U.S. puts $10 million bounty on Hezbollah’s Latin American money laundering operations, targeting terrorist networks thriving in a lawless tri-border region where criminals and terrorists freely collaborate while local authorities stand idly by.
Key Takeaways
- The U.S. State Department has offered a $10 million reward for information disrupting Hezbollah’s financial operations in South America, particularly in the Tri-Border Area where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet.
- Hezbollah finances its terrorism through illicit activities, including money laundering, narcotics trafficking, smuggling, and counterfeiting, with support from Lebanese diaspora communities.
- The terrorist organization has formed dangerous alliances with local criminal gangs, including Brazil’s First Capital Command (PCC), to expand its operations and secure protection.
- Despite previous efforts by U.S. agencies, Hezbollah’s networks continue to flourish due to poorly funded local law enforcement and financial institutions that keep organized crime transactions secret.
- The reward program targets disrupting revenue streams, identifying donors, shutting down facilitating financial institutions, and dismantling criminal schemes that support the terrorist organization.
America’s Multi-Million Dollar Campaign Against Terror Financing
The Trump administration has intensified its fight against global terrorism by offering a substantial $10 million reward for information on Hezbollah’s financial networks operating in Latin America. The State Department’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program announced this bounty targeting the terrorist organization’s operations in the Tri-Border Area (TBA) where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay converge. This strategic move aims to cripple the financial infrastructure that fuels Hezbollah’s global terrorist activities by gathering intelligence from those with insider knowledge of their sophisticated money-moving operations.
The reward announcement, published in multiple languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic, demonstrates the administration’s commitment to reaching potential informants across diverse communities in the region. By offering such a substantial sum, U.S. officials hope to incentivize those with valuable information to come forward, potentially disrupting decades of entrenched criminal-terrorist networks that have operated with relative impunity in this notoriously lawless border region.
The US is offering up to $10 million for information that helps to disrupt Hezbollah’s financial operations in South America
— The National (@TheNationalNews) May 19, 2025
The Tri-Border Area: A Terrorist Safe Haven
For over 25 years, the Tri-Border Area has served as a breeding ground for terrorist activity, with Hezbollah, al Qaeda, and Hamas all establishing operations in the region. The area’s large Arab community, combined with endemic criminal activity and corruption, creates perfect conditions for terrorist networks to flourish alongside organized crime. Local law enforcement agencies are woefully underfunded and often compromised, while financial institutions in the region frequently maintain secrecy around suspicious transactions, allowing illicit money flows to continue unimpeded.
“The large Arab community in the TBA is conducive to the establishment of sleeper cells of Islamic terrorists,” stated the Department of Justice (DOJ).
A March 2025 analysis by the RAND Corporation confirmed that Hezbollah remains the dominant terrorist player in the TBA. The organization has developed sophisticated document fraud operations and extensive money laundering networks throughout Latin America. These operations generate significant funding for Hezbollah’s terrorist activities worldwide, including attacks against Israel and American interests. The terrorist group’s persistent presence highlights the critical national security threat emanating from this seemingly remote corner of South America.
⚡#BREAKING: The U.S. is offering up to a $10 million reward for information on Hezbollah’s financial networks in South America.
The Iran-backed terror organization is responsible for several terror attacks in South America and generates significant revenues from drug… pic.twitter.com/nifWdrz0UP
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) May 19, 2025
Unholy Alliances: Terrorists and Drug Gangs
One of the most alarming developments in recent years has been Hezbollah’s growing partnership with powerful Latin American crime syndicates. Brazilian federal police have been investigating the terrorist group’s ties to the notorious First Capital Command (PCC), one of Brazil’s most dangerous drug gangs. The PCC, formed in the 1990s, has a bloody history of bank robberies and prison rebellions, and continues to pose a significant security threat throughout Brazil and neighboring countries.
“Despite the efforts that DHS, the Department of State, Drug Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Department of the Treasury have taken to subdue these networks, many reportedly persist with the support of Lebanese diaspora communities in the region,” reported RAND.
In 2023, Lebanese arms dealers linked to Hezbollah were discovered supplying PCC with weapons, while the Brazilian gang offered protection to Lebanese criminals in Brazilian prisons. This mutually beneficial relationship allows Hezbollah to expand its reach and operational capabilities while providing PCC with international connections and sophisticated weaponry. The symbiotic partnership between these groups represents a serious escalation in the threat level, combining terrorist ideology with the resources and brutal enforcement capabilities of established criminal organizations.
America’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy
The State Department’s reward program specifically seeks information that can disrupt Hezbollah’s revenue streams, identify major donors, shut down financial institutions that facilitate terrorist funding, and dismantle criminal schemes that support the terrorist organization. This multi-pronged approach recognizes the complex nature of Hezbollah’s financing operations and aims to attack the problem from multiple angles. The substantial reward indicates the high priority the Trump administration places on dismantling these terrorist financing networks.
“The US Department of State is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on Hezbollah’s activities and connections in Latin America,” stated the US Department of State.
This latest initiative builds on years of American efforts to combat terrorist financing in the region. However, previous attempts have often been hampered by insufficient coordination with local governments, endemic corruption, and the terrorists’ ability to adapt their methods. The Trump administration’s aggressive new approach signals a renewed determination to finally dismantle these networks, recognizing that cutting off financial support is often more effective than direct military confrontation in weakening terrorist organizations like Hezbollah.
