Druze experts condemn Tom Barrack's accusations against Syrian Druze, warn of sectarian violence

US envoy Tom Barrack's claims that the Sweida-Daraa area is the world's captagon manufacturing hub and that a Druze sheik uses perceived US-Israeli backing to persecute other Druze have sparked outrage among Druze experts and Israeli figures, who warn the remarks risk fueling sectarian violence.

US envoy Tom Barrack's claims that the area between Sweida and Daraa is 'the captagon manufacturing operation of the world' and that a Druze sheik uses perceived American and Israeli backing to 'persecute other Druze' have sparked outrage among Druze experts and Israeli figures, who warn the remarks risk fueling sectarian violence. Israeli Druze diplomat and historian Dr. Reda Mansour criticized the statements on X as 'highly irresponsible' and 'baselessly criminalizing an entire ethnic minority,' warning they put the Druze community at risk of sectarian violence and jihadi attacks. Lebanese academic Dr. Zena Mansour accused Barrack of targeting the Druze for their 'defiance' and of 'covering up the jihadist' landscape in Syria. Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, told The Jerusalem Post that Barrack's comments and 'lack of understanding' have 'brought a lot of damage to the whole Middle East.' The article provides context of over 1,300 Druze killed in the July 2025 massacres in Sweida and surrounding villages, according to UN figures, and notes Jordanian military strikes on facilities alleged to be used for weapons storage and drug manufacturing.