FROM THE - JOURNALS of Monte Friesner – Criminal & Intelligence Analyst and Consulaire for WANTED SA ~ Contributed & Written by Kenneth Rijock
US SANCTIONS HEZBOLLAH AGENTS IN AFRICA, BUT IGNORES THOSE IN LATIN AMERICA THAT POSE A GREATER THREAT
This week's designation, of a number of Hezbollah agents working
in West Africa, who are engaged in fundraising and recruiting, is a
step in the right direction, but still leaves me asking: why aren't the
cadre of Hezbollah agents in Latin America also named and designated ?
Known as Hezbollah Latin America,
as well as Hezbollah Venezuela, these terrorists traffic in narcotics,
and other criminal pursuits, sending their illicit profits back to
Beirut through cooperative financial institutions in the Republic of
Panama.
They are based in Venezuela, and operate
openly, with the blessing of the regime in power there, whose
leadership is believed to share in a portion of the criminal profits,
for assisting in the regular air transport of bulk cash into Panama,
and allowing the trafficking to flourish.
Here's the problem for financial
institutions in the Western Hemisphere. The 92 Hezbollah agents in place
in Latin America have all received valid Venezuelan passports, with new Spanish-sounding names created for them, thereby concealing their true Lebanese identities.
I have seen some of those, and they are
bona fide documents. These individuals now have clean identities, which
allow them to open accounts, transact business, and assist in the
material support of a specially designated global terrorist organization.
There are also approximately fifty other individuals who support their
operation, cash couriers, front business operators, suppliers, and
others activities; They also must be identified.
It is plain that law enforcement
agencies of the United States have this information, but, with the
exception of the leader of the group, none of these individuals has been
designated by OFAC.
The question is why not ? Neither
Panamanian banks, nor for that matter American financial institutions,
know who the Hezbollah agents are, and risk unwittingly providing
material support to a designated terrorist group.
If the US has classified this
information, it needs to declassify it now, and warn the private
financial sector about these agents, or the funding stream to Hezbollah
will continue, uninterrupted. There is no purpose to be served by hiding
the identities of Hezbollah agents from the financial community.
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