FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 23, 2026
GUILTY: Antoine Kassis, Assad Regime Narcotrafficker and Relative of Bashar al-Assad, Convicted in U.S. Federal Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), in coordination with the Surat Group, welcomes today’s verdict in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, where a jury found Antoine Kassis, one of the largest drug traffickers linked to the Assad regime, guilty on all counts, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, and conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated terrorist organization. SETF and the Surat Group played a key role in collaborating with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in building this case, infiltrating narco-trafficking networks, and providing testimony and information over the years of the investigation.
Antoine Kassis, a Syrian-Lebanese national and relative of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, played a leading role in criminal networks engaged in large-scale drug trafficking and illicit arms-related activity. These illicit activities funded the regime’s war crimes and crimes against humanity as the world sanctioned and isolated the regime.
According to evidence presented in court, Kassis was involved in a $14 million scheme to traffic 500 kilograms of cocaine, which he believed originated from Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, in exchange for military-grade weapons from Assad regime stockpiles, including advanced Russian-made systems.
Kassis was indicted alongside Colombian co-conspirators Alirio Quintero and Wissem Kherfan, who acted as money launderers for Kassis, and networks linked to the ELN, Sinaloa Cartel, and Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The case exposes a coordinated transnational network spanning Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa, involving drug trafficking and sophisticated money laundering operations tied to actors connected to the Assad regime.
SETF’s Chairman, Jerry Adams, expressed: “I am incredibly proud of SETF’s team, in collaboration with our partners Surat Group, for their diligence and determination pursuing justice and accountability. Their work over several years has been critical in exposing the Assad regime’s criminal networks. This verdict sends a clear message that accountability is possible, and that those who profited from and enabled the Assad regime’s crimes will not remain beyond reach, no matter where they hide.”
For inquiries, please contact:
Maria Cure, Director of Communications
[email protected] www.setf.ngo