I have been traveling, but am somewhat surprised at how little attention the recent multi-country drug bust firmly tying Hezbollah to Latin American drug trafficking structures has received. This is the clearest publicly-available case that shows how organized criminal groups and terrorist organizations are broadening and strengthening their links. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), responsible for several significant busts recently, led this one too. The operation has been underway...

RUSSIA'S alliance with Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez just keeps getting tighter - and worse for America. Now, Moscow could be putting "El Loco" on the road to getting the bomb. Russia has already sold billions worth of arms to Chavez, and recently flew two strategic bombers to Venezuela in a show of solidarity and force. A Russian flotilla will soon arrive in Caribbean waters for joint naval exercises. But the latest deviltry came at a Moscow summit late last month, when Russian...

The purpose of this conference is to provide a balanced and dispassionate overview of Iran's relations with Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, put in the context of the foreign policy objectives and strategies of those Latin American nations as well as the strategic objectives of the Iranian government. In addition, we aim to explore what has been alleged about Iranian involvement in the bombings of the Jewish community center (AMIA) and the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires. Farideh...

While the world is focused on the war in the Middle East and countering Islamic terrorist group activities there and in South Asia and to a lesser extent the US and Europe, there is only periodic focus on other regions vulnerable to Islamic terrorist activity; Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. This article focuses on the first two areas and describes a consistent pattern of Islamic extremist activity over the past twenty years that ranges from revenue generation and logistic support to...

Praised be Allah, Creator of the universe, peace and blessings be with the Prophet Muhammad, with his Family and with all his Companions. Praised be He who made us noble through the Coran and illumined our hearts with faith. Dear brothers and sisters: Assalamu ?Alaikum wa Rahmatullah Introduction: I am pleased to present this compact study on the muslims in Latin America, begging God Allmighty will assist me to provide an image that is clear and correct. In this study I will try, with...

While the United States has focused its attention on Iranian activities in the greater Middle East, Iran has worked assiduously to expand its influence in Latin America and Africa. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's outreach in both areas has been deliberate and generously funded. He has made significant strides in Latin America, helping to embolden the anti-American bloc of Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. In Africa, he is forging strong ties as well. The United States ignores these...

On November 2007, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made his seventh trip to Iran, strengthening bilateral relations and trade between the two countries. The Iranian daily E'temad describes these relations between Tehran and Caracas as "brotherly" and underlined that bilateral relations between the two countries have reached their height under Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, expanding also to other Latin American countries. Also, the English edition of Al-Arabiya.net...

With her hijab and dark complexion, Catherine Garcia doesn't look like an Orlando native or a Disney tourist. When people ask where she's from, often they are surprised that it's not the Middle East but Colombia. That's because Ms. Garcia, a bookstore clerk who immigrated to the US seven years ago, is Hispanic and Muslim. On this balmy afternoon at the start of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, she is at her mosque dressed in long sleeves and a long skirt in keeping with the Islamic belief in...

(From the Banks of the Potomac) Acording to the Debkafiles, recent Al-Qaida related chatter about dirty bomb attack on the U.S., or other imminent attack, "speaks obliquely of the approaching attacks easing the heavy pressure America exerts on countries like Cuba and Venezuela." According to Debkafiles "the al Qaeda communications accuse the Americans of the grave error of failing to take seriously the videotape released by the American al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gaddahn last...

Hispanic Muslims in Atlanta are set on changing the negative image that some in the Latino community might have of them. That is the mission of the Atlanta Latino Muslim Association (ALMA), a group founded by Siri Carrion, a Puerto Rican woman who is also Muslim. Wearing her hijab and kneeling, Carrion starts preparing to pray alongside her four children. One of them, Ismail, raises his hands and starts by saying the ‘adhan, inviting the angels into this family’s living room. ...