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FIGHTING TERRORISM IN LATIN AMERICA -- (Senate - October 07, 2004) GPO's PDF
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Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, as we contemplate reforms to better equip us to prevent and fight terrorism, I hope we will bear in mind the importance of the Western Hemisphere. As chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, I am encouraged by the opportunities we have to work cooperatively with our regional neighbors on issues we all can benefit from. We have shared interests in promoting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. We are stronger when we stand together as a hemisphere against terrorism, money laundering, and the trafficking of drugs, weapons, and people. Our greatest asset in the war on terror in Latin America and the Caribbean is the fact that we have so many willing partners throughout the region who share our values.
I recently came across an interesting study, written by Michael Johnson of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, that discusses the threat of international terrorist groups in the Triborder region of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. I hope my colleagues will read this study and reflect upon the importance of addressing terrorism wherever it exists around the world.
I ask unanimous consent that study be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
U.S. Foreign Policy in South America's Triborder Region
A REGION IN NEED OF SECURITY
Unstable institutions, rampant corruption and a struggling economy made Paraguay appear as an attractive venue for would-be terrorists to base their operations just a few years ago. However, with the newly formed Three Plus One Counterterrorism Dialogue consisting of Argentine, Paraguayan, Brazilian and an American intelligence-gathering team, terrorists seem to have decided to shy away from creating havoc in the region. Though no terrorist initiatives seem to have occurred in the tri-border region of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, experts from each of the countries feel that significant amounts of money laundering is taking place in the area--ending up funding terrorist acts in the Middle East. Current U.S. foreign policy in the area, therefore, will play an integral role in cleansing the area of terrorists as well as contain other illicit activities endemic to the region.
U.S. agencies have been monitoring clandestine activity in Paraguay for a number of years. However, only recently have they begun to increase their physical presence. According to various reports, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has more than doubled the size of its office in Asuncion. However, this does not automatically represent any change in the status quo. In the wake of terrorist strikes in the U.S., Paraguay's recent history of allegedly serving as a staging ground for militant Islamic groups such as Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad certainly is drawing closer scrutiny.
On September 21, 2003, foreign ministers from the Organization of American States (OAS) nations met to discuss terrorism-related hemispheric security concerns. Portions of the talks dealt with the Southern Cone countries' long-standing belief that Paraguay has shown little concern in addressing the terrorist elements operating within its borders. Evidence shows that the U.S. has stepped up pressure on the tri-border countries to clean up the area and eliminate ``rogue elements.'' Hopefully, such an increase in the U.S. presence will yield all the returns that the Pentagon anticipates.
U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IN THE TRI-BORDER REGION
President Bush's call to sustain the war ``until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated'' explains U.S. authorities' increase in the monitoring of developments in the tri-border area. For their part, tri-border countries have indicated that they intend to fully cooperate in helping the U.S. eliminate any terrorist threats in the region. Although Brazil and Argentina have increased their border security, Paraguay has perhaps assumed the strongest position in support of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts by asking the OAS to firmly support any U.S.-led retaliation.
Nevertheless, rhetoric and strong anti-terrorism stances by these nations fail to quell fears about the potential terrorist threat posed by illicit forces in the region. Paraguay's Foreign Minister, Jose Antonio Moreno, stated that 40 FBI agents arrived in Paraguay and were headed to Ciudad del Este, a ``transit point for shadowy groups.'' The inevitability of U.S. involvement in the area was reflected in statements made by the State Department and the former director of the FBI, Louis J. Freeh. The FBI's concern was rooted in a trip that Freeh took to South America in 1998 to assess security concerns. At the time, Freeh called for a multinational crackdown on crime, something he saw as an important step to establishing a hemispheric police alliance. He called the tri-border region ``a free zone for significant criminal activity, including people who are organized to commit acts of terrorism.'' Last April, the State Department warned that the governments of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina are not capable of preventing Islamic terrorist actions originating from Paraguay's hub of militancy, Ciudad del Este.
The U.S. has offered its Special Forces to train and advise the Paraguayan military and national police in anti-terrorism and anti-drug tactics to combat the identified groups. U.S. Special Forces took a first step to making their presence felt in Paraguay earlier this year by participating with the country's military in a ``training exercise'' focused on combating drug traffickers. At the time, many thought that this maneuver closely resembled an anti-insurgency operation. Such an approach could signal a change in U.S. military policy in Paraguay, as further training could focus on anti-terrorism tactics.
9/11 CONNECTION
Ciudad del Este provides the kind of uncontrolled environment that can sustain criminal organizations--and terrorists. The 1992 Israeli Embassy bombing and the 1994 Argentine-Israeli Community Center bombing cast a spotlight on the baleful role being played by some elements of the Arab community in Ciudad del Este that it has since been unable to avoid. Because much of Paraguay's export business is underground, basically based on contrabanding, the situation leaves the Arab community suspect of helping to financially support Arab terrorist groups, although without clear proof is wanting. Although it may be unwise to assume that all black-market contrabandists are terrorists, police authorities believe that the amount of funds being generated by smuggling and money laundering that is being transferred within Paraguay to overseas banks is far more than any presumptive business activity in the country. It raises some suspicions in the minds of local police officials that some in the Arab community are supporting radical terrorism with the spoils of illegal trade.
Indeed, the U.S. State Department clearly advises that there are individuals and organizations operating in Ciudad de Este and along the tri-border area between Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina, with ties to extremist groups. Brazilian Judge Walter Fanganiello Maierovitch, former National Drug Enforcement Secretary and now with the Giovanni Falconi Brazilian Criminal Sciences Institute, reports that Osama bin Laden is setting up an al-Qaeda unit near Ciudad del Este under the cover of the Arab community. The U.S. Government cannot confirm an al-Qaeda presence in the tri-border area. However, other radical Islamic extremists routinely rely upon illegal activities, such as drug and arms trafficking, to help fund terrorist activities throughout the world.
To achieve some control, 10 member countries of the OAS Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE) participated in exercises in the tri-border area to highlight solidarity against extremist activities. The United States, Argentina, and experts from other countries are providing training to Paraguayan anti-terrorist police and military personnel. The objective is to ``maintain a presence in the area and to be able to raid homes of persons suspected of being involved in financing terrorism or of radicalized members of Islam residing in the tri-border area.''
Rest is here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r108:34:./temp/~r108OB4nk9:: |
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