Hezbollah’s Network on America’s Southern Doorstep

Hezbollah members salute and raise the group's yellow flags during the funeral of their fallen comrades Ismail Baz and Mohamad Hussein Shohury, who were killed in an Israeli strike on their vehicles, in Shehabiya, Lebanon, on April 17, 2024. -/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

In the hierarchy of security concerns on policymakers’ agendas, Hezbollah’s presence in Latin America rarely captures headlines. A recent RAND piece—“Hezbollah’s Networks in Latin America”—found that this oversight may prove increasingly costly as the organization adapts its regional strategy amid mounting financial and structural pressures. The implications for homeland security warrant consideration: Hezbollah’s Latin American networks could exploit cross-border vulnerabilities, manipulate existing trafficking routes into U.S. cities, and potentially leverage criminal networks for intelligence collection or operational support within the United States.