Argentina's Defense Minister Patricia Bullrich announced on Friday that the terrorist responsible for the 1992 Israeli Embassy bombing and the 1994 AMIA bombing had been identified as Hussein Ahmad Karaki.
Bullrich said that Karaki was the head of Hezbollah operations in Latin America and had been responsible for multiple attacks historically and in recent years.
QUEREMOS QUE EL PUEBLO ARGENTINO SEPA QUIÉN ESTUVO DETRÁS DE LOS ATENTADOS A LA EMBAJADA DE ISRAEL Y LA AMIA: NO PERMITIREMOS QUE CON SU RED VUELVA A GOLPEARHoy le ponemos nombre, apellido y cara al cerebro y jefe de Hezbollah en América Latina: Hussein Ahmad Karaki. Uno de los… pic.twitter.com/WhPVctgbue
— Patricia Bullrich (@PatoBullrich) October 25, 2024
She confirmed that Karaki was responsible for a string of attempted terror attacks across Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil.
She described him as a "ghost," having been operating underground since the 1990s, using false identities and using forged documents provided to him by Venezuela.
Bullrich said they would be putting out a Interpol red alert on him as he was currently living free in Lebanon.
A Red Notice requires local security forces ans law enforcement around the world to preemptively locate and arrest him for extradition to Argentina.
Venezuela is accused of directly facilitating Karaki's movements and operations.
This comes six months after Argentinian courts confirmed that Iran and Hezbollah were both behind the 1992 and the 1994 bombings.
Hezbollah's South American connection
Bullrich further emphasized that Hezbollah effectively took control of Brazilian cartels to turn them into narco-terrorist organizations, primarily Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho.
PCC has been directly linked to Hezbollah for at least a year and is considered a major source of funding, with money sent by PCC being used to finance weapons for use against Israel.
An investigation by O Estado de S. Paulo found that PCC exchanged part of its profits for the right to operate under Hezbollah's protection in the Middle East.
Hezbollah's control over the major drug supply networks in the Middle East has been a huge source of funding both for themselves and the Assad regime.
Hezbollah controls the major hashish production areas of Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, as well as helping the Assad regime supply captagon to international criminal organizations.
Hezbollah's connection to PCC is just part of this supply network.
Estadao reported that PCC sends boats filled with cocaine out to the mid-Atlantic, where they make contact with boats belonging to either the Calabrian or Balkan mafia.
There, they exchange South American cocaine for Hezbollah's hashish, and both boats return to their home ports with their cargo.