Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Mikati

11/04/2023 08:29 AM EDT

Office of the Spokesperson

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met today in Amman with Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The Secretary shared his deep concern about exchanges of fire along Lebanon's southern border with Israel and stressed the importance of ensuring the Israel-Hamas conflict does not spread elsewhere.  Secretary Blinken thanked the Prime Minister for his leadership in preventing Lebanon from being pulled into a war that the Lebanese people do not want, as well as his efforts with regional partners to pursue durable and sustainable peace in the region. The Secretary discussed U.S. efforts to secure humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza and noted that Lebanon needs to select a President to lead the country through both the regional and domestic crises.

One Year Anniversary of Lebanon’s Presidential Vacancy

PRESS STATEMENT

MATTHEW MILLER, DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON

OCTOBER 31, 2023

Exactly one year after the end of former President Aoun's term, Lebanon remains without a president or an empowered government.  Lebanon's divided parliamentarians have failed to elect a successor to President Aoun, putting their personal ambitions ahead of the interests of their country.  Even as rising tensions along Lebanon's southern border threaten the country's stability and the economic crisis deepens, the Lebanese people are deprived of leadership when they need it most.

Lebanon's political paralysis does not benefit the Lebanese people.  We call on the country's parliamentarians to do their duty and elect a president who will put the country and all its people first, commit to forming a government free of corruption, and implement critical economic reforms – chief among them those needed to secure an IMF program, the country's only viable path out of the current economic crisis.   

The Lebanese people deserve a president who can unite the nation and guide Lebanon safely through the current challenges.

40th Anniversary of the Beirut Marine Corps Barracks Bombing

PRESS STATEMENT

ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE

OCTOBER 23, 2023

On October 23, 1983, Hizballah killed 241 U.S. military personnel, including 220 Marines, 18 sailors, and three soldiers in a terrorist bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.  Minutes later, a second suicide bomber killed 58 French paratroopers.  Six innocent Lebanese civilians also lost their lives.  The abhorrent and shocking attack on the Beirut barracks remains to this day the single deadliest day for the U.S. Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Today, forty years later, we mourn those service members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon lost in both attacks and we honor their legacy.  We think of their families and friends, who continue to feel the painful absence of loved ones.

As we reflect on this day, and in light of the ongoing challenges in Lebanon and the region, we remain committed to building a brighter future for Lebanon, the Lebanese people, and the broader Middle East.

Commemoration Of The 40th Anniversary of the Beirut Barracks Bombing

OCTOBER 23, 2023

Today, U.S. Embassy Beirut marked the 40th anniversary of the October 23, 1983, bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut, in which a suicide bomber killed 241 U.S. servicemembers.  U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea, Deputy Chief of Mission Amanda Pilz, and the Embassy community honored and paid tribute to those who lost their lives in this attack.

Ambassador Shea and French Ambassador Hervé Magro laid a wreath at the U.S. Embassy memorial adorned with the phrase, "They Came in Peace."  Members of the U.S. Embassy's Marine Security Guard detachment read the names of each victim, remembered their service, and honored their sacrifice.   

In her remarks, Ambassador Shea emphasized that the United States' commitment to the people of Lebanon is "so much stronger than any cowardly act of violence or terrorism."  She continued, "The motto of the U.S. Marine Corps is semper fidelis, always faithful.  Today, 40 years after the Marine Corps Barracks bombing, we are forever faithful to the memory of those 241 servicemen and all those – Americans, Lebanese, and others – who have given their lives in support of peace."

Following are Ambassador Shea's complete remarks:  

Remarks by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy C. Shea 40th Anniversary of the Bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks October 23, 2023, 9:30 AM

Good morning.  Thank you, all of you, for joining us here today.  Thank you, Your Excellency Hervé Magro, defense attaché, and other colleagues from our French embassy counterparts.  Thank you, all of you, for being here with us amid difficult circumstances to pay our respects to those lost and injured 40 years ago today.  

Forty years ago, the Lebanese people were midway through a horrific civil war that killed tens of thousands and drove almost a million Lebanese to flee their homes.  At the request of the Lebanese government, the United States – alongside our French, Italian, and UK allies – formed a new multinational force to help the Lebanese government regain full sovereignty over Beirut and the entire country.  Or, as President Ronald Reagan said at the time, to ensure that "the Lebanese people are allowed to chart their own future."  That is an aspiration we still hold.

And so in 1982, roughly 800 U.S. Marines landed in Beirut.  Along with their fellow French, UK, and Italian soldiers, they came in peace to help ensure the safety of the Lebanese people and bring an end to the tragic violence.  

These Marines were young men with bright futures ahead of them, and with a deep commitment to serving their country and the values we hold dear as Americans and Lebanese.  Colleagues, I would invite you to view the exhibit in our consular waiting room, which includes some photographs depicting the daily lives of these Marines when they were here in Beirut.  These photos capture some of their simple pleasures, like a pick-up soccer match or getting a haircut or playing with Lebanese children in the area around the Marine Corps Barracks.

October 23, 1983, should have been one of those days.  It was a Sunday, so the compound would have been quiet.  

At 6:22 a.m., just a few moments before the morning reveille was scheduled to sound, their bright futures were cut short in a matter of seconds.  A suicide bomber drove a truck filled with explosives into the barracks and detonated it, in an attack conducted with Iran's support.  This building was reduced to rubble. 241 U.S. servicemen were killed that day.  One more would die in the coming days due to injuries he sustained during the attack.

In a matter of seconds, a cowardly act of terrorism robbed these American servicemen of their bright futures.  Families were left forever grieving an unimaginable loss, and an entire nation was left in shock.

A few minutes later, a second suicide bomber struck the French barracks, the Drakkar, and killed 58 French paratroopers.  Again, I would like to recognize his Excellency Ambassador Hervé Magro, who is with us here today, and salute the memory of those French paratroopers, whose futures were taken away from them far too soon.  Que leurs âmes reposent en paix.

We are here, today, 40 years later, to honor the memories of those who came in peace.  We remember, and we honor them.  

We are also here to say unequivocally that our commitment to the Lebanese people is so much stronger than any cowardly act of violence or terrorism.  

Today, we reject, and the Lebanese people reject, the threats of some to drag Lebanon into a new war.  We continue to renounce any attempts to shape the region's future through intimidation, violence, and terrorism – and here I am talking about not just Iran and Hizballah, but also Hamas and others, who falsely paint themselves as a noble "resistance," and who most certainly do not represent the aspirations – or the values – of the Palestinian people, while they try to rob Lebanon and its people of their bright future.

The motto of the U.S. Marine Corps is semper fidelis, always faithful.  Today, 40 years after the Marine Corps Barracks bombing, we are forever faithful to the memory of those 241 servicemen and all those – Americans, Lebanese, and others – who have given their lives in support of peace.  

We are also forever faithful to our values and principles, the very same ones that brought the U.S. Marines here in the 1980s, and the ones that I know we as Americans and Lebanese share today.  Those of us who are serving here today continue to work every day to promote those values and to be a positive force for Lebanon's peace, stability, and national unity – and today in particular, we do so in memory of those who paid the ultimate price.

Twelfth Meeting of the Law Enforcement Coordination Group Focuses on Countering Hizballah’s Global Terrorist, Financial, and Procurement Networks

MEDIA NOTE

SEPTEMBER 18, 2023

The U.S. Departments of State and Justice led the Law Enforcement Coordination Group (LECG), which convened in Europe on September 12-13 for a regional meeting focused on Hizballah's destabilizing activities in the Western Hemisphere. Governments from across North, South, and Central America participated in this session, along with Israel and Europol.

The LECG was established by the United States and Europe in 2014 as a global forum to improve international coordination with governments from around the world to counter Hizballah's terrorist and other illicit activities.

Participants discussed how Hizballah utilizes the Western Hemisphere as a key logistical and fundraising platform for its global terrorist activities. The LECG also featured case studies on Hizballah's recent terrorist and other criminal activities in the region, and governmental actions to disrupt these various schemes. Cases studies included: Hizballah's use of cryptocurrency; Hizballah's recruitment tactics; Hizballah's illicit financial schemes; and a number of recent U.S. and international prosecutions against Hizballah members.

Officials from the U.S. Departments of the Treasury and Homeland Security, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, also participated in this meeting. The LECG will convene again in 2024.

Treasury Designates Hizballah Operatives and Financial Facilitators in South America and Lebanon

September 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in coordination with the Drug Enforcement Administration,designated key Hizballah operatives and financial facilitators in South America and Lebanon. This action includes Amer Mohamed Akil Rada, who in addition to his role as a senior Hizballah operative, was one of the operational members of Hizballah who carried out the terrorist attack against the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Argentina in 1994 that killed 85 people. Amer and his associates manage a commercial enterprise for Hizballah, including charcoal exports to Lebanon. This action targets seven key individuals and entities in this network that generates revenue for Hizballah's terrorist activities and enables the terrorist group's presence and nefarious activities in Latin America. Since its inception, Hizballah has established an extensive global infrastructure that includes commercial activities that allow Hizballah operatives to travel freely, strategically case targets, and transfer materials and funds.

"Today's action underscores the U.S. government's commitment to pursuing Hizballah operatives and financiers no matter their location," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. "We will continue to root out those who seek to abuse the U.S. and international financial system to fund and engage in terrorism."

OFAC is designating this South America- and Lebanon-based network of family members, business associates, and companies under E.O. 13224, as amended, which targets terrorists, terrorist organizations, leaders, and officials of terrorist groups, and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. 

AMER MOHAMED AKIL RADA 

Amer Mohamed Akil Rada (Amer) is a longtime Hizballah member who currently lives in Lebanon but served in an operational role for the group for over a decade in South America. Amer functioned as a senior operative for Hizballah's External Security Organization (ESO), which is responsible for Hizballah's extraterritorial operations. Amer has coordinated the activities of various commercial enterprises for Hizballah, including charcoal exports from Colombia to Lebanon. As a Hizballah operative and leader, Amer uses as much as 80 percent of the proceeds of his commercial enterprise to benefit Hizballah.

In addition, Amer worked in close coordination with U.S.-designated Salman Raouf Salman to case targets around South America on behalf of Hizballah and was one of the operational members of Hizballah who carried out the AMIA bombing, the 1994 attack on the community center for the largest Jewish community in South America, killing 85 people and wounding hundreds more. He was also allegedly involved in the Israeli embassy bombing in Buenos Aires in 1992.

Amer is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Hizballah.

SAMER AKIL RADA AND BCI TECHNOLOGIES C.A.

Samer Akil Rada (Samer), Amer's brother, is a member of Hizballah and has been actively linked to crimes related to illicit drug trafficking and money laundering in various countries in Latin America. Samer was previously based in Belize but fled because of a drug-related case. He was also implicated in the shipment of 500 kilograms of cocaine worth approximately $15 million that were hidden in fruit shipments and ultimately seized in El Salvador. Samer is the General Manager and CEO of Venezuela-based BCI Technologies C.A.

Samer is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Hizballah. BCI Technologies is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Samer.

MAHDY AKIL HELBAWI AND ZANGA S.A.S.

Mahdy Akil Helbawi (Helbawi) is Amer's son and conducts, on Amer's behalf, business activities in Colombia, almost certainly in an effort to evade detection and circumvent sanctions. Helbawi established a Colombia-based charcoal company Zanga S.A.S., which has been the main supplier of companies controlled by individuals in this network, including Amer. Helbawi is the CEO of ZangaS.A.S. 

Helbawi is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Amer. Zanga S.A.S. is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for being owned, controlled, or directed by, directly or indirectly, Helbawi.

BLACK DIAMOND SARL AND ALI ISMAIL AJROUCH

Zanga S.A.S. received transfers totaling approximately $40,000 from Lebanon-based company Black Diamond SARL, citing purchases of coal or charcoal. Ali Ismail Ajrouch is the owner of Black Diamond SARL.

Black Diamond SARL is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Zanga S.A.S. Ali Ismail Ajrouch is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for owning or controlling, directly or indirectly, Black Diamond SARL.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of the individuals and entities named above, and of any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by them, individually, or with other blocked persons, that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within the United States (including transactions transiting the United States) that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons. In addition, persons that engage in certain transactions with the persons designated today may themselves be exposed to sanctions or subject to an enforcement action.

Furthermore, engaging in certain transactions with the individuals and entities designated today entails risk of secondary sanctions pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended. Two individuals being designated today are also subject to the Hizballah Financial Sanctions Regulations, which implement the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015, as amended by the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2018. Pursuant to these authorities, OFAC can prohibit or impose strict conditions on the opening or maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account by a foreign financial institution that either knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant transaction on behalf of a Specially Designated Global Terrorist or, among other things, knowingly facilitates a significant transaction for Hizballah or certain persons designated for their connection to Hizballah.

The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC's ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC's Frequently Asked Question 897 here. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.

View identifying information related to today's action.

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Explanation of Vote by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield Following the Adoption of a UN Security Council Resolution on the UNIFIL Mandate

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield

U.S. Representative to the United Nations

New York, New York

August 31, 2023

AS DELIVERED

Colleagues, the United States is pleased to vote yes on the UNIFIL mandate. And we thank France, the penholder, for all their efforts to bring us to this point.

We are extremely grateful for the service and sacrifice of the men and women who staff this important mission in pursuit of a more stable and prosperous future for the Lebanese people and the greater region. The ability of UNIFIL personnel to carry out their responsibilities – independent of any restrictions – is essential. And we have had longstanding concerns regarding actions by some actors to obstruct the Mission's freedom of movement.

Significantly, the resolution adopted today includes language strongly reaffirming UNIFIL's full freedom of movement and its ability to conduct "announced and unannounced" patrols. It is imperative this be fully implemented, and that UNIFIL not face unacceptable obstacles to carrying out its mission.

We know UNIFIL has been unable to access a range of troubling sites across the Blue Line, including illegal firing ranges, Green Without Borders sites, rocket launch sites, and tunnel sites. It is clear the main purpose of these sites is to facilitate Hizballah's operations in southern Lebanon along the Blue Line. This constrains the Mission from fully achieving the directives set forth in the mandate and hinders the Mission's ability to reduce the likelihood of conflict.

The United States, as a steadfast partner of Lebanon, calls on the government to take additional steps to ensure full implementation of the mandate, consistent with the terms of the Status of Forces Agreement. That includes additional steps to mitigate any restrictions on UNIFIL's freedom of movement. We continue to support efforts to address other restrictions, and believe it would be valuable for the Secretary-General to produce a report on this issue, with recommendations for a way forward.

We are committed to addressing the activities of Green Without Borders. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Green Without Borders, as well as its leaders, earlier this month for its activities in support of Hizballah. As we made clear when announcing those sanctions, we will continue to support Lebanese civil society groups protecting Lebanon's natural environment while relentlessly pursuing Hizballah and its support networks.

Colleagues, we believe the resolution adopted today, and the broad support for it, reaffirms UNIFIL's strong mandate and its freedom of movement and so we strongly endorse it.

Thank you very much.

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Counter Terrorism Designations of One Hizballah Affiliated Entity and Its Leader

08/16/2023 12:49 PM EDT

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Today, the United States is designating Green Without Borders (GWB) and its head, Zuhair Subhi Nahla.

Under Nahla's leadership, GWB has functioned as a cover for Hizballah's terrorist activities. GWB sites have been used to conduct Hizballah's weapons training, to provide support for Hizballah's activities along the Blue Line in southern Lebanon, and to impede the freedom of movement of the UN Security Council-mandated United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

We are taking this action as part of our efforts to prevent and disrupt financial and other support for terrorist attacks in Lebanon, Israel, and around the world. The United States is committed to denying funding and resources to these terrorist support networks and will continue countering the threats they pose both locally and internationally.

Today's actions are being taken pursuant to counter-terrorism authority Executive Order 13224, as amended.  For more information about this designation, please see the Department of the Treasury's press release .