Argentina Becomes First Latin American State to Designate Hamas as Terrorist Organization

Latest Developments

Argentina became the first state in Latin America to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization, in a move announced by President Javier Milei on July 12. A statement from the president’s office confirmed the freezing of the terrorist organization’s financial assets. Citing the October 7 atrocities carried out by Hamas in Israel, in which seven Argentine citizens were killed and 15 more seized as hostages, as well as Hamas’s close ties with Iran, which is held responsible for two devastating terrorist attacks on Argentine soil during the 1990s, Milei’s statement declared that “Argentina must once again align itself with Western civilization.” The statement also emphasized Argentina’s “unwavering commitment to recognizing terrorists for what they are,” adding that “it’s the first time that there is a political will to do so.” Argentina’s stance goes against the grain in much of Latin America, where states with left-wing governments — among them Colombia, Chile, and Bolivia — severed ties with Israel following the October 7 attack and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Expert Analysis

“By designating Hamas, Argentina has sent a powerful message that the Qatar-based, Iranian-backed organization cannot act with impunity, and that Buenos Aires will call Hamas what it is: Not a social justice organization, nor a vehicle through which peace will be made, but an organization committed to the destruction of Israel and the murdering of Jews that is bankrolled and ideologically inspired by the Islamic Republic of Iran.” — Toby Dershowitz, Managing Director of FDD Action

“The significance of this decision being made on the eve of the thirtieth anniversary of the atrocity against the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires — the bloodiest attack on a Jewish community outside Israel since the Holocaust — should not be lost on anyone. The AMIA bombing in 1994, as well as the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in the Argentine capital two years earlier, were both executed by Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah. Argentina clearly understands that Hamas is an integral component of this same Iranian axis seeking Israel’s destruction.” — Ben Cohen, FDD Senior Analyst and Rapid Response Manager

Argentina’s Bitter Experience of Iran-Backed Terrorism

Argentina has been heavily impacted by Iran-backed terrorism on more than one occasion during the last three decades. In April, the country’s supreme court ruled that Iran was responsible for the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, in which 29 people were killed and 242 injured, as well as the 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish center in the capital — the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentina’s history — in which 85 people were killed and 300 wounded. The decision to designate Hamas came as Argentina prepares to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the AMIA attack on July 18.

Additionally, Argentine citizens were among those killed and kidnapped by Hamas during its October 7 assault on Israel. Argentine nationals still held hostage in Gaza include Shiri and Yarden Bibas and their two children, Ariel, who was four years old when taken hostage, and nine-month-old baby Kfir, who marked his first birthday while in Hamas captivity on January 18. Shiri Bibas’s parents, Margit and Yosi Silberman, were murdered by the Hamas terrorists during the bloodshed at Kibbutz Nir Oz, where the family lived.

Related Analysis

“Iran Rebuff Argentine Request for Extradition of Key Terrorist Mastermind,” FDD Flash Brief

“Latin America’s Hezbollah Problem,” by Emanuele Ottolenghi and Danny Citrinowicz

“How Hezbollah Fundraises Through Crime,” by Emanuele Ottolenghi