[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 17, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4912-S4913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

SENATE RESOLUTION 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 ATTACKS

  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:

                              S. Res. 277

       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 minster;
       (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;

[[Page S4913]]

       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 Valeyati 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.

                          ____________________