Brazilian authorities thwart terrorist plans against Jewish community

2023-11-08 20:36:02

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Authorities in Brazil thwarted terrorist plots Wednesday when they arrested two people in the state of Sao Paulo, the Federal Police said in a statement.

The two suspects were recruited and financed by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and planned to attack buildings linked to the Jewish community, according to an official with information regarding the plans but who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The police statement did not provide details regarding the suspects. He noted that police also executed 11 search warrants in Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais and the Federal District aimed at obtaining evidence of possible recruitment of Brazilians to carry out extremist acts in the country, adding that they targeted both recruits and recruiters.

Local newspaper O Globo reported that police arrested one of the two suspects when they were returning to Sao Paulo’s international airport, with information to carry out the attack. There are two other targets for arrest in Lebanon, the newspaper reported, without saying how it obtained that information.

The Israeli Confederation of Brazil celebrated the police operation on the social network

“The tragic conflicts of the Middle East cannot be imported into our country, where different communities live in peace, harmony and without fear of terrorism,” the group stated.

Brazil has one of the largest Lebanese populations in the world; most estimates place its total well above that of Lebanon itself.

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