Basel Bassel Ebbadi, a detained 22-year-old Lebanese migrant who was caught sneaking over the United States-Mexico border, admitted that he was a member of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, hoped to make a bomb, and planned to travel to New York and other parts of the US.
In its exclusive report, the New York Post said that Ebbadi was caught by agents of the US Customs and Border Protection on March 9 near El Paso, Texas. When asked about his reason for crossing, he replied that he was "going to try to make a bomb," according to a Border Patrol document exclusively obtained by the Post.
However, Ebbadi later claimed in an interview that he had been trying to flee Lebanon and Hamas because he "didn't want to kill people" and said, "Once you're in, you can never get out," according to internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents.
Ebbadi also said in a sworn interview after his arrest that he had trained with Hezbollah for seven years and served as an active member guarding weapons locations for another four.
He added that his training focused on "jihad" and killing people "that was not Muslim."
Illegal migrant from Lebanon told border authorities he’s a Hezbollah terrorist and hoped ‘to make a bomb’ in US https://t.co/ADuy2s0D7n pic.twitter.com/ICqSaUlOsM
— New York Post (@nypost) March 17, 2024
Ebbadi did not have documents when he entered the US side of the border, claiming that they were robbed "with a knife" while he was in Costa Rica, the ICE documents revealed. He also admitted to using a fake birthday and name in Sweden, Ecuador—where he claimed his father resides—and Panama this year.
Border agents continue to see a surge in migrants whose names appear on the terror watchlist entering the US illegally as crossings continue at record levels, the Post reported.
Ebbadi was immediately placed into isolation and was referred for an interview with the Tactical Terrorism Response Team (TTRT) for making "terroristic threats to personnel."
Internal documents show that he was marked for deportation from the US, although it was not clear which country he would be returned to.
Hezbollah has launched missiles into northern Israel in support of Hamas's Oct.7 attack. The missile attacks have claimed the lives of several Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) personnel and seven civilians.
Just days before former President Donald Trump's recent visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, a terror-watchlisted migrant named Colombian national Carlos Obed Yepez-Bedoya, 40, crossed into the area illegally, according to an internal agency memo the Post obtained.
