The Bush administration’s point man on terrorist financing said on Thursday that the training and financing of terrorists remained a problem in the region of South America where the borders of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina intersect. The official, David Aufhauser, the Treasury Department’s outgoing general counsel, said in a telephone interview that despite two years of efforts by Western intelligence and law enforcement agencies to dislodge terrorist cells there, the border region was home to a “rich marriage of drugs and terror.” Mr. Aufhauser added that he expected antiterrorist operations in the area to begin to bear fruit soon. Other Western officials have said that the region, a nexus of drug and arms trafficking, money laundering, counterfeiting and smuggling centered around the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este, has been a primary source of support for Hezbollah, Hamas and other Muslim extremist groups. Full Story
About OODA Analyst
OODA is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments.