Intended to fight transnational organized crime, Executive Orders 13581 and 13773 lay out a clear policy that identifies the convergence between terror finance networks and transnational organized crime as a critical threat to our national security. Regardless, neither President Trump nor President Obama designated Hezbollah as a Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO).
Labeling Hezbollah as a TCO is a long overdue measure, given the growing body of evidence showing Hezbollah’s global involvement in transnational crime. Hezbollah now derives hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from criminal activities. Especially in Latin America, Hezbollah operatives have built extensive and enduring ties with drug cartels. But Latin American governments are reluctant to treat Hezbollah and its local networks as a terrorist organization. A TCO designation would lead them to take the criminal threat from Hezbollah more seriously and confront Hezbollah’s criminal apparatus, which directly impacts their societies more than Hezbollah’s military adventurism in the Middle East.
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