The Brazilian Federal Police and the Mossad conducted a significant counterterrorism operation on Wednesday, acting quickly to stop impending terrorist assaults on the country’s Jewish community.
According to information released by the Brazilian Report on Wednesday, the operation’s goal was to dismantle organizations that were purportedly “preparing to commit terrorist acts” and “recruiting Brazilians for extreme acts” against Brazilian Jewish community buildings.
Authorities carried out searches at eleven locations in Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and the federal capital, Brasília, in accordance with the report, and they also executed two temporary arrest warrants.
According to the Federal Police, anyone caught recruiting or joining terrorist groups could be subject to harsh legal consequences, such as long prison terms.
The suspects’ ties to Hezbollah, a group that opposes Israel and supports Palestinian statehood ambitions, have been revealed by investigations.
Significantly, a 2014 Federal Police investigation discovered connections between Hezbollah and the First Command of the Capital (PCC) gang in Brazil, including possible weapon transfers and the protection of Lebanese detainees there.
This operation is taking place in the context of Brazil’s stringent anti-terrorism laws, which were passed before the 2016 Rio Olympics and which strongly condemn crimes driven by prejudice against people of color or xenophobia.
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