The denying threat to national security and defense: Hezbollah’s presence in Colombia
This article critically examines Hezbollah’s presence in Colombia and evaluates whether it constitutes a strategic threat to the nation’s security and defense. Through qualitative documentary analysis, the study explores the convergence of international terrorism and transnational organized crime an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Cogent Social Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2025.2500653 |
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| _version_ | 1849424275616825344 |
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| author | David Andres Londoño-Bedoya Maritza Padilla-Bueno Jose Andres Areiza-Padilla Ivan Veas-González |
| author_facet | David Andres Londoño-Bedoya Maritza Padilla-Bueno Jose Andres Areiza-Padilla Ivan Veas-González |
| author_sort | David Andres Londoño-Bedoya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article critically examines Hezbollah’s presence in Colombia and evaluates whether it constitutes a strategic threat to the nation’s security and defense. Through qualitative documentary analysis, the study explores the convergence of international terrorism and transnational organized crime and its impact on Colombia’s internal conflict. It focuses on Hezbollah’s involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering, and arms smuggling, highlighting the group’s integration into local criminal networks and its potential to destabilize regional security. Drawing on open-source intelligence, official documents, and peer-reviewed literature, the research reveals that Colombian defense policies have largely failed to recognize Hezbollah as a significant threat. This institutional blind spot endangers both national and regional stability, especially given Hezbollah’s ties to Venezuelan political actors and Colombian insurgent groups. The central research question asks to what extent Hezbollah’s presence has influenced Colombia’s national security and defense policy since 2001, and how the state has acknowledged—or neglected—this influence. The study hypothesizes that Hezbollah’s role has been consistently underestimated due to a narrow view of terrorism as an external threat. As a result, Colombia’s security strategies have remained inward-focused and insufficient to address the hybrid, transnational nature of contemporary non-state actors. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f2fba9be964b4e47b6182aa227f44fc4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2331-1886 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-f2fba9be964b4e47b6182aa227f44fc42025-08-20T03:30:14ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Social Sciences2331-18862025-12-0111110.1080/23311886.2025.2500653The denying threat to national security and defense: Hezbollah’s presence in ColombiaDavid Andres Londoño-Bedoya0Maritza Padilla-Bueno1Jose Andres Areiza-Padilla2Ivan Veas-González3Department of Business Administration, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, ColombiaEscuela Superior de Guerra, General Rafael Reyes Prieto, Bogota, ColombiaFaculty of Business, Economics and Finance, Area Andina University Institute, Bogotá, ColombiaDepartamento de Administración Facultad de Economía y Administración, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, ChileThis article critically examines Hezbollah’s presence in Colombia and evaluates whether it constitutes a strategic threat to the nation’s security and defense. Through qualitative documentary analysis, the study explores the convergence of international terrorism and transnational organized crime and its impact on Colombia’s internal conflict. It focuses on Hezbollah’s involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering, and arms smuggling, highlighting the group’s integration into local criminal networks and its potential to destabilize regional security. Drawing on open-source intelligence, official documents, and peer-reviewed literature, the research reveals that Colombian defense policies have largely failed to recognize Hezbollah as a significant threat. This institutional blind spot endangers both national and regional stability, especially given Hezbollah’s ties to Venezuelan political actors and Colombian insurgent groups. The central research question asks to what extent Hezbollah’s presence has influenced Colombia’s national security and defense policy since 2001, and how the state has acknowledged—or neglected—this influence. The study hypothesizes that Hezbollah’s role has been consistently underestimated due to a narrow view of terrorism as an external threat. As a result, Colombia’s security strategies have remained inward-focused and insufficient to address the hybrid, transnational nature of contemporary non-state actors.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2025.2500653HezbollahLatin AmericaColombiatransnational crimeterrorismMilitary and strategic studies |
| spellingShingle | David Andres Londoño-Bedoya Maritza Padilla-Bueno Jose Andres Areiza-Padilla Ivan Veas-González The denying threat to national security and defense: Hezbollah’s presence in Colombia Cogent Social Sciences Hezbollah Latin America Colombia transnational crime terrorism Military and strategic studies |
| title | The denying threat to national security and defense: Hezbollah’s presence in Colombia |
| title_full | The denying threat to national security and defense: Hezbollah’s presence in Colombia |
| title_fullStr | The denying threat to national security and defense: Hezbollah’s presence in Colombia |
| title_full_unstemmed | The denying threat to national security and defense: Hezbollah’s presence in Colombia |
| title_short | The denying threat to national security and defense: Hezbollah’s presence in Colombia |
| title_sort | denying threat to national security and defense hezbollah s presence in colombia |
| topic | Hezbollah Latin America Colombia transnational crime terrorism Military and strategic studies |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2025.2500653 |
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