US Authorities Press Terrorism Charges Against Alleged Hezbollah Operative Involved in Deadly 1994 Bombing of Argentine Jewish Center
A display in Buenos Aires of pictures and names of victims of the 1994 AMIA bombing, in which 85 people died and hundreds more were wounded. Photo: Reuters/Marcos Brindicci.
The US authorities have pressed terrorism charges against a dual citizen of Colombia and Lebanon alleged to have played a central role in the July 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires orchestrated by the Iranian regime and its Lebanese Shi’a proxy, Hezbollah.
A statement from the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York on Wednesday announced that terrorism charges had been unsealed against Samuel Salman El Reda, 58, described as “a dual Colombian-Lebanese citizen and member of Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad Organization (‘IJO’).”
“As alleged, for decades, Samuel Salman El Reda has led terrorist operations on behalf of the Islamic Jihad Organization of Hezbollah, including a 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires that massacred 85 innocent victims,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in an accompanying statement. “The career prosecutors of this Office have not forgotten the pain and suffering that El Reda has allegedly caused, and we thank the dedication of our law enforcement partners for pursuing this important case.”
Edward Caban, the commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), alleged that “El Reda was an on-the-ground coordinator of the fatal attack against South America’s largest Jewish center nearly 30 years ago. In the decades after that attack, he allegedly continued to direct and support terrorism activities in the Western Hemisphere on behalf of Hezbollah and has been involved in plots all across the world. We want this alleged killer brought to justice.”
El Reda is understood to be based in Lebanon and remains at large. In the case of the attack on AMIA, the charges allege that he conducted “activities for Hezbollah in connection with the AMIA bombing included relaying information to IJO operatives that was used for planning and executing the attack.”
Toby Dershowitz — managing director of FDD Action, an organization related to the Washington, DC-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) — said that the charges against El Reda amounted to a “chilling reminder that Hezbollah’s terrorism plots — those that succeeded and many that were thankfully foiled — were focused not only in the Middle East but around the world including in Thailand, Peru, Argentina, Cyprus, and yes, even in the United States.”
She told The Algemeiner that El Reda’s role “in planning the deadly AMIA bombing may be his most well-known attack but it’s by no means his only one.” She added as well that the charges highlighted Iran’s role in bankrolling and assisting terrorism.
“The AMIA bombing was planned on Aug. 14, 1993, in Mashhad, Iran,” Dershowitz said. “Iran’s diplomats and diplomatic services in its embassy in Buenos Aires were used to plan and fund the attack. The world often tries to escape this fact but only by squeezing the paymaster’s sources of funding can one begin to lessen the threat.”
Prior to the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in southern Israel, the AMIA bombing constituted the worst single act of terrorism or violence against a Jewish target since the Holocaust. No one has ever been brought to trial for the atrocity, despite the fact that in 2007, “red notices” — effectively international arrest warrants — were issued for six Iranian officials wanted in connection with the bombing by Interpol, the international law enforcement agency.
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