The Spread Of Terror And Crime To Latin America

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Column 032607 Brewer

Monday, March 26, 2007 The Spread of Terror and Crime to Latin America By Jerry Brewer According to a growing number of imagery and human intelligence reports, those that we know about at least, once again there are detectable patterns showing a reinforcement of the world terror network. This being doubly significant insofar as evidence also exists of a restructuring and cultivation of a stronger operational hierarchy and additional alliances. Senior leaders of al Qaeda, in Pakistan, are reported to be strengthening. And in addition to the steady building of an operational base of concentrated activity in the mountains of Pakistan, near the Afghan border, there is evidence of terror funding operations from Latin America into the United States. The U.S. intelligence community has a full smorgasbord of significant threat morsels to digest. As al Qaeda steps up their propensity for cowardly but devastating attacks against free democratic nations, their resiliency is manifested in new training camps. They are cultivating stronger operational alliances that circulate out from their stronghold hideouts in Pakistan. These “train the trainer” camps are generally attended by groups of twenty or less operatives who eventually gravitate back to their respective cells with their marching orders. Several intelligence networks have identified the ethnicities of some of these terrorists as Arab, Pakistani and Afghans allied with al Qaeda.

Much of the terrorist’s training consists of stealth maneuvering from the shadows to wreak death and destruction. Unlike traditional soldiers, these assassins become adept at cover and concealment techniques, surveillance specialists, ordnance experts and related tactical maneuvering. In current war and conflict zones, suicide bombings have increased “five fold,” and roadside bomb (IED) attacks doubled. U.S. intelligence officials have also linked some of the weaponry used to Iran. But what about future targets and campaigns? Intelligence officials reveal terrorist plans to launch major attacks around the globe, thus inspiring militants. One has to wonder where this recruitment will extend? And who knows how strong the links of al Qaeda, and others of their ilk, are in this hemisphere — say in Latin America, where additional factors must be assessed. A Colombian woman was recently found guilty in U.S. Federal Court for participating in an operation to smuggle tons of cocaine into the United States. And the insurgent group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the main terror group in Colombia, was her conduit. In Mexico, ever since his inauguration in December, President Felipe Calderon has been showing strategic initiative in the wake of dubious world events and criticism of the United States by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Calderon’s actions are reminiscent of former President Vicente Fox and his bold toe-to-toe with Chavez on several occasions, when Fox rebuked a defiant Chavez for his stance against U.S. leadership. Since he took office on December 1, 2006, Calderon has extradited four major druglords to the United States. This Mexican and United States solidarity is indeed crucial with current pernicious world events. President Felipe Calderon has sent some 24,000 troops and federal police to places like Acapulco, Tijuana, and the state of Michoacan, among other locations, in an offensive against drug traffickers. Too, he is to be commended for his proactive posture of recommending pay raises for his soldiers, raises of nearly fifty percent. It should also be mentioned that Mexico’s southern border with Central America remains vulnerable to criminal insurgency, as well as trafficking in people, drugs and firearms.

Calderon’s strategic vision comes at a time of turmoil to Mexico’s south, in Guatemala. That area is experiencing a wave of violence and lawlessness, as well as being a haven for organized crime. And it has become a major transshipment point for illicit drugs from South America into the United States. Furthermore, nations in the Americas must carefully scrutinize all leftist regime movements so close to home. As an example, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has twice visited Venezuela and Central America recently, and this must be suspect given his previous threats to the West. Chavez’s recent tour of the Caribbean should also not be ignored for palpable implications and rationale. The war against terrorists is now decades old, yet today — with their organizational leadership increasing and training camps again expanding — the threat should be remarkably clear. As such, the role of free world intelligence services and national leaders must be focused and unimpeded by politics. Those who choose to bury their heads in the sand on this clear and present threat just could find the sand overwhelming. —————————— Jerry Brewer, the Vice President of Criminal Justice International Associates, a global risk mitigation firm headquartered in Miami, Florida, is a guest columnist with MexiData.info. He can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]. [email protected]