Hezbollah sends Latin American recruits to Lebanon for training before targeting Jewish communities

Hezbollah is recruiting convicted felons in Latin America, flying them to Lebanon for training, and sending them back to target Jewish communities, according to a Washington Institute report by Brazilian federal prosecutor Lucas Gualtieri. Operation Trapiche, a Brazil Federal Police and Mossad operation, uncovered a network run by Mohamad Khir Abdulmajid that recruited at least five Brazilians via social media. Recruit Lucas Passos Lima geolocated synagogues and the Israeli embassy in Brasília. The report highlights the group's use of criminal enterprises for fundraising and operational purposes.

Hezbollah is increasingly recruiting convicted felons in Latin America, targeting individuals with financial difficulties who harbor resentment toward the courts, according to a new Washington Institute assessment written by Brazilian federal prosecutor Lucas Gualtieri. The group flies recruits to Lebanon for training and sends them back to their home countries to scout for potential Israeli and Jewish targets. Operation Trapiche, a counterterrorism operation launched by Brazil's Federal Police in November 2023 with support from Israel's Mossad, uncovered a network run by Mohamad Khir Abdulmajid, a Syrian-born naturalized Brazilian. Abdulmajid is believed to have approached at least five Brazilians through social media and paid for their short trips to Beirut, where they received operational instruction. Recruit Lucas Passos Lima, whose conviction was reinstated by Brazil's Superior Court of Justice last month, had geolocated and filmed three synagogues, a Jewish cemetery, the Israeli embassy, and a rabbi in and around Brasília. He also trained with firearms and purchased surveillance equipment. Separately, Dante Felipini, a São Paulo cryptocurrency broker, was arrested for establishing cryptocurrency wallets for the IRGC and Hezbollah. The article notes that Hezbollah's use of criminal enterprises for fundraising is not new, but the significance is that the group did not need to launder its own money to evade sanctions.