Argentina to designate Hezbollah as terror group,
Argentina’s government is planning on designating the Lebanese-based Hezbollah group as a terror organization for its role in the terror attacks against the Israeli embassy and the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, Argentinian newspaper La Nacion has reported.
“We are evaluating different possibilities. One of them is to pass a decree,” sources in the Ministry of Security and the Financial Intelligence Unit told the newspaper. The two entities have been tasked by President Mauricio Macri to find the “most rapid” solution to achieve the goal of including the Iranian-backed group in the list of terror organizations.
“We do not have a majority in Parliament, and it would take too long to pass a law there,” highly-placed sources in the Argentinian government explained to La Nacion.
July 18, 2019, will mark the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association in the country’s capital. The attack left 85 people killed and 300 injured.
The report added that on that day Macri would pay tribute to the victims with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is scheduled to visit the country next week.
Pompeo will participate in the Western Hemisphere Ministerial anti-terrorism summit that the Argentina’s government will host commemorating the bombing on July 19.
The United States and Argentina already held a workshop on countering Hezbollah’s terrorist activities in the western hemisphere in Buenos Aires in June.
La Nacion highlighted that the move by Macri’s government appears to be connected to the US official’s visit. The paper called it a critical turn in Argentina’s foreign politics.
The designation of Hezbollah as a terror group would imply enforcing political and financial restrictions on its members in the country.
Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.