[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 208 (Wednesday, December 20, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1740]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HEZBOLLAH'S ILLICIT ACTIVITIES

                                  _____
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 20, 2017

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, a recent report reveals that the Obama 
White House, in a desperate attempt to appease the Ayatollahs in Iran, 
let Hezbollah off the hook. The report outlines how the DEA was on to 
Hezbollah's illicit network of drug and arms trafficking, money 
laundering and other criminal activities, yet the Obama administration 
stalled or blocked any prosecutions that would have disrupted the 
terror group's nefarious activities so that Iran would agree to the 
nuclear deal. This stunning revelation adds more evidence to why the 
JCPOA was a bad deal.
  For years Hezbollah built an extensive network in Latin America to 
raise money for its terrorist activities. Addressing Hezbollah's 
illicit activities across the globe, but in particular the Western 
Hemisphere, has been a top priority for Congress for many years.
  Through hearings and legislation we have exposed the direct ties 
between Hezbollah and criminal groups in the region that allowed 
Hezbollah to amass nearly $1 billion annually. Yet the U.S. failed to 
take sufficient action to disrupt this massive flow of money, drugs, 
and arms that have made Hezbollah the most powerful terrorist group in 
the world.
  In 2014, a GAO review noted that only two of 12 requirements that 
were mandated by the Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act were 
being addressed. Meanwhile, Hezbollah's activity in our hemisphere 
increased. In June 2017, an individual with alleged ties to the 
terrorist group was arrested in Paraguay and extradited to the U.S. 
That same month, another individual was arrested for attempting to 
provide support to Hezbollah in targeting the U.S. and Israeli 
embassies in Panama. These events followed the 2014 arrest of a 
Hezbollah operative in Peru, an Iranian-linked assassination attempt on 
the Saudi Ambassador in Washington in 2011, and the deadly terrorist 
attacks against two Jewish targets in Argentina in the 1990s. Moreover, 
the special prosecutor who uncovered Iran and Hezbollah's role in the 
Argentina attacks was murdered in 2015.
  Together with my colleagues, Chairman Cook of the Western Hemisphere 
Subcommittee and Chairman Ros-Lehtinen of the Middle East and North 
Africa Subcommittee, I have sent a letter to President Trump urging him 
to address the shortfalls that occurred under the Obama administration 
in terms of dismantling Hezbollah's illicit activities. We, in the 
House, have provided the tools necessary to pursue Hezbollah, passing 
H.R. 3329, the Hezbellah International Financing Prevention Amendments 
Act, which includes Section 105 mandating a U.S. strategy to address 
Iran and Hezbollah's networks in the Western Hemisphere and requiring 
the alignment of U.S. actions with our regional partners. We are 
prepared to do more to make up for years of negligence under the Obama 
White House that allowed these killers to go unbothered. And that's 
just the way it is.

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