A GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF NARCOTICS-FUNDED TERRORIST AND OTHER EXTREMIST GROUPS A Report Prepared by the Federal Research Division, Library of Congress under an Interagency Agreement with the Department of Defense May 2002 Researchers: LaVerle Berry Glenn E. Curtis Rex A. Hudson Nina A. Kollars Project Manager: Rex A. Hudson 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://www.loc.go v/rr/frd/ Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Narcotics-Funded Terrorist/Extremist Groups PREFACE This global survey, based entirely on open sources, is intended to provide an assessment of the nexus between selected anti-U.S. terrorist and extremist groups in the world and organized crime, specifically drug trafficking, and how this relationship might be vulnerable to countermeasures. More specifically, the aim is to help develop a causal model for identifying critical nodes in terrorist and other extremist networks that can be exploited by Allied technology, just as counterdrug technology has been used in the war against drug trafficking. To this end, the four analysts involved in this study have examined connections between extremist groups and narcotics trafficking in the following countries, listed by region in order of discussion in the text: Latin America: Triborder Region (Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay), Colombia, and Peru; the Middle East: Lebanon; Southern Europe (Albania and Macedonia); Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; and East Asia: Philippines. These are preliminary, not definitive, surveys. Most of the groups examined in this study have been designated foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. Department of State. The exceptions may be the small Albanian insurgent groups and the Central Asian organization called the Hizb-ut-Tahir (HT). These groups are included anyway because of their links to al Qaeda and narcotics trafficking, as well as because of their potential for terrorism. Although research was begun on groups in Egpyt (al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya and Islamic Jihad), Somalia (Al-Ittihad al-Islamiya), South Africa (People Against Gangsterism and Drugs– PAGAD), and Yemen (Islamic Army of Aden), insufficient information was found on links with the drug trade to merit further investigation, given the time constraints of this research project. In the cases of PAGAD and al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, however, further research may be warranted because the possibility of involvement with the narcotics trade cannot be ruled out. i Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Narcotics-Funded Terrorist/Extremist Groups TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ...................................................................................................................................... i KEY POINTS ................................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 2 Growing Worldwide Links Between Narcotics Trafficking and Terrorist/Extremist Groups .......................................................................................... 2 Growing Involvement of Islamic Terrorist and Extremist Groups in Drug Trafficking ................................................................................................................... 8 NARCOTICS-FUNDED TERRORIST/EXTREMIST GROUPS IN LATIN AMERICA ......... 11 By Rex A. Hudson Key Points ........................................................................................................................ 11 ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST GROUPS OPERATING IN LATIN AMERICA .................. 12 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 12 The Triborder Region: Sociocultural and Geographical Environment ............................ 14 The Islamic Fundamentalist Presence in the Triborder Region: Background ................. 18 Radicalization of Mosques in the Triborder Region ........................................................ 22 The Triborder Region: A Funding Source for Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism? ........ 25 Suspected al Qaeda Cells in the Triborder Region .......................................................... 28 Clandestine Telephone Exchanges Used by Extremists .................................................. 30 Alleged Operatives of Islamic Fundamentalist Groups in the Triborder Region ............ 32 Barakat, Assad Ahmad Mohamad (Hizballah) .................................................... 32 Fayad, Sobhi Mahmoud (Hizballah) .................................................................... 35 Mehri, Ali Khalil (Hizballah) ............................................................................... 37 Mukhlis, El Said Hassan Ali Mohamed (Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya) ..................... 37 Yassine, Salah Abdul Karim (Hamas) ..................................................................39 ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST ACTIVITIES ELSEWHERE IN LATIN AMERICA .......... 40 Chile ................................................................................................................................. 40 Colombia .......................................................................................................................... 41 The Arrest of an Islamic Jihad Terrorist in Colombia ........................................ 42 Iranian Government Ties to the FARC ................................................................ 43 Islamic Fundamentalist Ties to the FARC ........................................................... 43 Suspected Hizballah Cells in Maicao .................................................................. 44 Uruguay ............................................................................................................................ 45 Venezuela ......................................................................................................................... 47 Suspected Hizballah/Al Qaeda Cells on Margarita Island .................................. 47 The Farhad Brothers’ Hizballah-Linked Money-Laundering Operation ............ 48 INDIGENOUS NARCO-TERRORIST GROUPS OPERATING IN LATIN AMERICA ......... 50 Colombia .......................................................................................................................... 50 Overview of Colombian Insurgent and Paramilitary Involvement in the ii Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Narcotics-Funded Terrorist/Extremist Groups Drug Trade ..................................................................................................... 50 Official U.S. Views on Drug Financing of Colombian Terrorists ....................... 52 Revenues Derived from the Drug Trade .............................................................. 54 The Symbiotic Relationship Between the Guerrilla/Paramilitary Forces and the Drug Cartels ..................................................................................... 56 Drug Production in Guerrilla- or Paramilitary-Controlled Territory ................ 58 The FARC’s Opium Production ........................................................................... 60 Counternarcotics Operations ............................................................................... 61 Rural ......................................................................................................... 61 Urban ........................................................................................................ 63 The FARC’s Brazilian Mafia Connection .............................................................63 FARC Connections with Other Drug-Trafficking Cartels ................................... 66 Peru .................................................................................................................................. 66 Shining Path Involvement in the Narcotics Trade: Background ......................... 66 The Shining Path’s Opium Production ................................................................ 69 CONCLUDING POINTS ............................................................................................................ 70 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................... 73 HIZBALLAH AND INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING IN LEBANON AND SYRIA .......................................................................................................................... 75 By LaVerle Berry Key Points ........................................................................................................................ 75 Hizballah and the Narcotics Trade ................................................................................... 75 CONCLUDING POINTS ............................................................................................................ 79 DRUG-FUNDED TERRORIST/EXTREMIST GROUPS IN ALBANIA AND THE BALKANS ............................................................................................................................. 80 By Glenn E. Curtis Key Points ........................................................................................................................ 80 Terrorist/Extremist Groups and Narcotics ....................................................................... 80 Money Laundering