Approximately three decades following a devastating bombing at a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that claimed the lives of 85 individuals, federal prosecutors in Manhattan have accused a Lebanese man of orchestrating the attack and leading a lengthy period of terrorism on behalf of Hezbollah.
The accused, Samuel Salman El Reda, aged 58, allegedly provided critical information to aid the operatives who carried out the bombing at the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina in July 1994, as per prosecutors. However, Mr. El Reda is currently evading authorities, according to the prosecutors.
Argentina, home to Latin America’s largest Jewish population, estimated at around 250,000 people, suffered profound consequences from the attack. The community center was destroyed, and in addition to the fatalities, hundreds of individuals were injured.
Prosecutors in New York asserted that since 1993, Mr. El Reda has held a leadership role within Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad Organization, responsible for planning and coordinating intelligence, counterintelligence, and terrorist activities. They claim he orchestrated attacks in South America, Asia, and Lebanon during this period.
Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, stated, “For decades, Samuel Salman El Reda has led terrorist operations on behalf of the Islamic Jihad Organization of Hezbollah. The career prosecutors of this office have not forgotten the pain and suffering.”
Hezbollah, established in the early 1980s as a Lebanese militant group, has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States since 1997. Israel views Hezbollah as a significant regional adversary and a proxy for Iran. The two entities engaged in a month-long war in 2006, resulting in a standstill. Periodic conflicts along Israel’s northern border have occurred since, including an incident in 2021 when Hezbollah claimed responsibility for rocket attacks.
After a deadly incursion by Hamas from the Gaza Strip into Israel in October 7, Israeli officials warned that an increase in Hezbollah attacks could trigger a robust response, raising concerns about a broader conflict.
In past years, Hezbollah has targeted perceived enemies globally. Argentine prosecutors argue that Mr. El Reda played a crucial role in the Buenos Aires bombing, connecting attackers with Hezbollah leaders in the porous border region of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil.
Despite the severity of the attack, no one has been held legally responsible, and Argentina’s investigation faced controversy. In 2015, a special prosecutor, accusing then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and other officials of conspiring with Iran to thwart the investigation, was found dead under suspicious circumstances.
A dual Colombian-Lebanese citizen, Mr. El Reda has been subject to an international arrest warrant since 2009. The U.S. indictment, announced on Wednesday, has raised hopes for renewed efforts to apprehend him, according to Miguel Bronfman, a lawyer for Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina.
Bronfman highlighted the significance of the U.S. indictment, stating, “there is a court in the United States that is in a way corroborating what Argentina has been saying for years” regarding Hezbollah’s involvement in the bombing.
U.S. federal law allows charges for supporting designated terrorist organizations outside the country, provided the person is eventually brought to the U.S. Since June 2017, several Islamic Jihad operatives have been convicted in the Southern District of New York, according to prosecutors.
Mr. El Reda reportedly lived in both Buenos Aires and Foz do Iguaçu, a Brazilian border city. Argentine prosecutors are collaborating with authorities in Brazil, Paraguay, and Panama to gather evidence on individuals who may have assisted Mr. El Reda in executing the 1994 attack.
International arrest warrants have been issued for nine individuals suspected of involvement in the Buenos Aires bombing, according to Bronfman. Additionally, prosecutors in Argentina believe Mr. El Reda may be connected to a bomb explosion on a domestic flight in Panama a day after the Buenos Aires attack, which resulted in 21 fatalities.
While the investigation into the Buenos Aires bombing faced setbacks, Mr. El Reda allegedly continued his terrorist activities. Starting in 2007, he purportedly played a role in recruiting, training, and deploying operatives from Lebanon for intelligence gathering and planning attacks, as outlined in the indictment.
In 2009, Mr. El Reda reportedly directed operatives to Thailand to destroy a cache of explosive materials, suspecting surveillance by law enforcement. In 2011, he allegedly sent operatives to Panama to surveil the Panama Canal and the U.S. and Israeli embassies. Prosecutors claim that in 2014, a man arrested in Peru identified Mr. El Reda as his handler, connecting him to explosive chemicals found in his apartment and traces on his hands, along with photographs of Peruvian landmarks and buildings.
{Matzav.com}
