Hezbollah Should Know It Has Been Defeated – OpEd

By Khaled Abou Zahr

Hezbollah is on a losing streak. Not only did it lose most of its military might in the 2024 war with Israel, but now — finally — its global criminal activities have been indirectly hit by Nicolas Maduro’s removal as president of Venezuela.

As many reports have highlighted, Venezuela was a key base for Hezbollah’s global operations. Last week’s developments were good news, but it puts the group in an even more desperate situation. And it remains powerful enough to threaten the Lebanese people.

Despite this week’s declaration by the Lebanese foreign minister that the country’s army is capable of facing Hezbollah if necessary, the reality is that the militia is capable of inflicting pain on Lebanon, even if ultimately, like every similar group in history, it is bound to disappear.

As Hezbollah relies greatly on its illegal operations for its finances, the fact that Maduro has been removed will have an impact. Hezbollah’s operations in Venezuela now face major disruption. It has been widely reported that the group operates a network of illicit financial and logistical activities with the complicity of the state. This includes money laundering, narcotics trafficking and the exploitation of informal and illegal economies.

Recent reports also suggest that Hezbollah received Venezuelan government-issued passports and identity documents that permitted its members to travel and operate undercover. US officials have previously described Venezuela as a strategic foothold for Hezbollah in South America. It represented a key hub in the group’s Latin American funding and an important operational node.

While its financing from Iran remains, regime change in Venezuela represents a significant setback — estimated by analysts in the tens of millions of dollars — to its regional networks.

It is nevertheless in Lebanon that the last chapter will be written if the disarmament plan is fully implemented.

Today, when Tehran is facing problems of its own due to massive protests, Hezbollah should seize the opportunity to surrender its weapons. It has been receiving advice from the region’s countries to do so. Yet, the pro-Hezbollah crowd on social media has chosen a tone of defiance, showing that the organization still believes in its domination not only of its own community in Lebanon, but the entire country.

Throughout this month, pro-Hezbollah voices and its aligned media have continued to reject the government’s disarmament efforts, always positioning it as executing Israel’s and the US’ wishes. Stuck in a Jurassic geopolitical age, they are blinded by their illusions of the so-called resistance axis.

Moreover, while not stating it directly, they are issuing veiled threats to all in Lebanon by repeatedly stating that they would revert to fierce defense if needed. The use of terms such as “by any means” is enough to tell us what Hezbollah is getting at. But there is no doubt that even the Shiite community has had enough of this circle of death and wants the country to be rebuilt once and for all.

It is the never-ending cycle of destruction that Hezbollah and its allies have brought upon Lebanon for decades that needs to stop. How many times has this group led the entire country to war for absolutely no reason? And how much harm has it caused to Lebanon? How many lives have been destroyed? And, beyond that, how much infrastructure was destroyed and rebuilt, only to be destroyed again?

There is no deterrence in this arsenal, only death and isolation. The phrasing the group uses no longer works. Only the indoctrinated believe. This will also need to be disarmed or disabled. The next battle for the Lebanese state is to bring an end to indoctrination from all sides.

As a result of what we noticed in Venezuela, with how Hezbollah’s finances and organization are intertwined with criminal activities, the Lebanese government’s plan to disarm it must also include the targeting and crippling of all its commercial and financial activities. It is through its own parallel activities that it keeps its base hostage. Last year, the Lebanese central bank issued a circular banning licensed banks and financial institutions from any direct or indirect dealings with unlicensed entities linked to Hezbollah. This is not enough. There needs to be direct action to shut down these operations.

In a social media post ahead of the US action in Venezuela, the White House used a scene from the Ridley Scott movie “Gladiator.” I would refer to a phrase in this same film, when Russell Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius, knowing the military superiority of his army, states: “People should know when they are being conquered.” This phrase applies in all meanings to Hezbollah by stating that it should know it has been defeated. We cannot let Hezbollah drag Lebanon with it by continuing to deny this reality.

• Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.