Chekri Mahmoud Harb, (born on August 25, 1961) is a Lebanese-Colombian national key figure in

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

-linked

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

operations. Designated by

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

authorities for his criminal activities, he operated under aliases like "Taliban" and coordinated

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

shipments from

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

Criminal activities

Drug trafficking

Harb facilitated large-scale cocaine shipments, with Hezbollah receiving 12% of the profits from his network. His operations involved partnerships with South American cartels, including the

Medellín Cartel The Medellín Cartel () was a powerful and highly organized Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organization originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia, that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar. It is often considered to be the first major ...

and La Oficina de Envigado.

Money laundering

He used front companies like Comercial Jinan S.A. (

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

) and VARIEDADES HARB SPORT (Colombia) to launder millions of dollars, much of which funded Hezbollah.

Legal actions

Arrest and sanctions

Harb was arrested in 2008 during Operation Titan, a U.S.-Colombian joint investigation targeting Hezbollah's narco-terrorism ties The U.S. Treasury designated him and his businesses under counterterrorism sanctions.

Conviction

He faced charges for drug trafficking and money laundering, with evidence linking him to Hezbollah's financial networks in the tri-border area of South America.

Regional impact

Harb's activities underscored Hezbollah's exploitation of Latin American drug routes to finance terrorism. His case highlighted concerns about the group's operational reach and the vulnerability of South American criminal networks to terrorist exploitation.

References

{{Reflist Living people Colombian drug traffickers People convicted of money laundering Lebanese criminals Hezbollah members Drug traffickers 1961 births Drug Enforcement Administration Money laundering Lebanon