Terror in our hemisphere

Taking a look at potential terrorism close to home, I find we have some real potential problems. We should be worried about areas of the Caribbean. "Al-Qaida is suspected of having set up a front in the Caribbean island state of Trinidad, and sympathetic jihadists have already launched a movement there to replace Trinidad's Westernized government with Islamic law." (more here, and more on concerns about terrorism in Somalia, South Africa here)

Venezuela is worrisome because it has become a "safe haven and transit of drugs, people and arms and the Venezuelan Government’s efforts to pursue and deny safe haven to these terrorists are, at best, anemic." (U.S. State Department report 'Venezuela: Terrorism Hub of South America?')

The Government of Venezuela has stated that it regards the U.S.-led war on terrorism as a ruse for U.S. imperial ambitions. It has refused to condemn narco-terrorist organizations based in Colombia, and has publicly championed the cause of terrorists in Iraq. Although it is unclear how they were obtained, some weapons seized from Colombian narco-terrorists have come from official Venezuelan stocks and facilities. And the Venezuelan Government has done little to improve the security of travel and identity documents it issues.

The systems and processes for issuing passports and national I.D. cards are corrupted on various levels with alien smuggling rings using 'confederates in the issuing entities to make documents available in large numbers to their clients'. This means human smuggling is easy in Venezuela. They assist terrorists who come to this hemisphere to get documents (and weapons) and then assist them through other countries, into Mexico, and into the United States.

Ever wonder how those Iraqis who recently came across the Mexican border into the United States actually got into Mexico??? Venezuela has relations with State Sponsors of Terrorism like Iran, Syria, North Korea, (also Viet Nam and Cuba), and previously Saddam's Iraq and Qadhafi's Libya.

Venezuela has given sanctuary to members of the FARC and the ELN, and militants of the Basque terrorist group ETA. Venezuela also has ties and offers sanctuary and training to members of Islamic terror groups like Hezbollah. (Venezuelan Government links to Hakim Mamad al Diab Fatah and to Rahaman Alan Hazil Mohammad, who was arrested in February 2003 in the U.K. for smuggling an explosive device aboard an airliner. see here)

A two-month review by U.S. News, including interviews with dozens of U.S. and Latin American sources, confirms the terrorist activity. In particular, the magazine has learned that thousands of Venezuelan identity documents are being distributed to foreigners from Middle Eastern nations, including Syria, Pakistan, Egypt, and Lebanon. (U.S. News)

The U.S. News report also found Cubans 'working inside Venezuela's paramilitary and intelligence apparatus' and reported 'cedulas, the equivalent of Social Security cards, are 'being issued to thousands from Middle Eastern countries. The cdeulas can be 'subsequently used to obtain Venezuelan passports and even American visas, which could allow the holder to elude immigration checks and enter the United States.'

The United States 'wants to know if a Venezuelan of Arab descent named Hakim Mamad al Diab Fatah had ties to any of the September 11 hijackers.

The United States deported Diab Fatah to Venezuela for immigration violations in March 2002. A U.S. intelligence official says that Diab Fatah is still a "person of interest" and that his family in Venezuela is "a well-known clan associated with extremist and illicit activity" in northern Venezuela. But when U.S. officials sought Diab Fatah for further questioning, they were told by Venezuelan officials that he was not in the country. Diab Fatah may also be tied to the Caracas mosque of Sheik Ibrahim bin Abdul Aziz, which has caught investigators' attention. One of the mosque's officials, also a Venezuelan of Arab descent, was recently arrested in London for carrying a grenade on a Caracas-London flight. (source)

Margarita Island, a free zone on the north coast of Venezuela run largely by Arab merchants from Lebanon and Iran, the Venezuelan-Arab Friendship Association as a "fortress" with armed guards outside. A U.S. official says the association has been long known as a location of illicit activities. In addition, support "cells" for the groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamiyya al Gammat are active on Margarita. (source)

So is Venezuela, headed by the anti-American thug Hugo "El Diablo" Chavez, who could ally himself with jihadists against their common enemy.

A jihad domino effect in our hemisphere isn't far-fetched. If Fidel Castro dies, it would create a power vacuum in Cuba that could be filled by jihadists. Haiti also is vulnerable, and could fall to Islamists.

U.S. authorities worry that Caribbean blacks have been targeted by al-Qaida for Islamic conversion and recruitment along with African-Americans. Though the majority of Trinidad's population is Christian, its Muslim population is growing.

The communists tried to set up a beachhead in Grenada during the Cold War. We did not hesitate to stop them. Trinidad may not be the next Grenada, but we certainly can't risk letting al-Qaida raise its black flag of jihad in our hemisphere.(Investor's Business Dialy)

In Canada, our neighbor to the North, last year 17 terror suspects were arrested, at least one member of the group of terror suspects plotted to storm Canada's parliament and behead officials, including the prime minister. Canada has major problems with Muslim populations not wanting to assimilate. In fact, many complain about the inconsistent way the government panders to the Muslim population to the detriment of others. This is just across the border.

What are we, the U.S., doing? The State Department suggested that we 'can't fight this war on terror ourselves' and we should (my words) ... all just try to get along. Oh, my.
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Comments

[Night Rider]

Hi Debbie,

If my hunch is right from what your article says and what everyone has posted here, we have a big problem on our hands.

Have you given it much thought that if these areas launch medium range ballistic nuclear missiles from different locations at the same time? For example if they get the same distance whether they be a a large boat or Island from the East Coast and West Coast and from Canada what that would do to our nation?

That is very scary and could be what is happening is that they are trying to surround us and strategically aim those medium range ballistic nuclear missiles at us and launch at the same time what would happen.

[mad_cow]

Debbie, This is an important post. (I'm interested in what our presidental candidates know about this major problem)

There was a report issued in October titled: A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border. I posted about it here:
http://degreeofmadness.typepad.com/degree_of_madness/2006/10/we_dont_even_kn.html

There is a link to the report in my post, but I also posted excerpts that relate to Chavez.

The report is long, but worth reading. It is chilling.

[Debbie]

While I didn't specifically mention the 'tri-border' region by name, I did talk about Venezuela and her neighbors. Yes, the entire region needs close watch.

[Angel]

hiya Debbie..Is there anywhere the terrorists arent!!!!!!!

[StormWarning]

Clearly you are right about growing terrorism in the Western Hemisphere. And the concept of "terrorists among us" is not a new topic.

But your list of risk areas omitted the Tri-border region in South America (Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay): http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/pdf-files/TerrOrgCrime_TBA.pdf

Also:
Terror's South American Front
http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=12643
<>Situated between Argentina and Brazil, the sprawling Iguazu waterfalls are among the most popular tourist destinations in South America, with nearly 2 million visitors flocking annually to witness their extravagant beauty. In recent years, however, the area surrounding the falls has also attracted a far less savory element. In the shadow of the Iguazu lies the “tri-border” region, a lawless zone which has become a magnet for Islamic terrorists.

Especially with the rise of Chavez in Venezuela, the importance of watching the Tri-border Region where Islamists now congregate, is greater. In fact, it could well be that those "plots" that everyone is so concerned about are being hatched there.<>

Thanks. (How come HTML doesn't work?)