Links Between Transnational Crime and International Terrorism in the Tri-Border Area: The Case of Hizballah

In November 2023, the operation known as Trapiche, in which Brazilian authorities successfully dismantled a Hizballah plot against targets from the local Jewish community, raised red flags once again among Southern Cone governments, with a focus on the Tri-Border Area shared by Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. This paper focuses on the current state of affairs regarding criminal networks and the alliances that international Islamist terrorism established with local organized criminal groups in the region.