How Iran Funds Hezbollah via Latin American Drug Cartels, According to Interpol Expert

Concerns Over Hezbollah's Funding Sources

According to ХВИЛЯ: Former Interpol officer and international security expert, Tamirlan Vagabov, has raised the alarm over Iran's use of shadowy schemes and cooperation with drug cartels to finance proxy forces like Hezbollah. Vagabov explained that this mechanism involves a network in Latin America, specifically in the so-called 'Tri-Border Area' (TBA) where Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil meet. This region is a known hub for organized crime. The TBA's porous borders and illicit economies make it a significant concern for global financial and security monitoring.

Links Between Cartels and Hezbollah

Tamirlan Vagabov, who personally oversaw a project related to the Tri-Border Area, emphasized the seriousness of the financial links between Hezbollah and Latin American drug cartels.

“We took the links between Hezbollah's funding and drug cartels in Latin America very seriously,” stressed the expert.

He further added,

“And there, I would say, were very serious connections between various drug cartels which also financed Hezbollah's activities. Through convoys, transportation, covering all channels of the southern and middle drug supply corridors for narcotics and psychotropic substances.”

Vagabov shared his direct experience, stating, 'I had personal experience in all of this. And I saw how the Iranian state skillfully used all of this. It provided 'cover,' of course, and earned considerable money from it.' The expert also pointed out that 'money was earned through informal channels, and this did not create a heavy burden on the Iranian budget for sponsoring all these proxies.' In Vagabov's view, 'Iran is not as simple as it seems. Its activities reach Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and so on.'

These statements underscore the critical need to understand global organized crime networks and their interconnections with state actors like Iran. They also indicate that regions traditionally considered remote from major conflicts can become crucial links in financing terrorist organizations through the drug trade. Such connections could have serious consequences not only for security in Latin America but for global stability as a whole.