Proposed US bill pushes for Hezbollah ban in Latin America

A US bipartisan bill calling for the banning and dismantling of Hezbollah and its operations in Latin America was introduced by Utah Republican Sen. John Curtis and Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen.

The No Hezbollah in Our Hemisphere Act proposes a series of measures for US federal agencies to counter the Lebanese terrorist group’s influence in the region and to pressure states to expel its networks from within their borders.

The act notes that the only Latin American countries that designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization were Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Paraguay. The bill called for the persuasion of other allies to proscribe the group by following the Argentinian designation model.

The US would engage with other governments to ensure they had legislative tools to investigate terrorism activities and financial operations.

Friday’s legislation would see the US demand that Latin American states “put an end to the impunity enjoyed by designated individuals and entities or face consequences,” which could include the blacklisting of government entities cooperating with Hezbollah and the ineligibility for visas and admission to the US for government officials of terrorist sanctuary.

A state would be categorized as a terrorist sanctuary based on a multi-federal agency assessment formulated on the extent to which Hezbollah or other terrorist organizations operated in the country with the knowledge and tolerance of the host government.

Growing infrastructure for terrorist networks in South America

The preamble explained that Hezbollah was growing its infrastructure in Peru, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, with a focus on infiltrating criminal networks.

The legislation accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s regime of serving as a forward operating base for the Iranian proxy group.

“Iran-backed Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that has operated in the Western Hemisphere for decades to raise funds for its destabilizing activities around the globe,” Rosen said. “This is a threat to US national security and cannot be tolerated. That’s why I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to make clear that we will not accept countries turning a blind eye to Hezbollah’s harmful actions.”

Curtis explained that Hezbollah, which is responsible for the death of hundreds of Americans, was also using the region for recruitment and was involved in drug trafficking.

“My legislation with Sen. Rosen directs the United States to take action on Hezbollah’s alarming presence in Latin America to help keep us and our allies, including Israel, safe from their terrorist ambitions,” said Curtis.

The American Jewish Committee commended Rosen and Curtis for introducing the legislation, adding, “Hezbollah’s terrorist activities in Latin America pose a serious threat not only to the safety of Jewish communities in the region but also to the stability of the entire hemisphere.”