♪ ♪
(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).
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)
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).
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.