Three suspects were sentenced to 18 months in prison for allegedly plotting to kill two Israelis living in Peru, reports the Associated Press.
The ruling, handed down by Magistrate Miguel Quevedo on Tuesday orders preventative detention for an Iranian, Majid Azizi, and two Peruvian men, Walter Loja and Ángelo Trucios, while they are investigated for the attempted murder and conspiracy to commit terrorism.
While the motive for the murder plot remains unclear, prosecutors found images, messages, and testimonies indicating that Azizi contacted Loja and Trucios in March to plan the killing of Israeli citizen Shachar Malka, who works as a tour guide and healer in Cusco. Another Israeli who was targeted was Gilad Duchovny, who started a cafe in Cusco with his twin brother in 2006.
Peruvian authorities say Azizi entered Lima on March 3, after being alerted about him by foreign intelligence offices. According to the report, Azizi is suspected of being a member of the Quds Force, the overseas intelligence and terror arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Iran and its proxy Hezbollah have a long history of terror operations in South America, with Hezbollah bombing the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992, killing 22 people and wounding 242. Two years later, the Iran-backed terrorist group was responsible for the bombing of the AMIA Jewish cultural center, which left 85 people dead and close to 300 wounded.
