Hezbollah Leader Accused of Terrorism in 1994 Bombing of Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, DOJ Reports
High-ranking Hezbollah member indicted by the DOJ for his role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, according to an unsealed indictment
The Department of Justice has indicted a senior member of the Hezbollah terrorist organization for his suspected role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. The indictment, unsealed on Wednesday, revealed that the attack, which resulted in the deaths of 85 people and injuries to around 300, is considered the deadliest in the history of Argentina.
Samuel Salman El Reda has been charged with terrorism by the DOJ. The charges include providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiring to provide material support, aiding and abetting military-type training, and conspiring to receive military-type training. Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen described the indictment as "a message."
"According to Olsen, nearly thirty years ago, Samuel Salman El Reda, a known Hezbollah terrorist operative, was allegedly involved in the planning and execution of a devastating attack on a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. The attack resulted in the deaths of 85 people and injuries to many others. Olsen emphasized in a news release that the indictment sends a clear message to individuals involved in terrorism that the Justice Department is committed to seeking justice and will not forget these acts." The potential sentence for the charges is up to 55 years in prison.
El Reda is a member of Hezbollah's Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO), an extension of the terrorist organization responsible for planning and coordinating intelligence, counterintelligence, and terrorist activities outside of Lebanon, according to the indictment by the DOJ.
Court documents state that El Reda helped coordinate the bombing of the AMIA building on July 18, 1994, by carrying out IJO attack planning operations in Buenos Aires and relaying information to IJO operatives. El Reda has also been involved in terrorist operations in South America, Asia, and Lebanon since at least 1993, according to the news release.
It is uncertain if El Reda, who holds Colombian and Lebanese citizenship, has legal representation as he "is based in Lebanon and remains at large," according to the DOJ. The FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force is looking into El Reda's suspected role in the attack.
An Argentinian prosecutor who was investigating the 1994 bombing was killed in 2015. His killing was ruled a murder in 2017 and remains unsolved.
