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The Murky Latin American Connection
Fears of Islamic terrorists using Latin America as a base for operations against the United States have, so far, not produced much evidence. There are six million Moslems in Latin America, most of them immigrants from the Middle East. The area most often mentioned as the center of Islamic terrorism in South American is the tri-border area. Here, where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet, the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este has long been known as a haven for smuggling, counterfeiting and all manner of illegal activities. The local government officials have been bribed into inactivity. But only about seven percent of the 300,000 city residents are Moslem. And most of those are Shia, who do not get along with the Sunni Arab dominated al Qaeda at all. But some of the Shia Arabs in Ciudad del Este do openly support Hizbollah, an Iranian supported, Shia Arab terrorist organization in Lebanon. The Ciudad del Este Hizbollah supporters are believed to have had something to do with two bombing attacks against Argentinean Jews in the 1990s. But beyond that, there's nothing but rumors. Many Moslems throughout Latin American favor Palestinian terrorists in their attacks against Israel. But efforts to find proof of any tangible involvement have so far failed.

Part of the reason is the corruption, and indifference (to Islamic terrorism) in many Latin American countries. Businesses run by Christians and Moslems must deal with the suffocating government bureaucracies in the region. The deals often involve bribes, and the bureaucrats do their part by looking the other way. At the same time, the local Moslems know they are a religious, and ethnic, minority in a very Christian part of the world. Tolerance could quickly turn to hatred, persecution and expulsion if Moslems were found to be involved in terrorist activities. Since many of the South American Moslems are refugees from various wars and tyrannies in the Middle East, they don't want to ruin their welcome and have to flee again. This, more than anything else, is what is keeping al Qaeda from setting up shop in South America. Most of the local terrorists are either communist (atheist) or Christian. There has been a lot of terrorism in South American over the last half century, and terrorists are not very popular, no matter what their cause.
There wouldn't be too much concern among the indigenous population if a few muslims "disappeared", the regional military has that down to a art form.
This is not to say that al Qaeda could not set up bases in the region, and build a support network that would enable attacks inside the United States. What can be said is that al Qaeda would be operating in a hostile neighborhood. The United States is said to have an informant network, courtesy of its anti-drug efforts in the region. As long as the cash keeps going out, tips on which new group is up to what will keep coming in. If American counter-terrorism organizations keep listening, they should hear about a threat before it becomes a disastrous attack.
Posted by: Steve 2004-12-10
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=50946