Ecuador arrests Syrian on US terror list

QUITO: Ecuador has arrested a Syrian man identified as a terrorist threat by the United States for belonging to Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, authorities said Wednesday.
The arrest came as the government of Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa, an ally of US President Donald Trump, wages a crackdown on drug trafficking gangs, with Washington’s backing.
Ecuadoran Interior Minister John Reimberg said on X the man had been arrested in a joint operation between immigration authorities and the national police intelligence service.
“Deportation proceedings have been initiated” against the man, who was identified only as M.H. and entered Ecuador without proper documentation, said Reimberg.
He said the man was known to Ecuadoran authorities, having been arrested in the country in 2005 on charges of leading a drug trafficking network that allegedly moved millions of dollars on behalf of Hezbollah.
The suspect had been granted provisional release in 2012.
Lebanon-based Hezbollah is currently fighting with Israel as part of the Middle East war unleashed by US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Noboa last year issued a decree blacklisting Hezbollah and Palestinian militant group Hamas as terrorist organizations.
The president claims the groups advise drug trafficking gangs operating in Ecuador.