U.S. counterterrorism officials have authenticated a video by an al Qaeda recruiter threatening to smuggle a biological weapon into the United States via tunnels under the Mexico border, the latest sign of the terrorist group's determination to stage another mass-casualty attack on the U.S. homeland. The video aired earlier this year as a recruitment tool makes clear that al Qaeda is looking to exploit weaknesses in U.S. border security and also is willing to ally itself with white militia...

Mexico Friday extradited Miguel Angel Beltran, alias Jaime Cienfuegos, who Colombian authorities say is a member of the FARC's International Committee. The Colombian -- a scholar at the Autonomous University of Mexico -- was arrested in Mexico City Friday afternoon and extradited to Colombia in the evening. According to Colombian Police, Beltran was in charge of infiltrating in Central America's academic circles to defend FARC interests. He is said to have been a close ally of slain FARC...

Hezbollah is using the same southern narcotics routes that Mexican drug kingpins do to smuggle drugs and people into the United States, reaping money to finance its operations and threatening U.S. national security, current and former U.S. law enforcement, defense and counterterrorism officials say. The Iran-backed Lebanese group has long been involved in narcotics and human trafficking in South America's tri-border region of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Increasingly, however, it is...

WASHINGTON - Iran is increasing its presence in Latin America, and Hezbollah, a terrorist organization it sponsors, is making inroads in drug trafficking in Colombia, the commander of U.S. Southern Command told Congress today. Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis told the House Armed Services Committee he shares concerns expressed by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates about Iranian activity in Central and South America. Iran has opened six embassies in the region during the past five years and is...

The commander of U.S. forces in Latin America says the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is involved in drug trafficking in Colombia. The admiral is worried about increased Iranian and Hezbollah activities throughout the region. At Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday Admiral James Stavridis accused Hezbollah of involvement in the drug trade. "We have seen in Colombia a direct connection between Hezbollah activity and the narco-trafficking activity," he...

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the Cabinet holdover from the Bush years, is in the news regarding two major issues, and in each case is challenged to demonstrate that he remains in charge of the enormous Pentagon. In one case, he has disagreed sharply with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding Iran's nuclear weapons capacity. In the other, he appears to disagree with himself, at least in institutional terms, regarding Mexico's enormous expanding drug traffic. The problems...

Ali Reza Salari, Iran's deputy foreign minister for the Americas said on Friday that the Iranian delegation visiting Mexico is to study greater possibilities for realizing new potentials in trade and tourism with the Latin American nation. "With Mexico, there is absolutely no political problem between us. No cultural problems. It shows we have many shortcomings in our trade relations," Salari said. He said the annual trade with Brazil is USD 2b, while the annual trade with...

MEXICO CITY - Iran is exploring ways to expand anemic trade with Mexico as part of stepped up efforts to deepen ties with Latin America, a top Iranian diplomat said Thursday. Annual trade between Mexico and Iran is a mere $50 million, compared to $2 billion with Brazil, said Ali Reza Salari, Iran's deputy foreign minister for the Americas. "We are here to investigate, why so low?" Reza Salari told reporters in Mexico City, where he was to meet with diplomats and business leaders....

San Cristóbal de Las Casas.- For allegedly being living under semi-slavery, a group of eight Chamula families professing the Muslim religion in the highlands of Chiapas abandoned the group formed in 1994, said the indigene Carlos Arturo Gomez, whose Islamic name is Moustafa. He explained that they decided to leave the group because they were exploited, since they had to work for over 12 hours a day and received less than 1,000 pesos per month. In addition, they were not allowed...

The United States is stepping up scrutiny of Iranian security and military personnel in the Lebanese communities of Latin America, even as its proxy, Hezbollah, gains new momentum and strength there, U.S. officials said. Part of Hezbollah's alarming expansion is being fueled by narco-dollars coming from Latin American drug cartels, and American concern stems from the possibility that al-Qaida and Hezbollah, both of which have contacts with wealthy and powerful Latin American drug...