Mike Pompeo
Mike PompeoReuters

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday welcomed Paraguay’s decision from earlier this week to designate Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations.

“We commend Paraguay for designating Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Hamas as terrorist organizations. This important step will help cut off the ability of these groups to plot terrorist attacks and to raise money around the world, including in the Western Hemisphere,” said Pompeo.

“The world is increasingly recognizing Hezbollah for what it is – not a defender of Lebanon as it purports to be, but a terrorist organization dedicated to advancing Iran’s malicious agenda. Like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, Hezbollah has a global reach, with operations and plots disrupted in recent years in the Americas, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Asia,” he added.

“With this action, Paraguay joins other nations in designating Hezbollah, including most recently Argentina, Kosovo, and the United Kingdom, in addition to Australia, Canada, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Arab League. We call on others around the world to follow suit,” concluded Pompeo.

In 2013, the European Union blacklisted Hezbollah's “military wing” as a terrorist organization, while failing to blacklist the group’s political arm.

The British government formally announced in February that it intends to ban the political wing of the Hezbollah terror organization, after previously having banned its military wing.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported on Monday that Brazil is considering following in the footsteps of Argentina and Paraguay and designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.