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Hezbollah Inc. A Documentary by JAVA Films

Hezbollah is widely recognized as a terrorist organization, responsible for many atrocities, including the 2020 Beirut port blast and destabilization of Lebanon. This 3-part series tells the story of an investigation into the group by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that helps explain the history and rise of Hezbollah, making a complex geopolitical story accessible to a larger audience.

Episode 1: Cassandra or the Prophecy of Chaos (Hezbollah Inc.) - (58:56): On August 4, 2020, the city of Beirut was devastated by the explosion of hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the port. All eyes turned to Hezbollah, an Islamist movement linked to Iran, which controls a large part of Lebanon. Despite pressure from the street and the international community, Hezbollah (the “Party of God”) refused any independent investigation into the causes of the explosion. This program traces back the roots of Project Cassandra, an investigation by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to bring down Hezbollah.

Episode 2: The Long Hunt (Hezbollah Inc) - (56:03): Hezbollah has been designated a terrorist organization by the US, the UK, Germany, Israel, and many other countries. This program continues the examination of the history of Hezbollah, looking at the assassination of Lebanon's prime minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005, in which Syria was accused of being the sponsor of the attack. The army of Bashar al-Assad, which occupied part of Lebanon, was forced to retreat amid hostility from the local population. With the withdrawal of the Syrians, Hezbollah lost a long-time ally and protector and was suspected of complicity in the murder of Hariri.

Episode 3: In the Name of the State (Hezbollah Inc) - (51:56): France has been the preferred country for Hezbollah terrorists to seek asylum since 2010 as it offers several advantages: the potential to blend in with a large Lebanese community and free movement on European territory. Paris was chosen as a bridgehead for laundering money from cocaine trafficking. This program continues the look at the history of Hezbollah, following how the DEA, the American anti-drug agency, alerted the French police and together they opened a new chapter in Operation Cassandra, named “Operation Cedar” after the tree that symbolizes Lebanon.

Get more on the history, role and influence of Hezbollah including scholarly articles, viewpoints and primary sources in the Gale in Context: Global Issues database.