Suspected Hezbollah terrorists arrested in Brazil

Suspected Hezbollah terrorists arrested in Brazil

Hezbollah and the Iranian regime continue to operate around the world to attack Israeli, Jewish, and Western targets,” the Mossad said

Brazil’s Federal Police (PF) Wednesday arrested two suspects in Sao Paulo in connection with plans to stage “terrorist acts” against the Jewish community in the South American country. Behind the plot was reported to be the terrorist group Hezbollah, according to Israeli secret service Mossad sources quoted by local media.

The PF said the operation also sought to “obtain evidence of the possible recruitment of Brazilians to commit extremist acts in the country“ as other 11 raids were carried out in Sao Paulo, Brasilia, and in the State of Minas Gerais. Investigators believe the detainees had recently traveled to Beirut. An Interpol arrest warrant has also been issued against two other suspects with dual Brazilian-Lebanese nationality.

”The recruiters and those recruited must answer for the crimes of constituting or integrating a terrorist organization and carrying out preparatory acts of terrorism, whose maximum penalties, if added together, reach 15 years and 6 months in prison,“ the PF said in a statement.

Under Brazil’s Terrorism Act, such crimes are treated as heinous and are therefore unbailable. They are not subject to grace, amnesty, or pardon, and the sentence for these crimes is initially served in a closed regime, regardless of whether the conviction has been final and unappealable.

Mossad said in a press release that it had assisted Brazilian security services and international agencies to ”foil a terrorist attack in Brazil“ and underlined that “it was planned by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, directed and financed by the Iranian regime.” The intelligence agency also stressed that the “terrorist cell” planned an attack against “Israeli and Jewish targets in Brazil.”

Hezbollah’s alleged presence in the triple border between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay has recently been under intelligence scrutiny, it was also reported.

”In the background of the war in Gaza (…) Hezbollah and the Iranian regime continue to operate around the world to attack Israeli, Jewish, and Western targets,” the Mossad said.

“The Mossad thanks the Brazilian security services for the arrest of a terrorist cell that was operated by Hezbollah in order to carry out an attack on Israeli and Jewish targets in Brazil,” the statement said. It said the attack was “planned by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, directed and financed by Iran,” read a posting from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on X.

According to G1, one of the suspects was arrested upon landing in Sao Paulo from Lebanon carrying US$ 5,000 with him.

The Israeli Confederation of Brazil (Conib) expressed its “enormous concern” over the case. “Terrorism, in all its aspects, must be fought and repudiated by Brazilian society,” the entity said in a note. “The tragic conflicts in the Middle East cannot be imported to our country, where different communities coexist peacefully,” it went on. “We congratulate the Federal Police, the public prosecutor’s office, and the justice ministry for their preventive action,” the group elaborated.

Brazil has one of the world’s largest Lebanese populations; most estimates put their total well above that of Lebanon itself. On the other hand, some 107,000 Jews live in Brazil, the second largest community in the region after Argentina.