Unmasking Hezbollah - Drug trafficking and terror (1/3)
By DW Documentary May 18, 2024

In 2008, the United States launched "Project Cassandra". The aim was to uncover how Hezbollah uses drug trafficking and money laundering to finance its military and terrorist activities. The three-part series tells the story of the Project. By 2008, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had gathered sufficient evidence to show that Hezbollah had transformed from a military and political organization into an international crime syndicate. They were making billions from drug and arms trafficking, money laundering and other criminal activities. "Project Cassandra" was the ambitious, top-secret project designed to stop them.  On 4 August 2020, the city of Beirut was devastated by the explosion of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the port. All eyes turned to Hezbollah, a Shiite party and militia linked to Iran that controls a large part of Lebanon. Despite pressure from both citizens and the international community, Hezbollah (literally: the "party of God") refused to allow any independent investigation into the causes of the explosion. Hezbollah emerged in 1982 as a resistance organization against the Israeli occupation. Even then, it was supported by Iran. For 40 years, its fighters have infiltrated all areas of the Lebanese state and risen to become the country’s dominant force.  In the mid-2000s, however, a handful of police officers from the American Drug Enforcement Agency (D.E.A.) attempted to bring down Hezbollah. They operated in the greatest secrecy. The code name of their operation: Cassandra. Their investigation begins in the United States, in the still-smoldering ruins of the World Trade Center. The three-part series tells the story of "Project Cassandra," based on the testimony of DEA agents and other people involved. It also tells the story of the rise of Hezbollah and provides insights into complex geopolitical contexts.  

Unmasking Hezbollah - Who was behind the assassination of Rafic Hariri? (2/3)

The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri on February 14, 2005 sent Lebanon and the international community into shock. All eyes turned to Syria, which was accused of being behind the assassination. Bashar al-Assad's army, which had occupied part of the country, was forced to withdraw under pressure from the local population. With the Syrian withdrawal, Hezbollah lost a long-standing ally and protector. And it also found itself in the spotlight: suspected of complicity in the murder of Hariri. 

Unmasking Hezbollah - Money laundering in Europe (3/3) | DW Documentary

In 2008, the United States launched "Project Cassandra". The aim was to uncover how Hezbollah uses drug trafficking and money laundering to finance its military and terrorist activities. The 3-part series tells the story of the project. France has been the country of choice for Hezbollah fighters seeking asylum since 2010. France offers several benefits, including the possibility of integrating into a large Lebanese community and freedom of movement on European territory. Paris became a center for laundering money from the cocaine trade. The D.E.A., the American Drug Enforcement Agency, alerted the French police. Together they opened a new chapter of Operation Cassandra, named "Operation Cedar," after the tree that symbolizes Lebanon.