[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 277 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 277

   Remembering the 25th Anniversary of the bombing of the Argentine 
 Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish Community Center in Buenos 
Aires, Argentina, and recommitting to efforts to uphold justice for the 
                       85 victims of the attack.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 17, 2019

Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Kaine, 
 and Mr. Young) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Remembering the 25th Anniversary of the bombing of the Argentine 
 Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish Community Center in Buenos 
Aires, Argentina, and recommitting to efforts to uphold justice for the 
                       85 victims of the attack.

Whereas, on July 18, 1994, a car bomb detonated at the Argentine Israelite 
        Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish Community Center building in Buenos 
        Aires, killing 85 people and wounding more than 300 others, rendering it 
        the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentina's history;
Whereas Argentina is home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America--and 
        the sixth largest in the world, outside Israel;
Whereas, for 25 years, the investigation into the bombing has been stymied by 
        international inaction, political interference, investigative 
        misconduct, and allegations of cover-ups, including the removal of the 
        federal judge in charge of the case in 2005 for ``serious'' 
        irregularities in his handling of the case;
Whereas, in November 2005, a joint investigation by the Argentine Secretariat of 
        Intelligence (SIDE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) 
        concluded that the attack against AMIA was a suicide bombing carried out 
        by Ibrahim Hussein Berro, a 21-year-old operative of Hezbollah, which is 
        based in Lebanon and sponsored by the Government of the Islamic Republic 
        of Iran;
Whereas, in October 2006, Argentine prosecutors Alberto Nisman and Marcelo 
        Martin Burgos formally accused the Government of Iran of directing 
        Hezbollah to carry out the AMIA bombing;
Whereas the Argentine prosecutors charged the following Iranian nationals as 
        suspects in the AMIA bombing:

    (1) Ali Fallahijan, Iran's former intelligence minister;

    (2) Mohsen Rabbani, Iran's former cultural attache in Buenos Aires;

    (3) Ahmad Reza Asghari, a former Iranian diplomat posted to Argentina;

    (4) Ahmad Vahidi, Iran's former defense minister;

    (5) Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran's former foreign minister;

    (6) Mohsen Rezaee, former chief commander of the Iranian Islamic 
Revolutionary Guard Corps;

    (7) Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former President of Iran; and

    (8) Hadi Soleimanpour, former Iranian ambassador to Argentina;

Whereas, in November 2007, the International Criminal Police Organization 
        (INTERPOL) published Red Notices on 5 of the Iranian nationals and 
        Hezbollah operative Ibrahim Hussein Berro;
Whereas, in January 2013, the Administration of then-President Cristina 
        Fernandez de Kirchner signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Iran to 
        set up a ``truth commission'' to investigate who was responsible for the 
        AMIA bombing, despite Iran and its proxies' status as the only suspects 
        in the attack;
Whereas, in January 2013, Argentina's then-Minister of Foreign Relations, Hector 
        Timerman, and his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, sent a joint 
        notice to INTERPOL that led the general secretariat to issue a 
        ``caveat'' that in effect relaxed implementation of the Red Notices;
Whereas, in May 2013, Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman published a 500-page 
        report accusing the Government of Iran of establishing terrorist 
        networks throughout Latin America, including in Argentina, Brazil, 
        Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and 
        Tobago, dating back to the 1980s;
Whereas, in January 2015, Mr. Nisman released the results of an investigation 
        alleging that then-President Fernandez de Kirchner and then-Foreign 
        Minister Timerman conspired to cover up Iranian involvement in the 1994 
        AMIA bombing and that they had agreed to negotiate immunity for Iranian 
        suspects and secure the removal of the INTERPOL Red Notices;
Whereas Mr. Nisman's investigation had uncovered evidence, including wire-taps 
        of phone calls ``between people close to Mrs. Kirchner'' and a number of 
        Iranians such as Iran's then-Cultural Attache Mohsen Rabbani, of a 
        secret 2013 deal between the Governments of Argentina and Iran to 
        normalize relations and trade Iranian oil for Argentine grain;
Whereas Mr. Nisman was scheduled to present his findings to a commission of the 
        Argentine National Congress on January 19, 2015, but on January 18, 
        2015, was found dead as the result of a gunshot wound to his head in his 
        apartment in Buenos Aires;
Whereas officials in the Administration of then-President Fernandez de Kirchner 
        sought to discredit Mr. Nisman after his suspicious death, and in May 
        2015, an Argentine federal court dismissed Mr. Nisman's findings against 
        Ms. Fernandez de Kirchner and other officials;
Whereas, in March 2015, an independent investigation launched by Mr. Nisman's 
        family released its own report by forensic experts and forensic 
        pathologists showing that his death was not an accident or suicide, and 
        that his body had been moved after he was shot;
Whereas, in September 2017, forensic investigators of the Argentine National 
        Gendarmerie submitted a new report to a federal court concluding that 
        Mr. Nisman did not commit suicide, but that he was drugged, beaten, and 
        fatally shot in the head on January 18, 2015;
Whereas, in November 2017, Argentine media revealed that Iranian foreign 
        minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had sent a letter to the Argentine foreign 
        minister, Jorge Faurie, confirming that included in the 2013 oil-for-
        grain deal were efforts to have INTERPOL terminate the Red Notices for 
        the Iranian nationals;
Whereas, in March 2018, Argentine authorities indicted former President 
        Fernandez de Kirchner on charges that she helped cover up Iran's role in 
        the 1994 AMIA bombing;
Whereas no one yet has been brought to justice for the death of Argentine 
        prosecutor Alberto Nisman, nor have any of the named Iranian suspects 
        faced prosecution for their role in the 1994 AMIA bombing;
Whereas the suspects continue to travel globally with impunity, as demonstrated 
        by the refusal of Russian and Chinese officials in July 2018 to comply 
        with an Argentine federal judge's request that they arrest and extradite 
        former Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati on the grounds he 
        ordered the bombing, and previous attempts by Argentina to arrest 
        Velayati in Singapore and Malaysia in 2016 that were also unsuccessful;
Whereas, in September 2018, Argentine Vice President Gabriela Michetti repeated 
        the pleas of previous Argentine officials seeking help from the 
        international community to bring the Iranian suspects to justice;
Whereas, in March 2019, the former Argentine judge removed for misconduct in the 
        early days of the AMIA bombing investigation, Juan Jose Galeano, was 
        sentenced to 6 years in prison and former Argentine Intelligence (SIDE) 
        chief Hugo Anzorreguy was sentenced to 4\1/2\ years for their roles in a 
        cover-up of Iran's complicity; and
Whereas, in the days leading up to July 18, 2019, 25 years after the AMIA 
        bombing, the Government of Argentina indicated it would list Hezbollah 
        as a terrorist entity: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) reiterates its strongest condemnation of the 1994 
        attack on the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) 
        Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina;
            (2) honors the victims of the 1994 AMIA bombing and 
        expresses its sympathy to the relatives of the victims, who are 
        still waiting for justice;
            (3) expresses serious concern about Iran's influence 
        networks in the Western Hemisphere and urges the President of 
        the United States to continue to monitor Iran's activities in 
        the region as mandated by the Countering Iran in the Western 
        Hemisphere Act of 2012 (Public Law 112-220);
            (4) recognizes the work of Argentine Prosecutor Alberto 
        Nisman and his dedication to investigating the AMIA bombing and 
        expresses serious concern regarding attempts by former 
        President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her government to 
        discredit Mr. Nisman`s findings on the AMIA bombing;
            (5) commends Argentine President Mauricio Macri's continued 
        call for a swift, transparent, and independent investigation 
        into Mr. Nisman's death, recognizes the Argentine National 
        Gendarmerie's extensive work to produce credible, evidence-
        based findings, and urges an independent inquiry into Mr. 
        Nisman's findings on the 2013 oil-for-grain deal between 
        Argentina and Iran;
            (6) underscores the concern of the United States regarding 
        the continuing, 25-year-long delay in resolving the bombing 
        case and urges the President of the United States to offer 
        technical assistance to the Government of Argentina to support 
        the ongoing investigation and determine responsibility for the 
        death of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman;
            (7) commends the Government of Argentina for formally 
        recognizing Hezbollah's role in the AMIA bombing and taking 
        steps to hold the organization accountable for the attack; and
            (8) commemorates the 25th anniversary of the AMIA bombing 
        by recommitting to hold accountable those who planned and 
        executed the 1994 AMIA bombing until justice is served.
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