Georgetown Security Law Brief

Venezuela linked to terror groups

03/09/10:The Washington Times reports that accusations by Spanish authorities that Venezuela aided an alliance between Basque and Colombian terror groups that plotted joint attacks in Colombia and Spain have revived a debate over Venezuela's possible role as a state sponsor of terrorism. An indictment issued by Judge Eloy Velasco of Spain's anti-terrorism court specifically cites "Venezuelan governmental cooperation" with 12 members of the Basque separatist group ETA and guerrillas of the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Clinton presses region to recognize Honduras

03/07/10: The New York Times reports that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended a five-day tour of Latin America Friday with a lightning trip to Guatemala, where she promised Central American presidents more help to fight drug trafficking and repeated her call for more countries to recognize the new government of Honduras. Many countries in the hemisphere have refrained from recognizing Mr. Lobo’s government because it came to power with an election held under a government installed by a coup last June. Washington has argued that Mr. Lobo was chosen in fair elections that had been scheduled before the coup.

Brazil rebuff for Iran sanctions drive

03/04/10: The Financial Times reports that Brazil delivered a wounding blow to Washington’s hopes of international consensus for sanctions on Iran on Wednesday when its president declared his opposition to such measures hours before meeting Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state.

Spain judge accuses Venezuela government of aiding rebel groups in assassination plot

03/02/10: Jurist reports that a Spanish National Court judge on Monday accused the Venezuelan government of aiding two rebel groups in a plot to assassinate members of the Colombian government in Spain. Judge Eloy Velasco charged six members of the Basque separatist group ETA and seven members of the Colombian rebel group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) with subverting the constitutional order by collaborating to assassinate Colombian officials, including President Alvaro Uribe and his predecessor Andres Pastrana.

Venezuela rights chief disputes critical OAS report

02/27/10: JURIST reports that the top Venezuelan human rights official on Thursday criticized findings in a report issued by the Organization of American States Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Ombudsman Gabriela Ramirez, Venezuela's top rights official, said that the report makes unfair characterizations and undermines Venezuelan democracy. Ramirez responded to statistical findings in the report that suggest the perpetuation of undemocratic processes, saying that the data actually show an improved rights record. In a related statement issued Friday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez reaffirmed his belief that the IACHR, which has seven members elected by the OAS General Assembly, is an instrument of US imperialism.

Mexican drug lord sentenced in US

02/25/10: CNN reports that Osiel Cardenas Guillen, the former head of a powerful Mexican drug cartel, was sentenced to 25 years in prison and will forfeit to the United States $50 million in illegal proceeds, a judge ruled. Cardenas Guillen, 42, was the leader of the Matamoros, Mexico-based Gulf cartel until his capture in 2003. He was subsequently extradited to the United States to face drug trafficking charges in 2007. US District Judge Hilda Tagle handed down the sentence Wednesday, following an earlier guilty plea by the drug kingpin.

US refuses to endorse British sovereignty in Falklands oil dispute

02/25/10: The Times (UK) reports that Washington refused to endorse British claims to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands yesterday as the diplomatic row over oil drilling in the South Atlantic intensified in London, Buenos Aires and at the UN. Despite Britain’s close alliance with the US, the Obama Administration is determined not to be drawn into the issue. It has also declined to back Britain’s claim that oil exploration near the islands is sanctioned by international law, saying that the dispute is strictly a bilateral issue.

US says agents will not embed with Mexican police

02/25/10: CNN reports that diplomatic officials denied there are plans to have American intelligence officials embedded with Mexican units. The statement was part of a flurry of reaffirmations of where the United States and Mexico stand with each other in relation to anti-drug operations in Mexico, spurred by a Washington Post report that US agents would be embedded with Mexican law enforcement units.

Venezuela, President Chavez criticized in OAS report

02/24/10: The Washington Post reports that the human rights branch of the Organization of American States issued a blistering 300-page report Wednesday morning against one of its members, Venezuela, saying that the oil-rich country run by President Hugo Chavez constrains free expression, the rights of Venezuelans to protest and the ability of opposition politicians to function.

Escalating Falklands oil dispute goes to UN

02/24/10: The Times (UK) reports that the diplomatic row over the Falkland Islands deepened dramatically after Argentina announced that it would take its protests over British oil exploration to the United Nations today. At the Rio Group summit in Mexico yesterday, Buenos Aires won unprecedented support from other Latin American states for its demand that the UK stop drilling in waters near the islands. Argentina’s Foreign Minister is to meet the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon. A resolution is also set to be tabled in the UN General Assembly condemning Britain for allowing Ocean Guardian to begin drilling 60 miles north of the islands after Argentina announced new shipping controls.

US to embed agents in Mexican law enforcement units battling cartels in Juarez

02/24/10: The Washington Post reports that for the first time, US officials plan to embed American intelligence agents in Mexican law enforcement units to help pursue drug cartel leaders and their hit men operating in the most violent city in Mexico. The increasingly close partnership between the two countries, born of frustration over the exploding death toll in Ciudad Juarez, would place US agents and analysts in a Mexican command center in this border city to share drug intelligence gathered from informants and intercepted communications.

Three men charged in Miami with financing Hezbollah

02/19/10: The Miami Herald reports that three men are being charged in Miami with illegally exporting products to a South American shopping center, which US officials say is a front to finance the Hezbollah terrorist group. An indictment unsealed Friday charges the three with violating a US ban on doing business with the Lebanon-based organization, which is listed as a terrorist group by the US.

Noriega appeals to US high court to avert extradition to France

02/19/10: CNN reports that in what may be former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega's final showdown with the United States, his attorneys have filed a petition with the US Supreme Court to block his extradition to France. Last month, the court refused to hear Noriega's appeal as he fights extradition to France, which claims that Noriega laundered drug money through France's banking system. Noriega's attorneys are hoping that the dissenting opinion in that ruling, written by Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, will help persuade the full court to take up the case, which could have a profound effect on how the federal court system deals with cases involving Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Alleged drug lord from Sinaloa cartel extradited to US

02/19/10: CNN reports that a suspected top Mexican drug kingpin who allegedly smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cocaine and heroin into the United States has been extradited to stand trial in Chicago, Illinois. Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla, whose father allegedly leads a large faction of the Sinaloa cartel, was handed over to Drug Enforcement Administration officials early Thursday by Mexican authorities and flown to Chicago, where he was indicted last year. Zambada-Niebla, 34, is expected to be arraigned in US District Court in Chicago on federal narcotics trafficking conspiracy charges detailed in an August 2009 indictment.

UN to review Falklands dispute

02/18/10: The New York Times reports that Argentina will take its dispute over plans by British oil companies to explore for oil off the coast of the Falkland Islands to the United Nations next week, where Argentina will assert its longstanding claim to sovereignty over the islands.

Argentina to effectively blockade Falkland waters in dispute over oil rights

02/17/10: The Times (UK) reports that Argentina has declared that it is taking control over all shipping between its coast and the Falklands, in effect awarding itself the power to blockade the disputed islands. According to a decree issued by President Kirchner last night, all ships sailing through the waters claimed by Argentina must hold a permit. The measure seems likely to deepen a row over conflicting claims to oil beds lying inside the Falkland Islands’ territorial waters. Argentina still claims sovereignty over the islands it calls “Las Malvinas” nearly three decades after the end of the Falklands conflict in which more than 1,000 people died.

Secretary Napolitano to discuss ways to bolster global aviation security with international partners in Mexico

02/12/10:  War on Terrorism reports that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will travel to Mexico City on Feb. 16-18, at the invitation of her Mexican colleague, Interior Secretary Fernando Francisco Gómez-Mont, to meet with her North, Central and South American and Caribbean counterparts and officials from the International Civil Aviation Organization to discuss ways to bolster global aviation security.

Honduras president pardons military leaders, former president

01/29/10: JURIST reports that Honduran President Porfirio Lobo granted amnesty to both former president Manuel Zelaya and military leaders accused of participation in a June 2009 coup against Zelaya. Making the decree during his inaugural address, Lobo said that it would allow the country to move past the conflict. He also said that he would appoint a special commission to investigate the circumstances of the coup, even though no prosecutions would result.

UN rights chief urges improvement in treatment of Haitians

01/28/10: JURIST reports that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Wednesday that strengthening human rights is an integral part of the rebuilding process in Haiti. In her remarks, Pillay mentioned the role that the inhumane living conditions may have had in the high casualty numbers resulting from the January 12 earthquake, placing blame on the Duvalier regime for those conditions.

Honduras Supreme Court clears military officers of charges

01/27/10: The New York Times reports that the Honduras Supreme Court cleared six high-ranking military officers on Tuesday of charges of abuse of power in last summer’s coup. The six, including the armed forces chief of staff, Gen. Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, were accused of illegally expelling President Manuel Zelaya from the country. A court had ordered the military to detain Mr. Zelaya, and the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the commanders had not acted with malice and that they had Mr. Zelaya flown to Costa Rica to avoid violence.

Former Uruguayan officer extradited to Argentina

01/25/10: CNN reports that a former Uruguayan military officer suspected of participating in Argentina's "Dirty War" was extradited from Brazil to Argentina to face charges. Maj. Juan Cordeiro Piacentini was extradited Saturday and handed over to Argentine police. Piacentini is accused of participating in Operation Condor, a plan to oppress opposition during Argentina's dictatorship in the 1970s.

US, UN sign accord on their formal roles in Haiti

01/23/10: The Miami Herald reports that US officials say a new accord with the United Nations formally gives the American military a supporting role in international relief efforts in Haiti, but keeps them in charge of the Caribbean nation's airspace, ports and roads.

Napolitano says Haiti earthquake refugees may not migrate to US

01/23/10: JURIST reports that US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said Friday that Haitians who arrived illegally after last week's earthquake would be sent back to Haiti. Napolitano said that Haitians should not view the earthquake as an open opportunity to migrate to the US, but should remain in their country to help rebuild. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security granted temporary protective status to Haitians that were in the US prior to the earthquake in order to provide "a temporary refuge for Haitian nationals who are currently in the United States and whose personal safety would be endangered by returning to Haiti."

Spain court orders pilot extradited to Argentina for alleged role in 'Dirty War'

01/19/10: Jurist reports that the Spanish High Court on Monday ordered the extradition of pilot Julio Alberto Poch so that he may be tried in Argentina for his alleged role in the nation's 1976-83 "Dirty War." Poch was a navy officer at Argentina's Naval Mechanics School, one of the most notorious detention centers of the military dictatorship, and is believed to have piloted flights, known as "death flights," which were used to dump the military junta's political opponents into the Plata river and the Atlantic Ocean.

Officials try to prevent Haitian earthquake refugees from coming to US

01/18/10: The Washington Post reports that as a massive international relief effort lurches into gear, U.S. officials are stepping up measures to prevent last week's earthquake in Haiti from triggering a Caribbean migration not seen in two nearly two decades.

Opinion: Guantánamo to the rescue

01/17/10: The New York Times has an opinion by Jonathan M. Hansen, a professor at Harvard University who is writing a book on the history of Guantanamo Bay, arguing that the US should make good on its promise to close the prison while using it as a base for humanitarian intervention in Haiti. Hansen suggests that Guantanamo has been used for relief efforts before, and its re-purposing might burnish America’s reputation in the world, if not redeem the base itself.

US denies American arrested in Cuba is a US spy

01/09/10: The New York Times reports that an unidentified American contractor arrested last month in Cuba for distributing communications equipment on the island was aiding a religious and cultural group and was not engaged in espionage activity, his employer, Development Alternatives Inc., said Thursday. A State Department spokesman also denied Cuban claims that the man was a spy.

Two lawmakers say Venezuela belongs on US terror list

01/08/10: The Miami Herald reports that Republican members of Congress have this week asked the Obama administration to put the oil-producing country on the list of nations that require monitoring because they pose a security risk. In separate statements, Florida's Reps. Connie Mack and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen cited, among other reasons, the relationship between Caracas and the Islamic regime in Iran and with the FARC rebels in Colombia, both considered by the United States as entities that sponsor global terrorism.

Honduran military leaders face arrests

01/07/10: CNN reports that Honduran prosecutors issued arrest warrants for the country's six top military commanders for abuse of power in connection with the coup that ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya last year. The Honduran high command, including Gen. Romeo Vasquez Velasquez, the country's top military chief, face charges for bursting into Zelaya's residence and transporting the president to neighboring Costa Rica, Attorney General Luis Rubi said.

Top Cuban lawmaker says detained US contractor is a spy

01/07/10: The Washington Post reports that the leader of the Cuban parliament on Wednesday accused a US government contractor arrested in December of being a spy for American intelligence agencies. Statements by Cuba's legislative leader, Ricardo Alarcón, may represent a hardening of the communist government's position on the detainee, who Alarcón said was still under investigation and had not yet been charged.

Cuba protests US airline screenings

01/06/10: The Washington Times reports that Cuba has summoned the top US diplomat on the island to protest extra screening for Cuban citizens flying into the United States. The United States has demanded more careful screening for citizens of 14 nations deemed security risks — including Cuba — and for people traveling from those countries.

Peru Supreme Court upholds Fujimori sentence

01/04/10: JURIST reports that the Peruvian Supreme Court has upheld a 25-year sentence given to former president Alberto Fujimori after his conviction on charges of ordering assassinations and kidnappings during his 1990-2000 presidency.

Argentina puts officials on trial over the abuses of the 'Dirty War'

12/28/09: The Washington Post reports that, with former generals and admirals well into their 70s and the courts emboldened to hand down severe penalties, Argentina is finally close to delivering justice for the estimated 30,000 people killed by state security services during the "Dirty War," including some who were thrown from airplanes after being tortured and sedated. The trials in Argentina come as other South American countries grapple with delivering justice for the victims of dictatorships and government-linked death squads.

Mexico weighs options as lawlessness continues to grip Ciudad Juarez

12/27/09: The Washington Post reports that senior Mexican officials have begun a sweeping review of the military's two-year occupation of this dangerous border city, concluding that the US-backed deployment of thousands of soldiers against drug traffickers has failed to control the violence and crime.

Chavez accuses Colombia of spy plane incursion

12/21/09: CNN reports that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that an unmanned spy plane launched from Colombia violated Venezuelan airspace last week.  The Venezuelan army has been ordered to shoot down any further incursions.

Trial begins for navy repressors in Argentina

12/12/09: IntLawGrrls reports that public trials have begun for nineteen naval officers accused of murder, forced disappearance, torture, illegal detention and other crimes committed during Argentina's military dictatorship.

Florida court reduces Cuban spies’ sentences

12/09/09: The New York Times reports that Ramón Labañino and Fernando González, two former Cuban intelligence officers convicted of spying in the United States were given reduced prison sentences after an appeals court ruled that their original terms were too severe.

Guatemala ex-colonel sentenced to prison for enforced disappearances in civil war

12/06/09: Jurist reports that a retired Guatemalan colonel has been sentenced to 53 years in prison for his role in the disappearance of eight indigenous Guatemalans during the 36-year Guatemalan civil war. A three-judge court Thursday found Col. Marco Antonio Sanchez and three of his subordinates, Jose Domingo Rios, Gabriel Maldonado Alvarez Ramos and Solomon Rivers, guilty of enforced disappearance.

Honduras high court rules Zelaya cannot return to power

11/27/09: JURIST reports that the Honduran Supreme Court ruled that ousted former president Manuel Zelaya cannot legally return to office. The court's decision is a significant blow to Zelaya's prospects for regaining power. Under the so-called Tegucigalpa/San Jose accord, Zelaya would have been able to return to the office of president assuming Supreme Court approval and an affirmative vote by the Honduran legislature.

Skeptics doubt Mexican data on military abuses

11/23/09: The Washington Post reports that the Mexican military has convicted just one soldier of a serious human rights violation during a bloody, three-year campaign against drug traffickers, according to Interior Ministry figures that are significantly lower than those reported by the US government. The Mexican military has come under scrutiny because of a surge in complaints against soldiers, including allegations of torture, beatings and illegal raids and arrests. The Mexican army is leading the fight against the powerful drug cartels as part of President Felipe Calderón's US-backed strategy to put 45,000 troops into the streets and employ soldiers as police.

Former US official, wife admit to 30 years of spying for Cuba

11/21/09: The Washington Post reports that a former State Department official and his wife admitted in federal court Friday that they spied for Cuba over the past three decades, receiving coded instructions over a shortwave radio and passing along information to intelligence operatives in "dead drops" and "hand-to-hand" passes. Walter K. Myers, 72, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit espionage and wire fraud. His wife, Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, 71, pleaded guilty to conspiring to gather and transmit national defense information. Under the plea deal, Walter Myers faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison, and his wife, 6 to 7 1/2 years.

Colombia appeals to UN over Chávez threat

11/09/09: The Financial Times reports that Colombia has said it will appeal to the UN Security Council and the Organization of American States after Hugo Chávez, the president of neighboring Venezuela, ordered his army to prepare for war in order, he said, to assure peace.

Mexico extradites record number to US

11/02/09: CNN reports that Mexico extradited 11 fugitives to the United States over the weekend, putting 2009's total Mexico-to-US extraditions at the highest yearly level ever, the US Department of Justice said Sunday.

US, Colombia sign agreement on bases

10/31/09: The Washington Post reports that the US ambassador and three Colombian ministers signed a pact in Bogota on Friday to expand Washington's military presence in Colombia, a deal that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has called a threat to the region's security.

Former Uruguay military chief sentenced to 25 years for homicides during dictatorship

10/26/09: Jurist reports that former Uruguay military dictator and army chief Gregorio Alvarez was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 25 years in prison Thursday for his role in 37 homicides during the country's 1973-1985 military rule.

Fidel Castro's sister says she worked with CIA while in Cuba

10/26/09: The Miami Herald reports that Juanita Castro, sister of Cuban rulers Fidel and Raúl Castro, cooperated with the CIA in the 1960s -- a time when the US agency was plotting to assassinate Fidel and overthrow his revolution -- according to an exclusive Univisión-Noticias 23 report on her newly published book.

Colombia prosecutor reports more than 20,000 forced civilian disappearances

10/22/09: Jurist reports that Colombian prosecutor Luis Gonzalez said Monday that at least 27,384 civilians disappeared between 1988 and 2002, with nearly 75 percent of them allegedly kidnapped by illegal right-wing militias.

Uruguay high court overturns amnesty law for rights violations during dictatorship

10/21/09: Jurist reports that the Uruguayan Supreme Court on Monday found unconstitutional the country’s Expiry Law, which granted amnesty to military officials accused of human rights violations during the country's 1973-1985 dictatorship.

Chile to apply anti-terrorism law to prosecute indigenous dissidents

10/20/09: Jurist reports that Chilean Subsecretary of the Interior Patricio Rosende announced Tuesday that Chile will use a 1984 anti-terrorism law to prosecute indigenous Mapuches for attacks allegedly committed in the southern region of Araucania.

Mexican official in US custody doesn't want asylum

10/20/09: The Miami Herald reports that despite previous reports, Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson, a Mexican human rights official who has publicly said he feared for his life and has been detained by US immigration authorities as an asylum-seeker, claims he doesn't want American protection.