MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US Senate warned of Hezbollah expansion in Venezuela

Latin America has become an increasingly vital center for Hezbollah's financing, the experts concluded

A group of international terrorism experts delivered a stark warning to the US Senate on Tuesday, detailing the dramatic expansion of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in Latin America, with particular emphasis on its deepening ties with the Venezuelan state under President Nicolás Maduro.

During a hearing before the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics and Control, experts claimed that Venezuela has become a critical base for the group’s financing and operational activities.

Marshall Billingslea, former Undersecretary for Terrorist Financing at the US Treasury Department, testified that while contracts were awarded to Hezbollah-linked front companies as early as 2001, “the breadth and depth of Hezbollah's presence in Venezuela expanded dramatically” once Maduro took power.

Billingslea alleged that the Venezuelan regime allowed Hezbollah to establish a paramilitary training center on Margarita Island.

He further accused the Venezuelan Passport Agency, previously led by Tareck El Aissami, of facilitating “the issuance of a large number of passports to members of Hezbollah and Hamas,” noting that some of these individuals successfully entered the United States.

Billingslea warned that the Venezuelan regime has become a “safe haven for the world's most dangerous foreign terrorist organization,” in addition to its role in cocaine trafficking.

The hearing also covered Hezbollah’s broader regional network, which exploits corruption and weak governance in communities with Lebanese origins.

Experts noted that areas like the Triple Border (Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina) are key financing points, with up to a third of Hezbollah’s estimated annual funding -around US$200 million- potentially originating from South America.

When asked about Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s administration, Matthew Levitt, another former Treasury official, indicated that “before this administration, there was much more joint effort” with the US to tackle the problem in that country.

Billingslea concluded that due to Iran’s economic issues and deterioration in Lebanon, Latin America has become an increasingly vital center for Hezbollah's financing.