Before meeting Macri, Mike Pompeo supported the fight against terrorism in Argentina

"We will not forget them and will never forget them," said Pompeo Friday, referring to the victims of the attack, during a ceremony at the headquarters of the Mutual Association Israelita Argentina (AMIA) in Buenos Aires.

"They were killed by members of a terrorist group, Hezbollah, backed by Iran," said the secretary of state. Argentina accuses senior Iranian officials of having organized the attack and Hezbollah to execute it, but 25 years later, no one has been tried or sentenced for the l & # 39; 39; attack.

On Friday, Washington imposed financial sanctions on Salman Raouf Salman, a Hezbollah leader who he said was suspected to be the brain of the attack. At the same time, the State Department announced that it would offer a $ 7 million reward for whereabouts information.

Salman "coordinated a devastating attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina, against the largest Jewish center in South America 25 years ago, since then he has been leading terrorist operations in the Hemisphere for Hezbollah." said Sigal Mandelker, deputy treasury secretary for combat. against terrorism, when announcing sanctions.

The attack is the deadliest in Argentina where, with 300,000 members, is the largest Jewish community in Latin America.

"It was not just an attack on the Jewish community in Argentina, but an attack on democracy, freedom and Argentine society"said Pompeo. The secretary of state stressed Argentina's decision to order the freezing of Hezbollah's badets and called on other Latin American countries to do the same.

"In the face of the global threat, it is the responsibility of countries to cut the flow of money," said Pompeo during the installation of the second continental conference against terrorism at the headquarters of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign.

"We congratulate Argentina for taking this step, for calling Hezbollah a terrorist and the only way to deal with this threat is to work together." he affirmed.

On a similar tone, the Argentine Chancellor, Jorge FaurieHe said that "for many countries in our region, terrorism was a bit distant, but today, terrorism is clearly a global threat."

"Terrorism must be fought with tools within the rule of law, but with a lot of international cooperation," he added.

Foreign ministers and authorities from some 20 countries participate in the conference. The first conference was held in Washington last December. Argentina is the first point of a tour of Latin America Pompeo, which will also take you to Ecuador, El Salvador and Mexico. This is his fourth visit to Latin America since taking office as Secretary of State more than a year ago.

In addition to attending the anti-terrorism conference, Pompeo will meet with the President Mauricio Macri in the official residence of Olivos, as a sign of support for the president who wishes to be reelected in the elections of 27 October.