Washington - A long-standing Colombian terrorist group known as the FARC no longer is a threat to democracy in that country, but it remains capable of carrying out violent acts against the Colombian people, Latin America analysts tell America.gov. Stephen Donehoo, managing director of McLarty Associates, a Washington consulting group, says the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) is finding it “more and more difficult” to “operate, finance itself, and to recruit new...

UNITED NATIONS - Argentine President Cristina Fernández asked Iran on Tuesday to hand over several citizens suspected of planning the deadly 1994 bombing of an Argentine Jewish center, so they can face a local trial. "I would ask the Islamic Republic of Iran in accordance with international law... accept that Argentine justice can put on trial... those citizens who have been accused," Fernández told the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Argentina has asked for...

Chavez has invited Shia "missionaries" from Iran to convert the Guajiros and other indigenous people of the Amazon. The entire Wayuu tribe has converted to Islam, the women cover themselves in veils and the men practice using Kalashnikovs.

MEXICO CITY - Suspected drug traffickers detonated hand grenades in a square packed with Independence Day celebrators in President Felipe Calderon's hometown of Morelia, killing eight and injuring 100 in what officials said Tuesday was an act of terrorism. One of the grenades exploded about 200 yards from where Gov. Leonel Godoy was ringing a bell as part of the "cry of independence" around 11 p.m. Monday as hundreds in the capital of Michoacan state blew horns and waved flags in...

The bombers are in Venezuela as part of a joint manoeuvre that appears to be a tit-for-tat response to the US delivery of aid to Georgia, which fought a five-day war with Russia last month. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez welcomed the arrival of the bombers, telling a live television audience: "The Yankee hegemony is finished." Russian news agencies said the two Tu-160 strategic long-range bombers carried no nuclear bombs, after an earlier refusal to comment on whether the...

Iran's increasingly close ties with Venezuela are causing concern to western terror analysts, given that Iran has long been a sponsor of Hezbollah. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has met with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran in an embrace accompanied by increasingly strident anti-US rhetoric from the Latin strongman. That has increased scrutiny of Hezbollah’s activities in Latin America. Although the Shiite Muslim terrorist organization based is in Lebanon, the group has long...

International terrorism experts fear that Venezuela will soon become a base for terrorist attack initiatives, in light of the tightening of ties between the South American dictatorship and both Iran and Hizbullah. A top expert in the war against terrorism, speaking with the Los Angeles Times, said that agents of Hizbullah and the Revolutionary Guard of Iran have formed a special force designed to kidnap Jewish businessmen in South America and smuggle them to Lebanon. He said that Venezuelan...

Islam in Argentina is represented by one of Latin America's largest Muslim minorities. Although accurate statistics on religion are not available (because the national census does not solicit religious data) the actual size of Argentina's Muslim community is estimated between 2-2.5% of the total population (300,000-900,000) [1] Early Muslim immigration Though early Spanish and Portuguese explorers and immigrants to the New World were very familiar with Muslims and Islamic culture (due to...

Descendents of ancient Native Americans tribes will meet to listen and debate the devastation to the towns, the land, and the people due to the militarization of the Mexican-American border area and the construction of the border fence. The debate is being organized by Chabad de San Francisco on August 28, 2008 at 7:00 PM at the Shalom School (834 Avenida 28, San Francisco, CA). The cultural debate at the Shalom School is known in Yiddish as a “Farbrengen.” The debate will...

Congressmen from both the PAN and PRI parties requested the Iranian Ambassador, Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri, and all his diplomatic entourage accredited in Mexico to respect Mexico’s internal affairs. Rubén Camarillo (PAN) insisted they behave within the limits of all international treaties, respect the Mexican State and to not participate in issues and events outside their area. “We know they - foreign diplomats- should be respected and given the same warranties we expect...