Project Cassandra
Project Cassandra was an effort led by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to undercut Hezbollah funding from illicit drug sources in South America.[1] Launched in 2008, the project was investigating the terrorist organization's funding.[2][3] The DEA, Eurojust, and Europol found that Hezbollah was increasingly involved with drug trafficking and organized crime as a method of funding its activities.[4][5] The investigation was tracking how hundreds of millions of dollars were being laundered from North America through Europe and West Africa to Lebanon and into Hezbollah's coffers.[6]
"Members of Hezbollah established business relationships with South American drug cartels responsible for supplying large quantities of cocaine to the European and United States drug markets. An intricate network of money couriers collect and transport millions of euros in drug proceeds from Europe to the Middle East. The currency is then paid in Colombia to drug traffickers using the Hawala disbursement system. A large portion of the drug proceeds is laundered through Lebanon [facilitated by the now-defunct Lebanese Canadian Bank and other Lebanese nationals], where it is then used for the benefit of Hezbollah to purchase weapons."[7][5]
Josh Meyer's investigative report, published by Politico in December 2017, described how, during the Obama administration, concerns regarding the Iran nuclear deal took precedence over the DEA project.[2][3] This caused Project Cassandra to be halted, as it was approaching the upper echelons of Hezbollah's conspiracy, in order to seal a nuclear deal with Iran, even though Hezbollah was still funneling cocaine into the United States.[8][3] A former Obama administration Treasury official, Katherine Bauer, confirmed this during her testimony to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in February 2017.[9]
See also
References
- ^ "Report: Obama's White House Went Easy on Hezbollah to Appease Iran". The Daily Beast. 18 December 2017.
- ^ a b Josh Meyer. "The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook". politico.com.
- ^ a b c Ottolenghi, Emanuele (1 July 2021). "The Laundromat: Hezbollah's Money-Laundering and Drug-Trafficking Networks in Latin America". JSTOR. Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. pp. 43–47. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "DEA targets Hezbollah's cash flow link to cartels". cbsnews.com.
- ^ a b "DEA And European Authorities Uncover Massive Hizballah Drug And Money Laundering Scheme". www.dea.gov. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Attacking Hezbollah's Financial Network: Policy Options" JUNE 8, 2017 STATEMENT OF DEREK S. MALTZ INTRODUCTION
- ^ "Treasury Identifies Lebanese Canadian Bank Sal as a "Primary Money Laundering Concern"". U.S. Department of the Treasury. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Hezbollah Smuggled Tons of Cocaine into the U.S. During Obama Administration, Report Reveals". newsweek.com.
- ^ "Katherine Bauer Testimony to House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Iran on Notice". 16 February 2017. p. 6. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- v
- t
- e
- Embassy of Iran, Washington, D.C.
- Ambassadors of Iran to the United States
- Embassy of the United States, Tehran
- Ambassadors of the United States to Iran
- Interests Section of Iran in the United States
- Consulate-General of the United States, Tabriz
- Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
- Iran–United States Claims Tribunal
- Iranian Directorate
- Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group
- Persian Corridor
- Persian Gulf Command
- Nationalization of the Iranian oil industry
- 1953 Iranian coup d'état
- Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights
- Exercise Delawar
- Project Dark Gene
- Safari Club
- Island of Stability
- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to George W. Bush
- Correspondence between Barack Obama and Ali Khamenei
- Phone conversation between Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani
- Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
- Assassination of Paul R. Shaffer and John H. Turner
- Iranian Revolution
- Iran hostage crisis
- Beirut barracks bombings
- Khobar Towers bombing
- Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal
- Disappearance of Robert Levinson
- United States kill or capture strategy in Iraq
- United States raid on the Iranian Liaison Office in Erbil
- Kidnapping of Jalal Sharafi
- 2008 Naval dispute
- Project Cassandra
- Detention of American hikers
- United States diplomatic cables leak
- 2011 alleged Iran assassination plot
- Strait of Hormuz dispute
- RQ-170 incident
- MV Maersk Tigris
- 2016 Naval incident
- Nuclear program of Iran
- Kidnapping of Hossein Alikhani
- Arrest of Meng Wanzhou
- Deportation of Iranian students at US airports
- May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident
- June 2019 Gulf of Oman incident
- 2019 Iranian shoot-down of American drone
- 2019 K-1 Air Base attack
- December 2019 United States airstrikes in Iraq and Syria
- Attack on the United States embassy in Baghdad
- 2020 Iran explosions
- 2021 Erbil rocket attacks
- 2021 Natanz incident
- Leaked Mohammad Javad Zarif audiotape
- June 2021 United States airstrike in Syria
- July 2021 Gulf of Oman incident
- August 2021 Gulf of Oman incident
- 2021 U.S.–Iran naval incident
- 2022 Erbil missile attacks
- 2023 Northeastern Syria clashes
- Seizure of Suez Rajan and St Nikolas
- Attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria (2023–present)
- 2024 Erbil attack
- Tower 22 drone attack
- United States sanctions against Iran
- Executive Order 12170
- Executive Order 12172
- Executive Order 13769
- Executive Order 13780
- Executive Order 13876
- Iran and Libya Sanctions Act
- Iran Nonproliferation Act
- Iran, North Korea, Syria Nonproliferation Act
- Iran Freedom and Support Act
- Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act
- Kyl–Lieberman Amendment
- Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act
- Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act
- Public Law 113-100
- Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act
- Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act
- Dames & Moore v. Regan
- United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran
- Oil Platforms case
- United States v. Banki
- Bank Markazi v. Peterson
- Certain Iranian Assets
- Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran
- Alleged violations of Treaty of Amity
- Iran Action Group
- Iran–America Society
- Iranian Students Association in the United States
- National Iranian American Council
- Organization of Iranian American Communities
- Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans
- United Against Nuclear Iran
- Farashgard
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
- Jundallah
- Kingdom Assembly of Iran
- National Council of Iran
- National Council of Resistance of Iran
- Elliott Abrams
- Howard Baskerville
- William J. Fallon
- Brian Hook
- Joseph Macmanus
- Robert Malley
- Stephen D. Mull
- Jon Pattis
- Erwin David Rabhan
- Jason Rezaian
- Scott Ritter
- Craig Wadsworth
- Michael R. White
- Roxana Saberi
- Saeed Abedini
- Saeid Aboutaleb
- Shahram Amiri
- Sirous Asgari
- Mahmoud Reza Banki
- Haleh Esfandiari
- Amir Mirza Hekmati
- Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil
- Shahrzad Mirgholikhan
- Mohammad Hosseini
- Esha Momeni
- Mohammad Mosaddegh
- Baquer Namazi
- Siamak Namazi
- Sahar Nowrouzzadeh
- Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran
- Noor Pahlavi
- Trita Parsi
- Maryam Rajavi
- Abdolreza Shahlaei
- Ali Shakeri
- Masoud Soleimani
- Morad Tahbaz
- Kian Tajbakhsh
- Karan Vafadari
- Xiyue Wang
- Nizar Zakka
- Iranian Guantanamo Bay detainees
- 1998 FIFA World Cup match
- Academic relations between Iran and the United States
- American Islam
- Anti-American sentiment in Iran
- Axis of evil
- CIA activities in Iran
- Copyright relations
- Death to America
- Dual containment
- Great Satan
- International Conference on Hollywoodism
- Iran and state-sponsored terrorism
- Iranian frozen assets
- Opposition to military action against Iran
- State Sponsor of Terrorism
- United States involvement in regime change
- United States and state-sponsored terrorism
- 650 Fifth Avenue
- Alborz High School
- American Institute of Iranian Studies
- American School of Isfahan
- Community School, Tehran
- Damavand College
- Iran Bethel School
- Iranzamin School
- Saint Peter Church, Tehran
- Tehran American School
- "Bomb Iran"
- Overthrow
- Not for the Faint of Heart