Honduran President Hernandez announces plans to designate Hezbollah a terrorist group

Honduras will officially designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, President Juan Orlando Hernandez announced Monday morning.

In a tweet early Monday morning (Sunday night local time), President Hernandez announced that on Monday, the National Defense and Security Council of Honduras will designate the Lebanese Shi’ite Islamist movement, which is backed heavily by Iran, as a terrorist organization.

“Tomorrow, coinciding with the third Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial conference, the National Defense and Security Council of Honduras will designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization the culmination of security policies expressed over several years.”

“In 2018 and 2019 Honduras participated in the Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial conference, that has focused attention on the presence and activities of Hezbollah in Latin America.”

Hernandez hinted at the likely designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist group last month, during an address to the Israeli American Council, and earlier this month confirmed that his country would indeed recognize Hezbollah as a terror organization.

“On December 8th, 2019, I addressed the Israeli American Council, describing the security threat posed by the terrorist group Hezbollah and its activities of transnational organized crime, the terror attack against AMIA in Buenos Aires, and the killing of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman.”

“On January 5th, 2020, I met with the President-elect of Guatemala and announced that Honduras would join Guatemala and other allies to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.”

“On January 9th, 2020, in a joint appearance with US Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, I reaffirmed my decision regarding Hezbollah and reported the detention of four Iranians on Honduran territory.”