Project Cedar (DEA)

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Project Cedar was a collaborative international law enforcement operation led by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in partnership with European authorities. Launched in 2016, the initiative aimed to dismantle a sophisticated global drug trafficking and money laundering network associated with Hezbollah’s Business Affairs Component (BAC), a unit known for managing the organization's financial activities. [1] [2]

The investigation was part of the larger Project Cassandra, which was an umbrella initiative encompassing about 20 operations targeting Hezbollah's global criminal support network. [3] The investigation revealed that Hezbollah had developed extensive ties with South American drug cartels, including La Oficina de Envigado, which supplied cocaine to markets in the United States and Europe and the Colombia's Medellín Cartel. Notably, Chekri Mahmoud Harb, also known as "Taliban," was a central figure in this network. [4] [5] [6] Harb, a Lebanese-Colombian national, was involved in coordinating cocaine shipments from South America to the Middle East and Europe, collaborating with those cartels. His operations funneled significant drug proceeds to Hezbollah, aiding in financing the group's activities. [1] [7]

Proceeds from these drug sales were funneled through trade-based money laundering schemes, such as the Black Market Peso Exchange. This illicit financial network supported Hezbollah’s operations, supplementing its funding beyond the traditional financial backing from Iran. [1] The operation exposed Hezbollah's involvement in transnational organized crime, highlighting the group’s reliance on illegal narcotics trafficking and financial fraud to sustain its political and military activities. Project Cedar underscored the integration of terrorism financing and global criminal enterprises, prompting calls for enhanced international cooperation to disrupt such networks. [8] [9] [1]

See also

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"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."

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Project Titan was a joint operation conducted by U.S. and Colombian authorities in 2004, targeting Hezbollah's involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering. The project that was part of the larger Project Cassandra, was initiated by DEA agents in Miami as a large-scale money laundering investigation. The operation successfully infiltrated a significant organized crime group in Medellin, Colombia, known as the Oficina de Envigado. It uncovered Hezbollah's deepening involvement with South American drug cartels, notably the Medellín Cartel, to finance its activities. A key figure identified was Chekri Mahmoud Harb, also known as "Taliban," a Lebanese-Colombian national who coordinated cocaine shipments from Colombia to the Middle East and Europe. Harb's network reportedly paid Hezbollah 12% of its narcotics income.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Levitt, Matthew (2022). "Episode 6: Operation Cedar Hezbollah Narco-Money Laundering". The Washington Institute.
  2. ↑ Levanoni, Moran (2021). "No Boundaries – The Syrian-Lebanese Drug Economy". MDC.
  3. ↑ "Report: Obama's WH Eased Up on Hezbollah to Appease Iran". The Daily Beast. 2017-12-18. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  4. ↑ "Chekri Mahmoud Harb". OpenSanctions.org. 1961-08-25. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  5. ↑ "Watchlist Profile: Chekri Mahmoud Harb | Global Watchlist". www.sanctionswatchlist.com. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  6. ↑ IT, Lursoft (2025-01-22). "Chekri Mahmoud HARB". www.lursoft.lv. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  7. ↑ "Criminal funding – DW – 12/20/2011". dw.com. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  8. ↑ Guarin, Jeferson (2020). "FARC-Hezbollah: The success of Venezuela-Iran proxy groups and their convergence in the Americas". Security and Defence Quarterly. 31 (4): 117–134. doi:10.35467/sdq/130934.
  9. ↑ "Colombia Ties Drug Ring to Hezbollah". The New York Times. 2008.
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