 Across the globe, from sub-Saharan Africa, to the Balkans, to the Middle East, some honorary consuls have been accused of aiding terrorist groups and threatening the rule of law. Honorary consuls are appointed by foreign governments to promote their interests. The position comes with some of the same perks and legal protections provided to career diplomats. ProPublica and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, in partnership with 160 reporters in 46 countries, have identified hundreds of current and former honorary consuls who've been publicly accused of wrongdoing or embroiled in controversy. Part of the tools that they're using to achieve these strategic-level objectives is through getting these honorary consular positions specifically so that they can have diplomatic immunity. Nine honorary consuls, identified by ProPublica and ICIJ, have been linked to terrorist groups by law enforcement and governments. Most were tied to Hezbollah. A Lebanese political party and militant group. Hezbollah financiers and facilitators use honorary consul positions to enhance their prestige and their freedom of movement. Hezbollah's attacks in Iraq and elsewhere have wounded or killed hundreds of U.S. service members. Hezbollah was actively working in our area of operation. The bomb, when it came through, came through right through next to my head, through my door. And it basically cut me in half and left corner of my temple down through my jaw. If they're removing any product on private jets, those jets cannot be searched. It helps them in their much larger trafficking operations, which include arms trafficking, narcotics, human trafficking. They're the Amazon of criminality. We knew that this was a vulnerability. It's a tremendous risk to the stability of the world.