The threat from below

Show of Strength: FARC soldiers march in February in rebel-held southern Colombia. (Photo: AP)

Terrorist links to south of border now unmistakable

When the Colombian government announced the arrest of 19 in a phony-passport ring linked to al-Qaida and Hamas, it was the latest evidence of the clear intention of America's Islamo-terrorist enemies to use Latin America as a base of operations against the U.S.

U.S. official tried to downplay the significance of bust and its links with al-Qaida and Hamas — but the Colombian officials continue to insist the groups used the ring to secure entry into the U.S. and Europe.

According to an indictment unsealed yesterday in Miami, agents posing as leftist rebels obtained counterfeit Colombian and Spanish passports that would allow them to enter the United States illegally, purportedly to traffic drugs, launder money and buy weapons.

Those arrested included Colombians, "Palestinians" and Jordanians, according to the officials.

Contradicting the claims of U.S. officials, acting Colombian Attorney General Jorge Armando Otalora insisted that his country's detectives uncovered evidence that the criminal gang may have supplied false documents to members of al-Qaida and Hamas terrorists.

The Justice Department denied any links between the counterfeiters and foreign terrorist organizations other than outlawed armed groups in Colombia.

Why would U.S. officials downplay the al-Qaida and Hamas links?

There is a clear pattern of obfuscation about the terrorist threat to the U.S. by American officials dating back to at least 1993. It lessened somewhat after the undeniable terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 — but resumed again within a year.

It becomes a particularly sensitive issue with the Bush administration when the threat involves Mexico or Latin America because of the heat the White House has receive over border security

In this case, U.S. officials said they were interested in extradition only because of the threat of FARC guerrillas entering the country.

In fact, there is a long-standing relationship between al-Qaida and FARC, as G2B has previously pointed out.

Last June, Venezuelan army General Nestor Gonzalez Gonzalez and former director of Venezuela's political police Johan Peña made a series of allegations and accusations against President Hugo Chavez — accusing him of harboring of wanted al-Qaida terrorist Mustafa Nasar.

They also claim Venezuela, under Chavez, is developing uranium for weapons of mass destruction and supporting and protecting the Colombian narco-terrorists of FARC.

Johan Peña says Nasar enjoys the protection of Carlos Lanz, former terrorist-kidnapper and now boss of Venezuela's aluminum conglomerate Alcasa.

Gonzalez Gonzalez says he can pinpoint on a map where Colombian guerrillas from the Revolutionary Forces rest, regroup and launch attacks to Colombia.

He personally briefed Hugo Chavez in detail in February 2001 about the presence of FARC camps in border areas, he says. Gonzalez Gonzalez argues that the FARC are the armed component that shall force the revolutionary project that Fidel Castro and Chavez want to implement in the region.

It's not the first time Chavez has been accused of aiding al-Qaida.

As WorldNetDaily reported, a Venezuelan military defector claims President Hugo Chavez developed ties to terrorist groups such as al-Qaida — even providing it with $1 million in cash after Sept. 11, 2001.

Air Force Maj. Juan Diaz Castillo, who was Chavez's pilot, told WorldNetDaily through an interpreter that "the American people should awaken and be aware of the enemy they have just three hours' flight from the United States."

Diaz said he was part of an operation in which Chavez gave $1 million to al-Qaida for relocation costs, shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

Some observers are beginning to talk of a Tehran-Caracas axis.

Chavez has hosted top Iranian leaders and sworn to defend Tehran's right to arm itself with nuclear weapons. The Iranians have showed great interest in Chavez's plan to build a large reserve army or People's Militia, and offered to host a special Venezuelan delegation to introduce and discuss the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' model.

Iran has been trying for quite some time to divert U.S. attention from the Middle East and the Gulf area to other corners of the world. It is also known the Iranians have been seeking new avenues of cooperation in technological, scientific and nuclear research programs with more countries. Many such efforts are directed towards Latin America, predominantly Brazil, whose President Lula da Silva, also playing around with nuclear ideas, has declared himself an ally of Hugo Chavez. The Iranians want to encourage such a relationship as much as possible, especially since their main partner for military cooperation, namely North Korea, might be forced to suspend all and every know-how aide of sensitive WMD and missile projects. Chavez told the Iranians he supports Brazil's ambition to become a regional power in all areas, including nuclear and missile developments, which under certain circumstances might become available options for Iran as well.

Meanwhile, as G2B reported in 2004, Islamic "charities" under increasing international pressure and scrutiny to cut ties with terrorists, al-Qaida and other allied organizations are expanding operations in Latin America, establishing both legitimate and criminal enterprises to fund future operations.

According to U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela Charles Shapiro, almost every extremist terror group is now represented in Latin America.

Both newcomers to the Islamist movement and veterans of past operations are given loans to establish small businesses. These modest ventures involve food and clothing stores, transportation companies and other legitimate businesses stretching from minor real estate investments to funding of small airlines. In return these businesses re-pay the loans with cash accrued from their trading revenues. The money is collected by roving collectors who change from time to time to avoid being traced.

According to Islam, adding interest on loans is regarded as usury and is strictly forbidden. Instead the business owner is asked to add a donation based on the initial principal. This can range from a few to thousands of dollars in each case. Some businesses, identified as having been established by terror groups in the infamous Muslim triangle around the border region between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, often are plain newspaper stands, corner stores or family-run tailor shops.