The US State Department is offering rewards for information on Hezbollah’s financial networks in Latin America, with a particular focus on the Tri-Border Area — where Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil intersect and illicit activity is known to thrive.

In a statement released Monday, the department’s Rewards for Justice program announced it is offering up to $10 million for information that disrupts “the financial mechanisms of the terrorist organization.”

The Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group “generates about $1 billion annually from a combination of direct financial support from Iran, international businesses and investments, donor networks, corruption and money laundering activities,” the statement reads.

Hizballah operates in regions far from its base in Lebanon, including in South America.

If you have information on Hizballah smuggling, money laundering, or other financial mechanisms in the Tri-Border Area, contact us. You could be eligible for a reward and relocation. pic.twitter.com/dYFq1gwQB3

— Rewards for Justice (@RFJ_USA) May 19, 2025

Among other activities, the US alleges that the terror group funds its operations through money laundering, drug trafficking, smuggling charcoal and oil, illegal diamond trading, document forgery, counterfeiting US dollars, and trafficking large amounts of cash, cigarettes, and luxury goods across the three countries, the US alleges.

According to the department’s spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, the US government is requesting information on businesses or investments linked to Hezbollah or its financial facilitators, front companies involved in procuring dual-use technology for the terrorist group, and criminal activities by Hezbollah members and supporters that help fund their operations.

Iran is the chief international backer of Hezbollah, as well as the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and Yemen’s Houthi militants, providing these Islamist groups with weapons, funding, and training.

The US officially designated Hezbollah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 1997 and later as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group in 2001, while Iran was classified as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984.

The Tri-Border Area in South America has long been regarded as a financial hub for Hezbollah operatives and continues to be a hotspot for organized crime across the region.

Argentina experienced the two deadliest terrorist attacks in the region — the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy and the 1994 attack on the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires — both of which Argentine authorities attribute to Hezbollah, with support and direction from Iran.

In April, the lead prosecutor in the 1994 AMIA Jewish community center bombing case petitioned Argentina’s federal court to issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, over his alleged involvement in the terrorist attack.

Sebastián Basso — who succeeded former prosecutor Alberto Nisman after his murder in 2015 — argued that Khamenei was directly involved in planning the 1994 AMIA bombing — the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentina’s history, in which 85 people were killed and more than 300 wounded.

In 2006, Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and the regime’s chief proxy, Hezbollah, for carrying it out. Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.

The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.

Last year, Argentina’s second-highest court ruled that the 1994 attack in Buenos Aires was “organized, planned, financed, and executed under the direction of the authorities of the Islamic State of Iran, within the framework of Islamic Jihad.” The court also said that the bombing was carried out by Hezbollah terrorists responding to “a political and strategic design” by Tehran.

The court additionally ruled that Iran had been responsible for the 1992 truck bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29 people.

The post US Offers Up to $10 Million for Information on Hezbollah’s Financial Networks in Latin America first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

George Washington University (GW) has apologized to its campus community over an incident in which a student delivering a graduation speech attacked Israel.

During the speech, a student accused Israel of targeting Palestinians “simply for [their] remaining in the country of their ancestors” and said that GW students are passive contributors to the “imperialist system.”

The student, an economics and statistics major, deceived administrators who selected her to address the Columbian College of the Arts and Sciences ceremony, the university said in a statement issued after the remark circulated on social media.

“The student speaker chose to stray from their prepared remarks, which were materially different when previously reviewed by school leadership,” the university said in a statement. “We are also aware that some students unfurled signs brought under their graduation gowns, despite clear guidance to the contrary. The students’ remarks and signs do not reflect the views of the university.”

It continued, “We apologize to the graduates and families in attendance that their time of special celebration was disrupted. We are investigating this matter immediately, including whether event protocols were followed property and whether the students’ actions violated the Code of Conduct.”

“I am ashamed to know my tuition is being used to fund genocide,” the student said during the speech. “Every year, the cost of attending this university increases without a corresponding improvement in the facilities and resources provided to students, staff, and faculty. Instead, our money is put into the pockets of those who unequivocally prove time and time again they do not care about the students and faculty that [sic] create this university’s prestigious university [sic].”

During the remarks, the master of ceremonies, gender and sexuality professor Dr. Kavita Daiya, appeared elated and thanked the student, Cecilia Culver, for “sharing your words and your views.”

GW student Sabrina Soffer, who also walked with her peers on Saturday to celebrate the completion of undergraduate study, told The Algemeiner on Monday that the graduation speaker should be sanctioned by the university for spreading antisemitic viewpoints that were once relegated to the darkest corners of the internet but have since become respectable in higher education.

“She spoke the rhetoric of a true antisemite, warranting the withholding of her degree as happened at [New York University], which unambiguously refused to confer a degree to a student who pulled a similar stunt,” Soffer said during an interview. “She should be forced to make a public apology as a condition of receiver her diploma.”

Soffer, who has spent the last four years leading the pro-Israel movement on GW’s campus, added that she believes the commencement incident is emblematic of a larger issue on campus.

“I’ve personally been trying to help the university address its antisemitism problem since I became a student here, and I’ve received much lip service and kind words that never translated into action. This was an example of that — a complete lack of accountability effectiveness in the enactment of policy.”

End Jew Hatred (EJH), a Jewish civil rights group based in New York City, added: “Culver’s speech devalues the diploma she and her classmates earned, giving the public reason to question whether George Washington’s degrees are worth the paper they are printed on, in light of its abject failure to teach basic facts and correct such blatantly false statements. It’s not just Culver, it’s the people who applauded her performance instead of condemning it. George Washington’s failure to educate, let alone enforce its policies, is enough to give both employers and prospective students pause.”

The conclusion of the 2024-2025 academic year has seen other attempts to place anti-Zionism at the center of the public’s attention.

On Wednesday, a New York University senior delivered a commencement speech teeming with antisemitic tropes after lying to the administration about its content, prompting it to withhold his degree and issue an apology.

“NYU strongly denounces the choice by a student at the Gallatin School’s graduation today — one of over 20 school graduation ceremonies across our campus — to misuse his role as student speaker to express his personal and one-sided political views,” university spokesman John Beckman said in a statement. “He lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules. The university is withholding his diploma while we pursue disciplinary actions.”

He continued, “NYU is deeply sorry that the audience was subjected to these remarks and this moment was stolen by someone who abused a privilege that was conferred upon him.”

A group of pro-Hamas students at Yale University recently vowed to starve themselves inside an administrative building until such time as officials agree to their demands that the university’s endowment be divested of any ties to Israel as well as companies that do business with it. However, Yale officials are refusing to meet with the students, who have been told that their demonstration is “in violation of university policy.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

The post George Washington University Apologizes After Graduation Speaker Attacks Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

US Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) asserted Monday that there was “no rift” between US President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Total BS,” Mast said, “There’s no rift. We’re having serious conversations to bring the world to a different place than where it’s been before.” 

Mast continued, arguing that the current negotiations to include Syria—a country which Israel has long had negative relations with—in the Abraham accords exemplifies the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting Israel. 

Former President Donald Trump has reportedly grown increasingly frustrated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the ongoing war in Gaza, adding tension to a once-close relationship. Reports say Trump has privately criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the conflict, expressing concern that the prolonged military campaign is damaging Israel’s global image and endangering the lives of the remaining hostages. .Trump, who has long prided himself on his strong support for Israel, is said to view the war as an unnecessary political liability, and has been privately urginging Netanyahu to cut a ceasefire and hostage deal with the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza. 

Rumors of faltering relations between Israel and the US intensified after the White House declined to visit the Jewish state during Trump’s recent trip to the Middle East. Furthernore,, the Trump administration brokered an agreement with the Houthi terrorist group, bypassing Israel  entirely. The move, aimed at de-escalating regional tensions and protecting Red Sea shipping lanes, has raised eyebrows among U.S. allies, with some viewing it as a sign of Trump’s growing impatience with Israeli leadership amid the ongoing war in Gaza. 

Mast also dismissed notions that Israel has experienced a significant amount of support among conservatives,  gesturing to the successful passage of an International Criminal Court (ICC) sanctions bill through the House of Representatives, touting “unanimous” support among Republicans. The bill ultimately failed on the Senate floor due to a lack of support from Democratic lawmakers.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), one of the most strident supporters of Israel in Congress, also praised Trump’s support of Israel while in office. 

“I don’t know if there’s a more pro-Israel president ever,” Scott said. 

However, Scott expressed frustration over the president’s seeming embrace of Qatar—a Gulf state with an extensive history of supporting Jihadist terrorism. 

“I think it’s despicable that they host Hamas leaders,” Scott said of Qatar. 

The Congressman said that he believes Middle Eastern countries will eventually normalize relations with Israel, arguing that the benefits of enhanced economic ties with the United States will outweigh historical grievances. 

“I think [Middle Eastern countries] are going to trade with us, and they’re going to be partners with Israel,” Scott said. 

However, Scott cautioned supporters of Israel that growing isolationist sentiments within the Republican Party could weaken the bond between the US and the Jewish state. Scott urged Israel advocates to be much more clear with how the America-Israel relationship benefits America. 

“Clearly we have to support Israel,” but it is “incumbent upon all of us” to be “clear about what we are doing. If you want to support Israel, be very vocal about why and how it benefits America.” 

The post ‘Total B.S.’: US Lawmaker Brian Mast Rips Rumors of Trump-Netanyahu ‘Rift’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.