Washington DC – US Senator Ted Cruz urged the US government to label the Polisario Front a terrorist organization, criticizing officials for avoiding direct acknowledgment of the group’s links to regional militancy.
Speaking at a Senate hearing on North African and Sahel counterterrorism efforts, Cruz said US officials praised Algeria as a “pillar of regional stability” while failing to identify the Polisario Front, which Morocco says it hosts, funds, and arms.
Reports connect Polisario members to extremist networks. In 2017, Moroccan authorities linked 100 members to ISIS, while French forces killed former Polisario member Adnan Abdu Walid al-Sahrawi, leader of “Islamic State in the Greater Sahara”, in 2021. Cruz also cited collaboration with Iran-backed Hezbollah, warning the group could become a regional proxy similar to Yemen’s Houthis.
“I believe they should be designated as a terrorist group, and I’ve drafted a bill to do so if their behavior does not change,” Cruz said.
Morocco cut ties with Iran in 2018, accusing Tehran of supporting the Polisario with weapons and training—a claim denied by Iran and Algeria. International officials, including US Congressman Joe Wilson, have urged the designation of Polisario as a terrorist organization, citing its destabilizing role in the Maghreb and Sahel.
