled, self-described aspiration to “kick start” a Sunni and Shi’a Terrorism: Differences that debate on the full range of Hezbollah’s world- Matter. As its title implied, that monograph wide terrorist activities. took a comparative, 25 year look at the

Thomas F. (Tom) Lynch III is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the National Defense University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies.

132 | BOOK REVIEWS PRISM 5, no. 1 LYNCH

From his opening paragraphs, Levitt writes makes valuable contributions to a Hezbollah with an aim to more fully expose its record that is otherwise hard to glean from worldwide clandestine activities. Before getting open source terrorism data, for these often to a brief recitation of Hezbollah’s founding in don’t capture failed plots. Levitt also does a Lebanon and its role in providing social ser- good job of profiling the logistical and finan- vices for previously disenfranchised and cial activities of Lebanese Hezbollah and IJO oppressed Lebanese Shi’a there, he chronicles operations across Europe in the 1980s-90s the foiled 2009 terrorism adventures of two demonstrating an organizational reach that is Lebanese nationals in Azerbaijan against not well understood. The value of Levitt’s work Israeli and Western targets noting how these in this area is unquestionable making it a two were sponsored by Iran. He then intro- highly useful reference. duces readers to the greatest coordinator of Yet one might take issue with a bit of regional and global Shi’a terrorist activities in Levitt’s narrative here – a thread which contin- history, the late Imad Mugniyah, who guided ues later in the book. While clearly peppering the Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO) for his descriptions of Hezbollah and IJO almost 30 years. Mugniyah died from a tar- European terrorism operatives as from these geted explosion in Damascus, Syria in early groups, Levitt isn’t quite as diligent in clearly 2008. While other authors including Augustus labeling the many terrorists and assassins dur- Richard Norton of Boston University, Ahmad ing this dark period of terrorism in Europe, Nizar Hamzah of American University in who were directly linked to the Iranian govern- and Eitan Azani of Israel’s Herzliya ment, its embassies and consulates, and the Center have written on the complex relation- Iranian intelligence agents who choreographed ships between Hezbollah’s domestic socio- them. As one example, Levitt chose to use a political role in Lebanon and its martial ones questionable March 1989 Times of London in the Levant and beyond, Levitt’s purpose is report commenting on two 1987 assassination more limited and clear. He asks the question, attempts on Iranian monarchist exiles in “Is Lebanese Hezbollah a terrorist organiza- London to claim that even though the assas- tion?” He answers strongly in the affirmative. sination suspects were London-based Iranian Levitt provides a comprehensive narrative expatriates they were, “…believed to be tied to of successful and failed Hezbollah and IJO ter- Hezbollah extremists in south Beirut.” To my rorist plots spanning three decades. His first knowledge, this claim was speculative then three chapters focus on Hezbollah’s violence- and remains unproven to this day. led ascendance in Lebanon in the 1980s My own research for Sunni and Shi’a emphasizing how its activities there targeted Terrorism clearly established that the assassina- westerners in order to advance Lebanese Shi’a tion campaign against Shah of Iran era expats and Iranian aims in the Levant and across the in Western Europe and North America that ran Gulf. He then provides an extended and very from 1980-92 was an Iranian operation useful recounting of Hezbollah’s role in care- inspired and staged through Iranian embassies fully choreographed terror activities in Europe and consulates and rarely involved Lebanese – and especially in France. Levitt’s documenta- Hezbollah agents in other than limited ways. tion of failed attacks in France, and So too was most of the 1984-88 terror

PRISM 5, no. 1 BOOK REVIEWS | 133 LYNCH campaign in France which in large measure to the United States and uncovered in the sum- aimed to end French support for Saddam mer of 2011. Levitt himself acknowledges that Hussein’s Iraq in its ongoing war against Iran this produced a legal indictment against the – an effort which complemented Hezbollah leader of the Iranian paramilitary Quds Force, bombings of French assets and kidnappings of General Qassem Soliemani, and not against French nationals in Lebanon — and succeeded any Hezbollah or IJO operative. In this vein, brilliantly. scrutiny of the detail Levitt offers actually sug- Levitt’s narrative of Hezbollah terror activ- gests that agents in these locations are mainly ities in Argentina (February and May 1994), in the business of fundraising, money launder- Khobar Towers (June 1996), and Iraq (2003- ing and logistical support for Hezbollah breth- 10) is compelling and most helpful in drawing ren in the Levant. One can only wonder how together the clearly established interconnec- much greater a finance and logistical presence tion of Hezbollah and IJO terrorist activities was maintained by groups like the Irish with Iranian agents worldwide. The Iraq sec- Republican Army (IRA) and the Basque tion develops themes regarding Hezbollah Separatists in similar locations without there training and assistance to Iranian Quds-Force being a credible threat of operational terrorism sponsored Iraqi Shi’a militia that provide in these locations. insight into how much of this and more now I found much to like in Levitt’s final chap- must be ongoing between Shi’a elements in ter where he helpfully links together the radi- Syria’s civil war. cal Shi’a terrorist strikes of 2010-12 in Burgas, Levitt’s recounting of Shi’a terrorist sup- Bulgaria against Israeli tourists and New Delhi, port and plotting activities in Southeast Asia India against the Israeli Embassy with the (1990s), North America (1990s-2000s) and failed attack planned for Bangkok, Thailand East Africa (1990s-2000s) makes interesting against unspecified Israeli targets. He does well reading and illuminates the nature of far-flung in demonstrating that these far-from-random financing and logistical support pursued by acts came from a high level decision in Tehran Hezbollah through Lebanese expatriates and to exact revenge for a supposed Israeli- sympathizers. His combination of these activ- managed assassination campaign against ities in a single volume is a most useful contri- Iranian nuclear scientists. This assessment bution. In these pages Levitt draws upon tracks well a diverse array of other unclassified unique official sources from places like the intelligence assessments I have seen. Thus Philippines, , and Levitt’s conclusions about Iranian sponsorship providing another most helpful are spot-on even if poorly understood in the record. Yet while this record is important, it . strikes me as far short of making the case that Less compelling however is Levitt’s con- Hezbollah is a dramatic much less looming clusion that a reorganized and rejuvenated IJO terrorism threat in any of these areas – a con- served as a critical component in these attacks clusion that Levitt seems keen to have us draw. – attacks that had far more to do with Iranian In North America for example, the only clear- national interests in vengeance than with cut case of a Shi’a terrorist attack was that Hezbollah interests. Levitt’s documentation for planned against the Saudi Arabian Ambassador this conclusion cites conversations with

134 | BOOK REVIEWS PRISM 5, no. 1 LYNCH unnamed Israeli intelligence officials in late anomalous. Is that Hezbollah role now some- 2012. Yet other sources – including regional thing much more? sources like those I read regularly from India Inspired by this commendable book, let and Thailand and uncited in Hezbollah -- more the debate begin! PRISM directly implicate actors with unambiguous ties to Iran and Iranian agencies like the para- military agency (IRGC-Quds Force) or Iranian intelligence (MOIS). While one can under- stand the perspective that Israeli officials would have regarding the links between IJO and Iranian agents — fearing the worst — it would seem prudent to credit Hezbollah and IJO only with those activities which can be clearly placed at their doorstep. The questions that arise in those instances of Israeli sole-sourcing notwithstanding, Levitt’s work is commendable for its variety and detail in references. He utilizes a most helpful array of declassified or partially declas- sified assessments from the CIA, FBI and Department of the Treasury of Shi’a terrorism as practiced by Hezbollah and Iranian agen- cies. He updates the record of radical Shi’a ter- rorist groups in a compelling and readable historical narrative, astutely noting the senior partner to junior partner relations between Iran’s security and intelligence services and the leadership of Hezbollah’s military wing. In doing so Levitt generates a narrative of that Iranian state senior partner as one with global reach and a global aim to strike-out using ter- rorism against Israeli interests and against those that would threaten the Mullah-led regime. And while the junior, non-state Hezbollah partner most surely remains com- mitted to operational terrorism in the Levant in reprisal for Israeli actions globally, apart from a widely networked fundraising and pro- paganda agent, its direct role in terrorism oper- ations beyond the Levant remains historically

PRISM 5, no. 1 BOOK REVIEWS | 135 U.S. Army soldiers help the crew of a U.S. Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson unload food and supplies at the airport in Port-au- Prince, .