Order Code RS21049
Updated March 29July 19, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Latin America: Terrorism Issues
Mark P. Sullivan
Specialist in Latin American Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
In the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and
Washington D.C., U.S. attention to terrorism in Latin America intensified, with an
increase in bilateral and regional cooperation. Latin American nations strongly
condemned the attacks, and took action through the Organization of American States
(OAS) to strengthen hemispheric cooperation. In June 2002, OAS members signed an
Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism. President Bush submitted the convention
to the Senate in November 2002 for its advice and consent, and the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee held a public hearing on June 17, 2004. In its annual report on
worldwide terrorism, the State Department highlights threats in Colombia, Peru, and the
tri-border regionarea of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The State Department also has
designated four terrorist groups (three in Colombia and one in Peru) as Foreign Terrorist
Organizations, and Cuba has been listed as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1982.
Terrorism in Latin America: U.S. Concerns
Over the years, the United States has been concerned about threats to Latin American
and Caribbean nations from various terrorist or insurgent groups that have attempted to
influence or overthrow elected governments. While Latin America has not been the focal
point in the war on terrorism, countries in the region have struggled with domestic
terrorism for decades and international terrorist groups have at times used the region as
a battleground to advance their causes. The State Department’s annual report, Patterns
of Global on
international terrorism, recently re-titled Country Reports on Terrorism, highlights U.S.
concerns about terrorist threats around the world,
including in Latin America. The most recent Patterns 2004
report, issued in April 20042005, notes
that the international terrorist threat in the Western
Hemisphere remained low in 2003,
2004, compared to other regions of the world. , but also
maintained that “terrorists may seek safe-haven, financing, recruiting, illegal travel
documentation, or access to the United States from the area and pose serious threats.”
The report describes terrorist activities in the
region in 20032004, most notably in Colombia,
Peru, and the tri-border regionarea (TBA) of Argentina,
Brazil, and Paraguay. The report also
examines activity by Cuba, which has been
designated by the State Department as a state-sponsorstatesponsor of terrorism since 1982.
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in September 2001
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
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In the aftermath of 9/11, U.S. attention focused on
potential links in the region to the Al Qaeda terrorist network, especially in the tri-border
region. The Patterns report maintained that although there continued to be reports in
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
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2003 of an al-Qaeda presence in the tri-border region, “these reports remain
uncorroborated by intelligence and law-enforcement officials.”
There were increased concerns in 2004 about Al Qaeda threats in Latin America.
Honduras declared a terror alert on August 23, 2004, after receiving information that Al
Qaeda reportedly was attempting to recruit Hondurans to attack U.S. and other
embassies.1 In June, Honduran officials said that a suspected terrorist cell leader, Adman
G. El Shukrijumah had been spotted at an Internet café. In August, El Salvador received
threats from an Islamic extremist group to carry out attacks in the country if it did not pull
its troops out of Iraq. Some press reports have alleged that Al-Qaeda may be attempting
to use a Salvadoran criminal gang, the Mara Salvatrucha, to infiltrate the U.S.-Mexico
border, although Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge maintained on September
27, 2004, that there was no indication of such infiltration along the border.2
Colombia. Colombia remains of paramount concern to the United States because
of the threat to democracy posed by three groups that have been designated by the
Secretary of State as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs): two leftist guerrilla groups,
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army
(ELN), and a rightist paramilitary group, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
(AUC). The three groups target elected government officials and civilians with their
attacks, with international human rights groups denouncing the massacres, assassinations,
political kidnappings, forced displacements, and forced recruitment of minors by all three
groups. While the Patterns report noted that Colombia suffered many large and small
domestic terrorist attacks in 2003, it noted that the government’s security strategy
provided substantial achievements by decreasing murders by 16% and kidnappings by
30%. The FARC and AUC have been heavily involved in drug trafficking, which has
been the key to their growth over past decade. In February 2003, a U.S. civilian
contractor and a Colombian national were murdered by the FARC after their plane
crashed. The FARC is also holding hostage three U.S. contractors from that plane crash.
(For more on Colombia, see CRS Report RL32250, Colombia: Issues for Congress.)
Peru. Peru is another country of concern. The Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso
or SL) insurgency, which the Department of State has designated a FTO, was significantly
weakened in the 1990s with the capture of its leader Abimael Guzman, but in 2001 and
2002 terrorist acts committed by the group increased from previous years. The group was
allegedly responsible for a March 2002 car bomb across from the U.S. Embassy, in which
ten Peruvians were killed, including security personnel protecting the embassy. Eight SL
members remain in custody for the bombing. In 2003, however, the Patterns report noted
that there was a 15% reduction in terrorist acts committed by the Shining Path.
Tri-Border Region. In recent years, U.S. concerns have increased over activities
of the radical Lebanon-based Islamic group Hizballah (Party of God) and the Sunni
Muslim Palestinian group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) in the tri-border region
of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, which has a large Muslim population. According to
1
2
“Honduras: Terror Alert Issued After Al-Qaida Tip-Off,” Latinnews-Daily, August 24, 2004.
“U.S. Officials Dispute Al Qaeda Role in Hemisphere,” Homeland Security Monitor
(Intellibridge), September 30, 2004; Jerry Seper, “Al Qaeda Seeks Tie to Local Gangs.”
Washington Times, September 28, 2004.
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the Patterns report, the tri-border region “has long been characterized as a regional hub
for Hizballah and Hamas fundraising activities, but it is also used for arms and drug
trafficking, contraband smuggling, document and currency fraud, money laundering, and
the manufacture and movement of pirated goods.” As noted above, the Patterns report
maintained that reports of an al-Qaeda presence in the tri-border region remain
uncorroborated.
Allegations have linked Hizballah to two bombings in Argentina: the 1992 bombing
of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 30 people and the 1994 bombing of the
Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires that killed 86 people. The
Patterns report noted that investigations into the two bombings continued in 2003 and
that the trial of suspects in the AMIA bombing was nearing an end. On September 2,
2004, however, five suspects (including four Argentine police officers) were acquitted as
accessories in the AMIA bombing
Al Qaeda terrorist network, but the State Department’s 2002 report on terrorism
maintained that “there was no confirmed credible information” of an Al Qaeda presence
in Latin America. The 2003 State Department report on terrorism maintained that reports
of an Al Qaeda presence in the TBA remained “uncorroborated by intelligence and lawenforcement officials,” while the 2004 report asserted that there was no credible evidence
of operational Islamic cells in the TBA countries. There were increased concerns in 2004
by some Central American officials about potential Al Qaeda threats in the region,
although U.S. officials maintained that there was no evidence supporting such concerns.1
The State Department’s 2004 report maintains that there were “widespread, unfounded
media reports alleging formal links between transnational criminal gangs and Islamic
extremists” in Central America.
Colombia. Colombia remains of paramount concern to the United States because
of the threat to democracy posed by three groups that have been designated by the
Secretary of State as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs): two leftist guerrilla groups,
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army
(ELN), and a rightist paramilitary group, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
(AUC). According to the 2004 terrorism report, the three groups continued to conduct
car bombings, political murders, and indiscriminate use of land mines, and also targeted
critical infrastructure, public recreational areas, and modes of transportation. Colombia
has the highest kidnapping rate in the world, with over 1,500 in 2004. Nevertheless, the
Colombian government has made significant progress in regaining control of national
territory, promoting desertion and reintegration of former illegal armed militants, and
demobilizing the AUC. In 2004, acts of terrorism dropped by 42.5%, murders by 13.2%,
massacres by 42.4%, and kidnappings by 42.4%. The FARC and AUC have been heavily
involved in drug trafficking, which has been the key to their growth over past decade. In
February 2003, a U.S. civilian contractor and a Colombian national were murdered by the
FARC after their plane crashed. The FARC continues to hold hostage three U.S.
contractors from that plane crash. All three Colombian FTOs reportedly exploit the
Venezuelan side of the border with Colombia as a safe area to transship arms and drugs,
rest, secure logistical supplies, and commit kidnappings. The State Department report
indicates that “it is unclear to what extent and at what level the Venezuelan government
approves of or condones material support to Colombian terrorists.” (For more on
Colombia, see CRS Report RL32250, Colombia: Issues for Congress.)
Peru. Peru is another country of concern. The brutal Shining Path (Sendero
Luminoso or SL) insurgency, which the Department of State has designated an FTO, was
significantly weakened in the 1990s with the capture of its leader Abimael Guzman. In
2001-2003, terrorist acts committed by the group increased from previous years, but in
2004 annual terrorist incidents dropped to 40 from 100 in 2003. According to the State
Department terrorism report, SL has a few hundred armed members concentrated in the
coca-growing valleys where they are reportedly increasing their involvement in the drug
trade; the group also reportedly is trying to rebuild support in the universities where it had
considerable influence in the 1980s.
1
“U.S. Officials Dispute Al Qaeda Role in Hemisphere,” Homeland Security Monitor
(Intellibridge), September 30, 2004; Jerry Seper, “Al Qaeda Seeks Tie to Local Gangs.”
Washington Times, September 28, 2004.
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Tri-Border Area. In recent years, U.S. concerns have increased over activities of
the radical Lebanon-based Islamic group Hizballah (Party of God) and the Sunni Muslim
Palestinian group Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) in the tri-border area of
Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, which has a large Muslim population. According to the
2003 terrorism report, the TBA “has long been characterized as a regional hub for
Hizballah and Hamas fundraising activities, but it is also used for arms and drug
trafficking, contraband smuggling, document and currency fraud, money laundering, and
the manufacture and movement of pirated goods.” The 2004 report asserts that was no
credible evidence that operational Islamic terrorist cells exist in the TBA countries.
Allegations have linked Hizballah to two bombings in Argentina: the 1992 bombing
of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 30 people and the 1994 bombing of the
Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires that killed 86 people. As
noted in the 2004 terrorism report, all 22 Argentine defendants charged in the 1994
bombing were acquitted by a three-judge panel that faulted the investigation of the
original judge and prosecutors. The acquittal prompted protests by Argentina’s large
Jewish community. (For additional information on Argentina, see CRS Report RS21113,
Argentina: Political Conditions and U.S. Relations.)
Cuba. The Department of State includes Cuba among its list of six states
sponsoring terrorism (the other sixfive states are Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria).
Cuba was added to the list in 1982 for its complicity with the M-19 insurgent group in
Colombia. The Communist government led by Fidel Castro had
a history of supporting
revolutionary movements and governments in Latin America and
Africa, but in 1992,
Castro said that his country’s support for insurgents abroad was a
thing of the past. Most
analysts accept that Cuba’s policy generally did change, largely
because the breakup of
the Soviet Union resulted in the loss of billions in subsidies.
According to the April 2004 Patterns report, although Cuba ratified all 12
international counterterrorism conventions in 2001, it has remained opposed to the U.S.led global coalition against terrorism and “actively condemned many associated U.S.
policies and actions throughout 2003.” The State Department report also noted that Cuba
continued to host several members of FTOs as well as some U.S. fugitives from justice.
The report maintained that Cuba provides safehaven to up to 20 Basque ETA terrorists
from Spain and has provided “some degree of safehaven and support” to members of two
Colombian insurgent groups, the FARC and the ELN. The report acknowledged,
however, that Colombia acquiesced to having the two groups in Cuba; it also noted that
Colombia has publicly said that it wants Cuba’s continued mediation with the ELN in
Cuba. With regard to the ETA members, the report cited a Cuban declaration in May
2003 that maintained that the ETA presence in Cuba stemmed from a request from Spain
and Panama and that the issue is a bilateral matter between Cuba and SpainThe State Department’s 2004 terrorism report maintains that Cuba continues to
actively oppose the global war on terrorism. The report asserts that Cuba’s “actions and
public statements run contrary to the spirit of the UN conventions on terrorism that it has
signed.” (Cuba has ratified all 12 international conventions on terrorism.) The report also
maintained that Cuba continued to provide limited support to FTOs as well as safe haven
for terrorists. It asserted that Cuba provides safe haven to various Basque ETA members
from Spain despite a November 2003 request from the Spanish government to deny them
sanctuary. The report also maintained that Cuba provided safe haven and some degree of
support to members of two Colombian insurgent groups, the FARC and ELN. (The State
Department’s 2002 and 2003 terrorism reports acknowledged, however, that Colombia
acquiesced to this arrangement and that Colombia publicly said that it wanted Cuba’s
continued mediation with the ELN in Cuba.) The 2004 report also noted that more than
70 fugitives from U.S. justice had taken refuge in Cuba. Many of these are accused of
committing violent actions in the United States, including Joanne Chesimard, who is
wanted for the murder of a New Jersey State Trooper in 1973.
In general, those who support keeping Cuba on the terrorism list argue that there is
ample evidence that Cuba supports terrorism. They point to the government’s history of
supporting terrorist acts and armed insurgencies in Latin America and Africa. They point
to the government’s continued hosting of members of foreign terrorist organizations and
U.S. fugitives from justice. Critics of retaining Cuba on the terrorism list maintain that
it is a holdover of the Cold War. They argue that domestic political considerations keep
Cuba on the terrorism list and maintain that Cuba’s presence on the list diverts U.S.
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attention from struggles against serious terrorist threats. (For further information, see CRS
CRS Report RL32251, Cuba and the State Sponsors of Terrorism List, and CRS Report
RL32730, Cuba: Issues for the 109th Congress.
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U.S. Policy
As in other parts of the world, the United States has assisted Latin American and
Caribbean nations over the years in their struggle against terrorist or insurgent groups
indigenous to the region. For example, in the 1980s, the United States supported the
government of El Salvador with significant economic and military assistance in its
struggle against a leftist guerrilla insurgency. In recent years, the United States has
employed various policy tools to combat terrorism in the Latin America and Caribbean
region, including sanctions, anti-terrorism assistance and training, law enforcement
cooperation, and multilateral cooperation through the OAS. Moreover, given the nexus
between terrorism and drug trafficking, one can argue that assistance aimed at combating
drug trafficking organizations in the region has also been a means of combating terrorism
by cutting off a source of revenue for terrorist organizations. The same argument can be
made regarding efforts to combat money laundering in the region.
Although terrorism was not the main focus of U.S. policy toward the region in recent
years, attention increased in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and
Washington. Anti-terrorism assistance has increased along with bilateral and regional
cooperation against terrorism. In 2002, Congress approved the Bush Administration’s
request to expand the scope of U.S. assistance to Colombia beyond a counternarcotics
focus to also include counter-terrorism assistance to the government in its military efforts
against drug-financed leftist guerrillas and rightist paramilitaries.
As noted above, the United States has imposed sanctions on three groups in
Colombia (ELN, FARC, and AUC) and one group in Peru (SL) designated by the
Department of State as Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTOs). Official designation of
such groups as FTOs triggers a number of sanctions, including visa restrictions and the
blocking of any funds of these groups in U.S. financial institutions. The designation also
has the effect of increasing public awareness about these terrorist organizations and the
concerns that the United States has about them.
Through the Department of State (Diplomatic Security Office, Office of
Antiterrorism Assistance), the United States provides Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA)
training and equipment to Latin American countries to help improve their capabilities in
such areas as airport security management, hostage negotiations, bomb detection and
deactivation, and countering terrorism financing. Such training was expanded to
Argentina in the aftermath of the two bombings in 1992 and 1994. Assistance was also
stepped up in 1997 to Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay in light of increased U.S. concern
over illicit activities in the tri-border area of those countries.
ATA funding is generally provided through the annual foreign operations
appropriations measure. For FY2001, $4.7 million in ATA training was provided to
Western Hemisphere countries. In FY2002, a total of $27.5 million was provided for the
region, with $25 million for an anti-kidnapping program in Colombia (appropriated
through an FY2002 supplemental appropriations measure, P.L. 107-206) and $2.5 million
for the regular Western Hemisphere program. For FY2003, the Administration’s $3.6
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million in ATA assistance was provided for the region, with $3.3 million of that for
Colombia. For FY2004, $5.3 million in ATA assistance was provided for the region. For
FY2005, an estimated $11.1 million in ATA is being provided for the region, with $3.9
million for Colombia and $0.5 million for the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil, and
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Paraguay. The FY2006 ATA request for Latin America is $9.7 million, again with $3.9
for Colombia and $0.5 million the tri-border area.
The United States also works closely with the governments of the tri-border region
— Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay — through the “3 + 1 regional cooperation
mechanism,” which serves as a forum for counterterrorism cooperation and prevention
among all four countries.
Money laundering in the region has been a major U.S. concern for some 20 years,
largely because of its association with drug traffickers, but terrorist organizations may
also be involved in money laundering as a means of hiding their financial assets. The
United States works through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a multilateral antimoney laundering body, to help develop and promote policies to combat money
laundering worldwide. According to the Department of State’s March 2005 International
Narcotics Control Strategy Report, 14 nations in the region are jurisdictions of primary
concern to the United States because of their vulnerability to money laundering. These
are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Increased Regional Cooperation Since 9/11. Latin American nations
strongly condemned the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington
and took action through the OAS and the Rio Treaty to strengthen hemispheric
cooperation against terrorism. The OAS, which happened to be meeting in Peru at the
time, swiftly condemned the attacks, reiterated the need to strengthen hemispheric
cooperation to combat terrorism, and expressed full solidarity with the United States. At
a special session on September 19, 2001, OAS members invoked the 1947 Inter-American
Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, also known as the Rio Treaty, which obligates
signatories to the treaty to come to one another’s defense in case of outside attack.
Another resolution approved on September 21, 2001, called on Rio Treaty signatories to
“use all legally available measures to pursue, capture, extradite, and punish those
individuals” involved in the attacks and to “render additional assistance and support to
the United States, as appropriate, to address the September 11 attacks, and also to prevent
future terrorist acts.”
In another resolution, the OAS called on the Inter-American Committee on
Terrorism (CICTE) to identify urgent actions aimed at strengthening inter-American
cooperation in order to combat and eliminate terrorism in the hemisphere. The CICTE
was reinvigorated in the aftermath of 9/11, and has cooperated on border security
mechanisms, controls to prevent funding of terrorist organizations, and law enforcement
and counterterrorism intelligence and information. At a January 2003 CICTE meeting in
El Salvador, OAS members issued the Declaration of San Salvador, which condemned
terrorism and pledged to strengthen hemispheric cooperation through a variety of border,
customs, and financial control measures. At the conference, the United States pledged
$1 million to the OAS to help the growth of CICTE “as a technical body devoted to
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increasing counterterrorism expertise in the Americas.”3 At the February 2005 CICTE
3
U.S. Department of State, International Information Programs, “U.S. Donates $1 Million to
Combat Terrorism in Western Hemisphere,” Washington File, January 22, 2003.
CRS-62 At the February 2005 CICTE
session held in Trinidad and Tobago, OAS members reaffirmed their commitment to
deepen cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
In June 2002, OAS members signed a newly completed Inter-American Convention
Against Terrorism. Signing the treaty for the United States, Secretary of State Powell said
that the OAS had “produced the first new international treaty since September 11 targeted
at improving our ability to combat terrorism.”43 The Convention, among other measures,
would improve regional cooperation against terrorism, commit parties to sign and ratify
U.N. anti-terrorism instruments and take actions against the financing of terrorism, and
deny safe haven to suspected terrorists.
On October 27-28, 2003, the OAS held a Special Conference on Security in Mexico
City that focused on identifying new threats, concerns, and challenges facing the
hemisphere and agreed on a cooperative approach toward addressing them. Among the
threats identified in the adopted Declaration on Security in the Americas were “terrorism,
transnational organized crime, the global drug problem, corruption, asset laundering,
illicit trafficking in weapons and the connections among these activities.”54
Congressional Action. President Bush submitted the Inter-American Convention
Against Terrorism to the Senate on November 12, 2002, for its advice and consent, and
the treaty was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Treaty Doc. 107-18).
The committee held a public hearing on the treaty on June 17, 2004.
The 108th Congress called for two reports from the Administration regarding terrorist
activities in Latin America. The FY2005 Ronald W. Reagan National Defense
Authorization Act (P.L. 108-375), enacted into law October 28, 2004, required a report
within 180 days from the Secretary of Defense on the activities of Al Qaeda and
associated groups in Latin America and the Caribbean (Section 1047) and a report within
60 days from the Secretary of State regarding any relationships between foreign
governments or organizations and terrorist groups in Colombia (Section 1021).
The 108th Congress also expressed concern regarding the continuing investigation
into the July 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires. Both the House and the Senate
approved similar resolutions — H.Con.Res. 469 (Ros-Lehtinen) and S.Con.Res. 126
(Coleman) — on July 22, 2004, that, among other provisions, urge Argentina to provide
resources to investigate all areas of the AMIA case, encourage U.S. law enforcement
support, and encourage the establishment of an OAS task force to assist in the
investigation.
42
U.S. Department of State, International Information Programs, “U.S. Donates $1 Million to
Combat Terrorism in Western Hemisphere,” Washington File, January 22, 2003.
3
U.S. Department of State, International Information Programs, “Transcript: Powell Stresses
Security at OAS General Assembly,” Washington File, June 3, 2002.
5
4
Organization of American States. Declaration on Security in the Americas. October 28, 2003.