Nations Hospitable to Organized Crime and Terrorism

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Nations Hospitable to Organized Crime and Terrorism NATIONS HOSPITABLE TO ORGANIZED CRIME AND TERRORISM A Report Prepared by the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress under an Interagency Agreement with the United States Government October 2003 Authors: LaVerle Berry Glenn E. Curtis John N. Gibbs Rex A. Hudson Tara Karacan Nina Kollars Ramón Miró Project Manager: Glenn E. Curtis Federal Research Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 20540−4840 Tel: 202−707−3900 Fax: 202−707−3920 E-Mail: [email protected] Homepage: http://loc.gov/rr/frd/ p 55 Years of Service to the Federal Government p 1948 – 2003 Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Nations Hospitable to Organized Crime & Terrorism PREFACE This report assesses conditions that contribute to or are potentially hospitable to transnational criminal activity and terrorist activity in selected regions of the world during the period 1999-2002. Although the focus of the report is on transnational activity, domestic criminal activity is recognized as a key foundation for transnational crime, especially as the forces of globalization intensify. The report has been arranged geographically into the following major headings: Africa, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Western Europe, and the Western Hemisphere. Within the geographical headings, the report addresses individual countries with particularly salient conditions. Cases such as the Triborder Area (TBA) of South America and East and West Africa, where conditions largely overlap national borders, have been treated as regions rather than by imposing an artificial delineation by country. The bibliography has been divided into the same geographical headings as the text. The major sources for this report are recent periodical reports from Western and regional sources, Internet sites offering credible recent information, selected recent monographs, and personal communications with regional experts. Treatment of individual countries varies according to the extent and seriousness of conditions under study. Thus some countries in a region are not discussed, and others are discussed only from the perspective of one or two pertinent activities or conditions. Because they border the United States, Canada and Mexico have received especially extensive treatment. - i - Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Nations Hospitable to Organized Crime & Terrorism TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE........................................................................................................................................ i INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 AFRICA.......................................................................................................................................... 2 LaVerle Berry and Glenn E. Curtis Introduction............................................................................................................................... 2 North Africa.............................................................................................................................. 4 Algeria................................................................................................................................. 4 Egypt ................................................................................................................................... 5 Morocco.............................................................................................................................. 6 Sub-Saharan Africa................................................................................................................... 9 Eastern Africa..................................................................................................................... 9 Contributing Factors ..................................................................................................... 9 Arms Trafficking ........................................................................................................ 12 Narcotics Trafficking.................................................................................................. 14 Trafficking in Humans................................................................................................ 16 Corruption................................................................................................................... 17 Money Laundering...................................................................................................... 17 Terrorist Activity ........................................................................................................ 18 Southern Africa................................................................................................................. 19 Mozambique ............................................................................................................... 20 South Africa................................................................................................................ 22 Western Africa .................................................................................................................. 27 Introduction................................................................................................................. 27 Narcotics Trafficking.................................................................................................. 27 Human Trafficking...................................................................................................... 28 Arms Trafficking ........................................................................................................ 30 The Liberia Problem ................................................................................................... 31 FORMER SOVIET UNION AND EASTERN EUROPE............................................................ 32 Glenn E. Curtis Introduction............................................................................................................................. 32 Albania.................................................................................................................................... 33 Former Warsaw Pact European Nations................................................................................. 36 Bulgaria ............................................................................................................................ 37 The Czech Republic........................................................................................................... 42 Hungary ............................................................................................................................ 43 Poland............................................................................................................................... 44 Romania............................................................................................................................ 45 Slovakia............................................................................................................................. 46 Nations of the Former Soviet Union....................................................................................... 47 The Baltic States ............................................................................................................... 47 Estonia......................................................................................................................... 48 - iii - Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Nations Hospitable to Organized Crime & Terrorism Latvia .......................................................................................................................... 49 Lithuania ..................................................................................................................... 53 Belarus.............................................................................................................................. 54 The Caucasus Republics ................................................................................................... 56 Armenia....................................................................................................................... 57 Azerbaijan................................................................................................................... 58 Georgia........................................................................................................................ 59 The Central Asian Republics ............................................................................................ 60 Kazakhstan.................................................................................................................. 61 Kyrgyzstan.................................................................................................................. 62 Tajikistan..................................................................................................................... 64 Turkmenistan .............................................................................................................. 65 Uzbekistan................................................................................................................... 66 Moldova ............................................................................................................................ 66 Russia...............................................................................................................................
Recommended publications
  • Organized Crime and Terrorist Activity in Mexico, 1999-2002
    ORGANIZED CRIME AND TERRORIST ACTIVITY IN MEXICO, 1999-2002 A Report Prepared by the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress under an Interagency Agreement with the United States Government February 2003 Researcher: Ramón J. Miró Project Manager: Glenn E. Curtis Federal Research Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 20540−4840 Tel: 202−707−3900 Fax: 202−707−3920 E-Mail: [email protected] Homepage: http://loc.gov/rr/frd/ Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Criminal and Terrorist Activity in Mexico PREFACE This study is based on open source research into the scope of organized crime and terrorist activity in the Republic of Mexico during the period 1999 to 2002, and the extent of cooperation and possible overlap between criminal and terrorist activity in that country. The analyst examined those organized crime syndicates that direct their criminal activities at the United States, namely Mexican narcotics trafficking and human smuggling networks, as well as a range of smaller organizations that specialize in trans-border crime. The presence in Mexico of transnational criminal organizations, such as Russian and Asian organized crime, was also examined. In order to assess the extent of terrorist activity in Mexico, several of the country’s domestic guerrilla groups, as well as foreign terrorist organizations believed to have a presence in Mexico, are described. The report extensively cites from Spanish-language print media sources that contain coverage of criminal and terrorist organizations and their activities in Mexico.
    [Show full text]
  • Governance and Corruption in Public Health Care Systems by Maureen Lewis
    Working Paper Number 78 January 2006 Governance and Corruption in Public Health Care Systems By Maureen Lewis Abstract What factors affect health care delivery in the developing world? Anecdotal evidence of lives cut tragically short and the loss of productivity due to avoidable diseases is an area of salient concern in global health and international development. This working paper looks at factual evidence to describe the main challenges facing health care delivery in developing countries, including absenteeism, corruption, informal payments, and mismanagement. The author concludes that good governance is important in ensuring effective health care delivery, and that returns to investments in health are low where governance issues are not addressed. The Center for Global Development is an independent think tank that works to reduce global poverty and inequality through rigorous research and active engagement with the policy community. This Working Paper was made possible in part by funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Use and dissemination of this Working Paper is encouraged, however reproduced copies may not be used for commercial purposes. Further usage is permitted under the terms of the Creative Commons License. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and should not be attributed to the directors or funders of the Center for Global Development. www.cgdev.org 1 Governance and Corruption in Public Health Care Systems Maureen Lewis* Senior Fellow Center for Global Development January 2006 * I am grateful to William Savedoff for extensive peer review comments and suggestions, and to James Habyarimana, John Hicklin, Randi Ryterman, Julian Schweitzer, Peter Heller and Adam Wagstaff for helpful comments on earlier drafts.
    [Show full text]
  • • United Nations • UN Millenium Development Goals
    • United Nations • The Bretton Woods Institutions http://www.un.org http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Current/P7/b wi/cccbw.html • UN Millenium Development Goals http://www.developmentgoals.org/ News • The Economist • MUNweb http://www.economist.co.uk/ http://www.munweb.org/ • Foreign Affairs • UN Official MUN website http://www.foreignaffairs.org/ http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/mod elun/ • Associated Press http://www.ap.org/ • UN System - Alphabetic Index of Websites of the United Nations • Russian News Agency System of Organizations http://www.tass.net/ http://www.unsystem.org/ • Interfax International Group • United Nations Development http://www.interfax-news.com/ Programme http://www.undp.org/ • British Broadcasting Corporation http://news.bbc.co.uk/ • UN Enviroment Programme http://www.unep.org/ • Reuters. Know. Now. http://www.reuters.com/ • Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights • Agencia EFE http://www.ohchr.org/english/ http://www.efe.es/ • International Criminal Court • Agence France Presse http://www.iccnow.org/ www.afp.com • International Criminal Tribunal for • El Mundo the former Yugoslavia http://www.elmundo.es http://www.un.org/icty/ • Aljazeera International English • United Nations Bibliographic Edition Information System http://www.aljazeera.com/ http://unbisnet.un.org/ • Foreign Affairs • International Criminal Tribunal for http://www.foreignaffairs.org/ Rwanda http://www.ictr.org/ • Associated Press http://www.ap.org/ • International Court of Justice http://www.icj-cij.org/ • Russian News Agency http://www.tass.net/ • World Bank Group http://www.worldbank.org/ • Interfax International Group http://www.interfax-news.com/ • European Union http://europa.eu.int/ • British Broadcasting Corporation http://news.bbc.co.uk/ • World Trade Organization http://www.wto.org/ • Reuters.
    [Show full text]
  • In the Service of the Public Functions and Transformation of Media in Developing Countries Imprint Publisher Deutsche Welle 53110 Bonn, Germany
    Edition dW AkAdEmiE #02/2014 mEdiA dEvElopmEnt In the Service of the Public Functions and Transformation of Media in Developing Countries Imprint pUBliSHER Deutsche Welle 53110 Bonn, Germany RESponSiBlE Christian Gramsch AUtHoRS Erik Albrecht Cletus Gregor Barié Petra Berner Priya Esselborn Richard Fuchs Lina Hartwieg Jan Lublinski Laura Schneider Achim Toennes Merjam Wakili Jackie Wilson-Bakare EditoRS Jan Lublinski Merjam Wakili Petra Berner dESiGn Programming / Design pRintEd November 2014 © DW Akademie Edition dW AkAdEmiE #02/2014 mEdiA dEvElopmEnt In the Service of the Public Functions and Transformation of Media in Developing Countries Jan Lublinski, Merjam Wakili, Petra Berner (eds.) Table of Contents Preface 4 04 Kyrgyzstan: Advancements in Executive Summary 6 a Media-Friendly Environment 52 Jackie Wilson-Bakare Part I: Developing Public Service Media – Kyrgyzstan – A Brief Overview 53 Functions and Change Processes Media Landscape 54 Obschestvennaya Tele-Radio Kompaniya (OTRK) 55 01 Introduction: A Major Challenge for Stakeholders in the Transformation Process 56 Media Development 10 Status of the Media Organization 56 Jan Lublinski, Merjam Wakili, Petra Berner Public Service: General Functions 61 Public Service Broadcasting – West European Roots, Achievements and Challenges 62 International Ambitions 12 Transformation Approaches 63 Lessons Learned? – Transformations Since the 1990s 14 Appendix 72 Reconsidering Audiences – Media in the Information Society 15 05 Namibia: Multilingual Content and the Need Approach and Aim of the
    [Show full text]
  • BLIS USER MANUAL BLIS Is Bernama Library & Infolink Service
    BLIS USER MANUAL BLIS is Bernama Library & Infolink Service. It is an information-rich and convenient research portal that provides access to news and significant information on Malaysia. ..HOW TO USE.. Insert : 1. I-Staff Account – Academicians & 1 Management Staff; 2. IPPS Account – Postgraduates Students 3. I-Student Account – Undergraduates 6 Students Click on content list - “ASKZAD” Go to Google and type USIM Library in the 2 3 4 5 search box. Click at title – “BLIS” Click on Click on “Database” “Subscription” . ..HOW TO USE.. Welcome to BLIS Page ..HOW TO USE.. Foreign News BERNAMA News Archival News Collection of foreign news from various Collection of news items as reported Collection of news clippings from the news agencies from around the world like by BERNAMA from 1996 to current. local newspapers and magazines from Kyodo of Japan, Yonhap of Korea, Xinhua Berita Dalam Negeri; Berita Ekonomi; 1969 to current. Berita Harian; Utusan from China, MAP from Moroccco, PTI Economic News; Feature/Special Malaysia; Malaysian Business; from India, International Islamic News Reports; General News; Siaran Bernama (1968- 1995); New Straits Agency(IINA) under the organization of Akhbar; Press Release; & Times; Miscellaneous; Business the Islamic Conference(OIC), Antara of Rencana/Laporan Khas. Times; & The Edge. Indonesia and many others from the African nations. Info Providers Who’s Who Sectoral Reports Malaysian statistics on industry Compilation of profiles of prominent Compilation of various industries in performance, commodity production and persons in Malaysia. Malaysia. Sourced from various economic forecast provided by organizations. government research agencies. Facts And Figures Databank Speeches Profile of Malaysia on its economy, Provides facts on diverse issues and Full text of speeches delivered by government, industries, labor and events extracted from Malaysian important political and corporate figures in business environment.
    [Show full text]
  • The Washington Times
    The Washington Times www.washingtontimes.com Using cues of the past By Arnaud de Borchgrave Published May 10, 2005 From bleeding heart liberals to coldhearted conservative realists, everyone professed shock and awe when Russia's President Vladimir Putin called the breakup of the Soviet Union the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. Yet it was a statement of the obvious. Because that's precisely what it was. No empire in history had collapsed so suddenly and so completely. Millions of Russian citizens found themselves stranded in both the inner empire (the Baltic States and other former Soviet republics) and outer dominion (East Europe, Angola, Cuba, Vietnam), not to mention client states (Libya, Syria, North Korea). The world balance of power, maintained by MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction), was dispelled with the fall of the Berlin Wall. A defeated Soviet army was forced to withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989, and later that year from East Germany and the other former East European satellites. For the satraps in the Kremlin, it was an unmitigated disaster. Millions more at home were out of work and on the dole -- but there was no dole. Armaments plants ground to a halt and nuclear engineers and scientists struggled to survive on $200 a month or less. Russia's nuclear storage depots guarded by security personnel that had not been paid in months. Anything and everything was for sale -- or plunder. Organized crime gangs teamed up with former KGB operatives who used their knowledge of financial conduits abroad to literally plunder the country. Some $220 billion in gold, diamonds, precious metals and other assets moved abroad between 1990 and 1995.
    [Show full text]
  • Ixtoc I: a Case Study of the World's Largest Oil Spill Author(S): Arne Jernelöv and Olof Lindén Source: Ambio, Vol
    Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Ixtoc I: A Case Study of the World's Largest Oil Spill Author(s): Arne Jernelöv and Olof Lindén Source: Ambio, Vol. 10, No. 6, The Caribbean (1981), pp. 299-306 Published by: Allen Press on behalf of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4312725 Accessed: 13/05/2010 11:42 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=acg. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Allen Press and Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Ambio.
    [Show full text]
  • The Changing Face of Colombian Organized Crime
    PERSPECTIVAS 9/2014 The Changing Face of Colombian Organized Crime Jeremy McDermott ■ Colombian organized crime, that once ran, unchallenged, the world’s co- caine trade, today appears to be little more than a supplier to the Mexican cartels. Yet in the last ten years Colombian organized crime has undergone a profound metamorphosis. There are profound differences between the Medellin and Cali cartels and today’s BACRIM. ■ The diminishing returns in moving cocaine to the US and the Mexican domi- nation of this market have led to a rapid adaptation by Colombian groups that have diversified their criminal portfolios to make up the shortfall in cocaine earnings, and are exploiting new markets and diversifying routes to non-US destinations. The development of domestic consumption of co- caine and its derivatives in some Latin American countries has prompted Colombian organized crime to establish permanent presence and structures abroad. ■ This changes in the dynamics of organized crime in Colombia also changed the structure of the groups involved in it. Today the fundamental unit of the criminal networks that form the BACRIM is the “oficina de cobro”, usually a financially self-sufficient node, part of a network that functions like a franchise. In this new scenario, cooperation and negotiation are preferred to violence, which is bad for business. ■ Colombian organized crime has proven itself not only resilient but extremely quick to adapt to changing conditions. The likelihood is that Colombian organized crime will continue the diversification
    [Show full text]
  • Deterring Corruption and Improving Governance in the URBAN Water Supply & Sanitation Sector
    46829 WaterWater Working WorkingNotes Notes Public Disclosure Authorized Note No. 18, December 2008 Public Disclosure Authorized DETERRING CORRUPTION AND IMPROVING GOVERNANCE IN THE URBAN WATER SUPPLY & SANITATION SECTOR A SOURCEBOOK Jonathan Halpern, Charles Kenny, Eric Dickson, David Ehrhardt, and Chloe Oliver Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Water Working Notes are published by the Water Sector Board of the Sustainable Development Network of the World Bank Group. Working Notes are available on-line: www.worldbank.org/ water. Working Notes are lightly edited documents intended to elicit discussion on topical issues in the water sector. They disseminate results of conceptual work by World Bank staff to peer professionals in the sector at an early stage, i.e. “works in progress”. Comments should be emailed to the authors. Acknowledgements This Sourcebook was prepared as part of a broader program of work addressing governance and corruption in infrastructure of the Energy, Transport, and Water Department and Finance, Econom- ics and Urban Department of the World Bank. The sourcebook and a companion dissemination note were prepared by a Bank team comprised of Jonathan Halpern, Charles Kenny and Eric Dickson, sup- ported by Castalia (David Ehrhardt, Alex Sundakov, Seini O’Connor, and Chloë Oliver) with guidance provided by an advisory group comprised of sector and governance specialists across the regional and central units of the World Bank. A number of Bank staff provided valuable contributions at vari- ous stages including Anders Hjorth Agerskov, Alexander Bakalian, Ivor Beazley, Philippe Benoit, Steven Charles Burgess, Ed Campos, Robert Chase, Fook Chuan Eng, Marianne Fay, Meike van Ginneken, Mohinder Gulati, Erica Jorgensen, Brian Levy, Alain Locussol, and Jon Walters.
    [Show full text]
  • Country Travel Risk Summaries
    COUNTRY RISK SUMMARIES Powered by FocusPoint International, Inc. Report for Week Ending September 19, 2021 Latest Updates: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, India, Israel, Mali, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine and Yemen. ▪ Afghanistan: On September 14, thousands held a protest in Kandahar during afternoon hours local time to denounce a Taliban decision to evict residents in Firqa area. No further details were immediately available. ▪ Burkina Faso: On September 13, at least four people were killed and several others ijured after suspected Islamist militants ambushed a gendarme patrol escorting mining workers between Sakoani and Matiacoali in Est Region. Several gendarmes were missing following the attack. ▪ Cameroon: On September 14, at least seven soldiers were killed in clashes with separatist fighters in kikaikelaki, Northwest region. Another two soldiers were killed in an ambush in Chounghi on September 11. ▪ India: On September 16, at least six people were killed, including one each in Kendrapara and Subarnapur districts, and around 20,522 others evacuated, while 7,500 houses were damaged across Odisha state over the last three days, due to floods triggered by heavy rainfall. Disaster teams were sent to Balasore, Bhadrak and Kendrapara districts. Further floods were expected along the Mahanadi River and its tributaries. ▪ Israel: On September 13, at least two people were injured after being stabbed near Jerusalem Central Bus Station during afternoon hours local time. No further details were immediately available, but the assailant was shot dead by security forces. ▪ Mali: On September 13, at least five government soldiers and three Islamist militants were killed in clashes near Manidje in Kolongo commune, Macina cercle, Segou region, during morning hours local time.
    [Show full text]
  • Latvia Towards Europe: Internal Security Issues
    North Atlantic Treaty Organization Andris Runcis LATVIA TOWARDS EUROPE: INTERNAL SECURITY ISSUES Final Report The preparation of this Report was made possible through a NATO Award. Rîga, 1999 1 Content Introduction 3 1. The basic aspects of a country’s security 5 2. Latvia’s security concept 8 3. Corruption 10 4. Unemployment 17 5. Non-governmental organizations 19 6. The Latvian banking system and its crisis 27 7. Citizenship issue 32 Conclusion 46 Appendix 48 2 Introduction The security of small countries has been a difficult problem since ancient times. Now, when the Cold War has ended and Europe has moved from a bipolar to a multipolar system, when the communist system in Eastern Europe has collapsed and the Soviet empire has disintegrated – processes which have led to the appearance of a series of new and mostly small countries in Europe – we are witnessing a renaissance of small countries in the international arena. Since regaining independence Latvia’s general foreign policy orientation has been associated with integration into European economic, political and military structures where full membership in the European Union (EU) is the cornerstone. The issue has been one of the most consolidated and undisputed on the country’s political agenda. Latvian politicians have stressed the country’s wish to become a member state of the European Union. On October 14, 1995, all political parties represented in the Parliament supported the State President’s proposed Declaration on the Policy of Latvian Integration in the European Union. On October 27, Latvia submitted its application for membership to the EU.
    [Show full text]
  • Pakistan in the Danger Zone a Tenuous U.S
    Pakistan in the Danger Zone A Tenuous U.S. – Pakistan Relationship Shuja Nawaz The Atlantic Council promotes constructive U.S. leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the central role of the Atlantic community in meeting the international challenges of the 21st century. The Council embodies a non-partisan network of leaders who aim to bring ideas to power and to give power to ideas by: 7 stimulating dialogue and discussion about critical international issues with a view to enriching public debate and promoting consensus on appropriate responses in the Administration, the Congress, the corporate and nonprofit sectors, and the media in the United States and among leaders in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas; 7 conducting educational and exchange programs for successor generations of U.S. leaders so that they will come to value U.S. international engagement and have the knowledge and understanding necessary to develop effective policies. Through its diverse networks, the Council builds broad constituencies to support constructive U.S. leadership and policies. Its program offices publish informational analyses, convene conferences among current and/or future leaders, and contribute to the public debate in order to integrate the views of knowledgeable individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds, interests, and experiences. The South Asia Center is the Atlantic Council’s focal point for work on Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan as well as on relations between these countries and China, Central Asia, Iran, the Arab world, Europe and the U.S. As part of the Council’s Asia program, the Center seeks to foster partnerships with key institutions in the region to establish itself as a forum for dialogue between decision makers in South Asia, the U.S.
    [Show full text]