Statement by Rep. Cass Ballenger (R-North Carolina), October 10, 2001

Statement by Rep. Cass Ballenger (R-North Carolina), October 10, 2001

Rep. Cass Ballenger

Opening Statement for Hearing on Terrorism in Latin America

October 10, 2001

The deliberate and deadly attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11th have forever changed the notion that America is safe from terrorism. The terrorists who perpetrated those grisly acts have clearly demonstrated that terrorism can strike anywhere and at anytime.

The use of terror to achieve a political end is not a new concept, however it has become more and more popular over the past several decades, especially since the end of the cold war. With the exception of several deadly terrorist attacks on American military and diplomatic targets overseas, the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, America comparatively has been untouched by terrorism. September 11 brought the pain and uncertainty of terrorism to our own doorstep.

How could such attacks happen here? That is a common question we hear from our friends and constituents almost daily. It is my hope that the panelists today could provide us with some answers to this nagging question. Since September 11, federal law enforcement, U.S. policy makers and now the U.S. military have rightly focused their attention on Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network and other Middle Eastern and South Asian terrorist organizations. However, there are other terrorists operating around the world, some of them right here in our own hemisphere.

Today, our hearing will focus on the Western Hemisphere’s response to the terrorist attack on our nation. The nations of our hemisphere have invoked the mutual defense clause of the Rio Treaty. Our good friends and allies in Canada have gone a step further and committed military support. We will also focus on terrorism in Latin America, and how it is related to the ongoing war on drugs. If you have traveled to Latin America as often as I have, you would know that there are there are two basic facts of life, drug trafficking and terrorism. Both share a symbiotic relationship -- feeding off one another -- one making the other possible. In Colombia, for example, the ongoing 35-year long insurgency is threatening the stability of Latin America’s oldest democracy. Colombia’s two largest insurgencies, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and the National Liberation Army -- the ELN – have been listed by the U.S. Department of State as both drug traffickers and terrorist organizations. In addition, the illegal paramilitary umbrella group -- the AUC -- was listed as a terrorist organization just a few days before the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked. All three of these organizations are well known for their brutality, bombings, kidknappings, assassinations and mass murder. And all three use drug trafficking to finance their terrorism.

Several months ago, the Colombian National Police arrested three members of the Irish Republican Army in Bogota on suspicion that the men had been in the FARC controlled Zona de Despeje, which President Pastrana just reauthorized on Monday. The men were apparently involved in providing the FARC guerillas with technical support and specialized training in bomb making and upgrading weapon systems. Other terrorist groups may also be operating in the Switzerland-sized area of Colombia which was granted to the FARC as an incentive for peace negotiations. Many believe that the Zona de Despeje is being used as a safe haven to train and harbor terrorists and provide protection for drug traffickers being sought by the Colombian Government and the United States. The involvement of well known international terrorists like the IRA, combined with recent threats made by the FARC’s leader, Manuel Marulanda, suggesting that he will hit American targets in response to our nation’s support of the drug war, raise real questions about the FARC’s role in support of international terrorism.

Terrorism and drug trafficking cannot be handled as separate issues. They go hand in hand. Profits from drug production are used to fund terrorist activities while acts of terror protect the drug traffickers by destabilizing governments and tying up valuable security resources. Colombia’s drug traffickers have used the FARC, ELN and the AUC to protect their drug shipments, paying them handsomely for their services. In turn, the FARC, AUC and ELN use drug money to purchase weapons, war materials and technical support from outside groups perhaps even other international terrorist organizations. We do not know how many terrorist organizations are currently operating inside the Despeje, but if recent history is any guide, we can be sure the Despeje is crawling with terrorists.

The war on drugs in Colombia has to some extent been successful. With such success however comes consequences. I already spoke about the FARC in Colombia making threats about attacking American targets. Recently in Peru, where coca is also being produced, members of the Shining Path have engaged and killed a number of Peruvian Police Officers who were involved with that country’s coca eradication efforts. In Ecuador, a kidknapping campaign of foreign nationals, including Americans along with a number of bombings of the Ecuadoran oil pipeline is now underway, threatening that nation’s stability. As the war on drugs continues to escalate, we can expect to see the number of terrorists acts to rise with it.

In the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, Middle East terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hizbollah train terrorists and conduct fundraising activities in an area which has a growing population of Middle Eastern and South Asian immigrants. Funds raised in the tri-border area are sent directly to the Middle East to support the operation of these organizations, possibly even the planning and execution of terrorist acts. I have no doubt that funds raised in the tri-border area have made it to the pockets of Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.

Afghanistan produces 75% of the world’s heroin. The Taliban reaps tremendous profits from such trade and use it to sponsor Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists. As Americans, we must recognize that fighting the war on drugs is tantamount to fighting the war on terrorism. Every time an American buys cocaine or heroin, they are directly funding the terrorists who are responsible for the deaths of over 6,000 innocent Americans.

Today, the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere will hear from a distinguished panel of official witnesses who will provide us with important testimony about the type of terrorist organizations operating in our hemisphere, the links between international terror and drug trafficking and, the efforts of the OAS and its member states to help our nation win the war on terrorism. While I have no doubts that these panelists will provide the Subcommittee with excellent testimony, I am profoundly troubled that Otto Reich has yet to be confirmed as the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. At this critical time, the President needs to have his nominee confirmed and in place to fight both drug trafficking and terrorism in Latin America.

As of October 12, 2001, this document was also available online at http://www.house.gov/international_relations/ball1010.htm