As the Pan-American Maccabi Games are being held in Buenos Aires, Argentinean media reported the arrest of three suspects, all of Syrian or Lebanese descent, in an alleged terrorist plot to attack Jewish targets throughout the South American country.
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The Pan American Maccabi Games welcome athletes from North, Central and South America, as well as Israel. With 4,200 athletes representing 22 nations, the games opened on December 28 and are scheduled to conclude on Friday.
To evade detection, the three suspects arrived in Argentina on separate flights. One was apprehended while awaiting an 80-pound package en route to Argentina from Yemen.
Two of the suspects were apprehended by local authorities in Avellaneda, a port city in Buenos Aires province, while the third, arriving from Colombia, was detained as he exited Jorge Newbery Airport, a hub for domestic and select international flights.
Authorities are going through the suspects' phones and personal belongings to ascertain the precise location and timing of the planned attacks. One suspect, a Syrian national, was found with both Venezuelan and Colombian passports in his possession.
In November, Brazil announced an operation that led to the arrest of Hezbollah-affiliated terrorists plotting attacks on Jewish communities within the country. Targets included synagogues, community centers and kosher restaurants.
The counterterrorism operation was conducted in collaboration with Mossad. The Prime Minister's office said that the Brazilian defense establishment, alongside Mossad and other Israeli security agencies, thwarted a Hezbollah attack orchestrated by the Iranian regime.
According to Mossad, "Amid the war in Gaza against the terrorist organization Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian regime persist in planning attacks against Israeli and Western targets globally."