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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
Cjiaincusa@aol.com. jbrewer@cjiausa.org