Illegal migrant from Lebanon caught at border admitted he’s a Hezbollah terrorist hoping ‘to make a bomb’ — and was headed for NY

By Jennie Taer, NY POST                                                                                   17 March 2024

A Lebanese migrant who was caught sneaking over the border admitted he’s a member of Hezbollah, he hoped to make a bomb, and his destination was New York, The Post can reveal.

Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, was caught by the US Border Patrol on March 9 near El Paso, Texas. While in custody, he was asked what he was doing in the US, to which he replied, “I’m going to try to make a bomb,” according to a Border Patrol document exclusively obtained by The Post.

But Ebbadi later claimed in an interview that he had been trying to flee Lebanon and Hezbollah because he “didn’t want to kill people” and said “once you’re in, you can never get out,” according to internal US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) documents.

Ebbadi 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 years, the documents show.

Ebbadi’s training focused on “jihad” and killing people “that was not Muslim,” he said.

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.

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terror group, has launched missiles into northern Israel following Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 that have killed about a dozen Israeli soldiers and seven civilians.

Ebbadi didn’t have documents when he entered the US, claiming he was robbed “with a knife” in Costa Rica, according to the ICE documents.

He also admitted to using a fake birthday and name in Sweden, Ecuador — where he claimed his father resides — and Panama this year.

He said he had originally hoped to go to New York and then move around the country.

Ebbadi was immediately placed into isolation and was referred for an interview with the Tactical Terrorism Response Team for making “terroristic threats to personnel.”

Internal documents show he was marked for deportation from the US, although it was not clear to which country he would be returned.

Border agents recorded 98 encounters with terror watchlisted individuals at both the northern and southern borders in fiscal year 2022, and almost twice as many, 172, in fiscal year 2023, which ends Sept. 30.

So far, in the first four months of 2024, 59 people have been apprehended, according to federal data.

The total number of terror watchlist encounters between fiscal years 2017 and 2021 amounted to just 30 people, but after that time, the criteria for being on the list, which have never been disclosed, were expanded.

Just days before former President Donald Trump’s recent visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, a terror watchlisted migrant crossed into the area illegally, according to an internal agency memo The Post obtained.

Colombian national Carlos Obed Yepez-Bedoya, 40, was first apprehended by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), which handed him into the custody of the Border Patrol.

Border agents made the determination about Yepez-Bedoya’s alleged terror ties.

“This underscores the need for border security measures as potential threats to both public safety and national security are evident and exploit security vulnerabilities,” DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez told The Post at the time.

“The federal government has failed to enact border security measures, and the state of Texas, through Gov. [Greg] Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, will continue to take unprecedented action to help secure the border,” Olivarez said.

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