Full Breakdown
US Envoy Tom Barrack Accuses Druze Leaders of Funding Conflict Through Captagon Trade
By Drooid · · How we work
Barrack’s Claims and the Captagon Narrative
U.S. backing to persecute other Druze. He did not name the sheikh, though analysts link the remark to Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, a Druze spiritual leader who has called for Israeli support and Syrian autonomy.
Regional Context and Recent Violence
Southern Syria’s Druze enclave has been destabilized by clashes among Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and Syrian government forces, exemplified by the July 25, 2025 rally where Druze flags were raised amid fighting. The conflict follows a series of sectarian massacres, including the July 2025 killings that the United Nations estimates killed more than 1,300 Druze. Jordanian airstrikes have also targeted facilities alleged to store weapons and drugs; a strike on January 18, 2024 killed three-year-old Farah, five-year-old Dima, their parents and other relatives.
Druze Community and Expert Responses
Israeli Druze diplomat-historian Dr. Research fellow Dr. Mordechai Kedar (Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies) argued that Barrack’s remarks show a “lack of understanding” of on-the-ground realities, while Jonathan Hessen (Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security) called the claims “factually unfounded,” noting that most Jordan-targeted warehouses were in Daraa, not Sweida, and were supplied by Damascus. The Bashan administration, linked to al-Hijri, issued a Facebook statement rejecting the accusation that Jabal Bashan is a captagon hub and emphasizing the community’s role in combating smuggling networks.
Reported Casualties and Human Impact
UN figures place Druze deaths at over 1,300 in the July 2025 massacres, with ongoing abductions and killings reported. The January 18, 2024 Jordanian strike resulted in the deaths of multiple civilians, including the two young sisters. These losses have heightened fears that external labeling of the region as a drug-production center could invite further sectarian violence.
Verbatim Quotes
- “It’s not Israel that worries me. It’s a particular Druze sheikh who utilizes the perception of Israeli backing of some alignment with America to persecute other Druze,” — Tom Barrack
- “By baselessly criminalizing an entire ethnic minority, these statements put the vulnerable Druze community in southern Syria at direct risk of sectarian violence and targeted jihadi attacks. Painting a minority enclave as an illicit hub paints a dangerous target on their back for extremist networks,” — Dr. Reda Mansour, diplomat and historian