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THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE’S RESPONSE TO

THE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 TERRORIST ATTACK

ON THE UNITED STATES

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON

THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

OCTOBER 10, 2001

Serial No. 107–43

Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations

(II)

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman

BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York

JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa

DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey

DAN BURTON, Indiana

ELTON GALLEGLY, California

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida

CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina

DANA ROHRABACHER, California

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California

PETER T. KING, New York

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio

AMO HOUGHTON, New York

JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York

RICHARD BURR, North Carolina

JOHN COOKSEY, Louisiana

THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado

RON PAUL, Texas

NICK SMITH, Michigan

JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania

DARRELL E. ISSA, California

ERIC CANTOR, Virginia

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona

BRIAN D. KERNS, Indiana

JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia

TOM LANTOS, California

HOWARD L. BERMAN, California

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American

Samoa

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio

CYNTHIA A. MCKINNEY, Georgia

EARL F. HILLIARD, Alabama

BRAD SHERMAN, California

ROBERT WEXLER, Florida

JIM DAVIS, Florida

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York

WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York

BARBARA LEE, California

JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York

JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Pennsylvania

EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon

SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada

GRACE NAPOLITANO, California

ADAM B. SCHIFF, California

DIANE E. WATSON, California

THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel

ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina, Chairman

ELTON GALLEGLY, California

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida

RON PAUL, Texas

NICK SMITH, Michigan

JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey

WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts

GRACE NAPOLITANO, California

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American

Samoa

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey

CALEB MCCARRY, Subcommittee Staff Director

PEDRO PABLO PERMUY, Democratic Professional Staff Member

TED BRENNAN, Professional Staff Member

JESSICA BAUMGARTEN, Staff Associate

(III)

C O N T E N T S

Page

WITNESSES

The Honorable Francis X. Taylor, Ambassador-at-Large, Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State ..................................... 8

Ambassador James F. Mack, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau on International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State 12

The Honorable Roger Noriega, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States ............................................................................................................ 16

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING

The Honorable Cass Ballenger, a Representative in Congress from the State

of North Carolina, and Chairman, Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere: Prepared statement ................................................................................ 3

The Honorable Francis X. Taylor: Prepared statement ........................................ 10

Ambassador James F. Mack: Prepared statement ................................................ 14

The Honorable Roger Noriega: Prepared statement ............................................. 18

APPENDIX

J. Curtis Struble, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Western Hemisphere

Affairs, U.S. Department of State: Prepared statement ................................... 39

(1)

THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE’S RESPONSE TO

THE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 TERRORIST

ATTACK ON THE UNITED STATES

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2001

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE,

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS,

Washington, DC.

The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 2:09 p.m. in Room 2200,

Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Cass Ballenger (Chairman of

the Committee) presiding.

Mr. BALLENGER. I call the meeting to order, and I have an opening statement.

Excuse me. Before I even make my opening statement, I would

like to say hello to Paul Durand, the Canadian Ambassador to the

OAS, and my old friend, General Serrano. Welcome, General, from

Colombia.

The deliberate and deadly attacks on the twin towers of the

World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11th have forever changed the notion that America is safe from terrorism. The

terrorists who perpetrated those grisly acts have clearly demonstrated that terrorism can strike anywhere and at anytime.

The use of terror to achieve political ends is not a new concept,

however it has become more and more popular over the past several decades, especially since the end of the Cold War. With the exception of the several deadly terrorist attacks on the American

military and diplomatic targets overseas, the 1993 bombing of the

World Trade Center and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, America comparatively has been untouched by terrorism. September

11th brought the pain and uncertainty of terrorism to our own

doorstep.

How could such attacks happen here? That is a common question

we hear from our friends and our constituents almost daily. And

it is my hope that the panelists today could provide us with some

answers to this nagging question. Since September 11, Federal law

enforcement, U.S. policy makers, and now the U.S. military have

rightly focused their attention on Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network and other Middle Eastern and South Asian terrorist organizations. However, there are other terrorists operating around the

world, and some of them right here in our own hemisphere.

Today, our hearing will focus on the Western Hemisphere’s response to the terrorist attack on our nation. The nations of our

hemisphere have invoked the mutual defense clause of the Rio

2

Treaty. And our good friends and allies in Canada have gone a step

further and committed military support.

We will also focus on terrorism in Latin America, and how it is

related to the ongoing war on drugs. If you have traveled to Latin

America as often as I have, you know that there are two basic facts

of life, drug trafficking and terrorism. Both share a symbiotic relationship—feeding off one another—one making the other possible.

In Colombia, for example, the ongoing 35-year-old insurgency is

threatening the stability of Latin America’s oldest democracy. Colombia’s two largest insurgencies, the Revolutionary Armed Forces

of Colombia, or FARC, and the National Liberation Army, or ELN,

have been listed by the U.S. Department of State as both drug traffickers and terrorist organizations. In addition, the illegal paramilitary umbrella group, the AUC—was listed as a terrorist organization just a few days before the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked.

All three of these organizations are well known for their brutality, bombing, kidnappings, assassinations and mass murders.

And all three use drug trafficking to finance their terrorism.

Several months ago, the Colombian National Police arrested

three members of the Irish Republican Army in Bogota on suspicion that the men had been in the FARC controlled Despeje,

which President Pastrana just reauthorized on Monday. The men

were apparently involved in providing the FARC guerrillas with

technical support and specialized training in bomb making and upgrading weapon systems.

Other terrorist groups may also be operating in this Switzerlandsized area of Colombia which was granted to the FARC as an incentive for peace negotiations. Many believe that the ‘‘Zona de

Despeje’’ is being used as a safe haven to train and harbor terrorists and to provide protection for drug traffickers being sought by

the Colombian government and the United States.

The involvement of well known international terrorists like the

IRA, combined with the recent threats made by FARC’s leader,

Manuel Marulanda, suggesting that he will hit American targets in

response to our nation’s support of the drug war, raises real questions about the FARC’s role in the support of international terrorism.

Terrorism and drug trafficking cannot be handled as a separate

issues. They go hand in hand. Profits from drug production are

used to fund terrorist activities while the acts of terror protect the

drug traffickers by destabilizing governments and tying up valuable security resources.

Colombia’s drug traffickers have used the FARC, the ELN, and

the AUC to protect their drug shipments, paying them handsomely

for their services. In turn, the FARC, the AUC, and the ELN use

drug money to purchase weapons, war materials and technical support from outside groups, perhaps even other international terrorist

organizations. We do not know how many terrorist organizations

are operating inside the Despeje, but if recent history is any guide,

we can be sure that the Despeje is crawling with terrorists.

The war on drugs in Colombia has to some extent been successful. With such success, however, comes consequences. I already

spoke about the FARC in Colombia making threats about attacking

3

American targets. Recently in Peru, where coca is also being produced, members of the Shining Path have engaged and killed a

number of Peruvian police officers who were involved that country’s

coca eradication efforts. In Ecuador, a kidnapping campaign of foreign nationals, including Americans, along with a number of bombings of the Ecuadoran oil pipeline, is now underway, threatening

that nation’s stability. As the war on drugs continues to escalate,

we can expect to see the number of terrorist acts to rise with it.

In the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, Middle

East terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hizballah train

terrorists and conduct fundraising activities in an area which has

a growing population of Middle Eastern and South Asian immigrants. Funds raised in the tri-border area are sent directly to the

Middle East to support the operation of these organization, possibly

even the planning and execution of terrorist acts. I have no doubt

that funds raised in the tri-border area have made it to the pockets

of Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.

Afghanistan produces 75 percent of the world’s heroin. The

Taliban reaps tremendous profits from such trade and use them to

sponsor Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists. As Americans, we

must recognize that fighting the war on drugs is tantamount to

fighting the war on terrorism. Every time an American boy buys

cocaine or heroin, they are directly funding the terrorists who are

responsible for the deaths of over 6,000 innocent Americans.

Today, the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere will hear from

a distinguished panel of official witnesses who will provide us with

important testimony about the type of terrorist organizations operating in our hemisphere, the links between international terror and

drug trafficking, and the efforts of the OAS and its member states

to help our nation win the war on terrorism.

While I have no doubt that these panelists will provide the Subcommittee with excellent testimony, I am profoundly troubled that

Otto Reich has yet to be confirmed as the Assistant Secretary of

State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. At this time, the President

needs to have his nominee confirmed and in place to fight both

drug trafficking and terrorism in Latin America.

And I yield to the Ranking Member, Mr. Menendez.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Ballenger follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE CASS BALLENGER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, AND CHAIRMAN, SUBCOMMITTEE

ON THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE

The deliberate and deadly attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center

and the Pentagon on September 11th have forever changed the notion that America

is safe from terrorism. The terrorists who perpetrated those grisly acts have clearly

demonstrated that terrorism can strike anywhere and at anytime.

The use of terror to achieve a political end is not a new concept, however it has

become more and more popular over the past several decades, especially since the

end of the cold war. With the exception of several deadly terrorist attacks on American military and diplomatic targets overseas, the 1993 bombing of the World Trade

Center and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, America comparatively has been untouched by terrorism. September 11 brought the pain and uncertainty of terrorism

to our own doorstep.

How could such attacks happen here? That is a common question we hear from

our friends and constituents almost daily. It is my hope that the panelists today

could provide us with some answers to this nagging question. Since September 11,

federal law enforcement, U.S. policy makers and now the U.S. military have rightly

focused their attention on Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network and other Middle

4

Eastern and South Asian terrorist organizations. However, there are other terrorists

operating around the world, some of them right here in our own hemisphere.

Today, our hearing will focus on the Western Hemisphere’s response to the terrorist attack on our nation. The nations of our hemisphere have invoked the mutual

defense clause of the Rio Treaty. Our good friends and allies in Canada have gone

a step further and committed military support. We will also focus on terrorism in

Latin America, and how it is related to the ongoing war on drugs. If you have traveled to Latin America as often as I have, you would know that there are there are

two basic facts of life, drug trafficking and terrorism. Both share a symbiotic relationship—feeding off one another—one making the other possible. In Colombia, for

example, the ongoing 35-year long insurgency is threatening the stability of Latin

America’s oldest democracy. Colombia’s two largest insurgencies, the Revolutionary

Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and the National Liberation Army—the ELN— have been listed by the U.S. Department of State as both drug traffickers and terrorist organizations. In addition, the illegal paramilitary umbrella group—the

AUC—was listed as a terrorist organization just a few days before the World Trade

Center and the Pentagon were attacked. All three of these organizations are well

known for their brutality, bombings, kidknappings, assassinations and mass murder. And all three use drug trafficking to finance their terrorism.

Several months ago, the Colombian National Police arrested three members of the

Irish Republican Army in Bogota on suspicion that the men had been in the FARC

controlled Zona de Despeje, which President Pastrana just reauthorized on Monday.

The men were apparently involved in providing the FARC guerillas with technical

support and specialized training in bomb making and upgrading weapon systems.

Other terrorist groups may also be operating in the Switzerland-sized area of Colombia which was granted to the FARC as an incentive for peace negotiations. Many

believe that the Zona de Despeje is being used as a safe haven to train and harbor

terrorists and provide protection for drug traffickers being sought by the Colombian

Government and the United States. The involvement of well known international

terrorists like the IRA, combined with recent threats made by the FARC’s leader,

Manuel Marulanda, suggesting that he will hit American targets in response to our

nation’s support of the drug war, raise real questions about the FARC’s role in support of international terrorism.

Terrorism and drug trafficking cannot be handled as separate issues. They go

hand in hand. Profits from drug production are used to fund terrorist activities

while acts of terror protect the drug traffickers by destabilizing governments and

tying up valuable security resources. Colombia’s drug traffickers have used the

FARC, ELN and the AUC to protect their drug shipments, paying them handsomely

for their services. In turn, the FARC, AUC and ELN use drug money to purchase

weapons, war materials and technical support from outside groups perhaps even

other international terrorist organizations. We do not know how many terrorist organizations are currently operating inside the Despeje, but if recent history is any

guide, we can be sure the Despeje is crawling with terrorists.

The war on drugs in Colombia has to some extent been successful. With such success however comes consequences. I already spoke about the FARC in Colombia

making threats about attacking American targets. Recently in Peru, where coca is

also being produced, members of the Shining Path have engaged and killed a number of Peruvian Police Officers who were involved with that country’s coca eradication efforts. In Ecuador, a kidknapping campaign of foreign nationals, including

Americans along with a number of bombings of the Ecuadoran oil pipeline is now

underway, threatening that nation’s stability. As the war on drugs continues to escalate, we can expect to see the number of terrorists acts to rise with it.

In the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, Middle East terrorist

organizations such as Hamas and Hizbollah train terrorists and conduct fundraising

activities in an area which has a growing population of Middle Eastern and South

Asian immigrants. Funds raised in the tri-border area are sent directly to the Middle East to support the operation of these organizations, possibly even the planning

and execution of terrorist acts. I have no doubt that funds raised in the tri-border

area have made it to the pockets of Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.

Afghanistan produces 75% of the world’s heroin. The Taliban reaps tremendous

profits from such trade and use it to sponsor Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists.

As Americans, we must recognize that fighting the war on drugs is tantamount to

fighting the war on terrorism. Every time an American buys cocaine or heroin, they

are directly funding the terrorists who are responsible for the deaths of over 6,000

innocent Americans.

Today, the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere will hear from a distinguished panel of official witnesses who will provide us with important testimony

about the type of terrorist organizations operating in our hemisphere, the links beVerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:01 Dec 10, 2001 Jkt 075633 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\WH\101001\75633 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1
5

tween international terror and drug trafficking and, the efforts of the OAS and its

member states to help our nation win the war on terrorism. While I have no doubts

that these panelists will provide the Subcommittee with excellent testimony, I am

profoundly troubled that Otto Reich has yet to be confirmed as the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. At this critical time, the President

needs to have his nominee confirmed and in place to fight both drug trafficking and

terrorism in Latin America.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate you having this hearing, and having just come from a presentation as the

Chairman of the Task Force of the Democratic Caucus on Homeland Defense, I think that these hearings are particularly important in getting us as a government and our people prepared. So let

me thank you for holding the hearing.

Let me take the opportunity to express my personal gratitude to

the people in governments throughout Latin America and the Caribbean for their kind expressions and offers of support and solidarity with the people in government of the United States after the

horrific attacks of September 11th on the World Trade Center and

the Pentagon.

And let me also express my sincerest condolences to any relatives

and friends of those Latin American and Caribbean citizens who

lost their lives in the attack.

Secretary Powell was in Lima on the morning of the 11th, and

he was most graciously supported by a demonstration of the best

in hemispheric diplomacy. The unanimous invocation at the initiative of Brazil and Al Hadena by the 22 signatories to the Rio Treaty on September 19th send an unequivocal and important message

to the world that the members of the Organization of American

States are united against terrorism as civilized nations. An attack

on one is indeed an attack of all.

After September 11th, terrorism, I think, cannot viewed merely

as a common problem for the nations of this hemisphere, but must

be considered and acted upon cooperatively as a common threat.

If there is a lesson to be learned from the 1998 attacks against

our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, it is that terrorism is a

clear and present danger not only to U.S. interests, but to those of

our friends in the hemisphere, several of whom have been victims

of terrorist acts on their own soil. We must not let these acts again

be replicated in the region. We must cooperate immediately and

over the long term to eliminate the threat of terrorism from our

hemisphere. We must share information and intelligence, better secure our borders, and track financial transactions to curb money

laundering and to prevent funds from reaching suspected terrorists.

Open source reporting indicates that the FBI claims Islamic extremist cells linked with Hizballah, Islamic Jihad and Al Qaeda are

operating in Paraguay, Uruguay and Ecuador. The tri-border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay has been used by these individuals

for years. The Andean region is a hub for narcotics and arms trafficking due to the conflict in Colombia, with the FARC outrageously praising the attacks. And in Cuba, the Castro regime

has, not surprisingly, suggested that we brought this upon ourselves.

Since law enforcement, intelligence and military acts and judicial

capabilities among the nations of the Americas vary, so do the caVerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:01 Dec 10, 2001 Jkt 075633 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\WH\101001\75633 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1
6

pabilities among hemispheric nations to effectively thwart terrorist

organizations or prevent attacks.

And in this threat environment, effectiveness is the key. If we

are to succeed, we must work together to ensure that all the nations of the Americas in very short order have the institutional capacity to do so. That includes the United States where effectiveness

in this struggle will be determined by individual and collective capabilities of local, state and Federal institutions.

As the Chair of the Democratic Homeland Security Task Force,

I can tell you that we are hard at work to ensure that from our

perspective we are effective.

As we proceed to secure ourselves against terrorism, our North

American neighbors in particular share the front line with us.

President Vicente Fox of Mexico was very gracious to visit Washington and New York last week. He has discussed recently the concept of perimeter security. He proposes a NAFTA security mechanism in order to fashion a unified North American approach toward

cooperative security that bears serious consideration, and he is to

be commended for his proactivism.

Prime Minister Chretien of Canada from where some of the terrorists entered the United States has been steadfast on the side of

the United States and Canada has just announced military support.

Our friends in South America have stepped forward as well with

the Mercosur nations pledging to address the presence of terrorists

in the tri-border region, Argentina offering support in peacekeeping

operations to ease the load upon our troops overseas, and Chile, to

send humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, also saying that it is prepared to mobilize troops. Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and the

Central American nations likewise have been very supportive in

different ways. Those expressions of solidarity have been impressive.

Let me conclude, Mr. Chairman, by pointing out that if the horrific terrorism that we experienced can tip an already sorrowing

U.S. economy into a recession, the stakes may be even higher for

Latin America and the Caribbean. The economic repercussions of

the September 11th attacks are being felt not only in the New York

Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ, they are also being felt in Brasilia, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and other capitals. U.S.-Latin

trade and investment flows are suffering as well. The worst pain,

as usual, is being felt by the tens of millions of poor in the region.

For years, I have believed that we ignore our relationships in the

hemisphere to our own detriment, political, economic and social.

And now security is once again part of the equation. In the aftermath of September 11th and now following U.S. and British strikes

in Afghanistan, we must be more engaged than ever with our

neighbors and use the multiple facets of our relationships throughout the region to effectively take on and dismantle the terrorists.

To do so serves not only our best national interest but also our best

hemispheric interest.

Mr. Chairman, let me just take a moment to, since this is the

first time I have seen him, to congratulate Ambassador Noriega on

his appointment as our Ambassador to the OAS. I am sure he will

7

do an outstanding job. I had the pleasure of working with him as

a staff member on the majority side as well.

And I also understand that Canada’s Ambassador to the OAS is

here with us well, Ambassador Durand, we are certain privileged

to have him with us and have our neighbor to the north for so

long—in a border that we have shared for so long, and we will continue to share in the same way among friends but with a vigilance

on both of our needs. We are very happy to have you here as well.

And the Chairman tells me General Jose Serrano is here, and it

is always a pleasure—I do not see where he is. He is sitting in the

back. [Exchange in Spanish.]

Mr. BALLENGER. Thank you. It is always interesting for the only

guy on this Committee that does not speak Spanish to hear the

conversation going back and forth without an interpreter.

Mr. MENENDEZ. He knows more than he leads us to believe, I am

sure. [Laughter]

Mr. BALLENGER. Let me, if I may, introduce the whole panel before we start testimony.

First of all, Secretary Francis Taylor was sworn in as the State

Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism with the rank of

Ambassador-at-Large on July 13, 2001. The State Department is

the lead Federal agency dealing with international terrorism, and

Ambassador Taylor’s office has primary responsibility for developing, coordinating and implementing the U.S. counterterrorism

policy.

On behalf of the Secretary, Ambassador Taylor represents the

Department of Counterterrorism Policy and Coordinating Committee, and chairs the interagency working groups dealing with

counterterrorism that develop and coordinate policy.

I have got another page and a half to go, but we know you outrank everybody else so we will just let it go. [Laughter.]

Second, we want to welcome again our old friend, Ambassador

Robert Francisco Noriega. I am glad I finally know what your middle name is. I never did, all these years. He was appointed by

President George Bush on August 6th as the permanent U.S. Representative to the Organization of American States. The OAS is the

premier hemispheric forum for consideration of political issues. At

the OAS, Ambassador Noriega works with hemispheric leaders to

strengthen democracy, advance human rights, foster economic integration, and promote peace and security throughout the Western

Hemisphere. And we have had the pleasure of working with Roger

for many years.

Ambassador James Mack is a career senior Foreign Service Officer who now serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs,

and as Director of the Colombian Initiative Task Force.

Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Mack served as the U.S.

Ambassador to Guyana from 1997 to April of 2000, and he has also

served in a number of posts worldwide, including the U.S. embassies in Paraguay, Costa Rica, Brazil, El Salvador, Ecuador and

Peru, and he has also served as the Belize-Guatemala desk officer

in the Department of State. Quite a list of Central and South

American posts. You have got it pretty well locked up there.

8

And finally, J. Curtis Struble. Curt Struble is the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, charged with providing oversight of U.S. relations

with the countries of South America, and he also coordinates economic and trade issues involving the Western Hemisphere.

Mr. Struble is a member of the Senior Foreign Service with the

rank of Minister/Counselor, and he has served in U.S. embassies

in Ecuador, Thailand, Honduras, Spain, Russia and Mexico, and

has received many awards for his service.

And if we may, we will start in the order that I just read it off,

and I will not remember what that is, but one, two, three, four.

Mr. TAYLOR. Yes, sir.

Mr. BALLENGER. So, Ambassador, it is yours.

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE FRANCIS X. TAYLOR, AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE, OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR FOR

COUNTERTERRORISM, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee.

I am thankful for the opportunity to appear before the Committee and to testify with my colleagues on the terrorism and the

presence of international terrorist groups in the Western Hemisphere.

As you know, we have presented to both Houses of Congress and

our coalition partners around the world clear and compelling evidence that the September 11 attacks originated in Afghanistan,

with Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda organization. While this connection is clear, we must also recognize that the threats to our people

and interests can come from any venue, including from within the

Western Hemisphere. For that reason, I would like to speak for a

few minutes about terrorism in the Western Hemisphere.

This hemisphere is no stranger to terrorism. Although we in the

United States has been, until recently, blessedly free of terrorist attacks by international groups, terrorism has been a fact of life in

many Latin American Countries such as Colombia and Peru for

more than 30 years.

In fact, one can argue that modern terrorism originated in this

hemisphere. We date the advent of modern terrorism to 1968, 4

years before Munich, when revolutionary movements began forming throughout the Americas. The following year, in 1969, the first

terrorist kidnapping of an American Ambassador took place when

Ambassador Burke Eldrick was taken hostage in Brazil by members of two revolutionary groups. In those early years of the stillnew phenomenon, Latin America saw international terrorist attacks more than any other region in the world.

Today, the most dangerous international terrorist group based in

this hemisphere is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or

the FARC. Included on the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, the FARC has murdered 13 Americans since

1980 and kidnapped over a hundred more, including three New

Tribes Missionaries, kidnapped in 1993, and now believed to be

dead.

The FARC leaders not only welcomed the September 11 attacks,

afterwards they reiterated their periodic call for the targeting of

Americans for murder and abduction. In addition, we have seen in

9

recent months evidence of an apparent relationship between the

FARC and the Provisional Irish Republican Army, the PIRA, and

possibly the Basque separatist group ETA as well.

The danger presented by the FARC is compounded by activities

of the other major Colombian insurgent groups, the National Liberation Army, the ELN, a group that also targets Americans, and

by the far-right United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, the AUC.

Both of these groups are included on our FTO list, and the AUC

in particular has a history of extreme brutality.

Further south, in what is known as the tri-border area, where

Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay converge, we see the longstanding

presence of Islamic extremist organizations, primarily Hizballah

and, to a lesser extent, the Sunni extremists group of al Gamaat,

IG, and Hamas.

These organizations are involved in fundraising activities and

proselytizing among the large expatriate population from the Middle East that lives in the tri-border area and also on Venezuela’s

Margarita Island. These organizations engage in document forgery,

money laundering, contraband smuggling, and weapons and drug

trafficking.

Hizballah is the prime suspect behind the 1992 bombing of the

Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israel Mutual Association community center. These attacks

were characterized by the same faceless cowardice that we saw on

September 11, and they remain unsolved to this day, although I am

pleased that the trial in the 1994 bombing is now underway in

Buenos Aires. We hope the perpetrators will at last be brought to

justice.

The hemispheric threats of terrorism are now moving closer to

home. Turning to North America, we are faced with a more diffuse

and insidious threat: the threat posed by our open borders with our

friends to the north and south.

The world’s longest non-militarized border is that shared by the

U.S. and Canada, and the second longest is that shared by the U.S.

and Mexico. Since the inception of NAFTA, these borders that were

already the world’s busiest in terms of commerce have become even

busier.

We will never have perfect knowledge of every person and every

vehicle that crosses these borders. Therefore, it is imperative that

we work hand in glove with intelligence, law enforcement, customs,

and immigration officials in these countries in order to make it as

difficult as possible for international terrorists to come into the

United States undetected, as difficult as possible to cross and recross our borders with criminal intent, and with impunity.

We in the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism view

our relationship with Canada as the model for bilateral counterterrorism cooperation, and we know that we must continue to build

on that solid foundation. Like our relationship with Canada, we

must improve coordination with our counterpartners in Mexico as

well as with Central American nations that act as points of transit

for people and material destined for the United States.

We know, above all, that we cannot stop terrorism alone. We

know that our best hope of stopping Al Qaeda operatives and

operatives from other terrorist organizations from crossing land

10

borders into the United States, is to continue close intelligence and

law enforcement cooperation with Canada, Mexico, and the states

of Central and South America.

With these goals in mind, we are working closely with the OAS

to expand its involvement in regional counterterrorism activities.

My office has chaired the OAS Counterterrorism Committee called

CICTE for the last year and has sought to invigorate it as a forum

for exchange of ideas and improved cooperation within the hemisphere. We are pleased with our progress and are optimistic for the

future.

My office has also worked with the interagency community to

craft a counterterrorism strategy for Colombia and the other countries of the Andean region. This strategy is designed to complement

last year’s Plan Colombia and this year’s Andean Regional Initiative.

We also intend to intensify our bilateral relations with Mexico as

well as those countries in the Andean and tri-border areas of South

America to address specific threats from groups operating in these

regions. Much of our efforts in this area began before the events

of 11 September; but that event has given more urgency to these

initiatives.

We cannot pretend that we can make terrorism go away, but we

can, in the short term, make it far more difficult for terrorists to

achieve their deadly objectives in this hemisphere.

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my remarks. I will be happy to respond to questions once my colleagues have concluded.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Taylor follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE FRANCIS X. TAYLOR, AMBASSADOR-ATLARGE, OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM, U.S. DEPARTMENT

OF STATE

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Committee and testify with

my colleagues on the subject of terrorism, and the presence of international terrorist

groups in the Western Hemisphere.

The horrific attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September

11, just one month ago, were a jarring reminder that our country and our hemisphere are no longer safe from international terrorism. In this global era, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans can no longer protect our land and our people from violence,

as they have done in previous international conflicts.

As you know, we have presented to both Houses of Congress and our coalition

partners around the world clear and compelling evidence that the September 11 attacks originated in Afghanistan, with Usama bin Laden’s al Qaida organization.

While this connection is clear, we must also recognize that the threats to our people

and interests can come from any venue, including from within the Western Hemisphere. For that reason I would like to speak for a few minutes about terrorism in

the Western Hemisphere.

This hemisphere is no stranger to terrorism. Although we in the United States

have been, until recently, blessedly free of terrorist attacks by international groups,

terrorism has been a fact of life in many Latin American countries such as Colombia

and Peru for thirty years or more.

In fact, one can argue that modern terrorism originated in our Hemisphere. We

date the advent of modern terrorism from 1968, four years before Munich, when revolutionary movements began forming throughout the Americas. The following year,

in 1969, the first terrorist kidnapping of an American ambassador took place when

Ambassador Burke Elbrick was taken hostage in Brazil by members of two revolutionary groups. In those early years of the still-new phenomenon, Latin America

saw more international terrorists attacks than any other region.

11

CURRENT THREATS

Today, the most dangerous international terrorist group based in this hemisphere

is the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Included on the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO), the FARC have murdered

13 Americans since 1980 and kidnapped over a hundred more, including three New

Tribes Missionaries, kidnapped in 1993, and now believed dead.

FARC leaders not only welcomed the September 11 attacks. Afterwards they reiterated their periodic call for the targeting of Americans for murder and abduction.

In addition, we have seen in recent months evidence of an apparent relationship between the FARC and the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) and possibly the

Basque separatist group ETA as well.

The danger presented by the FARC is compounded by activities of the other major

Colombian insurgent group, the National Liberation Army (ELN)—a group that also

targets Americans, and by the far-right United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia

(AUC). Both of these groups are also included on the FTO list, and the AUC in particular has a history of extreme brutality.

In Peru, the Shining Path, though greatly weakened, continues to carry out sporadic attacks in isolated parts of the country. These attacks, mostly raids on small

villages for supplies and financial gain, have resulted in 27 deaths so far this year,

the majority of which were civilians.

Further South, in what is known as the ‘‘Tri-Border Area’’ where Argentina,

Brazil, and Paraguay converge, we see the long-standing presence of Islamic extremist organizations, primarily Hizballah and, to a lesser extent, the Sunni extremist

groups al Gamaat (IG) and HAMAS.

These organizations are involved in fundraising activities and proselytizing among

the large expatriate population from the Middle East that lives in the Tri-Border

area and also on Venezuela’s Margarita Island. These organizations engage in document forgery, money laundering, contraband smuggling, and weapons and drug trafficking.

The size and nature of these groups may signal the existence of clandestine support cells that could be activated to conduct terrorist attacks anywhere in the region.

Hizballah is the prime suspect behind the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy

in Buenos Aires and the 1994 bombings of the Argentine Israel Mutual Association

(AMIA) community center. These attacks were characterized by the same faceless

cowardice that we saw on September 11, and they remain unsolved to this day, although I am pleased that a trial in the 1994 bombing is now underway in Buenos

Aires. We hope the perpetrators will at last be brought to justice.

NORTH AMERICA

The hemispheric threats of terrorism are now moving closer to home. Turning to

North America, we are faced with a more diffuse and insidious threat: the threat

posed by our open borders with our friends to the north and south.

The world’s longest non-militarized border is that shared by the US and Canada,

and the second longest is that shared by the US and Mexico. Since the inception

of NAFTA, these borders that were already the world’s busiest in terms of commerce, have become even busier.

We will never have perfect knowledge of every person and every vehicle that

crosses these borders. Therefore, it is imperative that we work hand in glove with

intelligence, law enforcement, customs, and immigration officials in these countries

in order to make it as difficult as possible for international terrorists to come into

the U.S. undetected, as difficult as possible to cross and re-cross our borders with

criminal intent, and with impunity.

We in the office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism view our relationship

with Canada as the model for bilateral counterterrorism cooperation, and we know

that we must continue to build on that solid foundation. Like our relationship with

Canada, we must improve coordination with our counterparts in Mexico as well as

with the Central American nations that act as points of transit for people and materials destined for the USA.

We know, above all, that we cannot stop terrorism alone. We know that our best

hope at stopping al Qaida operatives and operatives from other terror organizations

from crossing land borders into the US, is to continue close intelligence and law enforcement cooperation with Canada, Mexico, and the Central American states. We

know that our only hope of limiting the threat posed by groups such as the FARC

and the ELN in Colombia and the multiple Middle East-based groups in the TriBorder Area, is close intelligence and law enforcement cooperation with our allies

in these areas of operation.

12

With these goals in mind, we are working closely with the OAS to expand it’s involvement in Regional counterterrorism activities. My office has chaired the OAS

Counterterrorism Committee (CICTE) for the last year and has sought to invigorate

it as a forum for exchange of ideas and improved cooperation within the Hemisphere. We are pleased with our progress and are optimistic for the future.

STRATEGY

My office has also worked with the interagency community to craft a

Counterterrorist Strategy for Colombia and the other countries of the Andean region. This strategy is designed to complement last year’s Plan Colombia and this

year’s Andean Region Initiative (ARI).

We also intend to intensify our bilateral relations with Mexico as well as those

countries in the Andean and Tri-Border areas of South America to address specific

threats from groups operating in these Regions. Much of our efforts in this area

began before the events of 11 September; but that event has given even more urgency to these initiatives.

Now, more than ever, is the time for building coalitions against terrorism based

on proactive diplomacy, proactive law enforcement, financial controls, intelligence

sharing and iron-willed resolve in the pursuit of justice.

We cannot pretend that we can make terrorism go away, but we can, in the short

term, make it far more difficult for terrorists to achieve their deadly objectives in

this hemisphere.

This concludes my remarks. I will be happy to take any questions the Committee

may have.

Mr. BALLENGER. Just on seniority, Roger, I think Ambassador

Mack has got you beat by a couple of years.

Mr. NORIEGA. Just a couple. Have at it.

STATEMENT OF AMBASSADOR JAMES F. MACK, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU ON INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Mr. MACK. Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, first of

all, I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak today about

this important subject.

I have submitted a written statement for the record. I request

that it be included in the record.

Mr. BALLENGER. Without objection.

Mr. MACK. The attacks against the United States on September

11 made it very clear that the mission of the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, otherwise known

as INL, to provide support to counternarcotics and other anti-crime

efforts worldwide is more important than ever before.

While INL does not have the lead on the war against terrorism,

we are strongly supportive of these efforts through our counternarcotics activities, which provide training, equipment and institutional support to many of the same host nation enforcement agencies that are charged with a counterterrorism mission.

There is often a nexus between terrorism and organized crime.

Many of the skills and types of equipment needed to attack organized crime are applicable to combatting terrorism. Much of INL

assistance—such as the equipping of forensic labs, for example; assistance with drafting asset forfeiture and money laundering legislation; provision of basic training in investigative techniques, maritime enforcement and port security—all applies to both counternarcotics and counterterrorism. Migrant smuggling, document

fraud, arms trafficking, contraband, and illegal financial transactions are tools for terrorists as well as drug traffickers.

13

The methods used for moving and laundering money for general

crime purposes often are similar to those used to move money to

support terrorist activity. INL has worked with the Departments of

Justice and Treasury and with nations around the world to

strengthen controls that would thwart the drug traffickers’ attempts to launder their funds and to investigate and prosecute

those who are involved in moving criminal proceeds. These same

law enforcement controls could also help prevent the movement of

funds of terrorist organizations.

Similarly, INL drafted the first ‘‘Trafficking in Persons’’ report

earlier this year. Migrant smugglers bring in not only economic refugees, but also persons linked to terrorism groups and linked to

international crime syndicates. We must therefore strengthen our

efforts to halt all alien smuggling.

In the Western Hemisphere, there is historic link between terrorist groups and narcotics trafficking, as has been pointed out before. The Shining Path cut a brutal swath through Peru from the

mid-eighties and mid-nineties, largely funded by profits from taxes

on cocaine trafficking. In Ciudad del Este, as Ambassador Taylor

has pointed out, and Paraguay, and along the very loosely controlled region that it borders with Brazil and Argentina, members

of radical Islamic group are reported to be engaged in money laundering, drug trafficking, intellectual property rights, piracy, migrant smuggling, arms trafficking.

It is well documented that designated foreign terrorist groups in

Colombia, all three referred to by Ambassador Taylor, all benefit

substantially from their deep, deep commitment, deep involvement

in drug trafficking.

For example, there are strong indications that FARC, a group

which openly engage in narcotics production and trafficking, has

established links with the IRA to increase its capability to conduct

urban terrorism. In July, the Colombian National Police, as you all

know, arrested three members of the IRA who are believed to have

used the FARC safe haven to train the FARC in the use of explosives. We are watching the ongoing Colombian investigation of

these arrests with great concern.

The INL is also an important element of the department’s efforts

to combat terrorism. We assist foreign governments to strike at the

very means that terrorists use to finance their activities.

The Andean Regional Initiative, overseen by INL, was developed

to support the efforts of nations plagued by drug production and/

or transshipment to secure their borders and to prevent the use of

illegal activity to finance terrorism, or any other criminal activity

that disrupts the political and economic foundations of democracy.

As we now turn to homeland defense, homeland security and to

countering the terrorist threat, we will be even more dependent on

friendly narcotics source zone countries to help us deal with the

drug threat to the United States, and that makes full funding for

the Andean Regional Initiative even more critical now.

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I want to thank

you again for giving me the chance to speak with you today and

for your continued support for INL’s important role in the war

against terrorism.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Mack follows:]

14

PREPARED STATEMENT OF AMBASSADOR JAMES F. MACK, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SEC- RETARY, BUREAU ON INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to

speak to you today on this important subject.

The attacks against the United States on September 11 stunned us all. They also

made it very clear that the mission of the Bureau for International Narcotics and

Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)—to provide support to counternarcotics and other

anti-crime efforts worldwide—is more important now than ever.

While INL does not have the lead on the war on terrorism, we are strongly supportive of these efforts through our counternarcotics activities, which provide training, equipment and institutional support to many of the same host nation law enforcement agencies that are charged with a counter-terrorist mission.

There often is a nexus between terrorism and organized crime. Many of the skills

and types of equipment needed to attack organized crime are applicable to combating terrorism. Much of INL assistance—such as the equipping of forensic labs;

assistance with drafting asset forfeiture and money laundering legislation; and provision of basic training in investigation techniques, maritime enforcement and port

security—applies to both counternarcotics and counterterrorism. Migrant smuggling,

document fraud, arms trafficking, auto theft, contraband, and illegal financial transactions are tools for terrorists as well as narcotics traffickers.

In the wake of the horrendous September 11 attacks, we need to rededicate ourselves to work hand-in-hand with our coalition partners to stem narcotics smuggling

and to strengthen law enforcement and border controls. Very frequently, the same

criminal gangs involved in narcotics smuggling have links to other criminal activities and to terrorist groups. Just as we in the U.S. are trying to strengthen our

homeland security, other nations are facing similar challenges. Deepening our law

enforcement cooperation with these like-minded nations becomes all the more urgent.

The methods used for moving and laundering money for general crime purposes

are similar to those used to move money to support terrorist activities. INL has

worked with the Departments of Justice and Treasury and with nations around the

world to strengthen controls which could thwart the drug traffickers’ attempts to

launder their funds and to investigate and prosecute those who are involved in moving criminal proceeds. These same law enforcement controls could also help prevent

the movement of funds of terrorist organizations.

Similarly, INL drafted the first ‘‘Trafficking in Persons’’ report earlier this year.

It is important to note that migrant smugglers bring in not only economic refugees,

but also persons linked to terrorist organizations and international crime syndicates. We must therefore strengthen our efforts to halt all alien smuggling.

While we do not possess conclusive evidence directly linking drug traffickers and

terrorists in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s link to the drug trade is irrefutable. The

Taliban have de facto control over 90 percent of the country, including the major

areas of the Afghan opium crop. There is a symbiosis between the Taliban and narcotics traffickers, whose smuggling and money laundering networks would be of

great help in the Taliban’s efforts to circumvent UN sanctions. Additionally, the

Taliban is known to provide aid, training, and sanctuary to various Islamic terrorist

and separatist groups in Afghanistan, including Osama bin Laden’s al Qa’ida group.

Al Qa’ida fighters have gained an increasingly prominent role in the Taliban’s war

against the Northern Alliance, reportedly because war-weary indigenous Afghans

are reluctant to fight.

Despite effectively banning poppy cultivation in July 2000, the Taliban has allowed uninterrupted trafficking of Afghan opiates over the past year by not taking

any measures to halt the drug trade.

Narcotics interdictions by Afghanistan’s neighbors show record seizures of Afghan

opiates flowing out and precursor chemicals flowing in. This clearly indicates that

Afghan heroin traffickers are drawing from their stockpiles, presumably with the

knowledge and perhaps the collusion of some in the Taliban, according to a report

by the UN Committee of Experts on Resolution 1333 for sanctions against the

Taliban. This report states that ‘‘funds raised from the production and trade of

opium and heroin are used by the Taliban to buy arms and war materials and to

finance the training of terrorists and support the operation of extremists in neighboring countries and beyond.’’

Before last year’s ban on opium poppy cultivation, the Taliban collected from 10–

20 percent taxes on the yield of poppy fields, as well as taxing the processing, shipment and sale of opiates. United Nations estimates for 1999 say that the value of

the Afghan opium crop at the farm gate was $265 million, which represents at least

15

$40 million in tax revenue for the Taliban. However, its revenue may be far greater,

according to the UN.

In the Western Hemisphere, there is a historic link between various terrorist

groups and narcotics trafficking. The Shining Path cut a brutal swath through Peru

from the 1980’s to the mid-1990’s, largely funded by taxes on cocaine trafficking. In

Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, and along the loosely controlled region that it borders

with Brazil and Argentina, members of radical Islamic groups are reported to be engaged in money laundering, intellectual property rights piracy, alien smuggling, and

arms trafficking.

One such individual is Said Hassan Ali Mohamed Mukhlis, a suspected member

of the Egyptian Islamic Group with possible ties to Osama bin Laden. This group

is linked to the murder of 58 tourists in Luxor, Egypt, and Mukhlis himself was

arrested in 1999 by the Uruguayans in connection with foiled plots to bomb U.S.

embassies in Paraguay and Uruguay.

Three of the 13 Arab individuals, recently arrested in Paraguay for issuance of

false Paraguayan identification documents, were identified by the FBI as having

close ties to Hamas and the Lebanese Al-Kaffir group. Reportedly, they collected

funds for these terrorist groups to support terrorist plots against the United States.

In July of this year, a vehicle containing improvised explosive devices was discovered near our Embassy in Paraguay. Police said that a getaway vehicle used in this

foiled plot was purchased by an individual with suspected ties to the Manuel

Rodriguez Patriotic Front, a known Chilean terrorist group.

In August of this year, Bolivian authorities expelled six Pakistani citizens suspected of links to the terrorist attacks on September 11 in New York and Washington. They were arrested by the FBI upon their arrival in Miami. It is well documented that designated foreign terrorist groups in Colombia, such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), National Liberation Army (ELN) and

United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), all benefit substantially from their

deep involvement in drug trafficking. For example, there are strong indications that

the FARC, a group which openly engages in illicit narcotics production and trafficking, has established links with the Irish Republican Army to increase its capability to conduct urban terrorism. In July, the Colombian National Police arrested

three members of the IRA who are believed to have used the demilitarized zone to

train the FARC in the use of explosives. We are watching this ongoing investigation

with great concern.

These are but a few examples of how terrorists use narcotrafficking and international crime to support their activities. INL can assist the Department’s efforts

to combat terrorism by helping foreign governments to strike at the very means that

terrorists use to finance their activities.

The Andean Regional Initiative, overseen by INL, was developed to support the

efforts of nations plagued with drug production and/or transshipment to secure their

borders and prevent the use of illegal activity to finance terrorism, or any other

criminal activity that disrupts the political and economic foundations of democracy.

The Andean region represents a significant challenge and opportunity for U.S. foreign policy in the next few years. Important U.S. national interests are at stake because drug trafficking is a problem that does not respect national borders and that

both feeds and feeds upon the other social and economic difficulties with which the

Andean region is struggling.

Democracy is under pressure in all of the countries of the Andes. Economic development is slow and progress towards liberalization is inconsistent. The Andes

produce virtually all of the world’s cocaine, and an increasing amount of heroin,

thus representing a direct threat to our public health and national security. All of

these problems are inter-related. Sluggish economies produce political unrest that

threatens democracy and provides ready manpower for narcotics traffickers and illegal armed groups. Weak democratic institutions, corruption and political instability

discourage investment, contribute to slow economic growth and provide fertile

ground for drug traffickers and other outlaw groups to flourish. The drug trade has

a corrupting influence that undermines democratic institutions, fuels illegal armed

groups and distorts the economy, discouraging legitimate investment. None of the

region’s problems can be addressed in isolation.

Since we believe Plan Colombia will result in major disruption of the cocaine industry, a regional approach becomes even more of an imperative. Traffickers will

undoubtedly try to relocate as their operations in southern Colombia are disrupted.

We believe they will first try to migrate to other areas inside Colombia, then try

to return to traditional growing areas in Peru and Bolivia. But if those options are

forestalled, they may well seek to move more cultivation, processing and/or trafficking routes into other countries such as Ecuador, Brazil, or Venezuela.

16

Establishing security along the borders of these countries will be a critical element in the success of this regional plan. In that vein, Ecuador has established a

Northern Border Initiative to promote better security and development in the region

bordering Colombia; Brazil has launched Operation Cobra, a law enforcement effort

concentrated in the Dog’s Head region bordering Colombia; Panama has taken concrete steps to improve security and development in the Darien region; and Venezuelan authorities have cooperated admirably on drug interdiction, exemplified by

last year’s record multi-ton seizure during Operation Orinoco.

When looking at U.S. programs in the Andean region, it is important to keep in

mind the situation in Colombia just a few years ago. The large drug lords and organizations had embarked on an extensive campaign of violence to bring the government to its knees, and almost succeeded. Their symbiotic relationship with illegal

armed groups continues to keep the government weak. And one can imagine the

threat to U.S. national security that would have been posed by a narco-trafficking

state used as a springboard for international terrorist groups. That is why the Andean Regional Initiative continues to be critical.

Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, I want to thank you again for giving

me the chance to speak with you today and for your continued support for INL’s

important role in the war against terrorism.

Mr. BALLENGER. Thank you.

Ambassador Noriega.

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ROGER NORIEGA, U.S.

AMBASSADOR TO THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

Mr. NORIEGA. Thank you very much, Chairman Ballenger and

Ranking Member Menendez.

I thank you for the invitation to testify before your Subcommittee

this afternoon, and I also thank the other Members in attendance.

I will be pleased to address the multilateral efforts underway in

our hemisphere since the September 11 attacks. Mr. Curt Struble,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, has a

written statement that we wish to submit for the record, and Mr.

Struble will answer any questions regarding the actions of any individual countries in the region. We have also agreed that he will

take any of the particularly tough questions. [Laughter.]

I have, Mr. Chairman, a written statement which I would like

to submit for the record.

Mr. BALLENGER. Roger, could you pull the microphone a little bit

closer.

Mr. NORIEGA. I am trying to work that out.

I have a written statement that I would like to submit for the

record——

Mr. BALLENGER. Without objection.

Mr. NORIEGA [continuing]. And I will make a brief summary

here.

It is an honor for me to have this opportunity, as I have said,

Mr. Chairman, to discuss the response of the Western Hemisphere

nations at the OAS to the September 11 attacks. To provide some

context for this discussion, I should explain that on that fateful

morning Secretary of State Colin Powell was in Lima, Peru, joining

other foreign ministers of the region convened there in a Special

General Assembly of the OAS to sign the historic Inter-American

Democratic Charter, which is a charter that commits all of the

members states of the OAS to defend and to strengthen democratic

institutions in our hemisphere.

I watched the shocking images of the ongoing attacks in television monitors outside the assembly hall with hundreds of deleVerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:01 Dec 10, 2001 Jkt 075633 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\WH\101001\75633 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1
17

gates from throughout the Americas. Quite literally, Mr. Chairman,

from the first moments the nations of the Americas were standing

with us—united to confront the evil threat of terrorism.

The OAS member states have collectively answered the call,

pleading solidarity and cooperation and mandating specific measures from the OAS and from its member states in the hemisphere

to respond to the September 11 attacks.

Notably, the Rio Treaty members have unanimously approved a

resolution that puts the hemisphere foursquare within the global

coalition confronting terrorism, and I think it is wholly appropriate

that you have recognized the presence here of Canada’s Ambassador to the OAS, Paul Durand, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Menendez,

because Mr. Durand’s leadership was singularly important in arranging for Canada and the other Caribbean states that are not

party to the Rio Treaty to accept the will of the other member

states to invoke the Rio Treaty, and they participated fully in those

debates, and I think that is very important that they recognize the

vital message that invoking the Rio Treaty was needed in that important hour.

Mr. Chairman, these resolutions, which I will describe, are not

mere rhetoric. They provide the framework for action. In point of

fact, they represent legislation that sets policy for OAS member

governments and also the Rio Treaty resolution constitutes a legally binding commitment by each of the parties to the treaty. That

Rio Treaty resolution states clearly that,

‘‘these attacks against the United States of America are attacks against all American states and that in accordance with

all relevant provisions of the. . . . Rio Treaty and the principle of continental solidarity, all States Party to the Rio Treaty shall provide effective reciprocal assistance to address such

attacks and the threat of any similar attacks...’’

Specifically, the Rio Treaty parties are committed to take the following actions:

‘‘To use all legally available measures to pursue, capture, extradite, and punish’’ any persons involved in the September 11

attack or any persons harboring the perpetrators of the acts;

and also they are committed to ‘‘render additional assistance

and support to the United States and to each other’’ to address

the September 11 attacks and ‘‘to prevent further terrorist

acts.’’

The OAS foreign ministers, including those states that are not

party to the Rio Treaty, also called upon all member states and the

entire international community to take effective measures to deny

terrorist groups the ability to operate within their territories. And

the ministers declared that

‘‘those responsible for aiding, supporting, or harboring the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of these acts are equally

complicit in these acts.’’

Complying with the mandates of the foreign ministers, the InterAmerican Committee Against Terrorism, which is currently chaired

by Ambassador Taylor’s deputy, as a representative of the United

States, is set to meet in special session next Monday to identify

18

practical, urgent measures that governments in the region should

take to fight terrorism, with the initial focus on drying up sources

of financing and ferreting out their illicit assets as well as encouraging broader and stronger border controls and airport security.

In addition, the OAS Permanent Council will begin a thorough

but urgent drafting process that we expect to develop a regional

treaty for fighting terrorism that is both forward-looking and practical. It could potentially serve, Mr. Chairman, as a model for the

rest of the world given the exceptional degree of unity and purpose

and resolve that we find here in the hemisphere.

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, in recent years,

thanks to a bipartisan policy in the Americas, the OAS has been

gradually evolving into a more results-oriented organization that

can advance a common agenda of promoting democracy and human

rights, fighting illicit narcotics, and bolstering economic development and trade.

In the Americas, multilateralism does not mean pursuing the

lowest common denominator, but rather, advancing the highest

common ideal.

Since the horrific attacks of September 11 our hemispheric solidarity is galvanized as never before—not out of fear, but by an

iron-willed resolve, not out of any doubts about our common ideas,

but by a strong determination to stand together to defend them.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Noriega follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ROGER NORIEGA, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO

THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

Mr. Chairman, I thank you for inviting me to testify before your Subcommittee

this afternoon. I will be pleased to address the multilateral efforts under way in the

hemisphere since the September 11 attacks. Mr. Curt Struble, Deputy Assistant

Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, has a written statement that we

wish to submit for the record, and Mr. Struble will answer any questions Members

may pose related to the actions of any individual country in the region.

It is an honor for me to have this opportunity to discuss the response of Western

Hemisphere countries at the Organization of American States to the terrorist attacks of September 11. To provide some context for this discussion, I should explain

that on that fateful morning Secretary of State Colin Powell was in Lima, Peru,

joining other foreign ministers of the region at an OAS Special General Assembly

convened to approve the historic Inter-American Democratic Charter. The Secretary

was told of the attacks during a private meeting with Peruvian President Alejandro

Toledo, and I watched the shocking images on television monitors outside the Assembly hall along with hundreds of delegates from throughout the Americas. Quite

literally, from the first moments, the nations of the Americas were standing with

us—united to confront the evil threat of terrorism. We witnessed the attack as an

Inter-American community, and we are responding as a community now. Indeed,

within less than two hours after the attack, just before the Secretary left Lima to

return to the United States, the OAS General Assembly issued a statement condemning the attack and calling for strengthened hemispheric cooperation in the

fight against terrorism.

In the ensuing weeks, hemispheric solidarity with the United States has been

steadfast. Many ambassadors to the OAS told me privately that their instructions

from their capitals were clear: ‘‘Our nation stands in firm solidarity with the United

States.’’ Within hours of the attack, several key OAS member states called for invoking the 1947 Rio Treaty (the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance) to

declare that an attack against one American state is an attack against all and to

bind one another to act in our common defense.

On September 19, the OAS Permanent Council—in which I represent the United

States—invoked the Rio Treaty and convened a meeting of the Hemisphere’s foreign

ministers two days later to adopt urgent measures to respond to the attacks.

19

Even those 12 of the 34 OAS member countries that are not Parties to the Rio

Treaty—including Canada and all but three Caribbean countries—participated in

the meeting invoked under the Treaty because they recognized that these assaults

on humanity demanded an unprecedented, concerted response.

Secretary of State Powell told the assembled foreign ministers at OAS Headquarters September 21, ‘‘We, the united democracies of the Western Hemisphere,

join the world in the global campaign against terrorism. We have pledged to deny

terrorists and their networks the ability to operate within our territories. We have

resolved to hold to account all those responsible for aiding, financing, and otherwise

supporting and harboring terrorists.’’

The OAS member states have collectively answered the call, pledging solidarity

and cooperation and mandating specific actions from the OAS and member states

in response. In addition, the Rio Treaty members have unanimously approved a resolution that puts the Hemisphere foursquare within the global coalition confronting

terrorism. The resolution states clearly that these ‘‘terrorist attacks against the

United States of America are attacks against all American states and that in accordance with all relevant provisions of the . . . Rio Treaty and the principle of continental solidarity, all States Parties to the Rio Treaty shall provide effective reciprocal assistance to address such attacks and the threat of any similar attacks....’’

(OAS Ministerial Resolution, ‘‘Terrorist Threat to the Americas,’’ September 21,

2001, RC.24/RES.1/01, para. 1)

Mr. Chairman, these resolutions are not mere rhetoric; they provide the framework for action. They represent legislation that sets policy for the OAS member governments. Moreover, the resolution pursuant to the Rio Treaty constitutes legally

binding commitments by each of the parties to the Treaty.

Specifically, the Rio Treaty parties agreed:

• ‘‘To use all legally available measures to pursue, capture, extradite, and punish’’ any persons involved in the September 11 attacks or any persons harboring the perpetrators; (para. 2) and,

• To ‘‘render additional assistance and support to the United States and to each

other’’ to address the September 11 attacks and ‘‘to prevent future terrorist

acts.’’ (para. 3)

In addition, the foreign ministers authorized a Rio Treaty Committee of the OAS

Permanent Council to track the ensuing events and adopt additional measures necessary to ensure an effective Hemispheric response to these attacks and the threat

of terrorism. To this end, State Department Counterterrorism officials briefed OAS

Permanent Representatives and White House Ambassadors on October 5 on the

compelling evidence assembled since September 11 that implicates Usama Bin

Ladin and the al-Quaida terrorist network.

The OAS foreign ministers also called upon ‘‘all member states and the entire

international community to take effective measures to deny terrorist groups the

ability to operate within their territories....’’ The ministers declared that ‘‘those

responsible for aiding, supporting, or harboring the perpetrators, organizers and

sponsors of these acts are equally complicit in these acts.’’ (OAS Ministerial Resolution, ‘‘Strengthening Hemispheric Cooperation to Prevent, Combat, and Eliminate

Terrorism,’’ September 21, 2001, RC.23/RES.1/01, para. 3)

The foreign ministers also approved two specific mandates: the Inter-American

Committee Against Terrorism was tasked ‘‘to identify urgent actions aimed at

strengthening . . . cooperation to prevent, combat, and eliminate terrorism in the

Hemisphere.’’ (para. 8) And, the OAS Permanent Council was instructed to draft an

‘‘Inter-American Convention Against Terrorism.’’ (para. 9)

Since receiving those mandates, the Committee Against Terrorism, which is currently chaired by the United States, is set to meet in a Special Session next Monday

to identify practical, urgent steps that governments in the region should take to

fight terrorism, with the initial focus on drying up sources of financing and ferreting

out their illicit assets as well as encouraging stronger border controls and airport

security. We expect that the Committee Against Terrorism will convene the region’s

senior counterterrorism policy makers for a regular session in the near future to

commit to long-term strategies and tactics aimed at denying terrorists the ability

to operate in the Americas.

With respect to the proposed regional treaty against terrorism, the OAS Permanent Council will begin a thorough but urgent drafting process which we expect will

develop a regional accord for fighting terrorism that is both forward-looking and

practical. It could potentially serve as a model for the rest of the world, given the

exceptional degree of unity of purpose and resolve within the Hemisphere. This will

not be a mere repetition of other international instruments: we expect to take addiVerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:01 Dec 10, 2001 Jkt 075633 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\WH\101001\75633 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1
20

tional steps to make our Hemisphere inhospitable to those who desire to conduct

terrorist activities and to those who support terrorists.

As Secretary Powell said at the OAS last month, ‘‘Now, the long hard work must

be done. Now, our governments, our law enforcement authorities and our civic institutions must find ways to work together at all levels and more cooperatively than

ever before, exchanging life-saving information, coordinating our activities. Now, individually and collectively, we must take concrete steps to tighten border controls,

enhance air- and seaport security, improve financial controls and increase the effectiveness of our counter-terrorism forces.’’

He continued, ‘‘Let there be no question, let there be no doubt, we are in this

worldwide campaign together for the long haul. We have endured an enormous tragedy but we will overcome. We will defend the rule of law against the lawless. We

will not allow murderers to destroy our democracies and devastate our economies.

We will never let our future be hijacked by terrorists.’’

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, in recent years, thanks to a bipartisan policy in the Americas, the OAS has been gradually evolving into a more results-oriented organization that can advance a common agenda of promoting democracy and human rights, fighting illicit narcotics, and bolstering economic development and trade. In the Americas, multilateralism does not mean pursuing the lowest common denominator, but, rather, advancing the highest common ideals.

Through the OAS, and bilaterally, the governments of the Western Hemisphere

are beginning to show themselves capable of working rapidly, systematically, and

cooperatively. It is timely that they have agreed to defeat the scourge of terrorism

by working through this increasingly active multilateral forum.

Since the horrific attacks of September 11, our Hemispheric solidarity is galvanized as never before—not out of fear, but by an iron-willed resolve, not out of any

doubts about our common ideals, but by a strong determination to stand together

to defend them.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. BALLENGER. Thank you.

Ambassador Mack, as you may well know, I have been heavily

involved in everything you all have been doing in Colombia and

other areas of the Andes, and my understanding is the Senate has

come forward with a projection of sorts in the Andean Initiative by

cutting it by $160 million.

Could you speak to that?

Mr. MACK. Yes, Mr. Chairman. Clearly, we believe more now

than ever that it is very important to have support from Congress

for full funding for the Andean Regional Initiative.

As you are aware, many of the law enforcement and military

forces that the United States maintains in the region have had to

reposition themselves for homeland defense. It becomes more important to assist host nations, friendly host nations in the Andean

area control movement of chemicals and cocaine in and out of their

countries and toward the United States. So we need to, I think, reinvigorate our assistance to these areas rather than cut it at this

critical time.

Mr. BALLENGER. I would just like to throw out a quote, I showed

it to Ambassador Taylor before. It is an Associated Press article—

evidently a State Department spokesman made this statement, and

it says that,

‘‘The Sandinista Party in Nicaragua has maintained ties over

the years with Iraq and Libya. In addition to Iraq and Libya,

the Sandinistas have maintained contact with the FARC rebels

in Colombia, the ETA separatists in Spain...’’

Does anybody have any background knowledge, that is kind of a

general question across the board?

21

Obviously, there is an election coming up that has some effect on,

I guess, all of our policies, and I was just curious. Is anybody in

a position to speak up on that?

Mr. STRUBLE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I believe that the department spokesman was referring to a well

documented history when the Sandinistas were in power in Nicaragua, providing both political support and refuge for members of

other terrorist groups.

The Sandinistas have been out of power for 12 years now, and

I am actually not able to tell you at this moment what relations

they have with these terrorist groups. But based upon their past

behavior, we do have concerns about this issue, and we have concerns about what their intentions will be should they win the elections on November 4.

Mr. BALLENGER. Good enough. I just, like I say, with the election

coming up so closely and so many elections coming up at the same

time, I do not know whether it is an evil plot to have all of our

friends have elections within certain periods of time, and all you

can see is—I remember when we were first talking about Vietnam,

the domino theory. Somehow I read the domino theory—I am worrier—I read the domino theory as far as elections are concerned in

Central and South America.

Just another question comes to my mind, and I do not know who

specifically to aim it at. But we were in Honduras and met the two

next candidates for President. They are going to have an election

there. And everybody was terribly worried about the gang situation

there, where they think that close to 150,000 of trainees that we

trained in Los Angeles in our slums, we sent back to Honduras,

and now gangs of—those numbers kind of blew my mind because

150,000 is an awful lot of teenage kids and so forth.

But the idea that a combination of the northeast coast of Honduras, which has no roads, just some Indians, and has been heavily

used by the drug smugglers coming out of Colombia and so forth,

if those kids with the weapons that they have got, that they have

gotten from us, if those kids ever tie up with the drug situation

they will make the FARC look like kind of a child’s game.

Is that even on the screen as far as we are concerned at the state

level or anything?

Mr. STRUBLE. Mr. Chairman, I do not know the specific numbers

of Hondurans who have been deported in the last several years. I

would be very happy to look into that for you and try to provide

you with that number. One hundred and fifty thousand sounds a

little bit high.

But more generally, you put your finger on something that is a

great deal of concern to us, and that is the large number of unemployed people in Central America who do not have economic opportunities, who will find a strong attraction in the opportunities provided by illegal activities, and more specifically, by narcotics trafficking.

And we continue to believe that it is important for the United

States to focus on that through, in the first instance, trade initiatives. We congratulate the Congress for giving authority for the

Caribbean Basin Initiative renewal a year ago. And we believe that

it is very important for the United States to retain leadership in

22

hemispheric trade through the FTA process, through its work with

small economies, and through another factor that I believe Congressman Menendez cited earlier, and that is due attention to the

financial and the economic effects of the terrorist attacks of September 11th on economies that are even more vulnerable than our

own.

Mr. BALLENGER. Congressman Menendez.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Let me thank our panel for their testimony. I have a series of

questions. Let me start of with, in the Committee’s possession are

about a dozen different excerpts from different journalists throughout the hemisphere who have written about different elements of

terrorism in the hemisphere. I would like to address one to you and

see if you have any sense of this.

A Moroccan man, Mr. Gueddan Abdel Fatah, who had been imprisoned in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, reportedly delivered a letter to

his attorney on September 5, 2001, warning of the coordination of

an attack on the United States. The letter did not reach the U.S.

Embassy prior to the September 11th attacks, and according to this

report the case is currently under investigation by American and

Brazilian law enforcement authorities.

Mr. Fatah claims to have participated in meeting of Shiite and

Sunni groups at a mosque in the tri-border region to organize an

attack on the United States.

Can you tell the Committee anything about this beyond this

press account?

Mr. TAYLOR. Sir, I am not specifically familiar with that press account, and would defer to the FBI on their investigation.

I would like—I can get you more information, perhaps not in this

session, on that if that would be okay.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Are you—is it a question of being able to answer

the question in public versus in closed session, or is it a question

of not having the specific information right now?

Mr. TAYLOR. I do not have specific information on the investigation right now, but I can follow up on that.

Mr. MENENDEZ. All right. Would you, Ambassador Mack, have

any information?

Mr. MACK. No, Mr. Menendez, I do not have any specific information on that.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Do you all follow these press accounts, not that

the press is always 100 percent accurate? Notice I said 100 percent,

I want to give them a fair degree. I am sure they are out there

somewhere. But do you follow these accounts as part of your review

of what is happening in the hemisphere in addition to your own intelligence base?

Mr. TAYLOR. Absolutely. And because I do not have specific information does not mean that someone is not following up it.

Mr. MENENDEZ. All right.

Mr. TAYLOR. It is just not an issue that has come to my attention.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Well, then, I would appreciate you, and I am

sure we can give you a copy of this, I would appreciate you getting

back to the Committee—— Mr. TAYLOR. Yes, sir.

23

Mr. MENENDEZ [continuing]. And through the Chair and getting

us information on that.

[The information referred to follows:]

RESPONSE BY MR. TAYLOR TO THE QUESTION POSED BY THE HONORABLE ROBERT

MENENDEZ

QUESTION:

Did the Department have knowledge (in reference to Brazilian press article)

about a Moroccan individual arrested in Brazil who allegedly communicated to

an American official before September 11 that there was a threat of an imminent

attack to the US?

ANSWER:

According to our colleagues at the FBI, Morroccan citizen Gadan Abdel

FATTAH made warnings about terrorist attacks that coincided with the timing

of the September 11 attacks in the U.S. He was subsequently questioned by

Brazilian, US consular, and US law enforcement officials. All three concluded

that there was no corroborating evidence that Mr. Satah had any real knowledge of any terrorist attacks. This report represents one of the many thousands

of leads that have been investigated and found baseless.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Ambassador Taylor, I listened to all of the statements and they all make me feel good for the moment. Having said

that, when I read through each of your statements while you were

giving it and read the entirety of the statement, and I do not feel

as good. And it is not because of your effort, but because of the circumstances.

I heard your statement and I read it. Can you further define for

me what is our strategy in the hemisphere on this issue? And what

are its components?

Mr. TAYLOR. Sir, I would be happy to tell you what or strategy

is, and the components, sir, and what those components are.

First of all is to improve the capability of the countries in the

hemisphere to identify, investigate or provide intelligence capability to monitor individuals who are involved in illegal or illicit activity, to bring those issues to their attention, and certainly working with us to our attention. And then to provide them with the

means to go after, if you will, those elements legally using the legal

system.

Across the world we recognize that the United States of America

is not going to be able to do this without the close cooperation with

our colleagues in the region. And part of our CICTE initiative was

to improve, one, understanding of the problem; create the political

will to engage; and then determine how we can best invest our resources, both the INL resources and our anti-terrorism assistance

resources in the areas where they need to be invested to improve

capability.

But it is to strengthen the capability of the nations in the region,

one, to identify the problem, and then to reach to it.

Mr. MENENDEZ. And how are we going about strengthening their

abilities?

Mr. TAYLOR. One way is through dialogue on this particular

issue through our Committee that Ambassador Noriega talked

about. The other is through an investment with our ATA, our antiterrorism assistance.

I would tell you that Assistant Secretary Beers and I have been

engaged in a very strong conversation about how we can better leverage what he is doing. As Ambassador Mack mentioned, much of

24

the training that INL has given is also very effective from a

counterterrorism point of view in terms of improving law enforcement capability and those sorts of things.

But it is our hope that through that training investment that we

improve capacity to monitor, to investigate, to arrest, and do what

is effective to get ahead of these people before they—— Mr. MENENDEZ. What is our budget for that purpose?

Mr. TAYLOR. For that purpose? Thirty-eight million total for FY– 01. It is going to about 55 million in FY–02 for anti-terrorism assistance specifically.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Well, I have to be honest with you. We have

been reviewing what we domestically need to deal with, and we are

alarmed by both the scope of what we have to deal with and the

cost of what is being projected we have to deal with.

So my question to Ambassador Mack is, do we really expect

much from our Latin American neighbors notwithstanding all the

best intentions, considering their lack of resources, considering that

we have had as a priority up to the events of September 11th a

focus on using resources in narco-trafficking and its related aspects, including money laundering?

Do we really honestly expect very much from our Latin American

neighbors, considering their capacity and the resources that are involved here and a relatively minor budget to try to help them?

Mr. MACK. Well, I think we can expect certainly some progress.

They are starting from a lower resource and training level than obviously our forces. But as I pointed out in my testimony, my prepared testimony, much of what we do to counter the narcotics

threat, the money laundering threat is directly applicable to

thwarting terrorism.

So for example, I will give you the kind of things we do: training

program in border security, inspection techniques. Those are very

simple things, do not cost a lot of money. Investigative techniques;

cargo control. We have helped the Dominican Republic, for example, establish a state-of-the-art passport issuance system. We have

helped a number of countries established automated entry and exit

control systems.

So these are programs that have dual uses, and can be effective.

And given the relatively low level of sophistication in some of those

countries, but not all of them, it can have a positive effect.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Let me ask you one last question. At a later time

I would like to pursue that a little bit more. I hear you, but I am

not feeling warm and fuzzy. [Laughter.]

I see none of your testimonies you mention Cuba. I have read accounts that two Afghanis were arrested in the Cayman Islands

after transiting Cuba. I wonder if you can comment on that.

Cuba has been haven for terrorists. There have been issues

raised on several occasions about laboratories in Cuba with reference to biological and chemical weaponry. And recently the arrest

of the analyst in our own Defense Intelligence Agency, the analyst

who was responsible for telling us what is the reality of the situation inside of Cuba vis-a-vis our interests, and who was obviously

giving us not us not only the wrong assessments, but was also giving the Cubans assessments and information because as an analyst, as I understand it, you get a high degree of information to be

25

able to analyze. So it seems to me we had a major weakness by

virtue of this person who was spying for the Cuban regime.

Now, I know the Cuban regime is harmless, but I do not understand why they spent all these resources on all of these spies to

go ahead and be engaged in what is happening in the United

States if they have no intentions of any negative consequence to

the United States.

So could you comment on those realities, the Afghanis being arrested in Cayman Islands after transiting Cuba, the issue of terrorist havens, those who have found refuge in Cuba, and lastly,

what can you tell us in terms of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s

arrest?

Mr. MACK. Mr. Menendez, I am going to have to defer to my experts in terrorism. I do not have specific information on the arrest

in the Caymans nor the arrest of the Cuban agent associated with

the DIA.

Mr. TAYLOR. Sir, I am not familiar specifically with the arrest in

the Caymans. But clearly Cuba remains on our state sponsor list

because it has not changed its political commitment to terrorism as

a political tool. So it would not surprise me that people are operating of this ilk coming through Cuba, but I am not specifically

aware of the arrest.

With regard to the specific example of the arrests in DIA, I

would defer to the FBI and their investigation, or the Defense Department. But I can tell you from my earlier assignment in Air

Force Counterintelligence that the Cuban intelligence services have

been very active in the United States of America for years, and

continue to be.

So the fact that they had a source or attempted to gain a source

in that agency from a counterintelligence point of view is——

Mr. MENENDEZ. Well, according to the arrest they had a source,

not that they attempted to gain a source.

Mr. TAYLOR. Yes, sir.

Mr. MENENDEZ. They had a source, an analyst at a high level.

One last question, Mr. Chairman——

Mr. BALLENGER. Sure.

Mr. MENENDEZ [continuing]. As a result of your answer.

Do you all share with each other, I hope? I mean, after September 11th, I hope that we are sharing information with each

other, and I know that one of the Committee’s jurisdictional oversights has oversight on some of these issues. I would hope that we

are, you know, maybe in closed session at some point, Mr. Chairman, we have the opportunity to figure out what you are sharing,

because you gave me a series of answers that you are basically referring me to other agencies. This is the State Department of the

United States. It has to deal with other countries. It has to figure

out what our policy should be vis-a-vis those countries. I would

hope that you would be—you would know what in fact some of

these standings are on these issues that obviously affect our policy

toward those countries.

So if that is not the case, then I for one as one Member of this

Committee would like to know if that is the case, that you are not

getting information because you should be getting information, as

well as sharing information, obviously.

26

Mr. MACK. Do you want to talk?

Mr. STRUBLE. I just wanted to comment that you may be assured, Congressman, that we are sharing information. For example, on the Montez case, we are obviously sharing information with

the FBI. We do have an interest in that. But it is an ongoing prosecution, and Ambassador Taylor is perfectly correct to refer you to

the Justice Department because there are strict limits to what can

be said in the context of an ongoing investigation and prosection.

Mr. TAYLOR. I would agree with that certainly, and indicate, sir,

that we in the counterterrorism business probably share information better than in most bureaucracies in our government has been

my experience, and certainly that is improving since September

11th. It is not perfect, but clearly the only reason I would not address the issue, as Mr. Struble mentioned, it is an FBI issue under

investigation. It is inappropriate for me to discuss it.

Mr. MENENDEZ. My point simply is, without getting into the specifics of that particular arrest and investigation, there are consequences to your decision-making as a result of information that

was analyzed.

Mr. TAYLOR. Absolutely.

Mr. MENENDEZ. And brought to you through obviously a perverted source.

Mr. TAYLOR. Yes, sir.

Mr. MENENDEZ. Someone who is not working for our government

but working for them. And that anlaysis, which is shared with you,

I would assume——

Mr. TAYLOR. Indeed.

Mr. MENENDEZ [continuing]. Although it came out of the Defense

Department, obviously is shared with our foreign policy people to

make decisions as to how we react to certain countries on the

world. So that is the concern—the context in which I raise that

concern.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. BALLENGER. Congresswoman Davis.

Ms. DAVIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, gentlemen, for being here.

Ambassador Taylor and Ambassador Mack, both of you when you

gave your testimonies, Ambassador Taylor in particular, you were

talking about in the tri-border area there were evidence of

Hizballah and other extremist groups that were there, and they

had fundraising activities used and document forgery, money laundering, contraband, smuggling and so forth.

And then, Ambassador Mack, you talked about the Western

Hemisphere, that there is a historic link between the various terrorism groups, and you even mentioned one individual who as

linked to the Osama Bin Laden.

And I guess my concern is—then also I believe in your testimony,

Ambassador Taylor, you also stated that the, who was it, the IRA

terrorist had been training the FARC.

And I guess all of this gives me some great concern because in

another Subcommittee hearing that I was in, with a different Committee, I asked some of the members from the Colombian police,

‘‘Were there international terrorists in Colombia?’’ and was told

27

‘‘No, it was just local terrorists.’’ But yet I am hearing differently

today.

And I guess my question is, who is there? And do we know who

is there? What are we doing to stop the fundraising activities that

is the source of money to possibly Osama Bin Laden?

Mr. TAYLOR. Well, certainly, when the investigation that the Colombians were involved in that identified the PIRA let us know

that those people were operating there, and it was a very effective

action to identify and arrest those individuals.

We have ongoing cooperation with the tri-border authorities to

identify and effectively attempt to investigate and disrupt the illegal activities that these people are involved in on an ongoing basis

both from counternarcotics and from our counterterrorism point of

view.

Have we been totally successful? Not yet, but there is a clear

commitment on the part of those governments as well as in our assistance to assist them in going after these individuals who are involved in this type of activity.

Mr. MACK. I would like to comment on the issue of link between

internal Colombian terrorist organizations and drug trafficking.

One of the reason we are supporting the Colombian government’s

efforts to combat narcotics trafficking is that in fact to the degree

we can reduce the income generated by narcotics trafficking, we

can also decrease the capacity of the three terrorist organizations

that we have designated terrorist organizations in Colombia to conduct their activities.

So there is a direct link between our efforts to stem narcotics

trafficking and our efforts to stem terrorist violence in Colombia.

Ms. DAVIS. There have also been press reports for the city of

Maicao, I believe it is pronounced, in Colombia, where there is a

heavy population supposedly of Middle Eastern extremists who are

doing the same thing.

Can you comment on that?

Mr. TAYLOR. I believe that is in Ecuador.

Ms. DAVIS. In Colombia, I believe.

Mr. TAYLOR. Colombia?

Mr. MACK. Are you referring to Manton, Ecuador?

Ms. DAVIS. No, Maicao. It is M–A–I–C–O, I believe, and it is on

the border of the Venezuela, if I am not mistaken. Is that not correct, Colombia and Venezuela?

Mr. MACK. I am not familiar with that situation.

Mr. TAYLOR. Nor am I.

Mr. STRUBLE. There are large expatriate populations in a number of areas in Latin America. The tri-border region has been mentioned before. There is also Santa Margarita Island in Venezuela,

the Colon Free Trade Zone in Panama, and then a number of others throughout the hemisphere.

We are quite concerned about the possibility or in some instances

the certainty of financial transactions from these areas supporting

terrorist groups in the Middle East.

Mr. Mack alluded before to the efforts of INL over a number of

years to give countries the tools, help them develop the tools, and

work multilaterally in this hemisphere to control money laundering

through more effective sharing of financial transaction information.

28

It is a complex issue and therefore I am grateful that INL has

been working on it for years because it has given us a huge head

start. There are now—most of the countries in this hemisphere

have a legal basis to demand the kind of records of banks, to assert

the sorts of requirements that we have here in the United States,

the transactions above certain levels be reported to authorities.

They have trained police in place to review these records and begin

to act on the basis of them.

So when we recently sought or made a request of the hemisphere, asking that they enforce UN Resolutions 1333 and I believe

it is 1373 to stop financial transactions and support of terrorist

groups in the UN list and then later on the executive order issued

by our own President, many of these countries—not all—but many

of the countries of our hemisphere were—thanks to efforts that had

been underway for many years—in a much better position to move

and to enforce these sorts of resolutions.

Ms. DAVIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. DELAHUNT. Would the gentlelady yield for a moment?

Ms. DAVIS. Yes, be happy to

Mr. DELAHUNT. She was referring to this city in Colombia, and

none of you seem to be aware of what is part of a staff memo to

the Committee Members, and it quotes as a source the periodical

‘‘Cambio.’’

Now, there is no date attached to it, but the quote, presumably

this is a quote from the periodical, from ‘‘Cambio.’’ And let me read

it.

‘‘The Colombian city of Maicao, located on the northern border with Venezuela, has become a haven for Middle East extremists who support Palestinian terrorist activities. Most of

the 4,000 Middle Eastern businessmen operating in Maicao

contribute a percentage of their profits to the Palestinian

cause. Financial transactions have been traced to Middle Eastern destinations from Maicao as well as through a variety of

countries. Suspicions exist that Maicao was a meeting place for

weapons traffickers who are supplying arms to the extremist

groups support the Intifada.’’

This is a rather, I would say, disturbing quote. Now, neither the

gentlelady nor I am sure anyone has the ability to ascertain the legitimacy, the validity or the accuracy of the quote. But the fact that

none of you appear to be familiar or conversant with this particular

community leads me to believe that this particular quote should

not be given much credence.

Is that a fair statement, Representative, that is the concern that

you were expressing in your question?

Ms. DAVIS. [Nodding.]

Mr. DELAHUNT. Jim, you have been in Colombia a long time.

Roger?

Mr. MACK. I certainly would not say we should not give it credence. I would say we should go back and do our homework and

see what is going on in Maicao. I just personally had not been familiar with this particular——

29

Mr. DELAHUNT. Again let me emphasize, there is no date here attached. But the fact that it has drawn a blank from the four of you

I find somewhat disconcerting.

I yield back and thank the gentlelady.

Ms. DAVIS. Thank you for explaining my concern there. [Laughter.]

If you could get back to me with an answer on that, I would certainly appreciate it.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. BALLENGER. Congressman Faleomavaega.

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I would like

to offer my personal ‘‘bienvenidos’’ to our distinguished panel that

is here, and especially to my good friend, Ambassador Noriega, who

has an important post, I certainly want to thank you for your statements.

I think, as a follow up of what my good friend, Mr. Delahunt had

stated earlier, I have been a Member of this Committee for about

13 years now, been through three Presidents and I know, Mr.

Chairman, you have been through a lot more than I have, and your

wisdom and experience I always depend upon in understanding

this region.

And if I were to project some sense of understanding and appreciation for our Latin American neighbors, if I were to have one

word to define our policy over the years that I have been trying to

follow toward this region, which I feel is very, very important, I call

it indifference. And it is always when we deal with Latin America,

it is like ‘‘We’ll get to it.’’

And then the responses also from the Latin American neighbors

have not been positive either. Always seems like they felt like they

have been left behind. And maybe I am wrong in my observation,

but this seems to be what I hear when I visit some of our Central

and South American Latin leaders.

And I suppose maybe to project it in another way in cold, common sense figures, what is the total population of Latin America,

including Mexico with 90 million? Are we talking about 600 million

people living in that region?

Mr. MACK. [Nodding.]

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. And what is the total investment does our

country have toward Latin America? Has there been any figures

given on that, gentlemen?

The State Department should know, I would hope. Any guesses?

You can wing it. Any idea how much investments we have there

in Latin America?

Mr. STRUBLE. I do not have the hemispheric figures, Congressman. I do know that in Brazil it is on the order of $40 billion,

which is——

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Forty billion dollars?

Mr. STRUBLE. Forty billion dollars, which is more than the level

of U.S. direct foreign investment in China. In Mexico, it is under

Brazil’s level of 40 billion, but growing very quickly.

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. So it is——

Mr. STRUBLE. It is quite substantial. Yes, sir.

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Very substantial.

30

And I suppose my next question, how many U.S. citizens live in

Latin America? Any—can you wing it?

The reason for my raising this question is that I recall the tremendous problems we are having in a country like Indonesia. We

have about a $20 billion investment in that country, and there are

36,000 U.S. citizens living there. And at the height of the tragedy

on September 11, and this was something that I admonish very

strongly against our State Department friends, is that what provisions or what is the Administration doing to make sure that we

end up with not having hostages like we have done in the past, or

just U.S. citizens’ lives being taken at risk.

And the reason for my asking this question, how many U.S. citizens live in Latin America? Do we know that?

Mr. STRUBLE. Yes, we do know that, Congressman. Our indices

are required to do a report twice a year called the F–77 report that

gives the number of American citizens who are believed to be residents in their country, and visitors at any given time.

I do not have aggregated figures for the hemisphere, but I would

glad to get those for you.

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Can you submit that for the record?

Mr. STRUBLE. Yes, I will.

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I really would appreciate it.

[The information referred to follows:]

RESPONSE BY MR. STRUBLE TO THE QUESTION POSED BY THE HONORABLE ENI F.H.

FALEOMAVAEGA

Our posts are required to submit a report once each year, entitled the ‘‘F–77 Report of Potential Evacuees,’’ which estimates the number of American citizens believed, at any given time, to be residing in a country, whether permanently or as

tourists.

It is important to note that data included in the F–77 represent only an estimate.

These figures are based mainly on the voluntary registrations of U.S. citizens who

contact the U.S. Embassy when they arrive in a country. In addition, information

provided by local immigration services or tourism boards are important references

for this report.

The most recent F–77 reports from posts reporting to the Bureau of Western

Hemisphere Affairs (including Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean) estimate that

there are 2,354,628 U.S. citizens in the region. This number includes 14,708 U.S.

Government personnel who can be ordered to leave in the event of an emergency.

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I think there is one thing that I would like

to share with the members of the panel. As Ambassador Noriega

had referred earlier about the Rio Treaty.

Are there provisions in the Rio Treaty that has military aspects

like we have as a security agreement like NATO? Does it have a

section 5 provision in there? You hit me and the rest of us are

going to hit you?

Mr. NORIEGA. That is——

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. An attack against one country is an attack

against all?

Mr. NORIEGA. Yes, Mr. Faleomavaega, it explicitly does incorporate that principle.

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Okay.

Mr. NORIEGA. There is an obligation for mutual defense. An attack against one American state is an attack against all, and that

was—that provision, all of the provisions of the Rio Treaty were involved on September 19th.

31

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Okay. So now in recognition of the fact that

many of our Latin neighbors are not economically well off, and the

reason why Canada is the only country in the Western Hemisphere

that has offered military assistance, but yet by the same token

most of our Latin American neighbors, a tremendous amount part

of their budget goes into military hardware purchase, solders.

And so I want to ask the panel. When you say that there is total

commitment, my question is, what kind of a commitment are we

getting from our Latin neighbors?

Or should they be committed, given the fact that our policy toward them has always been indifference?

Or am I wrong in my observation that our policy toward Latin

American has always been with indifference, not giving them the

real sense of priority like we do Europe or the Middle East?

Mr. NORIEGA. Well, Mr. Faleomavaega, if I could comment very

explicitly on the specific point on the use of force.

Every form of assistance is compulsory except for the use of

force, which is, of course governed by individual governments’ constitutions. And so the treaty cannot compel a government to commit to the use of force.

Mr. Struble would know explicitly, I think, of particular countries that have offered some form of military cooperation, although

we have emphasized that we are not asking for that sort of commitment from most of the countries of Central or South America

in response to this particular crisis.

I think at the OAS the agenda of the United States has been one

of engagement with countries in the hemisphere. We pushed the

President’s policy of economic development and promotion of trade,

and recognize that it is very important to our overall foreign policy.

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. But please, Ambassador Noriega, I did not

mean to interrupt you. But we are talking about what happened

September 11. Obviously, this is the reason for our meeting today.

This is not just a regional issue, this is a global issue. Almost 7,000

U.S. citizens as died as a result of this tragedy.

I just, and I can understand the economic problems that our

Latin neighbors are having. That is perfectly understandable. But

I just wanted just to know if the State Department can come out

tomorrow and says they are so committed that they are even—they

are willing to send volunteers or to do whatever if we have to go

to Afghanistan. They may not have the money to send troops to Afghanistan. But would they be willing to volunteer to fight along

side us?

You know, they say that there are many acquaintances but very

few friends, and you know who your real friends are when the guy

is next to in the fox hole.

And so it is nice that we talk about the rhetoric, and all the

beautiful statements that we can do in paper, but I just wanted to

find out if the 600 million fellow Western Hemispherians living

along our side of this planet, are they willing to do the same thing

that we are trying to resolve.

Mr. STRUBLE. Congressman, let me first of all say that I am always of two minds when I hear the charge that the United States

is not paying adequate attention to this hemisphere because on the

one hand I kind of like that. I would like to see as much attention

32

paid to the Western Hemisphere as possible, and I believe that it

can be very helpful to our policy objectives in having that attention.

On the other hand, I know that it is really not true, and it has

certainly not been true in this Administration. I would feel confident in saying that, at least before the events of September 11

when President Bush received a large numbers of visitors to the

White House, that there had been more visitors from the Western

Hemisphere in the Oval Office than from any other geographic region of the world. And I think our President has had a very strong

interest in Latin America. For that matter, the previous Administrations have had a growing interest in Latin America, and paid

increasing attention to it.

I do not think it is an appropriate measure of the dedication of

our friends in our hemisphere to ask how many of them are offering military forces to us. As Ambassador Noriega noted, in the first

instance we have not asked. And in the second case, it is actually

not true that Latin American countries spend a lot of money on

their militaries. Our Latin American neighbors spend a lower percentage of their gross domestic product on their militaries than in

any other region in the world. That is something, I think, that we

can proud of.

It has been a policy objective of the United States to try to help

the countries in this region devote more resources to their crying

social needs and development needs, and not to their militaries.

And in fact their militaries do not have the sorts of power projection abilities that would allow them to participate on that sort of

basis with U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

What they have done, however, is to offer the kind of assistance

that is within their reach; intelligence cooperation. We have talked

about dangers in this hemisphere from terrorists groups that are

here, and we have enjoyed very good cooperation from a number

of countries in that sphere.

We have made reference to enforcement of UN resolutions to

block the financing of terrorist groups. And once again, we are getting good hemispheric cooperation on that.

Down to very simple things like enhanced protection for our embassies and American citizens, I am not aware of a single country

in the hemisphere that has failed to fulsomely answer our requests

following September 11th for that assistance.

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. All right. Mr. Ambassador, I know my time

is coming up, and I hate to cut you off, but I do make one observation.

When I was in Argentina, I had the most sad occasion of having

to meet with the relatives and families of the 86 Jewish people who

were bombed and killed in that tragedy. And for 10 years the Argentine government kept giving them the runaround in terms of

conducting proper investigations and finding out who the culprits

were. And to this day they are still undergoing this.

So I mean, I can understand too that there is apprehension, even

among some government leaders in wanting to cooperate fully or

their lives would be at risk. So there is that understanding.

I just wanted just to say, do you think that it is possible that our

President will also give Cuba the same notice as he did to Saddam

Hussein; that if he in fact does harbor terrorists or in any way

33

being of any held to bin Laden, that his time will also be given

proper notice?

This is just a parenthetic—I mean, a hypothetical. [Laughter.]

This is just a hypothetical question.

Mr. STRUBLE. I think the President has made a clear statement

to all countries in the world on the U.S. position, Congressman.

Thank you.

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My

time has expired.

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman, if I just might comment too—— Mr. BALLENGER. Sure.

Mr. TAYLOR [continuing]. On the Congressman’s question. And

this is a unique campaign in the history, I think, of the world, and

it is our expectation that countries will do all they can internally

as countries in the region have in law enforcement, financial transactions, and intelligence sharing. And we have gotten tremendous

support for that.

In many ways, that kind of cooperation is even more important

to us long term in this campaign because of our ability through

that cooperation to track people around the world. So this campaign is about military force today, but the long term part of it is

about worldwide law enforcement, intelligence and financial cooperation that allows us to find these people, to focus on them, and

to arrest them, and to bring them to justice, and that will be very,

very important to us down the road.

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. So you are giving us absolute assurance

that our Latin American neighbors are sharing intelligence, find

the culprits, share it with them, send them over to—— Mr. TAYLOR. Sir, I know better than to give absolute anything.

[Laughter.]

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Good politician.

Mr. NORIEGA. Mr. Chairman, could I just amplify——

Mr. BALLENGER. Yes.

Mr. NORIEGA [continuing]. On the answers, very excellent answers that Mr. Struble and Ambassador Taylor have given on this?

It is very important, as Mr. Menendez noted, you know, today

there is a lot of support, and we recognize that. Where will we be

in a year or 6 months from now? Will we have the intensity of cooperation?

And I am not just sort of going to bat for my client here because

I actually work for the U.S. at the OAS, not for the OAS. But what

is important about the OAS is that we can set in place urgently

now a work plan, and then day in and day out push progress across

the board, and engage the member states to encourage the cooperation, find out where the gaps are in their expertise, where can they

use some additional technical assistance and training, plug those

things in.

I can assure you that the Ambassador of Colombia has probably

heard of Maicao, Colombia, for example, and Colombia also has,

thanks to the United States, perhaps the best financial controls in

the Western Hemisphere, and they have come to us and said let

us take the lead at the OAS to strengthen our other countries in

Latin America its capacity to control the laundering of money

through their territory. And they will be able to do that in a horiVerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:01 Dec 10, 2001 Jkt 075633 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\WH\101001\75633 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1
34

zontal way, and again, day in and day out. And we have to maintain the momentum that we have now. Take the political commitment we have now, shape a work plan, and then day in and day

out work that at the OAS and other international organizations.

Mr. BALLENGER. Congressman Payne.

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. I will be relatively brief. I, unfortunately, missed your testimony, but I can kind of get a drift

from the questions that it seems like a little bit was left to be desired.

I just have a question, one of those hypothetical questions also.

Our policy has indicated that if you are willing to be on our side,

so to speak, that we are willing to sort of—you know, we are new

allies.

What I mean by that is, for example, Sudan that harbored bin

Laden from 1991 to 1996, and has had a horrendous war going on

for about 18 years, a couple of million people are dead, they just

bombed some food sites yesterday. We were out on the move, and

the Subcommittee finally had some legislation that was going to try

to get those people pumping oil, and buying gum arabic from

Sudan to have them taken off of the capital markets. We had capital market things, we were really moving in the right direction.

Well, that was before September 11th. Now Sudan is—2 million

people are gone, and 4 million have been displaced. They can still

bomb people in these little villages. And they are going to give us

some information, so they are right now our ally.

Supposing Fidel Castro says he got some information, he has not

killed 2 million people as the NIF, the National Islamic Front, government has done in Sudan—directly through famine that has been

created and so forth. But I mean, bin Laden lived there for 6 years.

They plotted the assassination of Mubarak in Sudan.

Maybe we ought to call Fidel up and ask him to give us some

names, and then our policy will change. What do you think?

Mr. TAYLOR. Sir, if I might, Sudan remains on our list of state

sponsors of terrorism. They have not gotten a ‘‘get out of jail card’’ if you will for their support or their help or assistance in locating

and investigating individuals that we are concerned with, and will

not get for that action. But we will take information that helps us

identify people from anyone, that will help us get at the people we

are looking for.

But that does not necessarily result in a tremendous change in

our policy with regard to Sudan. It remains a part of our statesponsored list. It is still sanctioned under the state sponsorship

and other sanctions, and that has not changed and will not change

just because of what they have done here.

Mr. PAYNE. Well, I hope not. I know our Sudan Peace Act was

asked by the Administration to be withdrawn, which we had to,

and Sudan has just been allowed to become a member of one of the

committees that we blocked from our position on the Security

Council for the last 7 years, but now their diplomats are no longer

sanctioned in this 20-mile radius of Washington. They can romp

around the U.S. anywhere they want to. However, that is there.

Let me just ask a specific question regarding the IRA and Colombia. Is there very much—do you think that this group, several persons or two men who were arrested, do you believe that this were

35

a couple of persons sort of their own a part of the—sort of the Provisional or what they call the new IRA or not even IRA organizational people, but just some guys that sort of wanted to make some

money on their own or whatever?

What is your assessment of that?

Because as you know, some of the members of Sinn Fein, you

know, Jerry Adams and those folks have been moving toward trying to have governance up in the north of Ireland, having really

taken this as a real setback because of this business. And it appears as though they were not a party to it or even had knowledge

of it. So I wonder what is the official stand on that.

Mr. TAYLOR. It is our assessment that they were members of the

PIRA. Whether they were there at the direction of Sinn Fein or

not, I do not think the investigation has determined that as yet.

But the fact that these individuals were members of the PIRA, I

think, is indisputable.

Mr. PAYNE. Just one last question. I do not want to, you know,

put anybody on the spot. I just wondered. Do you know what the

amount of foreign aid, not investment, that is a whole different

story, but do you know what our foreign aid budget is for Latin

America, more or less?

Mr. STRUBLE. I don’t have that figure with me right now.

Mr. PAYNE. Okay. I imagine it’s not much, I mean, comparatively, which is another problem that we have when we talk about

our image around. You know, there are a lot that we could have

done in the past by sharing some of our resources or helping with

foreign aid, and especially in our neighborhood in Latin America

where you probably have as much abject poverty as anywhere in

the world.

And I would hope that as we move forward we would start taking a look at our policies worldwide and how we help to share our

resources. We do not only have to put money, I am just talking

about teachers, maybe some engineers to build a road, maybe some

army corps to drill, you know, a well so maybe some people might

have some clean water. You know, if we start reviewing our policies for the past 50 years or so, we have—God did bless us, and

God blessed America, but we sometimes have thought it was only

our sea to shining sea, and the rest of the world be damned. And

I just think we could have done more, and even our dues in the

UN, billion dollars behind. Poor countries send in troops for peacekeeping. We are supposed to send our money that goes to pay those

poor countries for those troops. Four or five years behind. It is really not fair.

But I know you guys, that is a little above your pay grade. But

I just want to say that I hope as we move into this new war on

terrorism, I want to see them knocked out as much as anyone else.

I do not like this situation of not being able to get into our garage

when we want to and all that sort of thing. But I think we are

going to have to take a whole new global look at the way we do

business in the world. The world is a big place. It is not only us.

Mr. STRUBLE. Congressman, if I may make a comment.

We do not depend simply upon on our assistance levels for Latin

America to provide development opportunities for this hemisphere.

You know, for 10 years and through three Administrations there

36

has been a comprehensive strategy toward the Western Hemisphere, through the Summit of the Americas process that recognizes the need to provide resources for countries to invest in its

people and education and health, to provide a basis for development.

An important element of that, of course, is providing opportunities for trade as well through the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

In fact, I think that there is broad agreement that trade not aid

is the most significant single contribution that we could make to

development.

So we certainly hope that we can work together with the Congress to provide the bases for moving forward on the Free Trade

Area of the Americas as quickly as possible through, for example,

the adoption of TPA authority.

Thank you.

Mr. BALLENGER. If I may, just to match up with what you are

talking about. I have been trying to tell anybody at the State or

anybody at the national level of power structure that the Andean

Trade Preference Act is something that I think can pass very easily

through this Congress because we are supporting our friends and

we are helping people in their war against drugs. And it might

even work in Chile, that would be an easy one to pass.

But when you get to TPA, all of a sudden you run into a whole

bunch of difficult ball games or different things that may cause

trouble, and I would just like to pass the word again to the Administration—why not take the easy ones first instead of taking the

tough one that may not pass. I hate to be that negative.

I would like to ask one question more. President Fox, when he

was here a week ago or so, he told Members of Congress that he

would propose a common security arrangement between the

NAFTA members, and he told this to President Bush.

Have you heard anything along the line as he—has he ever come

through with anything yet?

Mr. STRUBLE. I will have to take the question, Congressman, and

see if we have a specific proposal for Mexico. We have had a number of specific actions that they have taken both before September

11th and after to help enhance common security along our border.

But let me check on that for you.

Mr. BALLENGER. Okay, I would appreciate it.

[The information referred to follows:]

RESPONSE BY MR. STRUBLE TO THE QUESTION POSED BY THE HONORABLE CASS

BALLENGER

President Bush and President Fox discussed the issue of border security, in the

context of counterterrorism cooperation, at their brief meeting on October 4 in

Washington. No specific plans were discussed, but President Fox reiterated his government’s desire to support the U.S. in any way possible. The Government of Mexico

has taken concrete steps to assist with border security issues, including detaining

several suspicious individuals for questioning and instituting more stringent procedures for nationals of 60 countries who solicit visas to enter Mexico. U.S. officials

at our Embassy in Mexico City have characterized Mexican cooperation as ‘extraordinary’ since September 11.

Mexican National Security Advisor Adolfo Aguilar Zinser will lead a high-level

delegation of Mexican officials to meet with Homeland Security Advisor Ridge on

November 19. The Mexican delegation also has meetings scheduled with the Attorney General, INS Commissioner, U.S. Customs Commissioner, the Under Secretary

37

of State for Political Affairs, and the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western

Hemisphere Affairs.

In addition, border security issues will highlight the agenda of a working-level

meeting of the U.S.-Mexico High Level Working Group on Migration to be held in

Washington on November 20.

Mr. BALLENGER. Again, gentlemen, I would like to thank you all

for testifying today. I think it is a program that—usually when we

get in this little room nobody shows up with a TV camera, so it

must have some interest to the rest of the people of the nation. And

I would just again like to thank you all, first of all, for the service

that you provide the country; but second of all, for being willing to

tell us a lot more than we probably knew before.

And since we are not the Senate, we are not going to leak anything out of this room. [Laughter.]

So thanks again for being here.

Mr. STRUBLE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Members.

[Whereupon, at 3:40 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

(39)

A P P E N D I X

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING RECORD

PREPARED STATEMENT OF J. CURTIS STRUBLE, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, the countries of the

Americas have responded strongly and positively against international terrorism

and in solidarity with the United States, and have supported our efforts to construct

an international counterterrorism coalition. Indeed, the outpouring of support, sympathy and outrage by our Western Hemisphere neighbors has been especially gratifying to those of us who have worked in the hemisphere for any length of time.

These horrific events have underscored the values and humanity we hold in common, reminding us that the people of this Hemisphere hold a special feeling for the

U.S.; cherish democracy and the free exchange of ideas; and share our respect for

the sanctity of human life and our outrage at the callous, wanton cruelty of those

who would seek to destroy it all.

As Ambassador Noriega has made clear, the political response of the hemisphere’s

governments and foreign ministers in the OAS and within the Rio Treaty context

has been gratifying and vitally important as the U.S. shapes its response to terrorism. Some countries which have experienced terrorist acts in their own territory

in the past, empathized automatically. At the same time, the deeply-felt humanity

of the responses has been particularly poignant. In the statements and actions of

leaders and individuals there has uniformly been a sense that they not only understood our pain and grief but that they shared in our loss. Indeed, many did literally

share our suffering. Thirty of the Hemisphere’s thirty-four nations lost citizens in

the events of September 11, a tragic testimony of the degree to which our fates are

linked. Among those nations directly affected, El Salvador counts 122 dead and

missing, the Dominican Republic 42, and Ecuador 31.

The Western Hemisphere, perhaps more than any region in the world, has benefited from the free flow of trade, people and ideas, and the US has been a natural

focus of that flow. What we have discovered in the past two weeks is that that flow,

in addition to creating a natural commonality of interest, has also fostered bonds

that go far deeper.

A mound of flowers as high as the embassy gate in Ottawa; flags at half mast

throughout the hemisphere; a simple heart-rending ceremony by Ecuador’s firefighters honoring their fallen comrades in New York City; a day of remembrance

for the September 11 victims at the rebuilt AMIA Jewish Community Center in

Buenos Aires—rebuilt following the 1994 terrorist attack that killed 86 Argentines.

All of these gestures speak to the shared bonds within our hemisphere and transcend the daily press of events that often seem to divide us. Cuba alone failed to

join the hemispheric chorus of sympathy and support, choosing instead to criticize

the United States and say we brought the attacks upon ourselves.

In the days immediately following the attack, there was a sense among our neighbors in the hemisphere that they could not offer help, condolences and support fast

enough to mollify their own feelings of sympathy and outrage. Offers of rescue assistance, medical teams, plasma and military support flowed in so quickly that managing them and responding was difficult. President De la Rua offered Argentina’s

world-class military peacekeepers to lessen such commitments by our armed forces

at a time we need to husband our strength. Expressions of sentiment followed as

quickly: a flood of letters from presidents and prime ministers; 100,000 people at

a memorial service on Parliament Hill in Ottawa; a group of school children with

a wreath and a handmade card in La Paz. In Jamaica, tossing protocol concerns

aside, both the Governor-General and the Prime Minister paid unprecedented calls

upon the embassy in Kingston to offer their condolences and to express their supVerDate 11-MAY-2000 14:01 Dec 10, 2001 Jkt 075633 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\WH\101001\75633 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1
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port. The people of Canada opened their homes to welcome the hundreds of air travelers whose flights were diverted on that tragic day. In Brasilia, the President and

Foreign Minister spent an hour at our Embassy mingling with staff to provide encouragement in a dark hour.

The governments of Bolivia and Ecuador held memorial services attended by

Presidents Quiroga and Noboa. The government of Paraguay declared a 48-hour period of mourning. Several countries cancelled national day ceremonies. In Rio de Janeiro the memorial service at the local Anglican Church was attended by the religious leader of the Islamic Center in Sao Paulo, who flew to Rio simply to attend

the ceremony and to demonstrate ‘‘. . . our solidarity with the American people, declaring our vehement repudiation of all types of terrorism, perfidy and extremism.’’

President Fox of Mexico met with President Bush on October 4 to reaffirm Mexican

support for the United States. President Toledo of Peru made an unplanned visit

to the OAS Special General Assembly on the morning of September 11 to express

Peru’s outrage at the terrorist attacks and express solidarity with the assembled foreign ministers of the hemisphere.

Moreover, these expressions of solidarity and sympathy are being matched by concrete actions by the nations of the Hemisphere, underlining the President’s statement that the campaign against terrorism has to be global and that every country

in the world has a role to play. Countries from the Bahamas to Argentina to Canada

have taken concrete steps to freeze accounts linked to Osama bin Ladin and his associates as called for in UN Security Council Resolutions 1333 and 1373. Governments have beefed up security measures: Panama enhancing security to assure the

protection of the Panama Canal and Venezuela providing additional protection for

our diplomatic residences and schools used by Americans in Caracas. We are in

close contact with authorities from Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay to share intelligence about possible terrorist activities in the tri-border area of those countries.

The countries of Central America are looking at ways to improve border security

and improve the sharing of information about migrants. Colombia is offering to

share with its regional neighbors its technical expertise in areas such as money

laundering gained in close partnership with the U.S. in the past. More needs to be

done to monitor and suppress money laundering and alien smuggling, criminal activities that also provide resources and logistic support for terrorist. We are urging

all the countries of the hemisphere to sign and ratify the 12 international conventions that deal with counterterrorism and to implement fully the terms of UNSC

1333 and 1373 with respect to blocking terrorists’ access to funds.

Events in Washington, at the extraordinary convocation of OAS foreign ministers

on September 21, were an important measure of our support within the hemisphere.

The invocation of the Rio Treaty that same day and the expressions of solidarity

were critical as we energize world condemnation of terrorism. However, the real

measures of the tragedy of September 11, and the degree to which those events have

drawn the hemisphere together, have played out in churches, squares and plazas

throughout the hemisphere as the Americas grieved the loss of 6,000 of their fellows. And our hemispheric commitment to confront terrorism will be demonstrated

by the concrete measures we take as sovereign governments and as a community

of governments to arm ourselves against this worldwide threat.

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