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| The seal of the U.S. Department of State (RFJ is run by the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service). |
On May 19, 2025 the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the disruption of Hezbollah’s financial networks in the “Tri-Border Area” (TBA) of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The official RFJ notice notes that Hezbollah has been active in the Western Hemisphere since the 1980s, and was responsible for major terrorist attacks in the region (including the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy and the 1994 AMIA Jewish center bombing in Buenos Aires). It specifically asks for information on illicit schemes that generate revenue for Hezbollah, such as trade-based money laundering, drug trafficking, charcoal and oil smuggling, diamond smuggling, bulk cash smuggling, cigarette and luxury goods smuggling, document forgery and U.S. dollar counterfeiting. RFJ emphasizes that Hezbollah’s TBA financiers run businesses and front companies (in construction, import-export, real estate, etc.) whose proceeds are funneled back to Lebanon. The reward offer covers “significant sources of revenue…transactions by financial institutions benefiting Hezbollah, businesses or investments controlled by Hezbollah, front companies engaged on its behalf,” and other links in the finance chain.
The RFJ notice stresses that Hezbollah’s U.S.-designated terrorist networks in Latin America are raising “millions of dollars” for the group.
Hezbollah’s Networks in the Tri-Border Area
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| The “Triple Frontier” landmark at the junction of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Analysts warn that this semi-lawless zone enables drug trafficking, money laundering and contraband smuggling – and has been a staging ground for deadly attacks like the 1992 and 1994 Buenos Aires bombings. |
The TBA – where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet – has long been identified as a hub for Hezbollah-linked activity. A Wilson Center analysis notes that Hezbollah established itself in the region in the mid-1980s (based in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay) and set up illicit enterprises to fund its Middle East operations. According to U.S. officials and analysts, Hezbollah operatives in the TBA have collaborated with criminal networks to run smuggling and laundering schemes that exploit the area’s porous borders and large Lebanese-Shiite diaspora. For example, Treasury and law enforcement reports have cited Hezbollah use of Paraguayan and Argentinian commercial fronts – including shopping centers and export businesses – to collect cash. In one case, a Hezbollah-linked figure was sanctioned for running a shopping mall in Ciudad del Este (the “Galeria Page”) whose businesses served as fund-raising conduits. Other documented activities in the region include drug and arms trafficking, counterfeit currency production, cigarette smuggling and gasoline or charcoal racket schemes – all to generate revenue for the organization. Notably, Treasury recently designated Hezbollah networks and financiers (including veterans of the 1994 AMIA attack) who ran a charcoal export business from the Tri-Border Area into Lebanon, explicitly linking their commercial activities to terrorism funding.
U.S. government reports stress that Hezbollah’s “External Security Organization” finance arm has built tight ties with South American drug cartels and utilizes the black-market peso exchange, hawala couriers, and bulk-cash networks spanning Latin America, Europe and the Middle East to move illicit proceeds. Dozens of Hezbollah financiers and supporters have been arrested in South America in recent years for providing financial services to the organization or plotting attacks. FinCEN and law enforcement analysts note that the TBA’s mix of weak governance and criminal trade makes it an ideal base for Hezbollah’s fundraising: “the Tri-Border Area has long been identified as a hub for Hezbollah-linked activities,” enabling everything from cigarette smuggling to illegal weapons procurement. While Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and U.S. police have disrupted some networks (the “3+1” security group), experts say controlling the broader illicit environment remains challenging.
The Rewards for Justice Program
The $10 million bounty is offered under the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program, a counterterrorism incentive system created in 1984 (the Act to Combat International Terrorism). RFJ is administered by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security and offers rewards for actionable intelligence on terrorism, election interference, cyber threats, and the financing of foreign terrorist organizations. Over its history, RFJ has paid out over $250 million to more than 125 people who provided information that helped stop attacks or bring terrorists to justice. Past high-profile bounties included $25 million each for Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri (which generated many leads), and multi-million-dollar rewards for senior al-Qaeda and ISIS figures. Rewards have also been posted for kidnappings and malicious cyber operations.
RFJ tips can be submitted confidentially by anyone through secure channels. The program provides toll-free hotlines and encourages messaging via encrypted apps and Tor. Informants can report in English, Spanish, Arabic and dozens of other languages. They are instructed to include their identity and any supporting evidence (documents, photos, etc.); a specialist will follow up if the tip is credible. Successful informants may be eligible for relocation for safety. An RFJ spokesperson highlighted the new tweet: “Hezbollah operates in regions far from its base in Lebanon…If you have information on Hezbollah smuggling, money laundering, or other financial mechanisms…you could be eligible for a reward and relocation”.
Legal Designations and U.S. Strategy
Hezbollah has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. since October 8, 1997 and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) since October 31, 2001. These designations block all U.S.-jurisdiction assets of Hezbollah and make it a federal crime for U.S. persons to provide any support or resources to the group. In practice, dozens of Hezbollah-affiliated individuals and businesses worldwide are under U.S. sanctions for terrorism or narcotics violations. Washington has repeatedly warned that Hezbollah’s fundraising networks are part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” in the region.
The new reward offer comes amid stepped-up U.S. efforts to choke off Hezbollah financing globally and in Latin America specifically. Just days earlier, the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions on four more Hezbollah facilitators (mostly based in Lebanon and Iran) who were moving funds overseas. Last year the Treasury and DEA targeted a South American network (including a former Hezbollah combatant) that shipped charcoal to Lebanon and abused Panamanian passports to fund terrorism. A recent FinCEN advisory also spotlighted Hezbollah’s use of Latin American drug-trafficking routes, the peso exchange system, and bulk-cash smuggling to launder funds. In Congress, legislators have called for stronger “anti-Hezbollah” measures in the Hemisphere. U.S. counterterrorism officials say disrupting these financial streams in the TBA fits into a broader strategy of working with regional partners to tighten banking laws, improve customs controls and share intelligence on terrorism funding.
By offering a multimillion-dollar bounty, U.S. authorities hope to draw new sources of information to complement diplomatic and enforcement actions. The Reward for Justice announcement bluntly warns that “individuals engaged in Hizballah’s financial mechanisms are in jeopardy” and urges anyone with credible leads to step forward. It underscores a long-standing U.S. goal: dismantle the money pipelines that allow Hezbollah to project power far from the Middle East.
Sources: U.S. State Department RFJ program announcement; Reuters, Treasury and policy reports; FinCEN advisory; analysis from RAND and Wilson Center experts; Congressional and media accounts.
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