HARBORS Campaigns

Through the HARBORS Campaigns, the Counter Extremism Project highlights how various governments host and assist extremists by providing them with needed support and/or refuge. These governments must cease such activities and sever all ties with extremist individuals and groups.

HARBORS Campaign: Angola

Members of Hezbollah residing in Angola have used Angolan businesses to finance the Lebanese terror group. * Spencer S. Su, “Lebanese businessman, Hezbollah supporter, charged with evading U.S. sanctions,” Washington Post, March 24, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/lebanese-businessman-hezbollah-supporter-charged-with-evading-us-terror-sanctions/2017/03/24/979dbbd2-10b6-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html?utm_term=.200856779db3; “Treasury Targets Hizballah Network in Africa,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, May 27, 2009, http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press

HARBORS Campaign: Brazil

U.S.-sanctioned terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and Hamas, are believed to recruit, plan attacks, and fundraise in the Tri-Border Area (TBA), and within Brazil specifically.

HARBORS Campaign: Paraguay

U.S.-sanctioned terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and Hamas, are believed to recruit, plan attacks, and fundraise in the Tri-Border Area (TBA) of South America, and within Paraguay specifically.

The TBA is considered by law enforcement to be a concentrated area of criminal and terrorist activity. Individuals affiliated with Hezbollah, Hamas, and al-Qaeda, have conducted fundraising activities and plotted attacks from the region, often with the assistance of cartels and organized crime groups. Paraguay’s second largest city, Ciudad del Este, is one of principal centers of

HARBORS Campaign: Qatar

On June 5, 2017, several Middle East and Gulf countries announced that they were severing ties with Qatar as a result of the country’s support for extremism and terrorism. Although Qatar announced that it is preparing to expel several Hamas leaders, the government has previously denied reports that it was expelling now-former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, referring to reports as “just rumors” and calling Meshaal a “dear guest” of Qatar. In early 2020, current Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh relocated from the Gaza Strip to Qatar to enjoy the same freedom of movement as Meshaal. In January 2021

HARBORS Campaign: The Gambia

The Gambia must clarify its relationship with Hezbollah since Jammeh’s removal from power in 2017. Under Jammeh’s regime, Hezbollah financiers in The Gambia seemingly received government protection. Their status remains unknown under the country’s new government.

HARBORS Campaign: Turkey

Turkey has a history of harboring terrorist operatives and financiers from various extremist groups. Hamas opened a bureau in Istanbul in 2012, from which it has coordinated terror attacks and terror financing in the West Bank*Shlomi Eldar, “Turkey's Hamas ‘bureau,’” Al-Monitor, December 1, 2014, https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/fr/originals/2014/12/saleh-al-arouri-khaled-meshaal-hamas-leadership-turkey-gaza.html.x. Members of the Taliban and its affiliated Haqqani network allegedly operate within Turkey.*"Treasury Sanctions Taliban and Haqqani Network Financiers and Facilitators," U.S

Daily Dose

Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.

Fact:

On May 8, 2019, Taliban insurgents detonated an explosive-laden vehicle and then broke into American NGO Counterpart International’s offices in Kabul. At least seven people were killed and 24 were injured.

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