logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
27m 55s

Risky Business in South America

WASHINGTON INSTITUTE
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Oct 2023
Terror in Bangkok, Then and Now
An innocent looking hit-and-run accident in downtown Bangkok in 1994 uncovered a sophisticated Hezbollah network in Thailand, an attempt to target the Israeli embassy there, and a decomposing body hidden in a vat full of chemical explosives. Two decades later, a new string of Hez ... Show More
35m 36s
Oct 2023
"A Jumble of Overlapping Plots" in Baku
In 2008, Azerbaijani authorities thwarted a Hezbollah plot to target an Israeli Independence Day celebration and kidnap the Israeli ambassador in Baku. Two Hezbollah operatives were arrested, tried, and convicted, but the group was not deterred by this setback. By 2011, Hezbollah ... Show More
28m 19s
Oct 2023
Blood Diamonds, Picassos, and Illicit Financing in Africa
Diamonds are an excellent way to smuggle and launder money - they’re very liquid, can’t be sniffed out by dogs, don’t set off metal detectors, and are easy to conceal. Similarly, illicit funds can be laundered and stored by investing in artwork. These luxury items link Hezbollah ... Show More
39m 21s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2018
White House Lax Protocol Opens Window For More Security Breaches
Clint Watts, a former FBI special agent and Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, discusses Russia’s continued hacking into U.S. elections, and eroding White House security.Win Thin, Global Head of Emerging Markets F/X for Brown Brothers Harriman, on the Turkish ... Show More
28m 54s
Oct 2023
Lebanon Ambassador Talks Israel-Hamas Conflict
Rami Mortada, Lebanon's Ambassador to the UK, discusses the latest developments around the Israel-Hamas conflict and the role Lebanon plays in the war. Mortada spoke with Bloomberg's Stephen Carroll and Tom Mackenzie on Bloomberg Radio. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf ... Show More
7m 7s
Aug 2024
Is the Middle East heading for all-out war?
<p>Two assassinations carried out by Israel, one in Beirut and one in Tehran, have brought threats of retaliation from Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hizbollah. Andrew England, the FT’s Middle East editor, discusses whether the latest escalation can be contained with Emile ... Show More
26m 24s
May 2025
Mohanad Hage Ali: Hezbollah and the Captagon Trade
This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Mohanad's latest paper for Carnegie investigates the rise of a new form of drug smuggling in Lebanon. Together, they discuss Hezbollah’s i ... Show More
50m 16s
Oct 2024
Trying to Make Sense of the Mideast Mess
Despite killing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week, Israel is stepping up its military campaign in Gaza. In Lebanon, Israel’s campaign is straying further from military targets, attacking branches of a Hezbollah financial center which is used by many civilians as a bank. Meanwhi ... Show More
59m 9s
Apr 2020
Wall Street
From a bomb maker to double agent to… banker? In this episode, Aimen draws on his experience helping banks combat financial terrorism as our hosts explore the 2008 Financial Crisis and its impact on the New World Order. Listen to bonus content and get all episodes ad-free by subs ... Show More
1h 1m
Sep 2024
Pager turn: the Israel-Hizbullah conflict escalates
The explosion of thousands of pagers across Lebanon and Syria was an attack on Hizbullah, a Shia militant group which had been trying to evade Israeli surveillance by using these low-tech devices. What will such an escalated attack mean for the region? Why Americans’ obsession wi ... Show More
21m 45s