Argentina announced on Wednesday that it had arrested three foreign nationals, particularly Syrian and Lebanese nationals, on suspicion of planning a “terrorist act” at the Pan American Maccabi Games.
Minister of Security Patricia Bullrich Said Her office received information from the United States and Israel that led to the arrest of three suspects on Dec. 30 who were staying at a hotel two blocks from the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. Their proximity to the embassy was a concern as it had been the target of a notorious incident. terrorist attack In 1992.
The Iraqi national who allegedly falsified Argentine documents also arrested outside the Israeli embassy in October after the embassy received bomb threat calls over the course of a week.
bullrich Said The suspects were “waiting for a package to come through the delivery system from Yemen,” given that much of Yemen is controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists who are attacking ships. This was a “strong wake-up call,” she said. In the Red Sea.
Houthi forces board the cargo ship Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea on November 19, 2023. (Houthi Media Center, via AP)
She said the package, which weighed about 35 kilograms (about 77 pounds), was seized and inspected by authorities.
Mr Bullrich said the investigation was under a “secret summary” order and the identity of the detainee would be kept secret for the time being as identification could be difficult. He noted that one of the detainees was in possession of a “passport of a different nationality” than the one he used to enter Argentina.
“If a person has a Syrian passport, a Colombian passport, a Venezuelan passport, and they enter the country with different passports, what is their real identity? What is their nationality?” she wonders. I thought.
The Colombian government statement On Wednesday, it named one of the detainees, Chassan Nem Chatay, who has become a Colombian citizen by adoption since May 2022. A Colombian statement said consular assistance would be provided to Chatay, but provided no further details about his origins.
bullrich Said The detainees arrived on different planes and were arrested at different locations. One was detained after arriving at Jorge Newbery Airport on a flight from Colombia, one in downtown Buenos Aires and the third in the nearby town of Avellaneda.
Bullrich said Argentina's new president, Javier Millei, had instructed security officials to be especially careful. Pan American Maccabi Game In light of the ongoing war between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas.
The games, which begin on Dec. 27 and run until Jan. 5, are hosted by the Maccabi World Union, the world's largest Jewish sports and education organization. The annual Maccabi Games, also known as the Jewish Olympics, are the world's largest sporting event after the Olympics.
The organization also hosts regional events such as the Pan-American and European Maccabi Games. The 2023 Pan American Maccabi Games drew an estimated 4,000 participants and visitors from North, Central and South America to Buenos Aires. One of the goals of these sports tournaments is to help young Jews from other countries learn more about Israel and its traditions.
