US sanctions Lebanon-South America network accused of financing Hezbollah

The US Treasury slaps terrorism sanctions on a family network of seven individuals and businesses in Lebanon and South America accused of financing the Hezbollah terror group, including a Lebanese man who officials say was involved in two deadly attacks in Argentina in the 1990s.

Amer Mohamed Akil Rada was described as “one of the operational members” who carried out the attack on the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association in Buenos Aires in 1994, which killed 85 people and wounded hundreds. A 1992 attack on the Israeli Embassy in Argentina killed 29 people.

“Today’s action underscores the US government’s commitment to pursuing Hezbollah operatives and financiers no matter their location,” says Brian Nelson, the Treasury’s under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement.

The Iran-backed group is designated a “foreign terrorist organization,” and Washington also claims that the group has been involved in drug trafficking in Latin America to generate revenue.

Rada, according to the Treasury, spent over a decade in South America before relocating to Lebanon. During his time there, he allegedly ran a charcoal business that frequently exported from Colombia to Lebanon and used “80 percent of the proceeds of his commercial enterprise to benefit Hezbollah.”