Ghazi Nasr Al-Din

Ghazi Nasr Al-Din is a Lebanese Venezuelan who served as charge d'affaires of the Venezuelan Embassy in Damascus, Syria and is accused of assisting Hezbollah.

Ghazi Nasr Al-Din
FBI image of Nasr Al-Din.
Charge d'affaires of the Venezuelan Embassy in Damascus, Syria
In office
2005–2008
PresidentHugo Chávez
Personal details
Born (1962-12-13) 13 December 1962
Beirut, Lebanon
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)

Early life

Ghazi Nasr Al-Din was born on 13 December 1962 in Beirut, Lebanon.[1]

Career

In 2000, shortly after Hugo Chávez came to power, Nasr Al-Din immigrated into Venezuela.[2] Nasr Al-Din eventually established a relationship with aspiring Venezuelan politician Tareck El Aissami.[2] He was then made the Charge d' Affaires of the Venezuelan Embassy in Damascus, Syria.[2] In 2008, he was appointed as Director of Political Aspects at the Venezuelan Embassy in Lebanon.[3]

Controversy

Hezbollah allegations

While serving as a Venezuelan diplomat in Venezuela and making connections through a local Islamic group in Venezuela, Nasr Al-Din allegedly established ties to various entities in the Middle East, including the terrorist organization Hezbollah.[3] The Government of the United States has accused Nasr Al-Din of having "counseled Hizballah donors on fundraising efforts and has provided donors with specific information on bank accounts where the donors' deposits would go directly to Hizballah" and had "met with senior Hizballah officials in Lebanon to discuss operational issues, as well as facilitated the travel of Hizballah members to and from Venezuela".[3] Allegations also involved an event in January 2006, where "Nasr al Din facilitated the travel of two Hizballah representatives to the Lebanese Parliament to Caracas to solicit donations for Hizballah and to announce the opening of a Hizballah-sponsored community center and office in Venezuela", later assisting the travel of more Hezbollah members to Iran.[3][4] Nasr Al-Din had also met with Walid Makled, a Venezuelan drug trafficker, doing "business" with him.[5]

Following the 2006 appointment of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's future president, to be Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasr Al-Din's diplomatic workload increased as he delivered multiple Venezuelan visas to Lebanese citizens in 2007.[6] In 2008, the United States Department of the Treasury placed Nasr Al-Din on its terrorism blacklist citing his assistance of Hezbollah.[3][6]

A 22 August 2010 meeting in Caracas was also planned by Nasr Al-Din, which involved Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, Hamas Supreme Leader Khaled Meshal, a Hezbollah leader and Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah.[5] In 2015, the FBI listed him as a person of interest due to his connections to Hezbollah.[6]

Family involvement

Nasr Al-Din brothers, Abdallah and Oday, both reside in Isla Margarita, Venezuela.[2] Abdallah Nasr Al-Din allegedly launders money for Hezbollah on the island while Oday recruits chavistas to join Bolivarian Circles and travel to Iran for training.[2]

Response

In an interview with the Russian state television network RT, Nasr Al-Din explained his opposition to the United States, stating that the accusations of his involvement with Hezbollah are due to his anti-American sentiments and his role between Syria and Venezuela. He also boast of Iran's "popular support" and "military potential" against the United States and voiced his support of Russian military intervention in Syria.[7]

See also

References
  1. "GHAZI NASR AL-DIN". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  2. "IRAN'S INFLUENCE AND ACTIVITY IN LATIN AMERICA" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  3. "Treasury Targets Hizballah in Venezuela". Press Release. United States Department of Treasury. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  4. Zamost, Scott; Guerrero, Kay; Griffin, Drew; Romo, Rafael; del Rincón, Fernando (7 February 2017). "Pasaportes venezolanos, ¿en manos equivocadas?". CNN Español. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  5. "HEZBOLLAH IN LATIN AMERICA--IMPLICATIONS FOR U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY". www.gpo.gov. United States House Committee on Homeland Security. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  6. Blasco, Emili J. (31 January 2015). "El FBI investiga la conexión entre Hizbolá y el narcoestado venezolano". ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  7. "Exdiplomático buscado por el FBI: "EE.UU. compra a un amigo y vende a un aliado de un día para otro"". RT (in Spanish). 2 November 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
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