Hezbollah Funds Source in S. America Frozen

Bully! It helps to hit terrorists in the pocketbook.

From The Daily Star:

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration took action on Wednesday aimed at choking off a major South American fundraising channel for Hizbullah in the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The US Treasury Department's action targets nine people and two entities - a shopping center in Paraguay and an electronics company, Casa Hamze, located in the shopping center.

The United States alleges that the designated targets have provided financial and logistical support to Hizbullah, considered a terrorist organization by the US.

Hizbullah called the US action an "attack" on Wednesday.

"This is part of the US policy to attack the party," Hizbullah politburo member Ghaleb Abu Zeinab said.

Abu Zeinab added that "every person who does not follow the US policy is being made a victim of the US and Israeli intelligence and being implicated in such allegations."

Americans are forbidden from doing business with the designated targets, whose bank accounts or other financial assets found in the US were frozen.

Key players in the fundraising operation include:

1) Assad Ahmad Barakat - Leads Hezbollah (Hizbullah) fundraising network in tri-border area. Suspected of trafficking in narcotics, counterfeit US dollars, arms and explosives. Called a "specially designated global terrorist" by the U.S. Treasury Department.

2) Muhammad Yusif Abdallah - Senior Hezbollah member in region and financial backer. Owns shopping center with percentage paid to Hezbollah. Alleged to also smuggle contraband, falsify passports, engage in credit card fraud and traffic in counterfeit US dollars.

3) Muhammad Fayez Barakat - Barakat network financial expert and bookkeeper.

4) Hamzi Ahmad Barakat - Brother of Assad Ahmad Barakat and allegedly a courier who traveled to Chile to collect funds for Hezbollah.

5) Muhammad Tarabain Chamas - Alleged counterintelligence agent.

6) Saleh Mahmoud Fayad - Alleged counterintelligence agent.

7) Sobhi Mahmoud Fayad - Liaison between the Iranian embassy and Hezbollah members in the tri-border area.

8) Ali Muhammad Kazan - Allegedly raised more than $500,000 for Hezbollah from Lebanese businesses in tri-border area.

9) Farouk Omairi - Tri-border Hezbollah community member.

The nation of Brazil denies it but the porous tri-border region has been considered a center of fund-raising and money laundering for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah for years. Although it's not mentioned, the tri-border region logically is also a training ground for Spanish-speaking Islamofascists. Not good. One must presume that radical Islamists fluent in Spanish would have an easy time entering the U.S. through the imaginary southern border.

Another conclusion from the news reports that can be drawn is that the Iranians are working closely with Hezbollah in South America. This is hardly surprising. Rather it's a confirmation of widely-held suspicions.