30 April 2007
Threat of Major Terror Attack in Americas Remains Low, April 30, 2007(New U.S. report calls Colombia leader on counterterrorism)
Washington -- The threat of a major terrorist attack remains low for most countries in the Western Hemisphere, according to a new State Department report.
Issued April 30, State’s Country Reports on Terrorism said most governments in the region took “modest steps” to improve their counterterrorism capabilities and tighten border security.
Terrorism in the Western Hemisphere came primarily from organizations based in Colombia and by the remnants of radical leftist Andean region groups, said the report, which covers the year 2006.
Except for the United States and Canada where suspected terrorists were prosecuted, the region had no known operational cells of Islamic terrorists. The report indicated, however, that pockets of “ideological supporters and facilitators” in South America and the Caribbean lent “financial, logistical, and moral support” to terrorist groups in the Middle East.
The United States enjoyed solid cooperation on terror-related matters from most hemisphere partners, and maintained “excellent” intelligence, law enforcement, and legal assistance relations with most countries in the region, said the report.
Mexico and Canada were called “key partners” against terrorism and for U.S. homeland security. U.S. cooperation with those countries, according to the report, was “broad and deep.”
Mexico represented primarily a terrorist transit threat, and the Mexican government worked with the United States to enhance aviation, border, maritime, and transportation security to secure critical infrastructure, and to combat terrorism financing. Canada collaborated extensively with the United States on a broad array of initiatives, exercises and joint operations that spanned virtually all agencies and every level of government.
Mexico also was singled out along with Panama and El Salvador for making “serious prevention and preparedness efforts” against terrorists. However, other countries in the region were said to lack “urgency and resolve to address deficiencies in their counterterrorism posture.”
Caribbean and Central American nations, “recognizing their attractiveness and vulnerability to attack or transit by terrorists, took steps to improve their border controls and to secure key infrastructure,” said the report. It added that most countries in the region began to look “seriously at possible connections between transnational criminals and terrorist organizations.”
Colombia merited special praise for emerging as a regional leader in improving counterterrorism capabilities and for “strengthening political will to combat terrorism” in the Western Hemisphere.
The report said that building on U.S. counterterrorism aid, Colombia provided training to regional neighbors on anti-kidnapping efforts and cyber-investigations, and assumed the chair of the Organization of American States' Inter-American Committee against Terrorism, which is the only permanent regional multilateral group that focuses exclusively on counterterrorism.
The United States remained fully committed to helping Colombia defeat Colombian-based terrorist groups, said the report. The Colombian government also increased its efforts with neighboring countries to thwart terrorist expansion, investigate terrorist activities inside and outside Colombia, seize assets and bring terrorists to justice.
The U.S.-Colombia extradition relationship was described as remaining the most successful of its kind in the world. Colombia extradited 102 criminals to the United States in 2006, the vast majority of whom were Colombian nationals. The threat of extradition to the United States is considered a ““strong weapon” that the Colombian government can use against terrorists operating in its territory, said the report. (See related article.)
Venezuela, meanwhile, merited criticism for not cooperating fully with U.S. anti-terrorism efforts.
The report said Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez persisted in public criticism of U.S. counterterrorism efforts, deepened Venezuelan relationships with two state sponsors of terrorism -- Iran and Cuba -- and was unwilling to prevent Venezuelan territory from being used as a safe haven by Colombian-based terror groups.
State sponsors of terrorism make it easier for terrorist groups to conduct operations. Most worrisome, some of these state terrorism sponsors are said to have the capability to manufacture weapons of mass destruction that could get into the hands of terrorists, according to the report.
The report said it remained unclear to what extent the Venezuelan government provided material support to Colombian terrorists. However, limited amounts of weapons and ammunition -- some from official Venezuelan stocks and facilities -- have turned up in the hands of Colombian terrorist organizations. The report said the Venezuelan government did not “systematically police” the Venezuelan-Colombian border to prevent the movement of groups of armed terrorists or to interdict arms or the flow of narcotics.
Cuba received criticism for continuing to oppose publicly the U.S.-led coalition prosecuting the War on Terror. To U.S. knowledge, Cuba did not attempt to track, block, or seize terrorist assets, although it had the authority to do so, according to the report.
The report said the Cuban government provided safe haven to members of foreign terrorist groups, and maintained close relationships with other state sponsors of terrorism.
The Cuban regime continued to permit U.S. fugitives to live legally in Cuba. The U.S. fugitives range from convicted murderers, two of whom killed police officers, to numerous hijackers.
The report’s complete text is available on the State Department Web site.
For more information, see Response to Terrorism.
