Al-Qaida meets with Central American gang, lawmaker says
BY EMMA PEREZ-TREVIÑO
The Brownsville Herald
September 3, 2004 — Al-Qaida may have an alliance with a violent
Central American gang that has established a presence near the
Texas-Mexico border, according to members of the U.S. House Select
Committee on Homeland Security.
Mara Salvatrucha, an El-Salvador-based gang, has met with the terrorist
group and may attempt to infiltrate the U.S. border, committee member
U.S. Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz, D-Texas, said Thursday at the Veterans
International Bridge at Los Tomates.
“We have been in contact with El Salvadoran officials and they have
verified that al-Qaida has been active in these gangs,” Ortiz said.
“(The gang members) are all over the place. We know (they) are in the
Virginia area and across the border in Matamoros and possibly here.”
Ortiz was joined Thursday by fellow committee members U.S. Rep. Jim
Turner, D-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, who each
expressed their concern for more cooperation among Border Patrol, the
FBI and CIA.
They also pleaded with the Bush administration and fellow lawmakers to
provide the funding necessary to keep the borders and country safe. The
three called for an end to the practice of detaining non-Mexican
undocumented immigrants — known as OTMs (other than Mexicans) — from
the Middle East, Central America and South America and releasing most
of them due to lack of jail space.
“Currently, our OTM policy is nothing more than a conduit for
terrorists — it is a flawed system. It is profoundly wrong and needs to
be corrected,” Ortiz said.
The three lawmakers said that about 50,000 OTMs are detained a year in
the McAllen sector alone; about 25,000 of them are released in this
country. Of the 25,000, between 80 percent to 90 percent don’t appear
at scheduled deportation hearings.
“You know that that represents a very serious security threat to this
country and it’s got to stop,” Turner said. “And we are here today
calling upon the president and the administration to take the action
that is necessary to provide the detention cells and facilities that we
need today, now. ...”
Jackson Lee also called for more jail space and additional U.S. Border Patrol posts.
“Immigration does not equate with terrorists, but terrorists do exist,” she said.
The committee members’ concern has been heightened with the new developments of al-Qaida and Mara Salvatrucha, Ortiz indicated.
“This would be a dangerous, new development of international criminal
enterprises to expand the (al-Qaida) threat to non-Islamic forces, and
it should be examined more fully by law enforcement and intelligence
forces,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz also noted that he has intelligence reports that Middle Easterners have been sighted on the banks of the Rio Grande.
“We are not here to alarm the community, but we have a responsibility
to protect our homeland and to give those in the front line of defense,
which is the Border Patrol and local police department, what they
need,” Ortiz said.
Turner said: “The truth of the matter is the porous border that we
have, particularly our southern border, represents one of the greatest
security gaps that we have in this country today in the war on terror.
“We have got to recognize the reality and likelihood that terrorist
cells are already in our country and are certainly trying to get here.
We have got to make the investments in homeland security that are
necessary to make this country safe.”
The three lawmakers met with Border Patrol and other federal officials
prior to the press conference and they noted that the federal employees
are dedicated to their jobs and they do their best with what they have.
Jackson Lee said there is not sufficient staff within the U.S. Border
Patrol and said she encountered one agent who had 1,200 files.
“It is impossible to do the job the way they need to do it,” she said.
“Needless to say, Americans are concerned about terrorism. Texans are
concerned and certainly those in this region have reason to be
concerned.”
eperez-trevino@brownsvilleherald.com
