South America

[Petronas]

Brazil (Country threat level - 3): According to local reports, a high-potency bomb was found on 23 February 2005 in northern Sao Paulo. The bomb contained approximately 331 lb/150 kg of explosives. As of 1045 local time, the Civil Police Anti-Bomb Squad was deployed in the area, attempting to deactivate the device, which is located near a train track. Train service is reportedly suspended between Presidente Altino and Imperatriz Leopoldina stations. Authorities believe that a criminal gang called Primeiro Comando Capital is responsible for this incident.

AIR SECURITY International - Hot Spots - 2/23/2005

[Petronas]

Ecuador (Country threat level - 3): At approximately 0500 local time on 23 February 2005, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Quito, causing severe damage to the building. No injuries were reported. Police officers cordoned-off the area and restricted transit around the area for several hours. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

AIR SECURITY International - HOT SPOTS 2/24/2005

[Petronas]

Paraguay (Country threat level - 3): On 24 February 2005, President Nicanor Duarte Frutos ordered the armed forces to launch a military operation in the central departments of San Pedro, Caaguazy and Caazapa in order to dismantle extremist groups operating in the so-called "liberated zone" in San Pedro. The order came after intelligence investigations determined that terrorist attacks and sabotage against the government are being planned in these departments following the arrests of several leftist leaders linked to the kidnapping and murder of Cecilia Cubas, daughter of former President Raul Cubas. According to local reports, approximately 170 army and air force officers are participating in this special operation, which was launched on 25 February.

AIR SECURITY International - HOT SPOTS 2/25/2005

[Petronas]

Ecuador (Country threat level - 3): Simon Bolivar International Airport (SEGU/GYE) in Guayaquil was closed on 22 March 2005 after the airport received an anonymous telephone call at approximately 0800 local time, in which the caller alleged that a bomb had been placed on a flight bound to Quito. Emergency authorities at this facility evacuated the approximately 150 passengers of TAME's 302 flight and proceeded to search the aircraft. After this search, another call of the same nature was received. Operations at this facility were completely suspended, but will resume after all aircraft are searched.

AIR SECURITY International - HOT SPOTS 3/22/2005

[Petronas]

Chile (Country threat level - 2): At approximately 2330 local time on 27 March 2005, a small bomb detonated in front of the corporate headquarters of ING in Santiago, shattering windows and damaging the structure of the building. The affected offices are located near the French and Peruvian embassies. No injuries were reported. According to an anonymous telephone call to a local radio station, the attack was perpetrated to commemorate "Combatants Day" on 29 March.

AIR SECURITY International - HOT SPOTS 3/28/2005

[Petronas]

Chile (Country threat level - 2): On 29 March 2005, several violent demonstrations took place in front of universities in the capital city of Santiago, during the commemoration of Youth Combatant Day. According to local reports, the demonstrators exchanged gunfire and hurled Molotov cocktails at the security forces. Masked demonstrators also damaged several police cars. At least two people were shot and 44 others were arrested during the demonstrations.

AIR SECURITY International - HOT SPOTS 3/30/2005

[Petronas]

Brazil (Country threat level - 3): According to local reports, a letter bomb sent via regular mail exploded in an office in Braganзa Paulista, located in the state of Sao Paulo, on 11 April 2005. A government employee was severely injured in the attack and the office building sustained damage. No one has yet claimed responsibility for this attack.

AIR SECURITY International - HOT SPOTS 4/12/2005

[Petronas]

South America, Arabs seek ‘alliance of civilisations’
Wednesday, May 11, 2005

BRASILIA: More than 30 nations from South America and the Arab world begin Tuesday an unprecedented two-day summit in a bid to form a new alliance that could serve as a counterweight to US dominance and open up new regional markets to world trade. Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, in a preparatory meeting Monday, called on participants to forge an “alliance of civilisations” that he said began 150 years ago with a strong wave of migration to South America from Syria and Libya. Speaking to 21 delegations from the Arab League, the Palestinian Authority and 12 South American nations, Amorim said the summit would attempt to draw the two regions which are “symbols of the south” together.

Despite its lofty goals, the summit, which will mark Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s debut on the world stage, has been largely ignored by the Arab nations: only five of the 22 members of the Arab League is represented by a head of state. Arab diplomatic sources in Brasilia told AFP the United States had pressured several countries to stay away after the hosts turned down a US request for observer status at the summit.

Besides Talabani, Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas and the heads of state from Algeria, Djibouti and Qatar will also be present. Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, whose country is the most populated in the region and strategically located between Africa and Asia, has delegated Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit to represent him at the summit. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom, and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI have both turned down the invitation. Tunisia’s President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Libyan President Moamer Kadhafi are also shunning the summit, along with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The United States is closely watching the summit as the final declaration includes a clause critical of Israel that will call for the dismantling of all Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to a draft obtained by AFP. Israel is to pull out from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank this year. Israel is said to be concerned by the summit statement but Arab League president Amr Mussa said Monday: “Their worries don’t concern me.” An Israeli diplomatic source here said Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is “clearly more sympathetic to the Palestinian discourse than to our positions.”

Participants are also expected to express opposition to Washington’s sanctions against Syria and stress “the right for states and peoples to resist foreign occupation” and the need to “respect Iraq’s territorial unity, independence and sovereignty”. Trade issues will also be tackled, although Argentina has aired reservations about Lula’s push for increased south-south exchanges, noting that it could come at the expense of other markets.

Arab countries hope that South America will back Egypt’s demands for a permanent seat in any reformed UN Security Council. Brazil, in turn, wants Arab support. Committees of experts from the two sides will be set up in a bid to improve trade between the two regions, officials said. Brazilian diplomats say they hope negotiations will move forward during the summit on a proposed 450 million dollar Libyan investment in irrigation projects for Brazil’s northeastern Bahia state.

Two-way trade between Brazil and Arab countries - with exports and imports balanced - totaled 8.1 billion dollars (6.3 billion euros) in 2004, a near 50 percent increase compared to the previous year, according to Brazilian estimates. The second Arab-South American summit will take place in 2008 in as yet undisclosed Arab nation, Amorim said, adding that the foreign ministers of the summit participants will meet every two years, with their next meeting scheduled for 2007 in Buenos Aires.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_11-5-2005_pg4_10

[Petronas]

Argentina (Country threat level - 3): At approximately 0330 local time on 6 May 2005, an explosive device detonated in front of a Blockbuster video store located in the Ramos Mejia neighborhood in Buenos Aires. According to police reports, the bomb, which damaged the store, contained pamphlets denouncing imperialism and were signed by the Mariano Moreno Liberation Command. Two other devices were found in front of a Citibank bank branch in Flores and in front of a Mc Donald's restaurant in Once, also located in Buenos Aires.

AIR SECURITY International - HOT SPOTS 6/6/2005

[Petronas]

There is a strong ethnic Lebanese presence in Ecuador, including two recent presidents, Abdala Bucaram and Jamil Mahuad.

Ecuador: Drug ring suspected of funding Hizbullah

Police broke up an international cocaine ring led by a Lebanese restaurant owner suspected of raising money for Hezbollah. Ecuadorean authorities declined to elaborate Tuesday on the group's alleged links to terrorist activities "until further investigation." But an internal police report obtained by The Associated Press said preliminary evidence "confirms the relationship between this organization and the terrorist movement Hezbollah." The document said the gang sent "up to 70 percent of its profits to the Islamic group."

Authorities detected the operation in September. The group smuggled cocaine principally to Europe and Asia in shipments valued at US$1 million each, the report said. Anti-narcotics police on Tuesday presented a lineup of the alleged Lebanese ringleader, Rady Zaiter, and five other male suspects from Lebanon, Nigeria, Algiers and Turkey, in addition to an Ecuadorean woman.

The Ecuadorean investigation led to related arrests of 19 people in Brazil and the United States, the report said. According to the report, Zaiter "had organized a large narcoterrorist infrastructure," using his Arab food restaurant in northern Quito as a front. He and Maher Hamajo, the Syrian who was arrested, allegedly used couriers who hid cocaine in suit cases and ingested it into their stomachs to smuggle the drugs into Europe, Asia and other South American countries. The group "recruited" Ecuadorean airport officials to evade security checks, according to the report. The report also said police discovered four houses used by the suspects and seized two autos, two motorcycles, two pistols, two shotguns and US$174,115 in cash.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Printer&cid=1119320281828&p=1078113566627

[Petronas]

Trinidad And Tobago (Country threat level - 3): According to local reports emerging on 11 November 2005, security forces have been put on high alert following the arrest of Jamaat al-Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr and a raid at the group's compound located on Mucurapo Road. Abu Bakr was charged on 9 November with sedition and extortion, after he threatened rich Muslims with violence if they did not pay zakaat or Islamic alms in 2006. During the raid conducted at Jamaat al-Muslimeen's compound, authorities found guns, a grenade and ammunition. At least seven or eight mosques have been subject to search, and raids are expected to continue in the upcoming days.

AIR SECURITY International - HOT SPOTS 11/11/2005

[Petronas]

Brazil: No terrorist activity found in "triple border" area
Asuncion, Nov 18 (EFE)

Brazil has seen no worrisome signs in the area where its border joins those of Argentina and Paraguay, which the United States considers a region with links to activities of Islamic extremist groups, the commander of Brazil's army said here. "We are observing the triple border. We understand that it is under control. We always have a presence there and to date we have no knowledge of anything serious," Gen. Francisco Roberto Albuquerque said in statements published Friday by the local press. Albuquerque, currently on an official visit to Paraguay, said the intelligence services of the three countries were monitoring the area and that "there is no reason to take more specific precautions."

Albuquerque's statements contrasted with those of FBI Director Robert Mueller, who said during a visit to Paraguay last month that this region - where the cities of Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Foz do Iguazu (Brazil) and Puerto Iguazu (Argentina) are located - is a cause for concern for Washington. The "triple border" area is a commercial hub that is home to a large Arab community. The region is notorious as a center for contraband goods, drug- and arms-trafficking and the production and distribution of pirated merchandise. Mueller said the proceeds from illegal activities such as piracy, money laundering and people smuggling could be used to finance terrorist activity in different parts of the world.

Albuquerque, who met with Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte and military commanders, said Argentine, Brazilian and Paraguayan security forces "are ready for action," although he added that at the moment there was no cause for major concern.

http://www.efenews.com/detalleFrontPage.asp?opcion=0&id=386760

[Petronas]

It is interesting that the self described "America's Worst Nightmare" should give one of the first interviews after his election to Al Jazeera. Note that Bolivia is not far removed from the "Tri Border Region", with its reported militant Islamist activities.

Bolivian brands Bush a 'terrorist': Arab TV
Dec 20, 2005 — DUBAI (Reuters)

The leftist winner of Bolivia's presidential election, Evo Morales, was quoted on Tuesday as calling President George W. Bush a "terrorist," but a spokesman in La Paz said the remark must have been mistranslated. Morales spoke in Spanish to Arabic satellite television station Al Jazeera, which dubbed his comments into Arabic. "The only terrorist in this world that I know of is Bush. His military intervention, such as the one in Iraq, that is state terrorism," Al Jazeera quoted him as saying. "There is a difference between people fighting for a cause and what terrorists do," Morales was quoted as saying. "Today in Bolivia and Latin America, it's no longer people that are lifting their weapons against imperialism, but it's imperialism that is lifting its weapons against people through military intervention and military bases."

A Morales spokesman in La Paz, who was present during the interview, said he did not remember Morales saying that and that he must have been translated incorrectly. Reuters translated Al Jazeera's Arabic into English. Morales, who calls himself a nightmare for the United States, has alarmed the Bush administration with his opposition to its strategy in the war on drugs and his admiration for presidents Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Fidel Castro of Cuba, both vocal foes of the United States.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1426273

[Petronas]

Brazil (Country threat level - 3): On 24 December 2005, authorities announced that a homemade bomb, which exploded on a crowded shopping street in Sao Paulo on 23 December, may have been retaliation for a recent police crackdown on pirated goods. The bomb -- which was left in a trash can -- injured at least 16 people when it exploded during the afternoon hours on March 25 Street, a popular market in the area. Authorities stated that the bomb appeared to be an "amateur device." Police officials have staged a number of raids recently and have confiscated merchandise in efforts to crack down on the volume of pirated goods in Brazil.

AIR SECURITY International - HOT SPOTS 12/27/2005

[Petronas]

Argentina beefs up security measures after row with Iran
November 17, 2006

The Argentine government on Thursday stepped up security measures at key locations in the country, including U.S. and Israeli embassies and Jewish community centers, in response to a growing diplomatic crisis with Iran.

President Nestor Kirchner ordered the police and the Intelligence Ministry to be on the alert for incidents similar to the 1994 bombing, allegedly plotted by former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani and other high-ranking Iranian officials.

There were also measures in the so-called "triple border" where Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil come together, an area highlighted as a center for Islamic militants by the United States.

Iran and Argentina have witnessed tense diplomatic relations since Nov. 9, when Argentine Federal Judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral ordered an international warrant for the arrest of Rafsanjani and eight others on charges of masterminding the 1994 bombing in the South American country.

On July 18, 1994, a Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires was attacked and reduced to ruins by a suicide bomber. Eighty-five people were killed and 151 were injured in the worst terrorist attack ever on Argentine soil.

In Tehran, Iran's Attorney General Abdel Samad said Argentina's accusations were "empty," and responded by issuing an international arrest warrant for the case's lead prosecutor Alberto Nisman, as well as a former judge in the case, Juan Jose Galeano.

http://english.people.com.cn/200611/17/eng20061117_322536.html

[Petronas]

Quick Count: Leftist Leads Ecuador Vote
November 26, 2006 8:18 PM EST

A leftist nationalist who is friendly with Venezuela's anti-U.S. president held a commanding lead over a Bible-toting banana tycoon in Sunday's runoff presidential election in Ecuador, according to an unofficial quick count of votes.

A victory by Rafael Correa would strengthen South America's tilt to the left, with Ecuador joining like-minded governments in Venezuela, Bolivia and several other countries. But his opponent Alvaro Noboa refused to concede, saying he would wait for the official count to be completed.

The quick count, conducted by a citizens' election watchdog group, gave Correa nearly 57 percent of the vote, compared to 43 percent for Noboa. It was based on sample votes from more than 1,600 voting stations and had a margin of error of less than 1 percentage point, the group said.

Correa sounded confident of his victory at a news conference after the count was announced. "We receive this very high honor that the Ecuadorean people have bestowed on us with profound serenity, with profound hope," he told reporters. Two exit polls also gave the tall and charismatic Correa a wide lead over his opponent. Official results were not expected until after 11 p.m. EST, and a winner may not be decided until Monday night or Tuesday morning.

The 43-year-old Correa, who is an outspoken admirer of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, secured a place in Sunday's runoff by pledging a "citizens' revolution" to radically reform the discredited political system. Ecuadoreans have driven the last three elected presidents from power and Correa appealed to voters as a fresh face in a field of established politicians.

In the first round, Correa called President Bush "dimwitted" and rattled investors by threatening to reduce payments on Ecuador's $16.1 billion foreign debt to free up money for social programs. He was favored to win the first round but came in second to Noboa in the field of 13. ...

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/int?guid=20061126/45691f50_3421_1334520061126518189427

[Petronas]

US Treasury targets individuals, businesses in S America for allegedly channeling money to Hizbullah
December 7, 2006

The Bush administration took action on Wednesday aimed at choking off a major South American fundraising channel for Hizbullah in the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The US Treasury Department's action targets nine people and two entities - a shopping center in Paraguay and an electronics company, Casa Hamze, located in the shopping center. The United States alleges that the designated targets have provided financial and logistical support to Hizbullah, considered a terrorist organization by the US.

Hizbullah called the US action an "attack" on Wednesday. "This is part of the US policy to attack the party," Hizbullah politburo member Ghaleb Abu Zeinab said. Abu Zeinab added that "every person who does not follow the US policy is being made a victim of the US and Israeli intelligence and being implicated in such allegations."

Americans are forbidden from doing business with the designated targets, whose bank accounts or other financial assets found in the US were frozen.

Specifically, the department alleges that the designated people gave financial and other assistance to Assad Ahmad Barakat, whom the government several years ago added to its asset-blocking list for his support of Hizbullah. "Assad Ahmad Barakat's network in the tri-border area is a major financial artery to Hizbullah in Lebanon," said Adam Szubin, director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The department alleged that Muhammad Yusif Abdallah is a senior Hizbullah leader in the tri-border area and an important financial backer of the group. The department says Abdallah is an owner and manager of the Galeria Page shopping center located in Paraguay, which the department also designated on Wednesday. The department alleged that Abdallah pays a percentage of his income to Hizbullah based on the profits he receives from the shopping center. The department also alleges that Abdallah has been involved in importing contraband electronics, falsifying passports, credit card fraud and trafficking counterfeit US dollars.

Barakat was himself targeted, with the government alleging that he is a Hizbullah member in the tri-border area. He is further suspected of trafficking in narcotics, counterfeit US dollars, arms and explosives, the government said. Hamzi Ahmad Barakat, who allegedly traveled to Chile to collect money for Hizbullah and is the brother of Assad Ahmad Barakat, was also named.

Others named Wednesday are: Muhammad Fayez Barakat, whom the US alleges is responsible for the Barakat network's finances; Muhammad Tarabain Chamas and Saleh Mahmoud Fayad, whom the US alleges have been involved in counterintelligence; Sobhi Mahmoud Fayad, whom the US says served as a liaison between the Iranian embassy and the Hizbullah community in the tri-border area; Ali Muhammad Kazan, who helped raise more than $500,000 for Hizbullah from Lebanese businessmen in the tri-border region, the US alleges; and Farouk Omairi, whom the US says is a member of the Hizbullah community in the tri-border area.

http://www.terra.net.lb/wp/Articles/DesktopArticle.aspx?ArticleID=318680&Cha

[NYer]

More from the US Treasury Department... (http://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/hp190.htm)

[Petronas]

U.S. commander warns of Latin America terrorist threat
Thu Oct 18, 10:14 AM ET

Islamic terrorist groups have networks in Latin America and the Caribbean and could use the region as a base to launch attacks on the United States, the senior U.S. military commander for the region says.

"For sure, members, facilitators, and sympathizers of Islamic terrorist organizations are present in our hemisphere," Adm. Jim Stavridis, head of the U.S. Southern Command, wrote in an article in the fall edition of Americas Quarterly journal, obtained by Reuters before publication. "We consider Latin America and the Caribbean as being highly likely bases for future terrorist threats to the U.S. and others."

U.S. officials have warned of a militant presence in Latin America since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. They have provided little concrete evidence and Brazil, which has a large Arab population, and some other regional governments have played down the threat. But Stavridis was reiterating U.S. concerns after police said in June they had foiled a plot to sabotage New York's John F. Kennedy airport by suspects linked to the Caribbean.

The Lebanon-based Hezbollah was the most prominent group in Latin America, Stavridis said. Most of its activity appeared to be fund-raising but "there are indications of an operational presence and the potential for attacks."

A multinational task force has been set up in the so-called tri-border where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet, an area reputed to be a hotbed of money-laundering and smuggling.

The head of border controls for Brazil's Federal Police disagreed with the admiral's contention. "If I were a terrorist I'd launch an attack from England. Latinos face 10 times the controls that Europeans do at U.S. borders," Mauro Sposito said in an interview. Brazilian authorities had no indication of terrorist cells in the tri-border region, he said, although they were aware of financial contributions to groups such as Hezbollah, which Brazil does not classify as a terrorist organization.

"They legally send money through Paraguay to the Hezbollah - it's a political party," Sposito said. A senior justice ministry official, Pedro Abramovay, said the United States had not informed Brazil of any concrete case of suspected terrorist cells.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071018/pl_nm/security_latam_dc;_ylt=AsLIx.uRA1cbY5br96_muNCs0NU E

[Petronas]

Chechen Terrorist Connection Found in Peru
October 2007

In a bizarre story that recently came to light, a brutal
crime committed in the Netherlands led to the discovery
of a Chechen terrorist in Peru. On November 2,
2004, Mohammad Bouyeri, a Dutch Muslim radical
of Moroccan decent, brutally murdered Theo van
Gogh in retaliation for a film van Gogh made about
the submission of women in the Muslim world. While
investigating the crime, Dutch police discovered that
Bouyeri had connections to Kazbek Ismailov and Bislam
Achmedovich Ismailov, the son and nephew, respectively,
of Borz-Ali Ismailov, a businessman
whom the Federal Security Service (FSB) and FBI
believe to have financed Chechen separatists. Following
van Gogh’s murder, Achmedovich was apprehended
in France and extradited to the Netherlands,
but Kazbek remained at large.

Dutch police eventually found Kazbek in the most
unlikely of places—a Peruvian jail. Between 2002
and 2004, Kazbek’s father, Borz-Ali, made 18 money
transfers, totaling 448,000 euros, to Daniel Eduardo
Yabbur, an Argentine living in Iquitos. Allegedly,
these funds were to be used to finance timber export
operations that Yabbur was setting up with Borz-Ali’s
funds after the two met in Spain. The story follows
that Yabbur and his partner, another Argentine named
Sergio Fonanella Bobo, were unable to account for
how the money was spent, and Borz-Ali dispatched
someone to check up on the operation. Sensing he had
been swindled, Borz-Ali stopped speaking to the two
Argentines and sent Kazbek, two of Kazbek’s cousins
and a fourth man to recover the money. On October
18, 2006, the four men broke into the house of Zapater
Carlín, a close associate of Yabbur and Bobo, and
killed him. Police arrested Kazbek for his part in the
crime.

In September, Peruvian narcotics police broke up a
money laundering ring run by Yabbur, Bobo, and Bobo’s
brother. The ring had set up over 30 businesses
specializing in, among other things, timber export.
This revelation led Peruvian authorities to question
whether the money Borz-Ali sent to Yabbur and Bobo
was connected with terrorism instead of timber export.
On October 17, the Peruvian attorney general’s
office announced that it was formally investigating
Borz-Ali.

http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/ttu_0710.pdf