MS-13
Long considered to be one of the most violent and dangerous gangs in the western hemisphere, MS-13 is now considered to be a national security threat, to be met with a coordinated international response.Chris Swecker, Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigative Division of the FBI, had this to say to Congress:
Although there have been recent media reports alleging that MS-13 gang
members have met with an al-Qa'ida operative in Honduras and that al-Qa'ida
financed a MS-13 gang summit, there is no credible, independent reporting to
support or otherwise corroborate these reports. Current analysis also supports
the assessment that it is unlikely that MS-13 and al-Qa'ida would form an overt
partnership for both security and ideological reasons.
According to reliable sources, the reason for the gang summit meeting in
Honduras was to discuss international leadership issues within the group. There
was no indication that this meeting was financed or attended by any outside
organization.
Despite this initial assessment, the FBI continues to remain alert for any
possible connections between MS-13, and any other gang or criminal enterprise,
with Al Qa'ida. The FBI is well aware of at least one example of state-sponsored
terrorists working with a U.S. street gang. In 1986, members of the El Rukin
street gang in Chicago plotted with Libyan leader Mu' ammar al-Qadhafi to
perpetrate terrorist acts against the U.S. in exchange for money. Qadhafi,
however, is a notably secular Muslim leader who forged alliances with many
groups, and he is opposed by al-Qa'ida-affiliated groups.
I would add that Jose Padilla, who appears to have loosely coordinated with Al Qaeda, was a member of a street gang in Chicago when he was recruited. I would also add that, with a dramatically open southern border, Al Qaeda's best chance of slipping in operatives is to work with Mexican criminal gangs such as MS 13. Al Qaeda has shown a willingness to work with groups who do not share its ideology in order to further a common goal, thus a partnership is not implausible. To name just a few examples, Sunni Al Qaeda leaders have closely cooperated with Shiites in Iran and secular ex-Baathists in Iraq - two groups who they don't exactly see eye to eye with.
The tri-border region in South America is also ripe for exploitation by Al Qaeda. Once they are in, the trip to Mexico and to the United States is a piece of cake.
Located where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet, the area is home to roughly
20,000 Middle Eastern immigrants—mostly from Lebanon and Syria—and has long been
a hotbed for terrorist fundraising, arms and drug trafficking, counterfeiting
and money laundering. By moving freely through the region’s porous borders,
operatives from the terrorist organizations Hizbollah, Hamas, and according to
some reports, al-Qaeda, are able to conduct arms-for-drugs deals with secular
Latin American terrorist groups like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) and Peru’s Sendero Luminosos (Shining Path). All told, U.S. officials
believe that between $10 and $12 billion is funneled through the tri-border
region each year, with Hizbollah among the prime beneficiaries.
Paraguayan
Interior Minister Julio Cesar Fanego has said the group received between $50 and
$500 million from the area from 1999 to 2001 alone. Although Hizbollah seeks to
create Iranian-style Islamic “republics”—which punish narcotics offenses with
flogging, imprisonment and in some cases, death—a large chunk of its tri-border
funds are earned in the drug trade.
See a collection of articles on MS-13 here.
posted by JM @ 7:59 PM
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