A Lebanese immigrant who was caught sneaking across the U.S. border admitted to being a member of Hezbollah and stated he was hoping to make a bomb, with New York as his intended destination, according to The Washington Post. U.S. border patrol arrested Basel Abadi, 22, on March 9 near El Paso, Texas. While in custody, when asked what he was doing in the United States, he replied, "I was trying to make a bomb," according to a border patrol document obtained by The Washington Post.
In a subsequent interview with the police, Abadi claimed he had "trained with Hezbollah for seven years and worked as an active member guarding weapon sites for another four years," according to internal documents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He revealed that he fled Lebanon because he "did not want to kill people," adding, "Once you enter, you can never get out."
Abadi did not have documentation when he entered the United States, claiming he was robbed "by a knife" while in Costa Rica, according to ICE documents. He also confessed to using a birth certificate and a fake name in Sweden, Ecuador, and Panama this year. He stated he had originally hoped to go to New York and then travel around the country.
Abadi was immediately isolated and referred for an interview with the Tactical Terrorism Response Team (TTRT) for allegedly making "terroristic threats to staff." Internal documents show he was marked for deportation from the United States, although it was unclear which country he would be returned to.
