A LINE IN THE SAND: COUNTERING CRIME,
VIOLENCE AND TERROR AT THE

SOUTHWEST BORDER

A MAJORITY REPORT

BY THE

UNITED STATES HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND

MANAGEMENT
REPRESENTATIVE MICHAEL T. McCAUL, CHAIRMAN

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION

NOVEMBER 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C.

T ABLE O F C ONT E NT S
Executive Summary …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
I. The Threats: Why Addressing Border Security Remains So Urgent ……………………………………………….. 4

A. The Continued Threat of Terrorist Infiltration ………………………………………………………………………… 4
The Increasing Importance of the Southwest Border to Terrorist Organizations ………………………….. 4
Recent Incidents of Concern ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5

B. The Growing Influence of Iran and Hezbollah in Latin America ………………………………………………… 7
Hezbollah Presence in Latin America ………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
Iranian Presence in Latin America ………………………………………………………………………………………… 11
Implications for United States National Security …………………………………………………………………….. 13

C. Evolving Transnational Criminal Threat along the Southwest Border ……………………………………… 15
Mexican Drug Cartel Underpinnings to Transnational Organized Crime …………………………………….. 15
The Increasing Involvement of Gangs in Transnational Criminal Activity …………………………………… 16
The Diversified Threat of Transnational Criminal Organizations ……………………………………………….. 17
Corruption of Public Officials ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 21
Tunnels, Ultralights and Semi-Submersibles: The Evolving Methods of Smuggling ……………………… 22

D. The Increasing Threat from Spillover Violence ……………………………………………………………………… 23
Spillover Violence against Civilians ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 24
Spillover Violence against Law Enforcement ………………………………………………………………………….. 24
Kidnappings: The Spillover Crime Hiding in Plain Sight…………………………………………………………….. 26
The Debate over Spillover Violence ………………………………………………………………………………………. 28

E. Illegal Alien Crimes against U.S. Citizens ………………………………………………………………………………. 29
The Impact of Illegal Immigration on Public Safety and Good Public Order ……………………………….. 29
Criminal Aliens in Jails and Prisons ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 30
Examples of Crimes Involving Illegal Aliens ……………………………………………………………………………. 31

II. Confronting the Threats: Current Enforcement Initiatives …………………………………………………………. 32
A. Mexico Declares War on the Drug Cartels ……………………………………………………………………………. 32

The Current Cartel Landscape ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 32
The Beginnings of Conflict …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 34
The Brutal Violence of the War on Cartels …………………………………………………………………………….. 35
The Criminal Diversification of the Cartels …………………………………………………………………………….. 37
The Sinaloa, La Familia Michoacána and Gulf Cartels Unite to Take on the Zetas ……………………….. 38
Cartel Violence, Insurgency and a Failed State ……………………………………………………………………….. 39
The Future of the Conflict ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 40

B. Texas Border Security Initiatives …………………………………………………………………………………………. 41
C. Federal Border Security Efforts ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 42

The Secure Border Initiative ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 42
The Merida Initiative …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 43
The Border Enforcement Security Task Forces ……………………………………………………………………….. 44
National Guard Assistance on the Border ………………………………………………………………………………. 45
The DHS Accountability Act of 2012 ……………………………………………………………………………………… 46

III. Conclusion: Recommendations for Moving Forward with Border Security ………………………………… 46
Major Findings ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 49
Appendix A: Subcommittee Chairman McCaul Letter to National Security Advisor on Congressional
Delegation Findings …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 50

2

E XE C U T I VE S U M M ARY

The first edition of A Line in the Sand, released in 2006, (hereafter “first edition”) exposed the

rising threat of Mexican drug cartels and the vulnerabilities of our porous Southwest border. The

horrific violence perpetrated by Mexican drug cartels continues to grow and, in many cases

documented in this report, spills into the United States. The cartels now have a presence in more

than 1,000 U.S. cities and dominate the wholesale illicit drug trade by controlling the movement

of most of the foreign-produced drug supply across the Southwest border.
1
This report

documents the increased operational control of the cartels inside the United States, their strategy

to move illegal drugs, and the bloody turf wars that have taken place between rival cartels, as

they struggle to control valuable trafficking corridors. Collectively, Mexican Drug Trafficking
Organizations (DTO) maintain firm control of drug and human smuggling routes across the U.S.-

Mexico border creating safe entry for anyone willing to pay the price. The U.S. Department of

Homeland Security, in its most recent assessment, asserts it can control only 44 percent of our

border with Mexico.
2

Terrorism remains a serious threat to the security of the United States. The Congressional

Research Service reports that between September 2001 and September 2012, there have been 59

homegrown violent jihadist plots within the United States. Of growing concern and potentially a

more violent threat to American citizens is the enhanced ability of Middle East terrorist

organizations, aided by their relationships and growing presence in the Western Hemisphere, to

exploit the Southwest border to enter the United States undetected. This second edition

emphasizes America’s ever-present threat from Middle East terrorist networks, their increasing

presence in Latin America, and the growing relationship with Mexican DTOs to exploit paths

into the United States.

During the period of May 2009 through July 2011, federal law enforcement made 29 arrests for

violent terrorist plots against the United States, most with ties to terror networks or Muslim

extremist groups in the Middle East. The vast majority of the suspects had either connections to

special interest countries, including those deemed as state sponsors of terrorism or were

radicalized by terrorist groups such as al Qaeda. American-born al Qaeda Imam Anwar al

Awlaki, killed in 2011, was personally responsible for radicalizing scores of Muslim extremists

around the world. The list includes American-born U.S. Army Major Nidal Hassan, the accused

Fort Hood gunman; “underwear bomber” Umar Faruk Abdulmutallab; and Barry Bujol of

Hempstead, TX, convicted of providing material support to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. In

several documented cases, al Awlaki moved his followers to commit “jihad” against the United

States. These instances, combined with recent events involving the Qods Forces, the terrorist

arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Hezbollah, serve as a stark reminder the

United States remains in the crosshairs of terrorist organizations and their associates.

1 Department of Justice, National Drug Intelligence Center, National Drug Threat Assessment for 2011.
2 Congress, House, Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security,
Securing our Borders – Operational Control and the Path Forward, 112th Cong. 15 February 2011. (Written
testimony of Richard M. Stana, Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues, Government Accountability
Office).

3

In May of 2012, the Los Angeles Times reported that intelligence gleaned from the 2011 raid on

Osama bin Laden’s compound indicated the world’s most wanted terrorist sought to use

operatives with valid Mexican passports who could illegally cross into the United States to

conduct terror operations.
3
The story elaborated that bin Laden recognized the importance of al

Qaeda operatives blending in with American society but felt that those with U.S. citizenship who

then attacked the United States would be violating Islamic law. Of equal concern is the

possibility to smuggle materials, including uranium, which can be safely assembled on U.S. soil

into a weapon of mass destruction.

Further, the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program, and the uncertainty of whether Israel

might attack Iran drawing the United States into a confrontation, only heightens concern that Iran

or its agents would attempt to exploit the porous Southwest border for retaliation.

Confronting the threat at the Southwest border has

a broader meaning today than it did six years ago.

As this report explains, the United States tightened

security at airports and land ports of entry in the

wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks,

but the U.S.-Mexico border is an obvious weak link

in the chain. Criminal elements could migrate down

this path of least resistance, and with them the

terrorists who continue to seek our destruction. The

federal government must meet the challenge to secure America’s unlocked back door from the

dual threat of drug cartels and terrorist organizations who are lined up, and working together, to

enter.

One of the central criticisms made by the 9/11 Commission regarding the September 11, 2001

terrorist attacks was a failure of imagination in piecing together the threat picture from al-Qaeda

before it was too late. Recognizing and proactively confronting threats has presented a perennial

challenge to our country. In the case of the Cuban missile crisis, we failed to deal with the

Soviet threat before it resulted in a full-blown crisis that threatened nuclear war. Now we are

faced with a new threat in Latin America that comes from the growing collaborations between

Iran, Venezuela, Hezbollah and transnational criminal organizations. Similar to the Cuban

missile crisis, the evidence to compel action exists; the only question is whether we possess the

imagination to connect the dots before another disaster strikes. The intent of this report is to

present that evidence, not to incite anxiety, but rather to reinvigorate vigilance towards our

Southwest border and beyond to the threats we face in Latin America.

3 “Bin Laden apparently sought operative with valid Mexican passport”, The Los Angeles Times, May 2, 2012.

In May of 2012, the Los Angeles Times

reported that intelligence gleaned from the

2011 raid on Osama bin Laden’s
compound indicated the world’s most

wanted terrorist sought to use operatives

with valid Mexican passports who could

illegally cross into the United States to

conduct terror operations.

4

I . T HE T H RE AT S : WHY A DD RE S S I NG BO RDE R S E C U RI T Y
RE M AI N S S O U R G E NT

A. T HE CONTINUE D THREA T OF TERRO RIST INF ILT RATIO N

The first edition discussed numerous concerns regarding the vulnerability of the Southwest

border to infiltration by terrorist organizations. Though there have been many improvements in

our border security since that time, these concerns still largely persist.

U.S. Government officials who are directly responsible for our national security continue to

affirm the vulnerability. In August 2007 former Director of National Intelligence Mike

McConnell stated that not only have terrorists used the Southwest border to enter the United

States but that they will inevitably continue to do so as long as it is an available possibility.
4
In a

July 2012 hearing before the full U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland

Security, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano confirmed that terrorists have crossed the Southwest

border with the intent to harm the American people.
5

Additionally, the U.S. Border Patrol regularly apprehends aliens from the 35 “special interest”

countries “designated by our intelligence community as countries that could export individuals

that could bring harm to our country in the way of terrorism.”
6
From Fiscal Years 2006 to 2011,

there were 1,918 apprehensions of these special interest aliens at our Southwest border.
7

THE INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF THE SOUTHWEST BORDER TO TERRORIST
ORGANIZATIONS

The September 11
th

terrorist attacks demonstrated

with catastrophic clarity the deficiencies in the

process of preventing terrorists from entering the

United States. After all, the nineteen 9/11 hijackers

did not sneak into our country surreptitiously in the

remote Arizona desert but rather entered in plain sight at international airports as visiting

students or tourists using visas that had been obtained fraudulently.
8

As part of a strategy to constrain the international travel of terrorists, the 9/11 Commission

recommended that a computer system be developed which would identify foreign travelers and

check them against terrorist and criminal databases.
9
This recommendation was realized in

4 Transcript: Debate on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Chris Roberts with the El Paso Times,
August 22, 2007, http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_6685679
5 Edwin Mora, “Napolitano: Terrorist Enter U.S. from Mexico ‘From Time to Time’,” CNSNews.com, July 30,
2012.
6 U.S. Border Patrol memorandum OBP 50/8b-P, November 1, 2004.
7 Information provided by Congressional Research Service
8 The 9/11 Commission Report
9 Id.

Experts believe the Southwest border has

now become the greatest threat of terrorist

infiltration into the United States.

5

January of 2004 when the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-

VISIT) system began deployment at our ports of entry. US-VISIT scans the fingerprints of

foreign visitors and checks them against numerous criminal and intelligence databases to include

enemy combatants captured on the battlefield.

Besides US-VISIT, there is also much greater scrutiny of individuals seeking a visa to travel to

the United States. Now Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents work side-

by-side with State Department employees at strategic foreign posts helping them screen visa

applicants to weed out criminals and terrorists before they even attempt to travel to our shores.

As part of their strategy for attack, terrorists analyze the defenses of their target and plan

accordingly.
10

Just as increased air marshals, reinforced cockpit doors and armed pilots have

forever changed the proposition of hijacking a commercial airliner, the aforementioned security

measures have made conventional travel by terrorists much more risky. Sophisticated terror

networks like al-Qaeda and Hezbollah are well aware of this and would surely consider

alternative methods of travel in order to increase their chances for success.

This is why experts believe the Southwest border has now become the greatest threat of terrorist

infiltration into the United States.
11

Terrorists know they do not need a visa to illegally cross the

Southwest border and that US-VISIT is nowhere to be found miles away from a port of entry.

They also know that there are well-established criminal networks along the Southwest border

that are very successful at smuggling humans and weapons.
12

This gives terrorists once again a

high level of surety that they can surreptitiously plan elaborate and expensive attacks that may

take years to execute and require a long-term presence inside the United States.

RECENT INCIDENTS OF CONCERN

The apprehension of Said Jaziri

On January 11, 2011, Border Patrol agents working in a rural area of eastern San Diego County,

California encountered Said Jaziri in the trunk of a vehicle as he was in the process of being

smuggled across the Southwest border. Jaziri told patrol agents that he had flown from Tunisia

to Mexico by way of Spain, Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize. Jaziri eventually found his way

to Tijuana where he paid a human smuggling operation $5,000 to get him across the Southwest

border and to a safe place anywhere in the United States.
13

Jaziri is a citizen of Tunisia which is one of the special interest countries that have been

designated as potential sources of terrorism. In 2007, Jaziri was deported from Canada for not

disclosing on his refugee application that while in France he had been convicted and deported for

10 Todd Steinmetz, “Mitigating the Exploitation of U.S. Borders by Jihadists and Criminal Organizations,”
Journal of Strategic Security, Volume 4 Issue 3 2011.
11 The Weaponization of Immigration, by Cato, Center for Immigration Studies, February 2008
12 Congress, Senate, Select Committee on Intelligence, Current and Projected National Security Threats to the
United States, 109th Cong. 16 February 2005 (Written statement of Admiral James Loy, Deputy Secretary, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security).
13 Criminal Complaint, U.S. v Kenneth Robert Lawler, et al, United States District Court for the Southern
District of California, Case Number 3:11-cr-00378-H

6

assaulting an individual whom he believed to be a less-devout Muslim.
14

In 2006, Jaziri called

for the death of Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard over cartoon depictions of the Prophet

Mohammed that Jaziri considered to be blasphemous.
15

The Ahmed Dhakane Human Smuggling Operation

On April 29, 2011, Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane was convicted in the United States District

Court for the Western District of Texas for making false statements while seeking asylum in the

United States. Dhakane, a citizen of Somalia, another special interest country, failed to disclose

to DHS officials that he was affiliated with the Somali organizations al-Barakat and Al-Ittihad

Al-Islami (AIAI) which have been placed on the Specially Designated Global Terrorists list by

the U.S. Department of Treasury.
16

During the investigation, Dhakane told law enforcement agents that he ran a large-scale

smuggling operation out of Brazil that specialized in smuggling East Africans into the United

States. Dhakane also told investigators that he had made as much as $75,000 in one day by

smuggling Somalis and had smuggled or attempted to smuggle several AIAI-affiliated Somalis

into the United States.
17

The prosecution’s sentencing memorandum specifically described three Somalis that were

successfully smuggled into the United States whom Dhakane knew to be supporters or operatives

of AIAI and of the Somali terrorist organization Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin (al-Shabaab).

According to the memorandum, Dhakane cautioned that each of these individuals is ready to die

for their cause and would fight against the United States if the jihad moved from overseas to the

U.S. mainland.
18

The Anthony Joseph Tracy Human Smuggling Operation

On June 4, 2010, Anthony Joseph Tracy was convicted in the United States District Court for the

Eastern District of Virginia for Conspiracy to Induce Aliens to Enter the United States. During

the investigation leading up to the prosecution, Tracy told investigators that he had helped

approximately 272 Somalis enter the United States illegally.
19

Tracy accomplished this via his travel agency located in Kenya. With the assistance of corrupt

Cuban Embassy employees, Tracy would procure visas so these Somalis could travel to Cuba.

14 Nathan Max, “Detained Tunisian cleric previously deported from Canada and France,” San Diego Union
Tribune, January 27, 2011.
15 Controversial Muslim cleric caught being smuggled into U.S. over Mexico border, The Daily Mail, January 28,
2011, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1351385/Controversial-Muslim-cleric-caught-smuggled-U-
S-Mexico-border.html
16 Government’s Sentencing Memorandum, U.S. v. Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane, United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division, Case Number 5:10-cr-00194-XR
17 Id.
18 Id.
19 Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint, U.S. v. Anthony Joseph Tracy, United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Virginia, Case Number 1:10-cr-00122-LMB

7

From there the Somalis would make their way to Belize and then Mexico in order to cross

illegally into the United States.
20

When asked by investigators if he had ever helped members of al-Shabaab illegally enter the

United States, Tracy answered that members of al-Shabaab had indeed asked for his assistance

but that he declined to help them. In spite of this denial, investigators discovered an ominous

email message from Tracy where he wrote: “…i helped a lot of Somalis and most are good but

there are some who are bad and i leave them to ALLAH…”
21

B. T HE GRO WING IN FLU ENCE OF I RAN A ND HEZ BOLL AH IN LATIN AMER ICA

In 2006, the Subcommittee reported on the

presence of both Iran and Hezbollah in Latin

America. Since then, that presence has

continued to grow with Iran now having

embassies in 11 Latin American countries that

include Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Nicaragua and

Uruguay.
22

This unsettling trend was the reason for a

Subcommittee-led Congressional Delegation to

Latin America in August 2012. The Delegation

traveled to Mexico, Colombia, Paraguay,

Argentina, as well as the Tri-Border Area (TBA)

of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, for a first-

hand assessment of the increasing threat posed

by Iran and Hezbollah in Latin America. After

conferring with U.S. officials, foreign leaders and other experts within these countries, the

Subcommittee has concluded that Iran and Hezbollah pose a threat to the entire Western

Hemisphere including the United States and our Southwest border. For the specific findings and

recommendations to the White House National Security Advisor of the Congressional

Delegation, see Appendix A of this report.

HEZBOLLAH PRESENCE IN LATIN AMERICA

The presence of Hezbollah in Latin America is partially explained by the large Lebanese

diaspora in South America. In general, Hezbollah enjoys support by many in the Lebanese

world community in part because of the numerous social programs it provides in Lebanon that

include schools, hospitals, utilities and welfare.
23

With over eight million immigrants and

20 Statement of Facts, U.S. v Anthony Joseph Tracy, United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Virginia, Case Number 1:10-cr-00122-LMB
21 Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint, U.S. v. Anthony Joseph Tracy, United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Virginia, Case Number 1:10-cr-00122-LMB
22 Martin Arostegui, “Iran Tries to Gain Sway in Latin America,” The Wall Street Journal, December 6, 2011.
23 Poll Finds Overwhelming Majorities in Lebanon Support Hezbollah, Distrust U.S., August 2, 2006;
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brmiddleeastnafricara/236.php

Congressional Delegation in Buenos Ares

meeting with Leaders of the Argentine

Israelite Mutual Association whose office was

bombed in 1994 by Iranian/Hezbollah

terrorists.

8

descendants in Brazil and Argentina alone, South America

is home to the largest Lebanese population in the world.
24

Given these dynamics, it is understandable why South

America would become such a large base of operations for

Hezbollah.

Hezbollah remains especially active in the TBA.
25

With

an estimated $12 billion a year in illegal commerce, the

TBA is the center of the largest underground economy in

the Western Hemisphere.
26

Financial crimes are a

specialty of the area and include intellectual property

fraud, counterfeiting, money laundering and smuggling.

Moreover, lax customs enforcement in the area allows

these crimes to continue largely unabated from one

country to the other.
27

The TBA has been described as one

of the most lucrative sources of revenue for Hezbollah

outside of state sponsorship.
28

The evidence to suggest Hezbollah is actively involved in

the trafficking of South American cocaine to fund its

operations is mounting as well. In 2008, U.S. and Colombian authorities dismantled a cocaine-

smuggling and money-laundering organization that allegedly helped fund Hezbollah operations.

Dubbed Operation Titan, the enforcement effort uncovered a money laundering operation that is

suspected of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars of cocaine proceeds a year and paying 12

percent of those profits to Hezbollah.
29

Operation Titan has led to more than 130 arrests and the

seizure of $23 million.
30

One of those arrests was of Chekri Mahmoud Harb (also known as

“Taliban” or “Tali”) who is a Lebanese national suspected of being a kingpin of the operation.

In 2010, Harb pled guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of

cocaine knowing the drugs would ultimately be smuggled into the United States.
31

In another example, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has

listed Ayman “Junior” Joumaa, a Lebanese national and Hezbollah supporter, as a Specially

Designated Narcotics Trafficker based upon his involvement in the transportation, distribution

and sale of multi-ton shipments of cocaine from South America along with the laundering of

hundreds of millions of dollars of cocaine proceeds from Europe and the Middle East.
32

24 http://www.maronitefoundation.org/lebanesediaspora.html
25 Pablo Gato and Robert Windrem, “Hezbollah Builds a Western Base,” msnbc.com, May 9, 2007.
26 “In Paraguay, Piracy Bleeds U.S. Profits, Aids Terrorists,” cnbc.com, October 4, 2007.
27 Id.
28 Id.
29 Chris Kraul and Sebastian Rotella, “Colombia drug ring may link to Hezbollah,” The Seattle Times, October
25, 2008.
30 Id.
31 U.S. v Chekri Mahmoud Harb, US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Case#1:08-cr-20285-
FAM
32 http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1035.aspx

Hezbollah mosque (high rise) in Tri –

Border Area of Brazil, Paraguay, and

Argentina.

9

Federal prosecutors in Virginia also charged Joumaa

for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and money

laundering charges. The indictment alleges Joumaa

shipped thousands of kilograms of Colombian cocaine

to the United States via Guatemala, Honduras and

Mexico. Specifically mentioned in the indictment

was 85,000 kilograms of cocaine that was sold to the Los Zetas drug cartel from 2005 to 2007.
33