Cale Brown, Principal Deputy Spokesperson
The United States welcomes the Latvian government’s recent announcement that it considers Hizballah in its entirety as a terrorist organization. Latvia supports U.S. implementation of sanctions related to Hizballah and has expressed a readiness to place national travel bans on individuals associated with Hizballah.
The continued announcements by countries in Europe, Latin America, and other regions of actions against the terrorist organization send a strong message to Hizballah and its backers in Iran that a new day is coming. On this new day, Hizballah operatives will no longer be able to operate from European soil, and the European Union will follow the lead of a number of European governments by closing the loopholes opened up by the false distinction between Hizballah’s so-called military and political wings.
The simple fact is that Hizballah is a terrorist organization, root and branch. The United States continues to call on all countries to take whatever action they can to prevent its operatives, recruiters, and financiers, from operating on their territories.