Brazilian police arrest suspected Hezbollah links
Nov. 9, 2023
Brazilian federal police said they arrested two men suspected links to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, who were allegedly planning attacks against Brazil’s Jewish community.
The arrests were carried out during what police called an operation to “interrupt preparations for acts of terrorism and obtain evidence about the possible recruitment of Brazilians to commit of extremist acts,” reports the Guardian.
The arrests were made in São Paulo and authorities said other raids were carried out across the country. (BBC)
Rio’s O Globo newspaper said investigators believed “the group was planning to launch attacks on buildings belonging to Brazil’s Jewish community, including synagogues”, although specific targets were not cited.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the country’s Mossad intelligence worked with Brazilian security services and other international agencies and “foiled a terrorist attack in Brazil, planned by the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”
The comments angered Brazilian Justice Minister Flavio Dino, who today delivered a stiff rebuke to Israel, saying on social media that "Brazil is a sovereign country," and "no foreign force orders around the Brazilian Federal Police." Dino did not explicitly deny any of the details in the Israeli statement, but seemed more angered by its timing, tone and the link it drew to the current war in Gaza, according to Reuters.
Brazilian authorities declined to comment on the alleged Hizbollah connection or the intended targets. But a Brazilian official with information about the plot confirmed to the Associated Press that the two suspects were recruited and financed by Hezbollah.
The Israeli statement emphasized that the planned attack was “directed and financed by Iran … This was an extensive network that operated in additional countries.” (Reuters)
The statement did not specify which countries, but security experts have long tracked alleged Hezbollah operations in South America's "tri-border area" between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, reports AFP.
Brazil is home to Latin America’s second-largest Jewish population, after Argentina, numbering 120,000 people, reports the Financial Times.
More Brazil
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Panama
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Regional
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Mexico
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Regional Relations
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Migration
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Colombia
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Critter Corner
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