Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller (2020) s03e04 Episode Script
Terrorist Oil
1
♪
(rapid gunfire)
MARIANA: In the fall of 2017,
a group of American soldiers
came under attack
by Islamic militants.
(rapid gunfire)
The footage from
their body cameras tells
the story of the ambush.
They scramble for cover
from a barrage of bullets
but are quickly overwhelmed.
(yelling)
Then, as they
attempt a desperate retreat,
the attackers close in.
The news of their deaths
was met with shock back home.
Not just for how
they died, but where,
in the West African
country of Niger.
REPORTER (over TV):
Questions have swirled since
the October 4th raid that left
four American soldiers dead.
LINDSEY (over TV): I didn't kno
there was 1,000 troops in Niger
REPORTER 3 (over TV): The
real question, of course,
what they were doing
there in the first place?
MARIANA: The ambush brought
to light a harsh reality,
that the U.S. is spending
billions of dollars in Africa
and around the
globe to fight a new
generation of terrorist groups.
(explosion)
(rapid gunfire)
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: 20 years
into the War on Terror,
I want to know how
these groups are thriving.
And how black market oil may
be fueling an even larger and
more complex web of extremism.
Wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait, wait.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: What's happening?
(static whirring)
Josh, come back!
(speaking in native language)
MARIANA: I'm in Maiduguri,
a city in Northern Nigeria.
It's a place that has
seen horrific violence and
where Major General Musa
now leads the fight against
a group called Boko Haram.
MARIANA: Boko Haram
is one of the largest
militant groups in Africa.
They came to the
world's attention in 2014,
after abducting more
than 200 schoolgirls.
ALL: Bring back our girls.
Bring back our girls.
MARIANA: The group's aim,
to enforce a strict,
fundamentalist interpretation
of Islamic Law.
Nigeria has been dealing with
attacks from Boko Haram for more
than a decade,
35,000 people have died and
millions have been displaced.
MARIANA: Recently,
factions of Boko Haram has
pledged allegiance
to ISIS and have grown
in power and influence,
while waging a
guerrilla war across Africa.
In 2020, the
United States contributed
close to $600 million in weapons
and other military services to
help Nigeria fight back.
♪
MARIANA: They're checking all
the cars and trucks that are
coming in and they just
stopped this car on the side.
They're just searching
this car and everyone in it.
Checkpoints like this
one are often targeted by
suicide bombers and IEDs,
improvised explosive devices.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: So, apart
from explosive devices
MAN: Yeah.
MARIANA: What else
are you guys looking for
in terms of being smuggled?
MARIANA: Food,
weapons, and fuel,
the staples of any group at war.
(singing in native language)
MARIANA: To understand where
and how Boko Haram is getting
their hands on the goods they
need to run their operations,
the military agrees
to take me to a location
where I might find answers.
(speaking in native language)
MARIANA: These are all
people who have surrendered?
MAN: Yeah, these are them.
MARIANA: Surrendered fighters?
Wow.
That is an
enormous amount of people.
This compound, on the
outskirts of the city,
holds around 2,000
former Boko Haram fighters
and their families.
They're being held
here for de-radicalization.
A few of them have agreed
to talk to me in private.
So my name is Mariana.
Thank you for being here.
How long were
you with Boko Haram?
MODU: 12 years.
MARIANA: 12 years.
MODU: Mm-hmm.
MARIANA: When did you surrender?
How long ago?
AMIR: Three months.
MARIANA: So you
were with Boko Haram
until three months ago?
AMIR: Of course.
MARIANA: Mm-hmm.
I'm told these
men were in charge of
recruitment, bomb-making,
and seeking
supplies for Boko Haram.
Why did you join Boko Haram?
MARIANA: Why did you leave?
MARIANA: What is
the goal of Boko Haram?
MARIANA: To expand.
And is it expansion
just here in Nigeria?
MARIANA: They want to go global.
MODU: Globalization.
MARIANA: With ISIS?
MODU: ISIS. Yes.
MARIANA: Do you
think Boko Haram
poses a threat to America?
MARIANA: Boko was
specifically looking for
American targets
that they could attack?
ALL: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
MARIANA: It's shocking to hear
first-hand how this group was
planning to kill Americans.
But the question remains, how
does a terrorist organization in
such a remote corner of Africa
get what it needs to operate?
Do you know how
Boko Haram gets, uh,
certain supplies that
are important for them?
MARIANA: How important
is fuel for Boko Haram?
MARIANA: So petrol
is the most important?
ZUBAIRA: Most important.
MODU: Yes.
MARIANA: Without petrol,
would Boko Haram be
able to exist, survive?
MARIANA: They
wouldn't be able to do work.
MARIANA: It's not something
I've ever thought much about,
the logistics of terror.
But in order to evade capture,
Boko Haram is operating
from obscure locations,
far from gas stations.
That means if they want the
ability to move fast and strike
whenever and wherever they want,
their fleet of
vehicles needs fuel.
Nigeria is one of the largest
producers of oil in the world,
exporting petroleum products to
the United States,
Europe, and Asia.
There are nearly
5,000 oil wells in the country,
and most of them have been
drilled in the oil-rich south.
The fuel, do you
know if it's coming from
the south of the country?
MARIANA: From, so,
from the Niger Delta?
MALLAM: Mm-hmm.
MARIANA: Port Harcourt area?
MALLAM: Mm-hmm.
MARIANA: The Niger Delta, off
the southern coast of Nigeria,
accounts for nearly 90% of
the country's petroleum exports.
Even though the region
is hundreds of miles away.
It seems plausible that
it's Boko Haram's source and
the lifeblood of
their ongoing operations.
(squawking)
So we've been told that before
we're able to film any oil in
this region, we actually
have to ask permission from
the man in charge.
(singing in native language).
(singing in native language).
MARIANA: He will be
showing up at any moment.
Oh, I think he's
coming out, guys.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: Thank you,
Royal Highness.
It's not every day you
get to stand before a King.
The opulence, the formality.
The reverence from
the members of his court.
It's all there.
I see you have many phones.
(laughs)
Um, thank you so much for having
us in your beautiful palace.
We're here to ask
for your permission
to film in your lands.
He's not your everyday King.
This is Ateke Tom,
a former militant
and gang leader,
responsible for
years of deadly attacks in
Nigeria's oil-producing region.
But in 2009, as part of
a peace deal, Ateke Tom,
along with other
former gang leaders,
accepted amnesty
from the government.
Local media from
Channels Television and
TV360 Nigeria were on hand
to capture the dramatic moment
when he surrendered his weapons
and was later appointed
to this ceremonial post.
And now, nothing happens
here without his permission.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: Thank you,
Royal Highness.
I was told there's one
thing I should not ask about.
A very touchy subject.
But, of course, I do.
Is there oil in this area?
MARIANA: And
what is the situation
with the oil right now?
MARIANA: There's a
good reason the King
doesn't wanna talk about oil.
Multinational corporations
like Shell, Chevron, and Exxon
have exploited the
region's natural resources
since the 1950s, when Nigeria
was still a British colony.
Extreme social
inequality has pushed local
communities into oil piracy,
creating one of the world's
biggest black markets for crude.
If I want to find
out if Boko Haram is
benefiting from this
lucrative black market,
I need to head
into one of the many
illicit refineries hidden in the
backwaters of the Niger Delta.
♪
(rushing water)
So, it's this way, yeah?
MIKE: Yes.
MARIANA: This way? Okay.
After months of planning, a
contact who was born and raised
in this area, helps me
obtain rare access to this site.
It's crazy.
So this is it, right?
ALL: Yes.
MARIANA: This isn't oil.
What is this? What is.
MIKE: This is the crude oil.
MARIANA: This is the crude oil?
MIKE: Yes.
MARIANA: And it's coming out,
so this is illegal extraction.
So this is, it's
coming out of the pipe.
MIKE: Yes.
MARIANA: A local named Mike
shows me how they tap pipelines
that run through this land,
a process known as bunkering.
I received mixed
reports about the owner
of this specific pipeline,
but every domestic and
foreign oil company deals
with thefts like these.
It's estimated that
$7.3 billion of Nigerian oil
is stolen every year.
And then what happens,
how does it get out of here?
MARIANA: Oh, so
they're refining?
MIKE: Yes, we're refining.
MARIANA: This is
what they call bunkering?
MIKE: Yes.
Don't go close to that, please.
MARIANA: No, don't.
Is it dangerous?
MIKE: Yes.
MARIANA: This is all
MIKE: Yes.
MARIANA: I feel
like we're walking
through a ticking time bomb.
MIKE: Oh, my God.
MARIANA: Illegal
refining sites like this one
are highly volatile.
Hundreds of workers have died
in accidents and explosions.
(yelling in native language).
CREW: Whoa!
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: Who's this guy?
And what's he doing?
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: Why is he so angry?
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: What the
(bleep) is happening?
I don't understand.
As word spreads that
there's a camera team filming,
the workers grow suspicious.
(yelling in native language).
MAN: Are you sure you
are not being sent by
company or companies?
MARIANA: No, I work,
I'm a journalist.
I work for National Geographic.
MAN: Are you sure
of what you're saying?
MARIANA: I am 100% sure.
I can show you.
MAN: Let me see your I.D. card.
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: They think
we're representatives of
multinational oil companies,
coming to close down
their illegal operation.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: Oh my (bleep) Lord,
what's happening?
Josh, come back.
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: We're just filming,
it's just filming.
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: I'm investigating
black market oil in Nigeria
and its
connection to Boko Haram.
But workers from an
illegal refinery have
come to shut down our filming.
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: No, we're not
here by an oil company.
We just want to talk to people.
MIKE: It's okay. It's okay.
Hey, it's okay.
MARIANA: Years of
colonialism and betrayal have
made it hard for
locals to trust outsiders.
We've, uh, they tell us that
the people have calmed down
and we can now
go back in, right?
MIKE: Yeah.
MARIANA: They've calmed down.
MARIANA: So that's why
you have to do this work?
MIKE: That is why we
have to do this, to eat.
MARIANA: So the sun is
setting and now this is when
they start lighting fire
to these, sort of, big tanks.
By night time, this is all
full of fire and you sort of
understand why this
terrain looks the way it does.
The crude that was
stolen from legal pipelines
eventually becomes an
illegal refined product,
ready to be bought and
sold on the black market.
He's just in there barefoot,
scooping it up and
then putting it in bags.
And there's kerosene and diesel.
MIKE: Yeah, kerosene, diesel.
MARIANA: That's diesel?
MIKE: Yeah.
MARIANA: And then they put
it in the plastic, in the bags,
and take it out of this area?
MIKE: Yeah. Yeah.
MAN: Yeah, yeah.
MARIANA: Wow.
MIKE: Yes.
MARIANA: Oh, wow. It's hot.
It smells so strong.
The strong, the
smell is so, so strong.
MIKE: Yes.
Look at this, yes. Yes.
MARIANA: So this is sort of
the last step of the process of
getting the fuel out of here.
They put all the
diesel into these cars,
and then they, you
drive this car out of here?
EFEELOO: Yeah.
MARIANA: And then from here,
where does it go?
EFEELOO: We distribute
it all over our country.
MARIANA: All over the country?
EFEELOO: Yes.
All over the country.
MARIANA: Including Maiduguri,
all the way up to the north?
EFEELOO: All over.
MARIANA: Mm-hmm.
It's wild that the
diesel in this car could be
making its way north,
through military checkpoints
like the one we saw.
Although we didn't find any
evidence that Boko Haram is
reselling the stolen oil,
the group would be
severely hamstrung without it.
That's why the
Nigerian army is doing
what it can to
choke the supply line.
It's also part of
the reason why the U.S.
is so concerned with the flow
of illicit oil around the globe.
MATTHEW: This may seem like
something that's far away from
the United States,
but it's really not.
MARIANA: Doctor Matthew Levitt
is a former Intelligence Analyst
for the FBI.
He specializes in
counterterrorism and
global extremist groups at
the Washington Institute
for Near East Policy.
MATTHEW: So there's
certainly groups that have used
sanctioned oil or illicit oil.
You've got
Boko Haram in Nigeria.
Of course you have
the Islamic State.
This is unique to groups or
state sponsors of terrorism,
who are sitting on
resource rich territory.
MARIANA: And there
are few countries as
rich in resources as Iran,
one of America's
biggest adversaries and
the main supporter
of a notorious group
called Hezbollah.
(speaking in native language).
MATTHEW: Hezbollah is a militant
organization based in Lebanon
who has carried out terrorist
attacks around the world,
including targeting Americans.
And it is also a deeply
ideologically bound partner to
the Islamic Republic of Iran.
(speaking in native language)
MARIANA: Hezbollah
or Party of God is an
Islamic militant group
founded in the 1980s.
Designated as a terrorist
group by the United States,
it pioneered
modern suicide bombing.
Before 9/11, Hezbollah
was responsible for more
American deaths than
any other terrorist group.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: Now,
reinvented as a political party,
Hezbollah wields
significant power in Lebanon.
(speaking in native language).
MATTHEW: Hezbollah is not like
Al Qaeda or the Islamic State,
where it's going to
kill you every time it has
the opportunity, but
its far better trained.
And it benefits from security
and intelligence training that
it gets from Iran and
they wanna be able to
have off the shelf planning,
ready to go, in the
event that they are called
to do something and
do something quickly.
MARIANA: So I'm
heading to Lebanon,
straight into the
heart of Hezbollah,
to witness first-hand
how oil is financing terror.
(speaking in native language).
♪
MARIANA: I'm on a journey to
understand how black market oil
may be fueling
an even larger and
more dangerous web of extremism.
(singing in native language).
MARIANA: This is one of
the annual celebrations
for Hezbollah, here
with thousands of people.
You can see they're waving the
yellow flag, the Hezbollah flag.
(singing in native language).
MARIANA: I notice that I'm the
only Western journalist here.
It also seems I'm the only
female journalist in sight,
standing in front of
Hezbollah's all male leadership.
(singing in native language)
(speaking in native language)
MARIANA: I lived in this
region nearly two decades ago.
Back then, Hezbollah
was a much smaller group.
But its leader, Hassan Nasrallah
has transformed it into a major
political force,
one based largely on
hostility towards the West.
(speaking in native language).
(singing in native language)
(singing in native language)
MARIANA: What's the current
situation right now in Lebanon?
RAMI: It's a very bad situation,
on the political level,
on the economic level,
on the social level,
on the security level.
The country is drowning.
We are in free fall.
MARIANA: Rami Aysha is a
Lebanese journalist who has
covered the rise of Hezbollah.
I'm hoping he can
help me understand the
reality I'm walking into.
And we're coming
to cover a story,
which is a very
sensitive subject matter here,
which is oil and diesel
in the hands of Hezbollah.
How careful should we be?
RAMI: Ah, you
should be very careful.
I have one of my very good
friends who was assassinated
last year, almost a year ago,
because he was speaking out
about the networks
that Hezbollah uses to
fund themselves which,
which is the, the story
you're doing, is diesel.
MARIANA: Right.
RAMI: Because it's
becoming one of the
sources of funding for them.
MARIANA: And where is
this oil coming from?
Where is this gas coming from?
RAMI: We have
two sources of gas,
the legal one is
coming from Greece.
It's coming from Algeria.
It's many other places.
But for the illegal,
we have the Iranian oil.
MARIANA: Iranian?
RAMI: Iranian oil.
MARIANA: The Iranian oil
Rami mentions was part of
a massive shipment in
late 2021 that openly
defied U.S. Sanctions.
In a highly
politicized spectacle
covered by news
around the world,
Hezbollah organized a
parade of oil tankers
carrying Iranian oil
through the streets of Lebanon.
MATTHEW: Because Iran has
been subject to sanctions for
so many years now, it is
expert at sanctions evasion.
They were able to create
these front companies that very
effectively have been
smuggling oil to the benefit of
really bad illicit actors.
And when it came
to the point that it
needed to finance its proxies,
like Hezbollah, the natural
way to do that was through oil.
MARIANA: They claimed that
this breaking of U.S. Sanctions
was a major victory
for the Lebanese people.
RAMI: You have to be
very careful, you know,
because I don't even
believe that they're
not following you already.
It, it's not that
this is a paranoia,
the first mistake is the
last mistake with these people.
MARIANA: Despite Rami's warnings
I still want to understand how
and why sanctioned Iranian oil
was allowed into the country.
(horn honking)
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: So I'm headed
to the southern suburbs,
Hezbollah's
stronghold in the city.
It's quite surreal, actually.
We have this wall
of men in front of us,
and we have people
behind us also following us.
As Rami predicted,
Hezbollah is indeed watching,
they've assigned a handful of
minders to keep an eye on me,
as I walk the streets.
MAN: That side?
MAN 2: We'll go this way.
MAN: That one side? Wait.
MARIANA: This way? No?
MAN: Not that side?
MARIANA: That way?
MAN: Yes. That way.
MARIANA: Bus. Bus.
MAN: No, no.
(speaking in native language)
MAN 2: No, that way.
MARIANA: A few months ago,
Hezbollah brought in, um,
very publicly,
brought in oil, um
ABDUL: Yeah.
MARIANA: Illegal oil from Iran.
Um, why was that decision made?
ABDUL: It's not illegal.
It's a legal initiative
because it was under
a severe economic sanctions.
MARIANA: Doctor
Abdul Haleem Fadlallah
was hand-picked by
Hezbollah's political arm
to speak with me.
Is the oil still,
is the oil from Iran
still coming in right now?
ABDUL: I think, I think no.
I think now, no.
(speaking in native language).
MAN: Yes. Yeah, uh
MARIANA: Okay.
ABDUL: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
MARIANA: So you
don't feel comfortable
answering the oil questions.
The United States
considers Hezbollah to be
a terrorist organization.
How does that affect, um, you?
ABDUL: This affect,
not affected Hezbollah,
it affected the Lebanese people.
Not Hezbollah,
because the sanction
affected the Lebanese people.
MARIANA: I'm going
back to the oil again.
Was there financial gain?
Did Hezbollah, is
Hezbollah making money from
the selling of Iranian oil?
ABDUL: No, no, no. No. No.
MARIANA: Absolutely not?
ABDUL: Absolute.
MARIANA: Um, you're sure?
ABDUL: I think so.
MARIANA: After talking
for more than an hour,
Doctor Fadlallah's answers
continue to seem evasive.
To find out more
about the black market oil
they received from Iran,
I've arranged a meeting with
a man who was directly involved
in the shipment.
♪
MARIANA: I'm Mariana.
ABU HAIDR: Abu Haidr.
MARIANA: Abu Haidr?
Are you Hezbollah?
ABU HAIDR: Yeah.
MARIANA: This man, who
asked me to call him Abu Haidr,
says he works for Hezbollah.
He has first-hand knowledge
about the highly-publicized
oil shipment
of Iranian oil that
brazenly defied U.S. Sanctions.
How did the oil from
Iran come to Lebanon?
MARIANA: When you
talk about secrets, the,
when the oil came from Iran,
it was very public,
it was reported,
what are, what are the secrets
that most people don't know?
MARIANA: Oh, wow.
It was reported that
it came that one time, no?
MARIANA: If Abu Haidr
is telling the truth,
this is clearly a much
bigger smuggling operation
involving multiple countries.
MARIANA: This is
still happening now?
The, the, the oil is still
coming from Iran right now?
MARIANA: What Abu Haidr tells
me directly contradicts what
I'd heard from Doctor Fadlallah.
Is the oil from Iran
still coming in right now?
ABDUL: I think, I think no.
I think now, no.
MARIANA: My hunch is that I
wasn't told the full truth and
that Hezbollah remains active
in the smuggling of Iranian oil.
But there's only one
way to know for sure;
I need to go to the Syrian
border and see for myself.
Um, how far are we?
MAN (over radio):
We need ten minutes.
MARIANA: Ten minutes, okay.
So we're ten minutes away.
We're heading to an area
that's controlled by Hezbollah,
to talk to a member of Hezbollah
that we heard is smuggling oil
between Lebanon and Syria.
This is Lebanon's Beqaa Valley,
a fertile region flanked
by beautiful mountains.
Due to the porous
border with Syria,
this region has become a haven
for smugglers of all kinds.
We have three cars
with us, we're in the middle.
You know, we, it
could be an ambush,
we don't know what to expect.
So, everybody's a bit on edge.
Was that our
contact next to the car?
I guess that's our guy, yeah.
MAN (over radio):
Moving in, we're moving in.
All good.
MARIANA: So we're getting closer
and closer to the Syrian border.
We're just a few
minutes from the border,
it's basically on the
other side of that mountain.
We're following this
small black car at the front.
Oh, we're here, actually.
MAN (over radio):
Don't go out from the
car before Rami tell us.
MAN 2 (over radio): Copy that.
MARIANA: We're good to get out?
Okay, we're gonna leave the car.
What Abu Haidr revealed
on the rooftop is stunning,
but I imagine it's
only part of the story.
Here, away from
Hezbollah's prying eyes,
I'm hoping the smuggler I'm
about to meet can finally reveal
the true extent of these
black market operations.
♪
MARIANA: Um, so, Abu Ali,
what is it, what
is it that you do?
MARIANA: Are you a
member of Hezbollah?
MARIANA: You're a
supporter of Hezbollah?
MARIANA: So,
just so I understand,
what is your connection,
if any, to Hezbollah?
Do you have
business with Hezbollah?
MARIANA: How much
money are you making
from the smuggling of, of oil?
MARIANA: A, a month?
MARIANA: Every day?
ABU ALI: Mm-hmm.
MARIANA: Five to $7,000 a day.
ABU ALI: Mm-hmm.
MARIANA: Who's benefiting
most from the oil smuggling,
from the illegal Iranian oil?
ABU ALI: Hezbollah.
MARIANA: Hezbollah is the ones
that are profiting the most?
ABU ALI: Yes.
MARIANA: They're
making money from it?
MARIANA: How much money
do you think they're making?
MARIANA: And what are
they doing with the money?
MARIANA: So they're, they're
making money out of the selling
and out of the
transportation of oil.
All, all parts, all the
The whole process
they're making money out of?
MARIANA: It's astounding to
hear that Iranian oil isn't only
being smuggled into Lebanon,
it's also flowing into Syria.
It's a black market
within a black market,
and it calls into
question another of
Doctor Fadlallah's claims.
Is Hezbollah making money
from the selling of Iranian oil?
ABDUL: No, no, no. No. No.
MARIANA: Absolutely not?
ABDUL: Absolute.
MARIANA: Hmm.
And all this, all this diesel is
coming from illegal Iranian oil?
MARIANA: Abu Ali invites me to
see how he smuggles oil across
the border into Syria.
(horn honking)
So we're close to
the border right now.
Yes, it's getting really dark
and this is not, you know,
where you wanna
get stuck at night.
MARIANA: Okay. So they're
instructing the drivers to all
turn the cars outwardly,
so if there's an ambush,
or something happens,
we have a fast way out.
MARIANA: Oh, my God.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: Everyone's
on edge, we're standing
between a war zone in Syria and
one of the most active
smuggling routes in the world.
Where are we?
MARIANA: So Syria is that way?
ABU ALI: Yeah. Syria.
MARIANA: Syria's right there?
On the other side
of this, that Syria is on
the other side of this mountain.
MARIANA: How many trucks?
(speaking in native language).
ABU ALI: Ten truck.
MARIANA: Ten tonight?
ABU ALI: 30 truck.
MARIANA: 30 trucks
are going tonight?
ABU ALI: Yeah, yeah.
MARIANA: If there
are 30 trucks associated
with just this one smuggler,
it's crazy to think how much
illegal oil crosses this region.
ABU ALI: We
cannot stay too much.
MARIANA: Okay, so he's
saying we can't, so he's
saying we can't stay here
too long, because it gets
a lot of visibility here.
We need to go.
MARIANA: Yeah, we need to go.
Wait, wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
MARIANA: Okay, go, go.
I'm in a town close to
the Lebanese/Syrian border,
trying to witness first-hand how
illicit oil is being trafficked.
My first attempt was shut down,
but this is such a wild and
porous border I was able to
gain access to another operation
headed into Syria tonight.
I think it's this one here.
(knocking)
I hear voices.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: Wow.
So it's the truck
that they transport the gas.
And it's, the smell
is so intense here,
it's really, really strong
smell of gasoline in here.
This man, who asked
me to call him Mohammed,
manages a fleet of
trucks and this stash house,
which stores illegal fuel.
MOHAMMED: Whoa. Ooh.
MARIANA: Oh my God,
wow, it's all full to
the very top with,
uh, with gasoline.
From here it goes
into the truck, yeah?
He tells me this
10,000 liter shipment is
heading to Syria tonight.
One of three
trucks in his fleet.
Where are the other,
where are the other two?
MARIANA: But, is this
illegal, what you're doing?
MARIANA: Okay.
(speaking in native language)
MARIANA: So it's
going today to Syria?
Tonight? And are you driving it?
(singing in native language).
(singing in native language).
MARIANA: I join the smuggler
as he makes his way to Syria,
getting as close to
the border as possible.
How, how many times
do you do this trip?
MARIANA: So every day
you're taking fuel to Syria?
MARIANA: Okay, camera down.
MARIANA: Here.
Do you cross through the,
the official border cross line?
Or is it in other roads?
MARIANA: So do
Hezbollah have tanks, too?
Do they have trucks like this?
MARIANA: They do it a lot?
Even though smugglers like
him pay Hezbollah for passage,
that money pales in comparison
to the amount that the group is
making from its
own oil shipments.
MARIANA: Okay.
This is as far as
he's willing to take me.
And there he goes, so
he's heading towards Syria.
He says he does
this once, or twice a day,
but that this is
sort of small potatoes
compared to the business,
the scale of the business
that Hezbollah has here in
this region doing this,
basically smuggling.
This oil truck is one of
seemingly hundreds crisscrossing
this border every night,
ultimately supplying and
supporting some of the most
infamous regimes on the planet.
Syria and Iran, sworn
enemies of the United States.
It's hard to imagine a
black market on this scale.
But it's equally hard to
imagine how you would stop it.
If this is illegal oil,
sanctioned by the United States
and United Nations,
coming into the hands of
a terrorist organization,
why do you think
the United States
allows this to happen?
ABU HAIDR: Yeah?
MARIANA: When I set out to
investigate how terrorist groups
like Hezbollah or
Boko Haram are thriving,
I never expected to find such
a robust trans-national
black market for oil.
One that not only defies
international sanctions.
But that is also bolstering
terrorist organizations and
rogue states all
around the world.
MATTHEW: This very much
ties into American security,
even if it seems like
something that's far away on
the other side of the world.
It's a problem for
us in terms of what
we're paying at the pump,
it's a problem for us in
terms of regional stability.
Iran is sponsoring groups
who chant death to America
and they don't just chant it.
They act on it.
We fear that
Hezbollah operatives,
sleeper cells around
the world, could be activated,
including some that we found
here in the United States.
This is the real deal.
MARIANA: In the end, what
is true of the legal market is
also true of the
illegal one, oil is king,
and it fuels everything,
including some of America's
most dangerous enemies.
Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.
♪
(rapid gunfire)
MARIANA: In the fall of 2017,
a group of American soldiers
came under attack
by Islamic militants.
(rapid gunfire)
The footage from
their body cameras tells
the story of the ambush.
They scramble for cover
from a barrage of bullets
but are quickly overwhelmed.
(yelling)
Then, as they
attempt a desperate retreat,
the attackers close in.
The news of their deaths
was met with shock back home.
Not just for how
they died, but where,
in the West African
country of Niger.
REPORTER (over TV):
Questions have swirled since
the October 4th raid that left
four American soldiers dead.
LINDSEY (over TV): I didn't kno
there was 1,000 troops in Niger
REPORTER 3 (over TV): The
real question, of course,
what they were doing
there in the first place?
MARIANA: The ambush brought
to light a harsh reality,
that the U.S. is spending
billions of dollars in Africa
and around the
globe to fight a new
generation of terrorist groups.
(explosion)
(rapid gunfire)
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: 20 years
into the War on Terror,
I want to know how
these groups are thriving.
And how black market oil may
be fueling an even larger and
more complex web of extremism.
Wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait, wait.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: What's happening?
(static whirring)
Josh, come back!
(speaking in native language)
MARIANA: I'm in Maiduguri,
a city in Northern Nigeria.
It's a place that has
seen horrific violence and
where Major General Musa
now leads the fight against
a group called Boko Haram.
MARIANA: Boko Haram
is one of the largest
militant groups in Africa.
They came to the
world's attention in 2014,
after abducting more
than 200 schoolgirls.
ALL: Bring back our girls.
Bring back our girls.
MARIANA: The group's aim,
to enforce a strict,
fundamentalist interpretation
of Islamic Law.
Nigeria has been dealing with
attacks from Boko Haram for more
than a decade,
35,000 people have died and
millions have been displaced.
MARIANA: Recently,
factions of Boko Haram has
pledged allegiance
to ISIS and have grown
in power and influence,
while waging a
guerrilla war across Africa.
In 2020, the
United States contributed
close to $600 million in weapons
and other military services to
help Nigeria fight back.
♪
MARIANA: They're checking all
the cars and trucks that are
coming in and they just
stopped this car on the side.
They're just searching
this car and everyone in it.
Checkpoints like this
one are often targeted by
suicide bombers and IEDs,
improvised explosive devices.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: So, apart
from explosive devices
MAN: Yeah.
MARIANA: What else
are you guys looking for
in terms of being smuggled?
MARIANA: Food,
weapons, and fuel,
the staples of any group at war.
(singing in native language)
MARIANA: To understand where
and how Boko Haram is getting
their hands on the goods they
need to run their operations,
the military agrees
to take me to a location
where I might find answers.
(speaking in native language)
MARIANA: These are all
people who have surrendered?
MAN: Yeah, these are them.
MARIANA: Surrendered fighters?
Wow.
That is an
enormous amount of people.
This compound, on the
outskirts of the city,
holds around 2,000
former Boko Haram fighters
and their families.
They're being held
here for de-radicalization.
A few of them have agreed
to talk to me in private.
So my name is Mariana.
Thank you for being here.
How long were
you with Boko Haram?
MODU: 12 years.
MARIANA: 12 years.
MODU: Mm-hmm.
MARIANA: When did you surrender?
How long ago?
AMIR: Three months.
MARIANA: So you
were with Boko Haram
until three months ago?
AMIR: Of course.
MARIANA: Mm-hmm.
I'm told these
men were in charge of
recruitment, bomb-making,
and seeking
supplies for Boko Haram.
Why did you join Boko Haram?
MARIANA: Why did you leave?
MARIANA: What is
the goal of Boko Haram?
MARIANA: To expand.
And is it expansion
just here in Nigeria?
MARIANA: They want to go global.
MODU: Globalization.
MARIANA: With ISIS?
MODU: ISIS. Yes.
MARIANA: Do you
think Boko Haram
poses a threat to America?
MARIANA: Boko was
specifically looking for
American targets
that they could attack?
ALL: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
MARIANA: It's shocking to hear
first-hand how this group was
planning to kill Americans.
But the question remains, how
does a terrorist organization in
such a remote corner of Africa
get what it needs to operate?
Do you know how
Boko Haram gets, uh,
certain supplies that
are important for them?
MARIANA: How important
is fuel for Boko Haram?
MARIANA: So petrol
is the most important?
ZUBAIRA: Most important.
MODU: Yes.
MARIANA: Without petrol,
would Boko Haram be
able to exist, survive?
MARIANA: They
wouldn't be able to do work.
MARIANA: It's not something
I've ever thought much about,
the logistics of terror.
But in order to evade capture,
Boko Haram is operating
from obscure locations,
far from gas stations.
That means if they want the
ability to move fast and strike
whenever and wherever they want,
their fleet of
vehicles needs fuel.
Nigeria is one of the largest
producers of oil in the world,
exporting petroleum products to
the United States,
Europe, and Asia.
There are nearly
5,000 oil wells in the country,
and most of them have been
drilled in the oil-rich south.
The fuel, do you
know if it's coming from
the south of the country?
MARIANA: From, so,
from the Niger Delta?
MALLAM: Mm-hmm.
MARIANA: Port Harcourt area?
MALLAM: Mm-hmm.
MARIANA: The Niger Delta, off
the southern coast of Nigeria,
accounts for nearly 90% of
the country's petroleum exports.
Even though the region
is hundreds of miles away.
It seems plausible that
it's Boko Haram's source and
the lifeblood of
their ongoing operations.
(squawking)
So we've been told that before
we're able to film any oil in
this region, we actually
have to ask permission from
the man in charge.
(singing in native language).
(singing in native language).
MARIANA: He will be
showing up at any moment.
Oh, I think he's
coming out, guys.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: Thank you,
Royal Highness.
It's not every day you
get to stand before a King.
The opulence, the formality.
The reverence from
the members of his court.
It's all there.
I see you have many phones.
(laughs)
Um, thank you so much for having
us in your beautiful palace.
We're here to ask
for your permission
to film in your lands.
He's not your everyday King.
This is Ateke Tom,
a former militant
and gang leader,
responsible for
years of deadly attacks in
Nigeria's oil-producing region.
But in 2009, as part of
a peace deal, Ateke Tom,
along with other
former gang leaders,
accepted amnesty
from the government.
Local media from
Channels Television and
TV360 Nigeria were on hand
to capture the dramatic moment
when he surrendered his weapons
and was later appointed
to this ceremonial post.
And now, nothing happens
here without his permission.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: Thank you,
Royal Highness.
I was told there's one
thing I should not ask about.
A very touchy subject.
But, of course, I do.
Is there oil in this area?
MARIANA: And
what is the situation
with the oil right now?
MARIANA: There's a
good reason the King
doesn't wanna talk about oil.
Multinational corporations
like Shell, Chevron, and Exxon
have exploited the
region's natural resources
since the 1950s, when Nigeria
was still a British colony.
Extreme social
inequality has pushed local
communities into oil piracy,
creating one of the world's
biggest black markets for crude.
If I want to find
out if Boko Haram is
benefiting from this
lucrative black market,
I need to head
into one of the many
illicit refineries hidden in the
backwaters of the Niger Delta.
♪
(rushing water)
So, it's this way, yeah?
MIKE: Yes.
MARIANA: This way? Okay.
After months of planning, a
contact who was born and raised
in this area, helps me
obtain rare access to this site.
It's crazy.
So this is it, right?
ALL: Yes.
MARIANA: This isn't oil.
What is this? What is.
MIKE: This is the crude oil.
MARIANA: This is the crude oil?
MIKE: Yes.
MARIANA: And it's coming out,
so this is illegal extraction.
So this is, it's
coming out of the pipe.
MIKE: Yes.
MARIANA: A local named Mike
shows me how they tap pipelines
that run through this land,
a process known as bunkering.
I received mixed
reports about the owner
of this specific pipeline,
but every domestic and
foreign oil company deals
with thefts like these.
It's estimated that
$7.3 billion of Nigerian oil
is stolen every year.
And then what happens,
how does it get out of here?
MARIANA: Oh, so
they're refining?
MIKE: Yes, we're refining.
MARIANA: This is
what they call bunkering?
MIKE: Yes.
Don't go close to that, please.
MARIANA: No, don't.
Is it dangerous?
MIKE: Yes.
MARIANA: This is all
MIKE: Yes.
MARIANA: I feel
like we're walking
through a ticking time bomb.
MIKE: Oh, my God.
MARIANA: Illegal
refining sites like this one
are highly volatile.
Hundreds of workers have died
in accidents and explosions.
(yelling in native language).
CREW: Whoa!
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: Who's this guy?
And what's he doing?
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: Why is he so angry?
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: What the
(bleep) is happening?
I don't understand.
As word spreads that
there's a camera team filming,
the workers grow suspicious.
(yelling in native language).
MAN: Are you sure you
are not being sent by
company or companies?
MARIANA: No, I work,
I'm a journalist.
I work for National Geographic.
MAN: Are you sure
of what you're saying?
MARIANA: I am 100% sure.
I can show you.
MAN: Let me see your I.D. card.
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: They think
we're representatives of
multinational oil companies,
coming to close down
their illegal operation.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: Oh my (bleep) Lord,
what's happening?
Josh, come back.
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: We're just filming,
it's just filming.
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: I'm investigating
black market oil in Nigeria
and its
connection to Boko Haram.
But workers from an
illegal refinery have
come to shut down our filming.
(yelling in native language).
MARIANA: No, we're not
here by an oil company.
We just want to talk to people.
MIKE: It's okay. It's okay.
Hey, it's okay.
MARIANA: Years of
colonialism and betrayal have
made it hard for
locals to trust outsiders.
We've, uh, they tell us that
the people have calmed down
and we can now
go back in, right?
MIKE: Yeah.
MARIANA: They've calmed down.
MARIANA: So that's why
you have to do this work?
MIKE: That is why we
have to do this, to eat.
MARIANA: So the sun is
setting and now this is when
they start lighting fire
to these, sort of, big tanks.
By night time, this is all
full of fire and you sort of
understand why this
terrain looks the way it does.
The crude that was
stolen from legal pipelines
eventually becomes an
illegal refined product,
ready to be bought and
sold on the black market.
He's just in there barefoot,
scooping it up and
then putting it in bags.
And there's kerosene and diesel.
MIKE: Yeah, kerosene, diesel.
MARIANA: That's diesel?
MIKE: Yeah.
MARIANA: And then they put
it in the plastic, in the bags,
and take it out of this area?
MIKE: Yeah. Yeah.
MAN: Yeah, yeah.
MARIANA: Wow.
MIKE: Yes.
MARIANA: Oh, wow. It's hot.
It smells so strong.
The strong, the
smell is so, so strong.
MIKE: Yes.
Look at this, yes. Yes.
MARIANA: So this is sort of
the last step of the process of
getting the fuel out of here.
They put all the
diesel into these cars,
and then they, you
drive this car out of here?
EFEELOO: Yeah.
MARIANA: And then from here,
where does it go?
EFEELOO: We distribute
it all over our country.
MARIANA: All over the country?
EFEELOO: Yes.
All over the country.
MARIANA: Including Maiduguri,
all the way up to the north?
EFEELOO: All over.
MARIANA: Mm-hmm.
It's wild that the
diesel in this car could be
making its way north,
through military checkpoints
like the one we saw.
Although we didn't find any
evidence that Boko Haram is
reselling the stolen oil,
the group would be
severely hamstrung without it.
That's why the
Nigerian army is doing
what it can to
choke the supply line.
It's also part of
the reason why the U.S.
is so concerned with the flow
of illicit oil around the globe.
MATTHEW: This may seem like
something that's far away from
the United States,
but it's really not.
MARIANA: Doctor Matthew Levitt
is a former Intelligence Analyst
for the FBI.
He specializes in
counterterrorism and
global extremist groups at
the Washington Institute
for Near East Policy.
MATTHEW: So there's
certainly groups that have used
sanctioned oil or illicit oil.
You've got
Boko Haram in Nigeria.
Of course you have
the Islamic State.
This is unique to groups or
state sponsors of terrorism,
who are sitting on
resource rich territory.
MARIANA: And there
are few countries as
rich in resources as Iran,
one of America's
biggest adversaries and
the main supporter
of a notorious group
called Hezbollah.
(speaking in native language).
MATTHEW: Hezbollah is a militant
organization based in Lebanon
who has carried out terrorist
attacks around the world,
including targeting Americans.
And it is also a deeply
ideologically bound partner to
the Islamic Republic of Iran.
(speaking in native language)
MARIANA: Hezbollah
or Party of God is an
Islamic militant group
founded in the 1980s.
Designated as a terrorist
group by the United States,
it pioneered
modern suicide bombing.
Before 9/11, Hezbollah
was responsible for more
American deaths than
any other terrorist group.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: Now,
reinvented as a political party,
Hezbollah wields
significant power in Lebanon.
(speaking in native language).
MATTHEW: Hezbollah is not like
Al Qaeda or the Islamic State,
where it's going to
kill you every time it has
the opportunity, but
its far better trained.
And it benefits from security
and intelligence training that
it gets from Iran and
they wanna be able to
have off the shelf planning,
ready to go, in the
event that they are called
to do something and
do something quickly.
MARIANA: So I'm
heading to Lebanon,
straight into the
heart of Hezbollah,
to witness first-hand
how oil is financing terror.
(speaking in native language).
♪
MARIANA: I'm on a journey to
understand how black market oil
may be fueling
an even larger and
more dangerous web of extremism.
(singing in native language).
MARIANA: This is one of
the annual celebrations
for Hezbollah, here
with thousands of people.
You can see they're waving the
yellow flag, the Hezbollah flag.
(singing in native language).
MARIANA: I notice that I'm the
only Western journalist here.
It also seems I'm the only
female journalist in sight,
standing in front of
Hezbollah's all male leadership.
(singing in native language)
(speaking in native language)
MARIANA: I lived in this
region nearly two decades ago.
Back then, Hezbollah
was a much smaller group.
But its leader, Hassan Nasrallah
has transformed it into a major
political force,
one based largely on
hostility towards the West.
(speaking in native language).
(singing in native language)
(singing in native language)
MARIANA: What's the current
situation right now in Lebanon?
RAMI: It's a very bad situation,
on the political level,
on the economic level,
on the social level,
on the security level.
The country is drowning.
We are in free fall.
MARIANA: Rami Aysha is a
Lebanese journalist who has
covered the rise of Hezbollah.
I'm hoping he can
help me understand the
reality I'm walking into.
And we're coming
to cover a story,
which is a very
sensitive subject matter here,
which is oil and diesel
in the hands of Hezbollah.
How careful should we be?
RAMI: Ah, you
should be very careful.
I have one of my very good
friends who was assassinated
last year, almost a year ago,
because he was speaking out
about the networks
that Hezbollah uses to
fund themselves which,
which is the, the story
you're doing, is diesel.
MARIANA: Right.
RAMI: Because it's
becoming one of the
sources of funding for them.
MARIANA: And where is
this oil coming from?
Where is this gas coming from?
RAMI: We have
two sources of gas,
the legal one is
coming from Greece.
It's coming from Algeria.
It's many other places.
But for the illegal,
we have the Iranian oil.
MARIANA: Iranian?
RAMI: Iranian oil.
MARIANA: The Iranian oil
Rami mentions was part of
a massive shipment in
late 2021 that openly
defied U.S. Sanctions.
In a highly
politicized spectacle
covered by news
around the world,
Hezbollah organized a
parade of oil tankers
carrying Iranian oil
through the streets of Lebanon.
MATTHEW: Because Iran has
been subject to sanctions for
so many years now, it is
expert at sanctions evasion.
They were able to create
these front companies that very
effectively have been
smuggling oil to the benefit of
really bad illicit actors.
And when it came
to the point that it
needed to finance its proxies,
like Hezbollah, the natural
way to do that was through oil.
MARIANA: They claimed that
this breaking of U.S. Sanctions
was a major victory
for the Lebanese people.
RAMI: You have to be
very careful, you know,
because I don't even
believe that they're
not following you already.
It, it's not that
this is a paranoia,
the first mistake is the
last mistake with these people.
MARIANA: Despite Rami's warnings
I still want to understand how
and why sanctioned Iranian oil
was allowed into the country.
(horn honking)
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: So I'm headed
to the southern suburbs,
Hezbollah's
stronghold in the city.
It's quite surreal, actually.
We have this wall
of men in front of us,
and we have people
behind us also following us.
As Rami predicted,
Hezbollah is indeed watching,
they've assigned a handful of
minders to keep an eye on me,
as I walk the streets.
MAN: That side?
MAN 2: We'll go this way.
MAN: That one side? Wait.
MARIANA: This way? No?
MAN: Not that side?
MARIANA: That way?
MAN: Yes. That way.
MARIANA: Bus. Bus.
MAN: No, no.
(speaking in native language)
MAN 2: No, that way.
MARIANA: A few months ago,
Hezbollah brought in, um,
very publicly,
brought in oil, um
ABDUL: Yeah.
MARIANA: Illegal oil from Iran.
Um, why was that decision made?
ABDUL: It's not illegal.
It's a legal initiative
because it was under
a severe economic sanctions.
MARIANA: Doctor
Abdul Haleem Fadlallah
was hand-picked by
Hezbollah's political arm
to speak with me.
Is the oil still,
is the oil from Iran
still coming in right now?
ABDUL: I think, I think no.
I think now, no.
(speaking in native language).
MAN: Yes. Yeah, uh
MARIANA: Okay.
ABDUL: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
MARIANA: So you
don't feel comfortable
answering the oil questions.
The United States
considers Hezbollah to be
a terrorist organization.
How does that affect, um, you?
ABDUL: This affect,
not affected Hezbollah,
it affected the Lebanese people.
Not Hezbollah,
because the sanction
affected the Lebanese people.
MARIANA: I'm going
back to the oil again.
Was there financial gain?
Did Hezbollah, is
Hezbollah making money from
the selling of Iranian oil?
ABDUL: No, no, no. No. No.
MARIANA: Absolutely not?
ABDUL: Absolute.
MARIANA: Um, you're sure?
ABDUL: I think so.
MARIANA: After talking
for more than an hour,
Doctor Fadlallah's answers
continue to seem evasive.
To find out more
about the black market oil
they received from Iran,
I've arranged a meeting with
a man who was directly involved
in the shipment.
♪
MARIANA: I'm Mariana.
ABU HAIDR: Abu Haidr.
MARIANA: Abu Haidr?
Are you Hezbollah?
ABU HAIDR: Yeah.
MARIANA: This man, who
asked me to call him Abu Haidr,
says he works for Hezbollah.
He has first-hand knowledge
about the highly-publicized
oil shipment
of Iranian oil that
brazenly defied U.S. Sanctions.
How did the oil from
Iran come to Lebanon?
MARIANA: When you
talk about secrets, the,
when the oil came from Iran,
it was very public,
it was reported,
what are, what are the secrets
that most people don't know?
MARIANA: Oh, wow.
It was reported that
it came that one time, no?
MARIANA: If Abu Haidr
is telling the truth,
this is clearly a much
bigger smuggling operation
involving multiple countries.
MARIANA: This is
still happening now?
The, the, the oil is still
coming from Iran right now?
MARIANA: What Abu Haidr tells
me directly contradicts what
I'd heard from Doctor Fadlallah.
Is the oil from Iran
still coming in right now?
ABDUL: I think, I think no.
I think now, no.
MARIANA: My hunch is that I
wasn't told the full truth and
that Hezbollah remains active
in the smuggling of Iranian oil.
But there's only one
way to know for sure;
I need to go to the Syrian
border and see for myself.
Um, how far are we?
MAN (over radio):
We need ten minutes.
MARIANA: Ten minutes, okay.
So we're ten minutes away.
We're heading to an area
that's controlled by Hezbollah,
to talk to a member of Hezbollah
that we heard is smuggling oil
between Lebanon and Syria.
This is Lebanon's Beqaa Valley,
a fertile region flanked
by beautiful mountains.
Due to the porous
border with Syria,
this region has become a haven
for smugglers of all kinds.
We have three cars
with us, we're in the middle.
You know, we, it
could be an ambush,
we don't know what to expect.
So, everybody's a bit on edge.
Was that our
contact next to the car?
I guess that's our guy, yeah.
MAN (over radio):
Moving in, we're moving in.
All good.
MARIANA: So we're getting closer
and closer to the Syrian border.
We're just a few
minutes from the border,
it's basically on the
other side of that mountain.
We're following this
small black car at the front.
Oh, we're here, actually.
MAN (over radio):
Don't go out from the
car before Rami tell us.
MAN 2 (over radio): Copy that.
MARIANA: We're good to get out?
Okay, we're gonna leave the car.
What Abu Haidr revealed
on the rooftop is stunning,
but I imagine it's
only part of the story.
Here, away from
Hezbollah's prying eyes,
I'm hoping the smuggler I'm
about to meet can finally reveal
the true extent of these
black market operations.
♪
MARIANA: Um, so, Abu Ali,
what is it, what
is it that you do?
MARIANA: Are you a
member of Hezbollah?
MARIANA: You're a
supporter of Hezbollah?
MARIANA: So,
just so I understand,
what is your connection,
if any, to Hezbollah?
Do you have
business with Hezbollah?
MARIANA: How much
money are you making
from the smuggling of, of oil?
MARIANA: A, a month?
MARIANA: Every day?
ABU ALI: Mm-hmm.
MARIANA: Five to $7,000 a day.
ABU ALI: Mm-hmm.
MARIANA: Who's benefiting
most from the oil smuggling,
from the illegal Iranian oil?
ABU ALI: Hezbollah.
MARIANA: Hezbollah is the ones
that are profiting the most?
ABU ALI: Yes.
MARIANA: They're
making money from it?
MARIANA: How much money
do you think they're making?
MARIANA: And what are
they doing with the money?
MARIANA: So they're, they're
making money out of the selling
and out of the
transportation of oil.
All, all parts, all the
The whole process
they're making money out of?
MARIANA: It's astounding to
hear that Iranian oil isn't only
being smuggled into Lebanon,
it's also flowing into Syria.
It's a black market
within a black market,
and it calls into
question another of
Doctor Fadlallah's claims.
Is Hezbollah making money
from the selling of Iranian oil?
ABDUL: No, no, no. No. No.
MARIANA: Absolutely not?
ABDUL: Absolute.
MARIANA: Hmm.
And all this, all this diesel is
coming from illegal Iranian oil?
MARIANA: Abu Ali invites me to
see how he smuggles oil across
the border into Syria.
(horn honking)
So we're close to
the border right now.
Yes, it's getting really dark
and this is not, you know,
where you wanna
get stuck at night.
MARIANA: Okay. So they're
instructing the drivers to all
turn the cars outwardly,
so if there's an ambush,
or something happens,
we have a fast way out.
MARIANA: Oh, my God.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: Everyone's
on edge, we're standing
between a war zone in Syria and
one of the most active
smuggling routes in the world.
Where are we?
MARIANA: So Syria is that way?
ABU ALI: Yeah. Syria.
MARIANA: Syria's right there?
On the other side
of this, that Syria is on
the other side of this mountain.
MARIANA: How many trucks?
(speaking in native language).
ABU ALI: Ten truck.
MARIANA: Ten tonight?
ABU ALI: 30 truck.
MARIANA: 30 trucks
are going tonight?
ABU ALI: Yeah, yeah.
MARIANA: If there
are 30 trucks associated
with just this one smuggler,
it's crazy to think how much
illegal oil crosses this region.
ABU ALI: We
cannot stay too much.
MARIANA: Okay, so he's
saying we can't, so he's
saying we can't stay here
too long, because it gets
a lot of visibility here.
We need to go.
MARIANA: Yeah, we need to go.
Wait, wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
MARIANA: Okay, go, go.
I'm in a town close to
the Lebanese/Syrian border,
trying to witness first-hand how
illicit oil is being trafficked.
My first attempt was shut down,
but this is such a wild and
porous border I was able to
gain access to another operation
headed into Syria tonight.
I think it's this one here.
(knocking)
I hear voices.
(speaking in native language).
MARIANA: Wow.
So it's the truck
that they transport the gas.
And it's, the smell
is so intense here,
it's really, really strong
smell of gasoline in here.
This man, who asked
me to call him Mohammed,
manages a fleet of
trucks and this stash house,
which stores illegal fuel.
MOHAMMED: Whoa. Ooh.
MARIANA: Oh my God,
wow, it's all full to
the very top with,
uh, with gasoline.
From here it goes
into the truck, yeah?
He tells me this
10,000 liter shipment is
heading to Syria tonight.
One of three
trucks in his fleet.
Where are the other,
where are the other two?
MARIANA: But, is this
illegal, what you're doing?
MARIANA: Okay.
(speaking in native language)
MARIANA: So it's
going today to Syria?
Tonight? And are you driving it?
(singing in native language).
(singing in native language).
MARIANA: I join the smuggler
as he makes his way to Syria,
getting as close to
the border as possible.
How, how many times
do you do this trip?
MARIANA: So every day
you're taking fuel to Syria?
MARIANA: Okay, camera down.
MARIANA: Here.
Do you cross through the,
the official border cross line?
Or is it in other roads?
MARIANA: So do
Hezbollah have tanks, too?
Do they have trucks like this?
MARIANA: They do it a lot?
Even though smugglers like
him pay Hezbollah for passage,
that money pales in comparison
to the amount that the group is
making from its
own oil shipments.
MARIANA: Okay.
This is as far as
he's willing to take me.
And there he goes, so
he's heading towards Syria.
He says he does
this once, or twice a day,
but that this is
sort of small potatoes
compared to the business,
the scale of the business
that Hezbollah has here in
this region doing this,
basically smuggling.
This oil truck is one of
seemingly hundreds crisscrossing
this border every night,
ultimately supplying and
supporting some of the most
infamous regimes on the planet.
Syria and Iran, sworn
enemies of the United States.
It's hard to imagine a
black market on this scale.
But it's equally hard to
imagine how you would stop it.
If this is illegal oil,
sanctioned by the United States
and United Nations,
coming into the hands of
a terrorist organization,
why do you think
the United States
allows this to happen?
ABU HAIDR: Yeah?
MARIANA: When I set out to
investigate how terrorist groups
like Hezbollah or
Boko Haram are thriving,
I never expected to find such
a robust trans-national
black market for oil.
One that not only defies
international sanctions.
But that is also bolstering
terrorist organizations and
rogue states all
around the world.
MATTHEW: This very much
ties into American security,
even if it seems like
something that's far away on
the other side of the world.
It's a problem for
us in terms of what
we're paying at the pump,
it's a problem for us in
terms of regional stability.
Iran is sponsoring groups
who chant death to America
and they don't just chant it.
They act on it.
We fear that
Hezbollah operatives,
sleeper cells around
the world, could be activated,
including some that we found
here in the United States.
This is the real deal.
MARIANA: In the end, what
is true of the legal market is
also true of the
illegal one, oil is king,
and it fuels everything,
including some of America's
most dangerous enemies.
Captioned by
Cotter Media Group.