U.S. commander warns of threat from jihadists based in Latin American countries

One more indication that global Jihad is happening and on a roll. Saudi money and radical ideology are at the root of the spread of Islam. Until the western governments see Islamification as a direct and imminent threat, Jihad will continue to expand.
FROM JIHADWATCH.ORG:
October 19, 2007
U.S. commander warns of threat from jihadists based in Latin American countries
"U.S. commander warns of Latin America terrorist threat," by Angus MacSwan for Reuters:
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Islamic terrorist groups have networks in Latin America and the Caribbean and could use the region as a base to launch attacks on the United States, the senior U.S. military commander for the region says.
"For sure, members, facilitators, and sympathizers of Islamic terrorist organizations are present in our hemisphere," Adm. Jim Stavridis, head of the U.S. Southern Command, wrote in an article in the fall edition of Americas Quarterly journal, obtained by Reuters before publication.
"We consider Latin America and the Caribbean as being highly likely bases for future terrorist threats to the U.S. and others."
The Trinidadian and Guyanese connections http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/016736.php
to the JFK airport plot of this past summer, mentioned below, lend credence to that.
U.S. officials have warned of a militant presence in Latin America since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. They have provided little concrete evidence and Brazil, which has a large Arab population, and some other regional governments have played down the threat.
But Stavridis was reiterating U.S. concerns after police said in June they had foiled a plot to sabotage New York's John F. Kennedy airport by suspects linked to the Caribbean.
The Lebanon-based Hezbollah was the most prominent group in Latin America, Stavridis said. Most of its activity appeared to be fund-raising but "there are indications of an operational presence and the potential for attacks."
A multinational task force has been set up in the so-called tri-border where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet, an area reputed to be a hotbed of money-laundering and smuggling.
Venezuela, a known area of Hizballah activity, must also not be overlooked, particularly when one considers Hugo Chávez' close relationships with figures like Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The head of border controls for Brazil's Federal Police disagreed with the admiral's contention.
"If I were a terrorist I'd launch an attack from England. Latinos face 10 times the controls that Europeans do at U.S. borders," Mauro Sposito said in an interview.
Brazilian authorities had no indication of terrorist cells in the tri-border region, he said, although they were aware of financial contributions to groups such as Hezbollah, which Brazil does not classify as a terrorist organization.
"They legally send money through Paraguay to the Hezbollah - it's a political party," Sposito said.