Georgetown Security Law Brief

Official says terrorist link to drug cartels poses security threat

02/05/12: The Washington Times reports that collaboration between Latin American drug cartels and groups such as Iran's Quds Force and the Islamic terror group Hezbollah is growing “far faster than most policymakers in Washington, DC, choose to admit,” a former US intelligence official testified Tuesday. Michael A. Braun, former chief of operations and intelligence for the DEA, told lawmakers that the operational capability of such groups is being “strengthened by the close relations that they are working hard to develop with very powerful organized criminal organizations in our neighborhood and throughout Latin America.”

Venezuela passes anti-terrorism law

02/02/12:  The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Venezuela's congress has approved a law aimed at fighting organized crime and terrorism, though opposition lawmakers say they fear it could be used to crack down on dissent. Lawmakers allied with President Hugo Chavez say the "Law Against Organized Crime and Terrorism Financing" will help combat crimes such as money laundering, bomb threats and airplane hijackings.

Justice Department turns over documents to Congress concerning Operation Fast and Furious

01/28/12: The Columbus Telegram reports that newly released Justice Department emails sent to Capitol Hill for a congressional inquiry into a gun-smuggling operation indicate that the head of the department's criminal division suggested letting some illicit "straw" weapons buyers in the US transport their guns across the border into Mexico where they could be arrested. According to the emails turned over to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday night, the Justice official, Lanny Breuer, made the suggestion to Mexican officials because it "may send a strong message to arms traffickers."

Mexico increases swine flu screening as cases increase

01/27/12: ABC News reports that three years after swine flu closed Mexico City and caused an international scare, the Mexican government and local media are at odds over the severity of this season's flu virus. Newspapers are warning of an alarming increase in cases while the government insists there is no cause for alarm. Federal and state health officials agree there is an increase, but they say the number of cases is within the range of a normal flu season. The Mexican health ministry, however, has listed confusing numbers on its website and refuses to respond to inquiries as to the specific rise in cases.

Security contractors see opportunities, and limits, in Mexico

01/26/12: The Washington Post reports that with the Iraq war over and the American presence waning in Afghanistan, US security contractors are looking for new prospects in Mexico, where spreading criminal violence has created a growing demand for battle-ready professionals. However, Mexico’s restrictive gun laws mean that foreign contractors must enter the bloody drug war unarmed as they take jobs ranging from consulting and technical training for the Mexican military to guarding business executives from kidnapping gangs and extortionists.

Guatemala's ex-dictator must appear in genocide case

01/22/12: The Bellingham Herald reports that former dictator Efrain Rios Montt must appear in criminal court in a genocide case involving crimes against indigenous Guatemalans during his de-facto government in the 1980s, a federal prosecutor said Saturday. The retired general must declare on Thursday before Judge Carol Flores, who will decide whether to go forward with genocide charges, prosecutor Manuel Vasquez said."We have sufficient evidence for charges of genocide and crimes against humanity," Vasquez said.

Venezuelans protest closure of Miami consulate

01/22/12: The Miami Herald reports that Venezuelans living in Florida are protesting the closing of their country’s consulate in Miami following the expulsion of the office’s chief diplomat. Demonstrators gathered Saturday at a park in Miami. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez decided to close the consulate after Washington ordered Consul General Livia Acosta Noguera out of the country.

Chilean generals convicted over 1991 Croatian arms deal

01/21/12: The BBC reports that Chile's Supreme Court has convicted two retired generals of selling weapons to Croatia 20 years ago, in breach of a UN arms embargo. The former generals Hector Letelier and Vicente Rodriguez were sentenced to three years house arrest. The shipment of weapons and ammunition - disguised as humanitarian aid - was intercepted in Hungary in 1991 during the war in the former Yugoslavia. Former ruler Augusto Pinochet was also implicated in the deal.

Mexican federal police suspected of torture

01/02/12: ABC News reports that Mexican human rights authorities say five men detained in the killings of two agents and a car-bomb attack in Ciudad Juarez were tortured by federal police to confess their roles in the crimes. The National Human Rights Commission said Sunday the country must investigate six federal officers and a doctor who didn't report signs of severe beating. Police had accused one man of being a lookout in a July 2010 car-bomb attack. They had also accused the five men of killing two police officers.

Commentary: Iran ramps up courtship of Latin America

12/31/11: Reuters features a commentary piece by Bernd Debusmann concerning Iran’s recent diplomatic efforts in Latin America. Debusmann contends that American foreign policy on Latin America has gone through cycles of neglect and concern for decades. It’s in a cycle of concern again, prompted by an Iranian campaign to make friends and influence people in the American backyard. Washington’s message to Iran’s Latin friends – don’t get too close – does not appear to impress them.

US ambassador leaves El Salvador after Senate vote

12/31/11: The Boston Globe reports that US Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte is saying her goodbyes in El Salvador after Senate Republicans refused to ratify her in the post. Aponte has drawn fire for an editorial she wrote in a Salvadoran newspaper advocating acceptance of gays and lesbians, and long-standing rumors of past involvement with a man once believed linked to Cuban intelligence agencies. She has been serving under a recess appointment by President Barack Obama since September 2010.

Argentina adopts wide definition of terrorism

12/29/11: The Chicago Tribune reports that Argentina enacted a law on Wednesday providing a wide definition of terrorism that critics fear will allow the state to jail people for up to 15 years for activities as diverse as marching in protests or pulling money out of banks. The law, approved by Congress last week, seeks to punish anyone who "terrorizes" the population, leaving the definition of the term open. The government of recently re-elected President Cristina Fernandez says the measure is needed to meet anti-money-laundering standards set forth by the Financial Action Task Force, a multinational policy-making body.

US sanctions money launderers for cartels

12/29/11: The Boston Herald reports that the Obama administration has hit two men with sanctions for allegedly laundering money on behalf of Mexican and Colombian drug cartels. The move blocks any assets in the US belonging to Lebanese-Colombian nationals Jorge Fadlallah Cheaitelly and Mohamad Zouheir El Khansa, and blocks Americans from doing business with them. The Treasury Department said Cheaitelly leads a Panama-based drug trafficking and money laundering organization with operations as far as Hong Kong. El Khansa is seen as a key partner.

Former Argentine dictator who was convicted of torture in hospital

12/29/11: The Associated Press reports that Argentina's last dictator was convicted Thursday of more crimes against humanity, this time getting 15 years in prison for setting up a secret torture center inside a hospital during the 1976 military coup. Reynaldo Bignone personally oversaw the takeover of the Posadas de Haedo hospital in Buenos Aires province 35 years ago, leading soldiers in tanks and helicopters in search of medical personnel who allegedly treated leftist guerrillas. The military dismissed all the doctors and nurses, but kept some for questioning, including the hospital's medical director. Eleven hospital staffers disappeared.

Chavez keeps trying to lure anti-US allies

12/19/11: The Washington Times reports that a new organization meant to unite 33 nations in the Americas against the United States just adds to the region’s crowded field of largely meaningless multilateral entities, observers say. The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, made up of all of the hemisphere’s sovereign nations except the United States and Canada, last week held its inaugural summit. It was hosted with great fanfare by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Colombia asks Panama to extradite former intelligence chief linked to espionage scandal

12/15/11: The Chicago Tribune reports that Panama's Foreign Ministry says Colombia has asked it to extradite former Colombian intelligence chief Maria del Pilar Hurtado to face conspiracy, wiretapping and abuse of authority charges. Hurtado headed Colombia's DAS domestic intelligence agency in 2007 and 2008. The agency was dissolved in October after it was caught spying on presidential foes, including judges, reporters and human rights activists, under former president Alvaro Uribe. Uribe governed from 2002 to 2010 and has denied knowledge of the abuses.

US authorities probing alleged cyberattack plot by Venezuela, Iran

12/14/11: The Washington Times reports that US officials are investigating reports that Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats in Mexico were involved in planned cyberattacks against U.S. targets, including nuclear power plants. Allegations about the cyberplot were aired last week in a documentary on the Spanish-language TV network Univision, which included secretly recorded footage of Iranian and Venezuelan diplomats being briefed on the planned attacks and promising to pass information to their governments.

Noriega extradited to Panama

12/12/11: JURIST reports that former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was extradited from France to Panama Sunday to face charges of human rights violations for crimes allegedly committed during his 1981-1989 rule. He was already convicted on three counts of human rights violations in absentia, and each count carries a 20-year prison sentence. Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and Panamanian authorities have been seeking Noriega's extradition to face charges of human rights violations in Panama since April 2010. French authorities ordered his extradition earlier this year, and it was given final approval by a French appeals court last month. Noriega was immediately taken to El Renacer prison upon his arrival in Panama.

Peruvian guerrilla leader pledges no more attacks

12/08/11: The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that one of two remaining leaders of the Shining Path guerrilla group in Peru said his troops will cease attacks and is calling for a truce to start peace negotiations with the government. Known as Comrade Artemio, Jose Flores Hala told journalists Friday in his jungle hideout that he "isn't going to deny" that the government won. Flores, however, couldn't speak for another Shining Path leader, known only as Comrade Jose, who has not declared a truce.

US donation to help Paraguay fight guerrillas

12/07/11: The Miami Herald reports that the US government is giving Paraguay more than $1 million in equipment and training to help it combat a small guerrilla band in the north of the country. A US Embassy news release on Wednesday says the donation includes vehicles, communications gear and improvements to police facilities in the jungle region where the Paraguayan People's Army operates.

US diplomat accuses Uruguay major of assault

11/24/11: The Las Vegas Sun repots that an Uruguayan official says a US embassy official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has accused an Uruguayan army major stationed in the country with assault. The South American country has sent more than a thousand troops to Congo as part of a UN peacekeeping mission. Uruguayan Colonel Mario Stevenazzi says the United Nations and the Uruguayan government are investigating the alleged assault, which he says doesn't appear to be sexual in nature.

Mexican cartel plotted attack against US

11/12/11: The Miami Herald Tribune reports that the leaders of a powerful Mexican cartel, frustrated that US law enforcement was interfering with their lucrative drug business, plotted a military-style attack on a US or Mexican government building to "send the gringos a message," federal prosecutors allege in documents filed this week. Leaders of the Sinaloa cartel sought dozens of American-made weapons for an attack in Mexico City on possible targets that included government buildings, an embassy or consulate or media outlet, according to documents in the case against Vicente Zambada, an alleged top lieutenant in the cartel.

Columbian narco-terrorist paramilitary leader sentenced to 33 years

11/10/11: The Miami Herald reports that a Colombian paramilitary warlord who pleaded guilty to exporting tons of cocaine into the United States to fund terrorism in his homeland was sentenced in Miami to 33 years in prison, authorities said Wednesday. Carlos Mario Jimenez, aka “Macaco,” was extradited in 2008 after violating a peace pact by selling drugs and commanding illegal militia fighters from inside a Colombian prison. “Investigations such as this clearly define the connection between drugs and terrorism,” said Mark Trouville, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Miami.

Colombia reveals plan for new intelligence agency

11/05/11: The Miami Herald reports that Colombia's president has announced a new intelligence service to replace the disgraced DAS domestic security agency that he dissolved this week. President Juan Manuel Santos told reporters Friday the National Intelligence Office will begin operating next year. It will answer directly to him. The DAS employed 5,000 people. It was wracked by scandal over domestic spying and collusion with extreme rightist militias engaged in mass killings and land theft.

Online hackers threaten to expose cartel's secrets

10/30/11: The Houston Chronicle reports that Anonymous, an international group of online hackers, is warning the Zetas, a Mexican drug cartel, to release one of its members kidnapped from a street protest. Anonymous threatens that if the Zetas do not do so, it will publish the identities and addresses of the syndicate's associates, from corrupt police to taxi drivers, as well as reveal the  syndicates' businesses. The vow is a bizarre cyber twist to Mexico's ongoing drug war.

US agencies infiltrating drug cartels across Mexico

10/25/11: The New York Times reports that American law enforcement agencies have significantly built up networks of Mexican informants that have allowed them to secretly infiltrate some of that country’s most powerful and dangerous criminal organizations, according to security officials on both sides of the border. The informants have helped Mexican authorities capture or kill about two dozen high-ranking and midlevel drug traffickers, and sometimes have given American counternarcotics agents access to the top leaders of the cartels they are trying to dismantle.

Colombia’s spy agency suspected in murder plot

10/18/11: The Miami Herald reports that shortly after a deadly car bomb failed to kill Senator Germán Vargas Lleras in 2005, the country’s spy agency blamed the attack on leftist guerrillas and closed the case. But according to a cache of secret documents obtained by Semana magazine, the scandal-plagued agency may have had a hand in the plot to kill Vargas, who is now the minister of interior and one of President Juan Manuel Santos’ closest advisors.

Lawmakers suggest treating drug cartels as terrorist organizations

10/14/11: The Washington Times reports that lawmakers say it is time to treat Latin American drug cartels like terrorist organizations, highlighting alarm about possible links between the two kinds of groups after Iran's alleged efforts to recruit drug lords to kill a Saudi diplomat in Washington. “We must stop looking at the drug cartels today solely from a law- enforcement perspective,” said Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida Republican and chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Cuban spy freed from US prison

10/08/11: CNN reports that Rene Gonzalez, a Cuban convicted of spying in the US, was released Friday after serving most of a 15-year sentence. Gonzalez was one of five convicted spies known as the "Cuban Five" who were arrested in 1998. A Miami jury in 2001 convicted members of what was called the Wasp Network on charges they had spied on prominent Cuban-American exile leaders and US military bases.

Anti-crime chat users vow to keep posting despite beheading of Mexican woman for web comments

09/27/11: Newser reports that the killing of a Mexican woman purportedly in retaliation for her postings on an anti-crime website has left stunned chat users and employees at the newspaper where she worked wondering who can still be safe in the violent border city of Nuevo Laredo. Maria Elizabeth Macias’ decapitated body and head were found Saturday next to a message citing posts she wrote on "Nuevo Laredo en Vivo," a website used by Laredo residents to denounce crime and warn each other about drug cartel gunfights and roadblocks.

Scholarship: Calderón’s Caldron – Lessons from Mexico’s Battle Against Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking

09/23/11: The Brookings Institution has published a new study by Vanda Felbab-Brown concerning efforts to combat organized crime and drug trafficking in Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, and Michoacán. This monograph explores the effectiveness of the security and law enforcement and socio-economic approaches adopted in Mexico over the past several years to combat the drug trafficking organiza­tions. It also analyzes the evolution of organized crime in Mexico, including in reaction to anti-crime actions taken by the Mexican government.

Ex-president of Mexico accused of massacre cover-up

09/21/11: The Yale Daily News reports that a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut on Friday alleges that Ernesto Zedillo, former president of Mexico and current director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, violated a series of domestic and international laws while in office. The civil action suit involves Zedillo’s alleged role in covering up an attack on civilians in the village of Acteal in Chiapas, Mexico, that took place December 22, 1997, during his six-year term as president.

Decades after massacres, Guatemala seeks genocide trial against former army general

09/20/11: The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that a judge is expected to decide Wednesday whether Hector Mario Lopez Fuentes, a former army general, should be tried on charges that he planned and ordered about 300 massacres of indigenous people when he was chief of staff of the Guatemalan military between 1982 and 1983. If the general goes to trial, it would mark the first genocide case in Guatemala's history.

Colombian ex-spy chief gets 25 years for aiding death squads

09/20/11: IntelDaily reports that Colombia’s Supreme Court has convicted Jorge Noguera, Director of the Colombian Administrative Department of Security (DAS) from 2002 to 2005, to 25 years in prison, for systematically collaborating with illegal far-right death-squads. Noguera’s conviction was based in part on revealing testimony from former DAS director of information technology, Rafael Garcia. According to Garcia, Noguera routinely provided rightwing paramilitaries with lists of leftist politicians and activists, labor union leaders, and even journalists, who were then targeted for intimidation, blackmail or —in several instances— assassination.

Foreign minister says Venezuela providing support to Carlos the Jackal in French prison

09/15/11: The Miami Herald reports that Venezuela's government is providing support to the Venezuelan convict known as Carlos the Jackal. Carlos, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, is serving a life sentence in French prison for the 1975 murders of two French secret agents and an alleged informer. He gained notoriety as the Cold War-era mastermind of deadly bombings, killings and hostage dramas. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said on state television that Venezuelan authorities make "permanent contacts to support" the Venezuelan.

US aid implicated in abuses of power in Colombia

08/21/11: The Washington Post reports that new revelations in long-running political scandals under former president Alvaro Uribe, a close US ally throughout his eight-year tenure, have implicated American aid, and possibly US officials, in egregious abuses of power and illegal actions by the Colombian government under the guise of fighting terrorism and drug smuggling. American cash, equipment and training, supplied to elite units of the Colombian intelligence service over the past decade to help smash cocaine-trafficking rings, were used to carry out spying operations and smear campaigns against Supreme Court justices, Uribe’s political opponents and civil society groups.

Guns at Mexican crime scenes linked to US sting

07/26/11: The New York Times reports that Congressional investigators examining a gun-trafficking sting investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious have identified 122 weapons linked to the operation that have been recovered at crime scenes in Mexico, according to a report they are expected to release Tuesday.

Mexican drug lord tied to death of ICE agent captured

07/04/11: CNN reports that Mexican authorities said Monday that they had arrested a Zetas drug cartel leader who was connected with the killing of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent this year. Federal police captured Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, known as "El Mamito," Sunday, a top official with the agency said. Rejon is suspected of being behind numerous deaths in northeastern Mexico, where the Zetas have been engaged in a turf battle with their former allies, the Gulf Cartel.

Clinton aims to improve ties with Latin America

05/19/11: The New York Times reports that as tumult rages across the Middle East, and relations with Pakistan border on a breakdown, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was scheduled Wednesday night to host a private dinner with at least six former Latin American presidents, part of a quiet campaign to repair relations with a region that complains it has been ignored by American policy makers.

Transnational criminal groups threaten hemisphere

05/07/11: The Associated Press reports that transnational criminal organizations across Latin America pose the region's greatest threat according to US officials and experts."We have a key threat that we all need to focus on and that is transnational criminal organizations," the head of US Southern Command Gen. Douglas Fraser told a conference organized by the University of Miami's Center for Hemispheric Policy. Fraser emphasized the concern is not just drug trafficking but also weapons trade, money laundering and human trafficking.

New CRS reports examine Central American security, the Afghan war, and nuclear issues

04/04/11: Secrecy News has announced the publication of six new reports from the Congressional Research Service, and provided links to download the reports. The reports are titled as follows: 

“Central America Regional Security Initiative: Background and Policy Issues for Congress,” March 30, 2011.

 “The Japanese Nuclear Incident: Technical Aspects,” March 31, 2011.

 “Nuclear Power Plant Sites: Maps of Seismic Hazards and Population Centers,” March 29, 2011.

 “Japan’s 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami: Economic Effects and Implications for the United States,” March 25, 2011. 

“War in Afghanistan: Strategy, Military Operations, and Issues for Congress,” March 9, 2011

Rights group brings FOIA suit against US agencies over Honduras coup

03/28/11: JURIST reports that the Center for Constitutional Rights filed a complaint on Thursday to compel the release of documents related to the 2009 Honduras coup. The complaint names the DOD and the CIA as defendants alleging the agencies withheld documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act regarding if and how the US government and its interests affected the coup. The complaint details the events of the 2009 coup where the Honduran military kidnapped then-president Manual Zelaya from his home and put him on a plane to Costa Rica.

Three accused of plotting to give military weapons to Mexican cartel

03/24/11: USA Today reports that at least three people who allegedly worked for a Mexican drug cartel face charges of plotting to buy a Stinger Missile, anti-tank rockets and other military firepower and export the weapons to Mexico to supply a drug cartel. The defendants – David Diaz-Sosa, Jorge De Jesus-Casteneda and Emilia Palomina-Robles – were indicted by a grand jury in US District Court in Phoenix on multiple conspiracy counts involving drugs and weapons. HT to Gregory S. McNeal.

Chile’s leader to formally ask for CIA files to help Pinochet dictatorship probe

03/23/11: The Washington Post reports that Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said Tuesday that he’ll accept President Barack Obama’s invitation to formally request classified US intelligence documents that may identify Chilean agents responsible for more than 1,200 human rights violations during the Pinochet dictatorship.

Bomb in Chile causes minor damage at US-Chile cultural institute hours ahead of Obama’s arrival

03/21/11: The Washington Post reports that a small bomb exploded and broke some windows at a US cultural institute hours ahead of President Barack Obama’s arrival. No one was injured in the attack, which happened in Vina del Mar, a seaside city far from the Obamas’ activities in the capital of Santiago. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack at the Chilean-North American Institute, where people can read books in English and receive language lessons.
The Obama family’s visit comes under tight security, with sharpshooters and more than 2,000 police deployed in the capital.

US drones fight Mexican drug trade

03/16/11: The New York Times reports that the Obama administration has begun sending drones deep into Mexican territory to gather intelligence that helps locate major traffickers and follow their networks. The Pentagon began flying high-altitude, unarmed drones over Mexican skies last month, according to American military officials, in hopes of collecting information to turn over to Mexican law enforcement agencies.

US rejects conviction of contractor by Cuba, demands his release

 03/13/11: The Miami Herald reports that a US contractor accused by Cuba of plotting to “destroy the revolution” was convicted of crimes against the state Saturday and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The White House, which has called on Cuba to release Alan Gross since he was arrested in December 2009, called for his immediate release, saying the sentence “adds another injustice to Alan Gross’ ordeal."

Colombia asks Israel to extradite mercenary

01/28/11: The Miami Herald reports that Colombia has asked Israel to extradite former Israeli army Lt. Col. Yair Klein, who was convicted by a Colombian court and sentenced in absentia to nearly 11 years in prison for his activities in the late 1980s. Klein was convicted of criminal conspiracy in 2001 for organizing training by Israeli mercenaries in "military tactics and techniques," including bomb-making for gunmen employed by ranchers and drug traffickers. Klein oversaw the military training of private armies at the very moment Colombia's far-right "paramilitary" militias were being formed. Those militias have killed thousands and stolen millions of acres in land over the past three decades.

US citizen gets prison for 1968 air hijacking

01/04/11: The Wall Street Journal reports that a judge sentenced a man who hijacked a plane from New York to Cuba four decades ago to 15 years in prison Tuesday. US District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein announced the sentence for 67-year-old Luis Armando Pena Soltren, who returned to the United States from Cuba in October 2009 to face charges of conspiracy to commit air piracy, interfering with a flight crew and kidnapping. He pleaded guilty in March.

CIA role is faulted in air crash over Peru

11/2/10:  The New York Times reports that Central Intelligence Agency officers involved with a secret counternarcotics mission in the Peruvian jungle routinely violated agency procedures, tried to cover up their mistakes, and misled Congress immediately after a missionary plane was accidentally shot down in 2001, according to a blistering CIA internal report released on Monday.