Assad Ahmad Barakat, one of the most active representatives of Hezbollah, arrested in Brazil

Assad Ahmad Barakat, a Lebanese citizen, considered one of the biggest international financiers for the Shiite group Hezbollah, was arrested by the Brazilian police.

Assad Ahmad Barakat, was born in Lebanon but in the mid '80, while the bloody civil war was under way, he fled to Paraguay where he began an import-export activity to obtain Paraguayan citizenship. He gradually built a small commercial empire in Paraguay, which included engineering and construction, as well as transport companies. For all that time, however, Barakat has maintained strong ties to Hezbollah, the paramilitary group that has a strong following in the large Shiite Muslim community of Lebanon.

In the mid-90 years, Barakat was one of Hizbollah's most active representatives in the Americas and served as the head of the Shiite group for paramilitary and fund-raising activities in South America. It is believed that he used the Paraguayan passport to travel to Iran and Lebanon for meetings with Hezbollah's leadership at least once a year. In the 2001, following pressure from the United States, Paraguay accused Barakat in absentia of money laundering.

He was eventually captured in Brazil in 2002 and extradited to Paraguay, where he was tried and sentenced to six years in prison. Upon his release in the 2008, Barakat returned to his Hezbollah fundraising role. Using false passports, he frequently traveled to Brazil, Chile, Argentina and other Latin American countries, despite being described by the US government as "one of the most important and influential members of the terrorist organization [Hezbollah]". He was wanted in Paraguay for identity theft and in Argentina for laundering more than 10 million dollars in casinos in the north of the country.

On Friday, the Brazilian federal police ended his hiding by announcing his arrest in the city of Foz do Iguaçu, which is adjacent to the Paraguayan and Argentine borders.

The city, which has about 250.000 inhabitants, is the largest urban center of the so-called tropical Tri-Border region, known for its tropical climate, spectacular mountain views and casinos. In addition to being a tourist center throughout the year, the area is known as a money laundering outbreak, counterfeit currency smuggling and drug trafficking activity. It is now known whether Barakat will face charges in Brazil or whether he will be extradited to Paraguay or Argentina.

Assad Ahmad Barakat, one of the most active representatives of Hezbollah, arrested in Brazil

| INTELLIGENCE |