The Organization of American States’ anti-terrorism boss says the Muslim community in the tri-border area between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay is bankrolling Islamic militants. “There’s no question, whether it’s intentional or not, that money from here ends up in the hands of terrorists,” Steven Monblatt told Reuters in an interview after a helicopter tour of this steamy jungle corner. While visiting this weekend, Monblatt, executive secretary of the OAS’s Committee Against Terrorism, urged the region’s 12,000-strong Muslim community to keep closer tabs on the money it sends to relatives and charity groups in the Middle East. U.S. officials estimate that between $10 billion and $12 billion a year is funneled through the tri-border area, some of which they believe is diverted to Islamic militant groups in the Middle East. Monblatt, who served in the State Department’s counter-terrorism unit prior to joining the OAS last October, said, however, there was no evidence to support local media reports that the region may also be home to terrorist training camps and sleeper cells, arguing instead that the area’s links to Islamic terrorism are mostly financial. Full Story
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