Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Iran's influence increasing among jihadists in Latin America

And there's a drug trafficking connection, too. "US fears 'disastrous' links in Latin America with Islamic militants," from AFP (thanks to all who sent this in):

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A top US military commander said Wednesday he fears a "disastrous" linkup between drug traffickers and radical Islamists in Latin America, where he said Iran wields growing influence."I fear greatly that the connectivity between narcoterrorism and Islamic radical terrorism could be disastrous in this region," Admiral James Stavridis, head of the US Southern Command, told a conference on Latin America.

"What I worry about in this region with outside actors coming into it is the potential for those streams to cross, if you will, for the fuel of narcoterrorism to become engaged in Islamic radicalism here in the Americas, here in our home," he said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington.

No comments: