On July 18, 1994, a hellish scene unfolded in Buenos Aires as a car bomb set by Iranian agents destroyed the AMIA/DAIA Jewish center, killing 85 people and wounding hundreds. Twenty years later, there is still no justice in the case - and a decision taken by the Argentine government is part of the problem. Last year, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Iranian government that was supposed to establish a so-called truth commission to bring resolution to the case. In April, the...

Iran, Cuba and Venezuela have developed a close and cooperative relationship against the U.S. and in support of terrorist groups and states. The three regimes increasingly coordinate their policies and resources in a three way partnership aimed at counteracting and circumventing U.S. policies in the Middle East and Latin America. Within this relationship, Cuba plays a strategic role in terms of geography (proximity to the U.S.), intelligence gathering (both electronic eavesdropping and human...

Early this year the Argentine prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, disclosed a 500-page document of evidence of Iran’s terrorist networks in Latin America. It included a number of countries, among which were Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and Uruguay. Iran’s activities in some of these countries are carried out with the direct or indirect support from the local government. For example, in my , I described the role played by the...

Illegal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering and smuggling are financing the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah in Latin America, according to experts and authorities. Increasingly strong evidence shows the Lebanon-based Shiite militia sponsored by Iran maintains ties with drug cartels and receives contributions from organized crime groups. “The money is used to maintain a military structure and finance social activities among Shiite populations in Lebanon and the...

Central America constitutes an important strategic area for the United States. As discussed in my recent book “Latin America in the Post-Chavez Era: The Threat to U.S. Security”, legal and institutional collapse in Central America could have very serious consequences for regional and U.S security. Central America has been victim to increasing drug cartel activity as the situation in Colombia and Mexico has turned more complicated for the drug lords. In addition, Central America is...

As part of their online media strategy, jihadi groups have in recent years begun using Western websites and technologies - uploading videos to YouTube and to the Internet Archive, creating official Facebook pages, tweeting news flashes from the jihadi fronts, and most recently posting images on Instagram. Jihadis have come to depend on free web hosting, where content can be uploaded anonymously, reliably, and at no cost. The use of social media in the current conflict in Syria highlights the...

Argentina’s populist-socialist president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has allowed Iran to infiltrate its economic sector and potentially use the country as a terrorist launching pad, U.S. officials and multiple experts said on Tuesday. Iranian agents have been permitted access to Latin America’s Free Trade Zones, which operate throughout the porous borders that separate Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil, the terrorism experts testified before the House Subcommittee on...

"History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid" - Gen. Eisenhower. The Iranians and their terrorist proxy Hezbollah has been building forward operating bases in the Tri-Border area of South America and Mexico for the last three decades. Venezuela's uranium deposits have been an important and rarely reported on component fueling Iran's efforts to win the hearts and minds of the people in Latin America and Mexico. Iranian Press Expose the Hispanic...

"Jihad in America: The Grand Deception," a new film by Investigative Project on Terrorism Executive Director Steven Emerson, was honored this week as the best documentary at the 2013 International Beverly Hills Film Festival. A jury of entertainment industry professionals selected the film, which also won best documentary at last month's Myrtle Beach International Film Festival. The 70-minute film focuses on the Muslim Brotherhood and its penetration in the United States. It...

TESTIMONY OF AMB. ROGER F. NORIEGA BEFORE THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, NON-PROLIFERATION AND TRADE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS March 20, 2013, Washington, DC Mr. Chairman, I applaud you and other members of the Subcommittee for focusing attention on the global threat posed by Hezbollah, and I thank you for inviting me to share insights on that terrorist organization's growing network in the Americas that carries this threat to our doorstep. This past...