The government confirmed Thursday that it is preparing a decree to designate the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah as a terrorist organizations with "concrete pretensions" to carry out "attacks" in Argentina, two weeks before the 25th anniversary of the bombing of AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina).
Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, confirmed the official decree during a press conference at the Casa Rosada after a cabinet meeting led by President Mauricio Macri.
Hezbollah's designation coincides with a visit to Argentina by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who will commemorate the AMIA bombing during a ceremony on Pasteur street next Thursday, July 18.
Pompeo will also meet with Macri and attend the "Second Hemispheric Ministerial Conference on the Fight against Terrorism," which will take place July 19 in the Palacio San Martín.
The AMIA bombing, which occurred July 18, 1994, killed 85 people and has long been blamed by the Argentine government on Hezbollah, a militant group and political party which operates throughout the Middle East.
"The list will be made up of organizations that have concrete pretensions, red alerts, concrete imputations to carry out attacks in argentine territory," Bullrich declared.
One of U.S. President Donald Trump's top foreign policy advisors and a former CIA director, Pompeo has extended support to Macri and his government's economic reforms.
"Argentina has decided that old models aren’t delivering. Those solutions no longer work. It’s not what they’re looking for," Pompeo said during a trip to Chile earlier this year. "President Macri is doing the hard work of trying to reform his economy. We thank him for that. His people will be better off for it. The government there is taking difficult but important steps to build sustainable growth. It’s a tough road to walk, and it’s not without peril."
– NA/TIMES
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