Roguely Stated

Earlier this month, MSNBC aired a small (but shocking) segment about the South American “Tri-Border Region” that didn’t generate much attention in the US media-it was generally drowned out in the news cycle by Iraq suicide bombings and the New Jersey terror plot. Perhaps if the story had been released a few days later more people would have watched, but I wouldn’t be so sure. As Americans, we tend to ignore news unless we have an “in your face” image or sensational story to cling to. (And right now, Iraq is about as “in your face” as it gets.) That being said, we’d all be very well-advised to invest 5 minutes reading about the Tri-Border: It may leave you wanting to brush up on your Spanish.

A quick geography lesson: The Tri-Border, or “triple frontera” is a small region in South America where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay intersect. Known mainly for the spectacular Iguazu Falls (largest waterfall in Western Hemisphere, made popular in the movies “The Mission” and “Moonraker,”) the region is unfortunately also one of the most poorly controlled borders in the world. The region’s largest city- Ciudad del Este, Paraguay- is a smuggler’s paradise, a commercial mecca of not-so-”black” markets and zero monetary controls. Paraguay, by the way, has been consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt nations in the world, placing second only to Cameroon in a study by Transparency International (When I was working there in 2005, the locals used to to joke that the Paraguayan government must have bribed the judges to stay out of first place). The other remarkable fact about Ciudad del Este, Paraguay is that it is home to over 30,000 Arab immigrants, who mainly fled to the region from Lebanon in the late 1940’s and mid-1980’s. This unique set of conditions-a corrupt government, weak security forces, porous borders, a concentrated Muslim population, and growing tensions over Iraq/ Iran-have gradually conspired to create a “perfect storm” of radical Islamist sentiment.

Enter the recent MSNBC story. Here are a few key excerpts:

“The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia has taken root in South America, fostering a well-financed force of Islamist radicals boiling with hatred for the United States and ready to die to prove it, according to militia members, U.S. officials and police agencies across the continent. From its Western base in a remote region divided by the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina known as the Tri-border, or the Triple Frontier, Hezbollah has mined the frustrations of many Muslims among the Arab residents whose families immigrated from Lebanon…”

“An investigation by Telemundo and NBC News has uncovered details of an extensive smuggling network run by Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim group founded in Lebanon in 1982 that the United States has labeled an international terrorist organization. The operation funnels large sums of money to militia leaders in the Middle East and finances training camps, propaganda operations and bomb attacks in South America, according to U.S. and South American officials.”

“The implications of such a [lawless tri-border area] could be dire, U.S. and Paraguayan officials said. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said Hezbollah militiamen would raise no suspicions because they have Latin American passports, speak Spanish and look like Hispanic tourists. The CIA singles out the Mexican border as an especially inviting target for Hezbollah operatives. “Many alien smuggling networks that facilitate the movement of non-Mexicans have established links to Muslim communities in Mexico,” its Counter Terrorism Center said in a 2004 threat paper.”

“[We interviewed] men like Mustafa Khalil Meri, a young Arab Muslim whom Telemundo interviewed in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay’s second-largest city and the center of the Tri-border region. There is nothing particularly distinctive about him, but beneath the everyday T-shirt he wears beats the heart of a devoted Hezbollah militiaman. “If he attacks Iran, in two minutes Bush is dead,” Meri said. “We are Muslims. I am Hezbollah. We are Muslims, and we will defend our countries at any time they are attacked.”

“Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Tri-border has become a top-level, if little-publicized, concern for Washington, particularly as tension mounts with Iran, Hezbollah’s main sponsor. Paraguayan government officials told Telemundo that CIA operatives and agents of Israel’s Mossad security force were known to be in the region seeking to neutralize what they believe could be an imminent threat.”

I’m here to tell you that the threat is real. Lawmakers and analysts have long dismissed the notion of Islamist radicals in South America as overblown-these claims are largely based upon the fact that by all accounts, Ciudad del Este and the entire tri-border region looks deceivingly “normal.” No car bombs in the streets, no masked militiamen carrying machine guns. But if you scratch the surface, you’ll find some disturbing realities: Even though Ciudad del Este’s population is only 300,000, the city contains more than 55 banks and exchange shops-the US estimates that over $6 billion a year in illegal funds are laundered there (half the Paraguayan GDP). Over the past few years the evidence has grown to support a strong link between the Colombian FARC narco-terror movement and the tri-border- several FARC operatives have now been arrested within Paraguay attempting to carry out cocaine-for-arms trades with Paraguayan gunrunners. In 2001, three individuals detained in Paraguay for false passports were identified by the FBI as having close ties to Hamas and the Lebanese al-Kaffir group-they had collected funds from their sponsors to conduct attacks against the United States. Later the same year, a car filled with explosives was narrowly intercepted by security outside the US Embassy in Asuncion.

Whether you personally subscribe to the Tri-Border threat or not, we as Americans simply can’t afford to leave proverbial stones unturned. Though CNN will certainly never cover it, the Paraguayan newspapers have been reporting about the development of a brand new, US-trained Paraguayan Counterterrorist force. Though US security assistance in Latin America has been modest, this force may prove to be one of our best hopes for interdicting the threat. I’ll be there when the unit is publicly unveiled this summer, and I’ll be sure to write about it. Until then, here are some fantastic links:

Library of Congress Report on Tri-Border Activities

The Protean Enemy, Foreign Affairs Article

Army Professional Writing Report on Tri-Border