http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/narcoterrorism/ en-us Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:56:37 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411130/posts Osama Bin Laden's terrorist organization has become increasingly reliant on organized crime, including cocaine smuggling, human trafficking and kidnapping, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Friday in Manhattan's federal court. The charges filed against three alleged al-Qaeda associates by the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan is the latest chilling evidence of a convergence between terrorism and organized crime. Oumar Issa, Harouna Touré and Idriss Abelrahman were snatched in Ghana on Wednesday by a Drug Enforcement Administration sting and shipped to New York, where they arrived on Friday to face charges of conspiracy to commit acts of narco-terrorism and providing material support... Forbes Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411130/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 14:56:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2335396/posts Firefights in Matamoros Violence associated with organized crime and the drug trade continues throughout Mexico, with the number of homicides so far this year reaching almost 5,000. For comparison, the 5,700 organized crime-related killings in 2008 made that year the deadliest yet in the country’s cartel war. With nearly four months left in 2009, it is all but inevitable that 2009 will be another record year for violence. One particularly noteworthy incident from this past week occurred on the afternoon of Sept. 4 in Matamoros, Tamaulipas state, just across the border from Brownsville, Texas. The incident began after Mexican authorities... STRATFOR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2335396/posts#comment Wed, 9 Sep 2009 14:18:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2295936/posts He calls himself "Cesar," but his real name is Gerardo Aguilar Ramirez. As "comandante" of the 1st Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- and one of the top 10 leaders of the hyperviolent FARC -- he has well-earned credentials as a drug-dealing terrorist with a penchant for trading in hostages. On Thursday, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents put Cesar in shackles, marched him aboard an aircraft here in Bogota and took him to the United States to stand trial for his crimes. Our Fox News' "War Stories" team was here to record the event -- and a... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2295936/posts#comment Sun, 19 Jul 2009 09:34:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2294530/posts BOGOTA — He calls himself "Cesar," but his real name is Gerardo Aguilar Ramirez. As "comandante" of the 1st Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — and one of the top 10 leaders of the hyper-violent FARC — he has well-earned credentials as a drug-dealing terrorist with a penchant for trading in hostages. This Thursday, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents put Ramirez, aka Cesar, in shackles, marched him aboard an aircraft here in Bogota, and took him to the U.S. to stand trial for his crimes. Our Fox News' "War Stories" team was here to record the event... Creators Syndicate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2294530/posts#comment Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:07:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280369/posts WASHINGTON, June 26, 2009 – Afghan and coalition forces detained several suspected Taliban militants overnight during an operation designed to disrupt Taliban bombing and rocket attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. In the province’s Nad Ali district, a combined force patrolled near the village of Marjeh, to compounds where intelligence sources reported a known Taliban commander was located. While clearing the compounds, the force encountered a threat. Officials did not provide details of the threat, but said it was “eliminated” after several escalation-of-force measures. The force completed the search without further incident, detained a handful of... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280369/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:26:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279677/posts Mystery continues to surround Hezbollah’s alleged links to the seventeen suspects arrested on drug trafficking charges on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao on April 28. According to Curacaon authorities, approximately 250 law enforcement officials took down a major drug trafficking and money laundering ring led by a criminal network that shipped and sold cocaine and other contraband from Latin America and the Caribbean to Europe and the Middle East. In a significant twist, Curacaon authorities announced that the suspects had ties to international organized crime networks linked to Hezbollah in Lebanon; the suspects are accused of, among other things,... Jamestown Foundation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2279677/posts#comment Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:32:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2259816/posts Drug cartel members are using a variety of fronts and subterfuges - from fake tamale stands to child decoys - to gather intelligence about enhanced U.S. border security and exploit weaknesses to send in people and drugs, according to a new report obtained by The Washington Times. The findings, by the U.S. Army's Asymmetric Warfare Group, underline the growing threat to U.S. security from a porous border. Mexican drug cartels continue to probe for gaps in border defenses while fighting one another and Mexican authorities in a violent conflict that has killed more than 7,000 people in Mexico since the... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2259816/posts#comment Thu, 28 May 2009 14:22:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2254462/posts http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1242212406822&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2254462/posts#comment Wed, 20 May 2009 04:12:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2215663/posts The body of a U.S. marshal has been discovered in Juarez, Mexico, according to the U.S. Marshals Service -- the latest discovery in a wave of violence that has gripped towns along the U.S.-Mexican border in recent months. The body of Deputy Marshal Vincent Bustamante -- who was the subject of an arrest warrant accusing him of criminal theft of government property -- was found in Juarez on Wednesday, said Marshals Service spokesman Jeff Carter. Chihuahua state police said the body had multiple wounds to the head -- apparently consistent with an execution-style shooting, according to Edgar Roman, a reporter... CNN.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2215663/posts#comment Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:56:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2214816/posts (CNN) -- The United States shares the blame for Mexican drug trafficking and the attendant violence that has killed thousands in the past year alone, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday. "Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade," she said en route to Mexico City, according to pool reports. "Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians. So, yes, I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility." Clinton arrived in the Mexican capital a day after the United States... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2214816/posts#comment Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:51:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2215570/posts WASHINGTON – The Mexican government is not on the verge of collapse, the top U.S. intelligence official said Thursday, seeking to tamp down increasing alarm over the powerful and violent drug cartels operating in the country that is the United States' southern neighbor. "Mexico is in no danger of becoming a failed state," said National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair at his first news conference Thursday. Echoing the assessment of Mexico's leaders, Blair said the dramatic increase in killings in Mexico is a result of that government's crackdown on drug cartels. AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2215570/posts#comment Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:55:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2215290/posts The head of the Department of Homeland Security turned down an offer for more money to fight crime along the U.S.’s southern border, saying she’ll pay for it with the funds she has. “These actions so far are designed to be budget-neutral,” she said. “What I have done is identify other activities that are less urgent ... to be able to move these resources where I think they are needed most.” The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2215290/posts#comment Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:45:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2214638/posts Border Patrol agents are arresting an increased number of dangerous criminals at the border, officials say. "We're talking about major things. Homicides, sex offenders, big robberies, armed robberies--things to that degree," says agent Mike Scioli. Scioli says more dangerous criminals are trying to enter the U.S. -- a disturbing yet growing trend along the southern border. This past weekend, a group of 34 illegals were apprehended by agents near Ajo. Two of them were members of a notorious and ruthless gang known as MS-13. How did agents find out? Finger prints and tattoos were a dead-giveaway. "These two individuals, not... KOLD TV News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2214638/posts#comment Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:52:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2214625/posts Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived here Wednesday with the clearest acknowledgment yet from a senior Obama administration official of the role the United States plays in the violent drug trade racking Mexico.“Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade,” she said, using unusually blunt language. “Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians.” NYT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2214625/posts#comment Wed, 25 Mar 2009 20:29:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2213238/posts The war against the Shining Path rebels, which took nearly 70,000 lives, supposedly ended in 2000. But here in one of the most remote corners of the Andes, the combination of a renewed military campaign, a resurgent rebel faction and a lucrative cocaine trade may be sparking it back to life. The drizzle-shrouded jungle of Vizcatán, a 250-square-mile region in the Apurímac and Ene River Valley, nine hours by four-wheel drive along switchbacks from the Maoist rebels' Andean cradle of Ayacucho, is Peru's largest producer of coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine. The Shining Path controls a large part of... iht.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2213238/posts#comment Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:24:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2213263/posts Earlier this month, the United Kingdom announced that it is reopening dialogue with the political wing of Hezbollah. Unlike the United States, the United Kingdom has only banned Hezbollah's terrorist (External Security Organization) and military wings. The ban on the terrorist wing came in 2000, while the ban on the military wing only came in June 2008 in response to Hezbollah's "providing active support to militants in Iraq who are responsible for attacks both on coalition forces and on Iraqi civilians, including providing training in the use of deadly roadside bombs," for plots to kidnap British security workers in Iraq,... WASHINGTON INSTITUTE.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2213263/posts#comment Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:15:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2202285/posts Recent arrests in a mistaken killing point to the perilous presence of gangs The order was clear: Kill the guy in the Astros jersey. But in a case of mistaken identity, Jose Perez ended up dead. The intended target — the Houston-based head of a Mexican drug cartel cell pumping millions of dollars of cocaine into the city — walked away. Perez, 27, was just a working guy, out getting dinner late on a Friday with his wife and young children at Chilos, a seafood restaurant on the Gulf Freeway. His murder and the assassination gone awry point to the... Houston Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2202285/posts#comment Mon, 9 Mar 2009 06:30:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2172826/posts The macabre admission is just the latest indication of the depth of Mexico's drug violence. Some US observers say the cartels now pose a direct threat to the Mexican government's survival, and, by extension, a growing security threat to the US. The state prosecutors' office said it was looking into more than 450 missing persons' cases from the past eight years. The Wall Street Journal wrote in an opinion piece that the "body count" in drug-related violence in Mexico so far this year is already 354. It noted that a police commander was recently beheaded in the Mexican state of... Newsmax http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2172826/posts#comment Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:40:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2172778/posts PHOENIX — As police approached a drug cartel's safe house in northwestern Mexico last May, gunmen inside poured on fire with powerful assault rifles and grenades, killing seven officers whose weapons were no match. Four more lawmen were wounded in the bloodbath and a cache of weapons was seized, including a single AK-47 assault rifle that authorities say was purchased 800 miles away at a Phoenix gun shop and smuggled into Mexico. ap on San Diego Union - Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2172778/posts#comment Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:02:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2117939/posts Assassinations related to drug trafficking in Mexico are on pace to pass 4,000 this year. By any count, violence in Mexico is at historical highs, and it is bad for business. Since the end of 2007, when Mexican President Felipe Calderon increased government pressure on organized crime, both the Sinaloa and the Gulf cartels have reached beyond Mexican boundaries to source supplies, secure trafficking routes and kill rivals. Heavy pressure on Colombian drug-trafficking organizations (DTOs) opened the door for Mexicans to control a greater share of the cocaine supply chain. They now control cocaine routes out of Colombia from Andean... International Relations and Security Network http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2117939/posts#comment Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:24:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086202/posts LOS ANGELES, Sept. 19, 2008 – The poppy trade that fuels terrorists and insurgents in Afghanistan is a problem that must be addressed but doesn’t have a military solution, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here last night. Speaking at a dinner hosted by the Pacific Council on International Policy, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said the narcotics trade serves as the baseline for Afghanistan’s economy. Farmers in a country that ranks among the poorest in the world, Mullen said, have little choice but to cultivate poppy to sell to insurgents, who turn profits from opium trade on... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086202/posts#comment Fri, 19 Sep 2008 23:32:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1991173/posts March 25, 2008: The bonanza of captured documents from two recently killed FARC leaders, confirmed the sharp decline in FARC strength. A decade ago, FARC had nearly 18,000 fighters under arms. Now, fewer than 9,000 gunmen are out there, and many are inclined to surrender to the government, or just run away. In the last year alone, FARC lost 4,000 people (38 percent were killed, the rest deserted or were captured). This is more than double the losses of 2006. Recruiting is more difficult, largely because FARC is no longer cool, or very safe. The FARC deserters come home and... Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1991173/posts#comment Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:27:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1919905/posts The Colombian navy has seized two homemade submarines believed to have been built by the Farc rebel group to smuggle cocaine out of the country. The two fibreglass vessels were found in a clandestine shipyard outside the country's largest port, Buenaventura. One of the 17m (56ft) submarines was ready for launch, while the other had nearly been completed, the navy said. Correspondents say drug-traffickers are increasingly relying on the sea to avoid checkpoints and border crossings. Since 2005, the Colombian armed forces have uncovered nine homemade submarines, including a 20m (66ft) vessel on the country's Caribbean coast in August. In... bbc.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1919905/posts#comment Fri, 2 Nov 2007 05:24:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1918412/posts QUITO, ECUADOR — The Ecuadorean government on Friday insisted on ending a cooperation agreement with the United States that allows the U.S. military to use a coastal air force base for anti-drug operations in the Andes. -snip- ...Galo Mora, a representative of Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, told participants at a solidarity forum with Cuba. The 10-year agreement, signed by the United States and Ecuador in 1999, allows Washington to deploy up to 475 military personnel in Manta in support of counternarcotics operations. The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1918412/posts#comment Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:49:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1841568/posts Maoist rebels in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand have been growing opium poppies to fund their operations in the region, officials say. The rebels have a presence in 18 of the 22 districts in Jharkhand. The Maoists say they are fighting for more rights for indigenous people in at least five states, including neighbouring Bihar, which has a reputation as India's most lawless state. What began as small scale poppy cultivation in the remote areas of Chatra and Katkamsandi in Hazaribagh district two years ago has now flourished into a booming activity spread over some 20,000 acres of land... bbc.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1841568/posts#comment Tue, 29 May 2007 21:10:57 GMT