The U.S. Embassy in Paraguay announced Monday that the State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that helps disrupt Hezbollah’s financial networks operating in the Tri-Border Area shared by Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina.
The offer, issued through the State Department’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program, targets individuals or entities facilitating the Lebanese militant group’s financing activities. The RFJ program is administered by the Diplomatic Security Service.
According to a statement from the embassy, Hezbollah’s operatives and facilitators in the region are believed to be generating revenue through a range of illicit activities, including money laundering, narcotics trafficking, smuggling of coal, oil and diamonds, trade in counterfeit U.S. currency, forged documents, and contraband goods such as cigarettes and luxury items. The group is also suspected of profiting from legitimate businesses across Latin America, including construction, real estate, and import-export operations.
The RFJ program said rewards may be granted for information that leads to the identification or dismantling of any financial infrastructure supporting Hezbollah. This includes donors, facilitators, front companies, financial institutions, or any criminal enterprise that channels funds to the group or helps it acquire sensitive technologies.
Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States in 1997 and later as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity in 2001. The group receives significant support from Iran, a U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism since 1984. Hezbollah is estimated to raise approximately $1 billion annually through a combination of Iranian funding, business ventures, donor contributions, and criminal enterprises.
The announcement comes days after U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Asunción Amir Masliyah delivered a formal letter from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, expressing appreciation to President Santiago Peña for designating Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as terrorist organizations.
