Sens. John Curtis (R-UT) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced legislation this week directing the federal government to assess Hezbollah’s ability to conduct terrorist activities in Latin America and determine ways to counter its influence in the region.

The No Hezbollah in Our Hemisphere Act requires the secretary of state, in coordination with the director of national intelligence, attorney general, homeland security secretary and treasury secretary, to determine whether any country or region in Latin America qualifies as a terrorist sanctuary under U.S. law and sanction entities that collaborate with Hezbollah. 

The bipartisan bill would implement visa bans and travel restrictions on foreign government officials and financial actors found to be materially supporting Hezbollah. Any current visas issued to individuals found to be in support of the terrorist organization would be immediately revoked, unless they were to take verifiable actions to begin combating Hezbollah’s influence. The legislation would also allow the president to waive these restrictions for law enforcement purposes or to remain in compliance with U.S. global obligations.

“Hezbollah is directly responsible for the murder of hundreds of Americans. For too long, this Iranian-backed terrorist group has used Latin America as a safe haven for illicit financing, recruitment, and other criminal activities — fueling drug trafficking at our southern border and posing significant threats to our national security,” Sen. Curtis said in a statement, noting that the legislation “directs the United States to take action on Hezbollah’s alarming presence in Latin America to keep us and our allies, including Israel, safe from their terrorist ambitions.”

“Iran-backed Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that has operated in the Western Hemisphere for decades to raise funds for its destabilizing activities around the globe,” Sen. Rosen said. “This is a threat to U.S. national security and cannot be tolerated. That’s why I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to make clear that we will not accept countries turning a blind eye to Hezbollah’s harmful actions.”

Tyler Stapleton, director of government relations at FDD Action, the sister organization of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a statement that, “Despite Hezbollah’s military leadership being thoroughly degraded, the terror group maintains a global illicit finance network that could help the organization reconstitute itself, especially with the backing of terrorist sponsors like Iran. This is acutely felt in Latin America, where Hezbollah’s infrastructure continues to operate and threaten the United States and our allies.”

“Few countries in the region have designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization or placed significant restrictions on its operations, and some countries even openly provide it with material support. The No Hezbollah in Our Hemisphere Act seeks to address the permissive environment for Hezbollah in the region through a comprehensive assessment of Latin American countries to determine whether they meet the criteria of a terrorist sanctuary under U.S. law,” Stapleton continued.