A small group of Hezbollah operatives were arrested for allegedly trafficking large quantities of cocaine throughout Europe and US, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said Monday.
DEA has uncovered a major Hizballah money laundering network based in Europe and authorities have arrested several leaders overseas
— DEA News (@DEANEWS) February 1, 2016
According to the DEA’s statement, Hezbollah used millions of dollars in profits from its cocaine sales to fund its operations in Syria, where the group is one of the primary backers of the Bashar al-Assad government. Hezbollah forged lucrative partnerships with South American drug cartels like La Oficina de Envigado in order to move cocaine from Latin America to markets abroad, the statement said. Four people in Hezbollah’s European cell were arrested.
The US designates Hezbollah as a “terrorist” group, which is why it’s cracking down on the organization’s smuggling operations. But the bigger issue at play here may be that Hezbollah, which is funded in large part by Iran, is looking for new revenue streams after five years of propping up Assad has depleted its coffers substantially. The group is looking to “reduce its financial reliance on Iran,” which has been hit hard by falling oil prices and has cut support recently, Matt Levitt of the Washington Institute For Near East Policy told CNN.
The US also hit top Hezbollah officials (and their associated businesses) with sanctions in recent weeks, adding further economic pressure on the group.
