Colombia has recently expelled two Hezbollah operatives suspected of planning to harm Israelis and Americans staying in the South American country.
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According to French news agency AFP, Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano warned Sunday that his country was "monitoring the activities" of the members of the Lebanon-based Shiite terrorist group on its soil.
He further asserted that Hezbollah operatives had already carried out "criminal activities" in Colombia.
"Two months ago we had to deal with a situation where we had to set up an operation to capture and expel two criminals mandated by Hezbollah who intended to commit a criminal act in Colombia," Molano said, in an interview with the local news outlet el Tiempo.
While he did not elaborate on the operation, el Tiempo cited Colombian military intelligence sources as saying that Hezbollah is trying to track American and Israeli diplomats and businessmen in Colombia.
There is a "risk with Hezbollah in Venezuela and what its relations with drug trafficking or terrorist groups on the Venezuelan side could generate for national security," Molano said.
El Tiempo reported that Hezbollah planned to assassinate an Israeli national in the Colombian capital in retaliation over the January 2020 killing of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
According to the report, the Israeli targeted by the Iranian-backed terrorist group was a former intelligence officer who had been stationed in the city as a member of the diplomatic corps, then ventured into private business.
Colombian President Ivan Duque visited Israel last week.
In an interview with i24NEWS, he spoke about the relationship between Colombia and Israel, saying, "We have always condemned terrorism. Hezbollah is a terrorist group that is on our list of designated organizations, like those of the European Union and the United States. When we detect terrorist activities on our territory, we take swift and firm action."
He further noted that "Colombia and Israel have a dynamic relationship of cooperation. For us, Israel has never stopped being a friendly country in the areas of security, innovation, science and technology.
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