terrorism

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Careful thought about giving into concessions

23 August 2010 at 1442 in Crime, CuIS, Cuban Intelligence Service, Fidel Castro, Government, Intelligence, International Relations, Mexico, Nomenklatura, Organized crime, Population, Raul Castro, Security, US, Venezuela, Violence, counterintelligence, espionage, terrorism by Armando F. Mastrapa 3d

Jerry Brewer of Criminal Justice International Associates pens an op-ed (via Mexidata.info) on whether U.S. concessions are justified in light of the Castro regime’s destabilizing campaign in Latin America and continuous iron grip at home:

As Cuba and Latin America’s leftist regimes continue their efforts to prevent the U.S. from assisting its democratic neighbors with drug interdiction, and in the fight against transnational criminal insurgencies — violence and deaths continue to soar.  In Venezuela alone, reports indicate a murder rate of 220 per 100,000 people.  This is a higher rate than Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez.

Indeed, Caracas may currently be the most violent city in the world.

The U.S. must remember that Cold War espionage against us, by Cuba, is still alive and well.  Too, the Guantanamo base remains a strategic observation hub for Caribbean activities that potentially threaten free people within this hemisphere.  And it is clear Fidel Castro wants us out.

President Obama holds the cards.  To free the Cuban people is a decision of the Castro regime.

(Image: Front page of August 13 edition of El Nacional showing homicide victims in a Caracas morgue as a result of spiraling violence.)

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Fight against ETA

13 August 2010 at 1420 in Spain, Violence, terrorism by Armando F. Mastrapa 3d

Der Spiegel on the hopes of Basque president Francisco Javier “Patxi” López Álvarez bringing peace with his zero tolerance against ETA terrorists, whose sanctuary for members has been provided by Havana.

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State sponsor of terrorism

5 August 2010 at 1720 in Government, Violence, terrorism by Armando F. Mastrapa 3d

The U.S. State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism released today its annual Country Reports on Terrorism for 2009.

Here is the report’s entry for Cuba (pgs. 191 and 192):

The Cuban government and official media publicly condemned acts of terrorism by al-Qa‘ida and affiliates, while at the same time remaining critical of the U.S. approach to combating international terrorism. Although Cuba no longer supports armed struggle in Latin America and other parts of the world, the Government of Cuba continued to provide physical safe haven and ideological support to members of three terrorist organizations that are designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the United States.

The Government of Cuba has long assisted members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army of Colombia (ELN), and Spain‘s Basque Homeland and Freedom Organization (ETA), some having arrived in Cuba in connection with peace negotiations with the governments of Colombia and Spain. There was no evidence of direct financial support for terrorist organizations by Cuba in 2009, though it continued to provide safe haven to members of the FARC, ELN, and ETA, providing them with living, logistical, and medical support.

Cuba cooperated with the United States on a limited number of law enforcement matters. However, the Cuban government continued to permit U.S. fugitives to live legally in Cuba. These U.S. fugitives include convicted murderers as well as numerous hijackers. Cuba permitted one such fugitive, hijacker Luis Armando Peña Soltren, to voluntarily depart Cuba; Peña Soltren was arrested upon his arrival in the United States in October.

Cuba‘s Immigration Department refurbished the passenger inspection area at Jose Marti International Airport and provided new software and biometric readers to its Border Guards.

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Double agent relates experiences in a new book (Updated)

20 July 2010 at 1548 in CuIS, Cuban Intelligence Service, Havana, Intelligence, International Relations, Mexico, US, counterintelligence, espionage, terrorism by Armando F. Mastrapa 3d

The man behind the operation that broke up the most important organization involved in falsified documents in the United States was a double-agent who worked for Cuba and the United States. His codename was Lázaro.

In statements to EFE, Lázaro (whose real name is Robert Kelly) described the principal goal of “Tag Operation,” which was to prove Islamic terrorists used false documents sold by a [Mexican] group, however, the operation could not be completed because there was a lack of cooperation between U.S. security agencies.

Kelly (63-years old) is writing a book titled, Non Official Cover: The History of Lázaro (Sin cobertura oficial: la historia de Lázaro), where he relates his first mission was to infiltrate the Cuban General Directorate of Intelligence (Dirección de Inteligencia de Cuba) at the end of 1999 when he created a web page called La Voz de Cuba to defend the return of Elián González to his father.

He also asserts in his book that he was involved in the sale of SAM missiles in Nicaragua and in the defection of a Cuban scientist to the United States.

More of the EFE piece here.

Miami New Times profiled Kelly in 2009 after having approached the weekly about his tales of intrigue.

(Image: Original Spy vs Spy cartoon drawn by Antonio Prohias and featured in MAD magazine #60, January 1961.)

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Criminal activity funding operations

25 June 2010 at 0841 in Crime, CuIS, Cuban Intelligence Service, Intelligence, International Relations, Organized crime, Violence, guerrilla movements, terrorism by Armando F. Mastrapa 3d

Stratfor analytical article on insurgent/terrorist groups using criminal activity to fund its operations.  A reference is made within the piece to the Cuban Intelligence Service (CuIS):

For the militant group, the addition of a state sponsor can provide an array of modern weaponry and a great deal of useful training. For example, the FIM-92 Stinger missiles that the United States gave to Afghan militants fighting Soviet forces greatly enhanced the militants’ ability to counter the Soviets’ use of air power. The training provided by the Soviet KGB and its allies, the Cuban DGI and the East German Stasi, revolutionized the use of improvised explosive devices in terrorist attacks. Members of the groups these intelligence services trained at camps in Libya, Lebanon and Yemen, such as the German Red Brigades, the Provincial Irish Republican Army (PIRA), the Japanese Red Army and various Palestinian militant groups (among others), all became quite adept at using explosives in terrorist attacks.

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ETA protected by Cuban regime

13 June 2010 at 1725 in Commentary, Government, Havana, International Relations, Spain, Violence, guerrilla movements, terrorism by Armando F. Mastrapa 3d

Alberto Pérez Giménez comments in today’s ABC (one of Spain’s national newspapers) about Jorge Masetti’s history with Latin American terrorist groups trained in Havana.

And also, how Vilma Espín (Raúl Castro’s deceased wife) served as hostess at dinner parties with “Basque fighters” in attendance.

ETA, per Pérez Giménez, remains under the protection of the Cuban regime.

(Image: 2009 marked the 50th anniversary of ETA. Radio Netherlands Worldwide.)

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