In a major development nearly 30 years after the devastating bombing at a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, federal prosecutors in Manhattan have accused a man in Lebanon of helping plan the attack and leading decades of terrorism for Hezbollah. Samuel Salman El Reda, a 58-year-old operative, is said to have relayed information to help execute the bombing at the Asociaci??n Mutual Israelita Argentina in July 1994, which claimed the lives of 85 people and injured hundreds more.

Argentina is home to Latin America's largest Jewish population, with an estimated 250,000 people, making the attack a harrowing blow to the community. The building was leveled, and the incident left the city's Jewish community devastated. Prosecutors in New York have stated that El Reda, who remains at large, has been a leader within Hezbollah's Islamic Jihad Organization since 1993. This arm of Hezbollah is responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution of intelligence, counterintelligence, and terrorist activities.

According to the indictment unsealed on Wednesday, El Reda has masterminded attacks not only in South America but also in Asia and Lebanon. "For decades, Samuel Salman El Reda has led terrorist operations on behalf of the Islamic Jihad Organization of Hezbollah," said Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, emphasizing the dedication of his office to ensuring justice for the victims of terrorism.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group founded in the 1980s, has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States since 1997. Israel, considering Hezbollah one of its biggest regional adversaries and a proxy for Iran, has also classified the group as a terrorist organization. The two entities engaged in a monthlong war in 2006, which ended in a standstill. Since then, there have been intermittent clashes along Israel's northern border, with Hezbollah claiming responsibility for recent rocket attacks in 2021.

The Justice Department's announcement of terrorism charges against El Reda marks a significant step in holding accountable those responsible for the Buenos Aires bombing and the subsequent acts of terrorism. El Reda, a dual citizen of Colombia and Lebanon, is alleged to have coordinated Hezbollah's activities across different continents, recruiting, training, and managing operatives around the world. The indictment further reveals that between 2007 and 2015, El Reda deployed operatives to various countries, including Thailand, Peru, and Panama, to conduct surveillance in preparation for attacks and assist in stockpiling explosive precursor chemicals.

El Reda is facing charges of providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, conspiring to provide material support, aiding and abetting the receipt of military-type training, and conspiring to receive military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization. As of now, he remains based in Lebanon and at large. The indictment serves as a stern message from the Justice Department that acts of terror will not be forgotten, and those responsible will be relentlessly pursued and brought to justice.