Drug-Profiteering Hezbollah

Hezbollah's agenda to become the sole government of Lebanon through their 'political' arm inclusive of part of the geography that is currently Israel's is being assisted by funding from sales of the world's drug scourge. Lebanon deserves better, but the weak government torn by factional and secular in-fighting is no match for Hezbollah. Lebanon's military could never assume to confront Hezbollah's better-trained and -equipped and determined non-state militia.

Hezbollah's connection to Lebanon's toxic neighbours, Syria and Iran, further mitigate against Lebanon becoming independent of the constricting and deadly octopus tentacles of Hezbollah anytime soon. The country, which was torn apart in its vicious civil war, and which underwent an semi-occupation by Israel attempting to control the cross-border attacks by the PLO which had lodged itself in in southern Lebanon, and which was fully occupied-and-controlled by Syria with Israel's departure, is a faint vestige of the country it once was.

Ed Ou for The New York Times A Hezbollah-linked entity purchased this large parcel of land in the Chouf region with financing from the Lebanese Canadian Bank.

Now, the United States has released information linking Hezbollah with the operations of a Lebanese drug kingpin, Ayman Joumas, who has conspired to help ship tens of thousands of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to the United States, and laundering a quarter-billion in drug money for the Colombian Los Zetas drug cartel.

What's more, that international drug trafficking and money laundering has involved Canada albeit at a remove; specifically the Beirut-based Lebanese Canadian Bank, with an office in Montreal. U.S. intelligence has succeeded in pinpointing it not as a legitimate banking enterprise, but a front for the network that has moved hundreds of millions of dollars of drug money, funnelling it to Hezbollah.

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Money Laundering at Lebanese Bank

It has always been held by Western intelligence that Hezbollah has been funded by Iran and Syria. One of their proxy non-state militias, like Hamas in Gaza. The true purpose of the bank now having been revealed, its ledgers have been exposed to reveal a glimpse at the clandestine methods of Hezbollah's funding. Hezbollah considers itself a state entity, the real power in Lebanon.

It is answerable not to the Lebanese parliament, but since it considers itself in control of the Lebanese government and parliament, it is in a preeminent position to do as it will, despite that it is considered by most Western countries to be a terrorist organization. Some of those who think of it as a terrorist group are not, however, too averse to making a distinction between its political-social arms and its military arm.

It is clearer now just how it has been funded; partially by Iran and Syria of course, but to feed its hunger for acquiring sophisticated weapons and stockpiling them for an eventual all-out attempt at war and vanquishing Israel, funding through the avails of cocaine distribution has created great wealth for Hezbollah. It has been enabled to move huge sums of money and retain it cleansed, thanks to collaboration with Mr. Joumaa.

U.S., European and Israeli officials have affirmed that Hezbollah used the cocaine trade to enhance its revenue stream and to help it build foreign networks. That Mr. Joumaa had laundered the proceeds of drug sales through the Lebanese Canadian Bank will doubtless now give Canada cause to scrutinize a little more closely their own intelligence on the proceeds of drug sales and the presence of a foreign bank that has excelled at money laundering and profiting a declared terrorist group.