The effects of the Saudi decision to ban the entry of Lebanese agricultural products into its territories have expanded, leading to similar decisions from other Gulf countries affected by drug trafficking mafias allied with armed groups controlling the land, air, and sea crossings between Lebanon and the Arab world. Reactions from Lebanon have also intensified, with religious and political authorities condemning the ongoing border chaos, while awaiting an official stance from the ministerial-security meeting called by President Michel Aoun in Baabda today.
Lebanese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Fawzi Kabara, stated that Lebanon would intensify its efforts through security measures to address the issue and firmly put an end to this farce, providing guarantees to Saudi authorities to prevent a recurrence. Maronite Patriarch Bechara Raï contacted the Saudi ambassador in Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, who is currently in Riyadh, and expressed his condemnation of drug trafficking concealed within agricultural products, which are neither Lebanese nor linked to any Lebanese farmers or sources. He requested the ambassador to convey this condemnation to the Kingdom, considering the circumstances of Lebanon and its farmers.
Bukhari noted that significant quantities of drugs were seized before entering the Kingdom over the past years. He added in statements to MTV that "the quantities thwarted from entering the Kingdom are sufficient to flood the entire Arab nation with drugs and psychoactive substances." Bukhari praised Patriarch Raï's stance, which denounces the targeting of Saudi Arabia through drug trafficking, stating that it deserves appreciation. He mentioned that a total of over 600 million narcotic pills and hundreds of kilograms of hashish had been seized over the past six years, highlighting that these quantities originated from Lebanon, with traffickers attempting to smuggle them into the Kingdom.
During yesterday's Sunday sermon, Raï called for a swift investigation to uncover the perpetrators and traffickers and to impose the harshest penalties upon them, thereby addressing this problem with the friendly nation of Saudi Arabia. He urged the Lebanese state to maintain its friendships with Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia, which has always taken positive stances and initiatives for the benefit of Lebanon and its people, with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries also expressing their deep regret over these developments.
Lebanese Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Deryan expressed his concern and understanding regarding the Kingdom’s decision to close its borders to Lebanese agricultural products due to condemned and rejected smuggling practices, which has dire implications for the already collapsing Lebanese economy. He hoped that the Saudi decision would be temporary until the Lebanese state undertakes swift and decisive steps to prevent any disruption in Lebanese-Saudi relations.
For his part, Beirut Metropolitan for the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Elias Aoudé, stated during the Palm Sunday Mass that salvation does not come through weapons or militias, nor through party leaders with vested interests, nor through empty, high-sounding speeches meant to rally supporters for personal gain.
Meanwhile, an army statement announced the thwarting of a smuggling operation involving individuals via the sea, capturing 69 Syrians in the Al-Areedah area on the Sheikh Zanad - Akkar coast, who intended to illegally transfer to Cyprus by sea, along with the smuggler (A.K.) who had charged them fees for their intended smuggling.
On the government level, communications are stagnant, while tweets and comments are active. Following sources did not rule out the governmental file amid the new developments, noting that the latest hidden contention has focused on the external rivalries regarding the formation of the government either before or after the re-election of President Bashar al-Assad to the Syrian presidency on May 26. Reports indicate that the regional or local resistance team prefers to delay the formation until after Assad's election, for reasons known to them.
