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Column 081808 Brewer

MEXIDATA . INFO

Monday, August 18, 2008

Cuban Espionage Continues to be a Threat to the Americas

By Jerry Brewer

Totalitarian dictatorships still exist and, as a matter of fact, they

are very much alive in Latin America. Democracies throughout
the Americas must immediately address their governments'
counterintelligence missions, and their strategic long and short
range vision to monitor aggression and other forms of insurgency
within their homelands.

Cuba's intelligence and spy apparatus has been described as a

"contingency of very well-trained, organized and financed
agents." Too, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has adopted
the previous Soviet-styled Cuban intelligence service (DGI) as his
model for Venezuela's security service, known as the DISIP,
utilizing Cuban intelligence counterparts and advisors.

What is the history of Cuba's communist trained spies?

Cuba has trained thousands of communist guerrillas and

terrorists, and has sponsored violent acts of aggression and
subversion in most democratic nations of the southwestern
hemisphere. U.S. government studies within the intelligence
community documented a total of 3,043 international terrorist
incidents in the decade of 1968 to 1978. Within that study, "over
25 percent occurred in Latin America."

Recent reports are that Cuba has been expanding intelligence

operations in the Middle East and South Asia. This reported by
the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.

Cuba has consistently maintained a well-organized and "ruthless"

intelligence presence within Mexico, as have the Russians. Much
of their activity involved in U.S. interests that include recruiting
disloyal U.S. military, government, and "private sector
specialists."

With narcoterrorism a primary concern in the Americas, as are

links established between Middle Eastern terrorists and Mexican
drug cartels, the deadly concoction is essentially communism
mixed with Islamic fascism. Leaders of non-democratic nations
and vociferous critics of the U.S., such as Chavez of Venezuela
and President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, have been quick to end
any form of support to their neighbors or the United States in drug
and terrorism interdiction efforts. And the stark significance of
their subterfuge and rhetoric in resisting U.S. drug and terrorism
initiatives in defense of their Latin American neighbors is indeed
suspect.

With the successes of Colombia against the FARC guerrillas, as

well as Mexico's valiant fight against its narcotrafficking cartels,
one becomes either part of the solution or part of the problem.

The Mexican cartels have pushed as far south as Argentina. Last

month Buenos Aires police found three corpses "killed execution
style." The three were identified as "pharmaceutical industrialists."
Police reported ties to Mexican narcotics traffickers, this due in
part to six Mexicans apprehended in Buenos Aires, as police
described the "first mounted synthetic drug laboratory in
Argentina."

The successes of the U.S. Southern Command and drug

enforcement operators in Latin America are well-documented.
Ecuador's refusal to renew the lease to the United States at
Manta was dismissed simply with language describing a revision
of the nation's constitution under Correa's leadership that "bans
foreign military bases" on their soil. Panama, Colombia and Peru,
recognizing the critical need to fight narcotrafficking and
terrorism, quickly expressed interest in alliances with the U.S.
efforts and needs to establish operating locations.

Cuban espionage has been linked to nefarious associations with

the Chinese, Iranians, as well as with Venezuela. Their mission
has been, in part, to subvert U.S. interests globally. Affiliation with
radical terrorist organizations and other state sponsors of
terrorism is widely reported. Hezbollah fundraising activity in the
form of "financial transactions" on Margarita Island in Venezuela
calls for the attention of President Chavez, a dedicated disciple of
Fidel Castro, to denounce and combat such activity for the safety
of his Latin American neighbors.

An emerging threat in counterterrorism should serve as a wake-

up call to the Americas – the concept known as "lone wolf"
Islamist terrorists, who operate somewhat independently at their
own grassroots levels. Osama bin Laden has encouraged
followers to "take action independently;" this, obviously in
frustration to successes against the organized elements, as well
as leaders killed and captured. This form of flattening the
organized cells certainly encourages the terrorist to lash out with
creativity to invoke death and destruction at any level.

Mexican drug cartels already have somewhat of a track record

throughout the Americas. The corruption and collusion of hostile
foreign intelligence organizations remains a significant catalyst in
launching, recruiting, and supporting organized criminal elements
in similar mission based agendas for profit and revenge.

Narcoterrorism, as well as all other forms of terrorism, requires

the democratic neighbors of the Americas to stand tall in the face
of hostile threats and insurgency by state sponsors of terrorism
and its agents of violence, death and control. This war will not be
won alone and requires unity of purpose and spirit.

——————————
Jerry Brewer, the Vice President of Criminal Justice International
Associates, a global risk mitigation firm headquartered in Miami,
Florida, is a guest columnist with MexiData.info.