A Republican congressman has called on a House panel to investigate the Obama administration’s reported interference in a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) task force probe against Hezbollah’s lucrative drug trafficking, money laundering, and arms smuggling activities in Latin America, all to ensure passage of the Iran nuclear deal.
On Sunday, Politicorevealed that Obama administration officials reportedly undermined a DEA operation, dubbed Project Cassandra, aimed at combating the Iranian narco-terrorist proxy’s “billion-dollar criminal enterprise” in Latin America.
In a statement issued Tuesday urging the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee to investigate the allegations in the report, Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC), the chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, said:
These revelations are shocking and infuriating. While American soldiers were bravely fighting ISIS [Islamic State] terrorists, with some paying the ultimate price, the Obama administration reportedly was protecting Hezbollah terrorists who were funding themselves by trafficking illegal drugs. No wonder President Obama couldn’t bring himself to call them “Radical Islamist Terrorists.”
Pittenger, a years-long advocate against Hezbollah’s activities in Latin America, sent a letter to House Oversight Committee chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) urging him to investigate the allegations in the Politico report.
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“The growing nexus between terrorist organizations and Latin American drug cartels poses a grave threat to our national security, especially considering the porous state of our southern border,” added the North Carolina Republican, who also serves as the vice chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing.