Radical Islamic Groups Getting Millions From Latin America - Much Of Money Comes From Drugs, Military Commander Says

www.nbc6.net POSTED: 3:48 p.m. EST March 9, 2003 UPDATED: 5:28 a.m. EST March 10, 2003

MIAMI -- Radical Islamic groups in the Middle East are getting between $300 million and $500 million a year from various criminal networks in Latin America, a top U.S. military commander said.

Gen. James T. Hill, commander of the U.S. Southern Command in Miami, said much of this money comes from drug trafficking, arms dealing and other illegal activities. Southern Command oversees U.S. military relations in Latin America.

Hill said the funds are sent abroad from several Latin American areas with large Middle Eastern populations, such as the "triple frontier" between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, and Margarita Island off the coast of Venezuela.

"The fastest-growing religion in Latin America today is Islam," Hill told The Miami Herald for a story published Sunday.

Hill said there was believed to be between three million and six million people of Middle Eastern descent in Latin America.

"There are radical Islamic groups associated with that population that are using it to create lots of money for their organizations," he said.

He said about $300 million to $500 million a year goes from Latin America to groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Al Gamaat.

Hill called for "increased coordination" among armed forces to fight narco-terrorism, conduct disaster relief operations and help stop the flow of money to international terrorist groups.

Emilio Viano, a terrorism expert at American University in Washington, said he was not surprised by Hill's assertions on funding for terrorist groups.

But he added that in some cases, increased international scrutiny after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has made it harder for terrorist groups to launder money there.

Some experts, however, were skeptical about the new estimates of Islamic groups' fund-raising in Latin America.

Eduardo Gamarra, director of Florida International University's Latin American and Caribbean Center, called the estimates "absolutely ridiculous."

"A lot of figures have been bouncing around, but in the last year I've been looking at these particular issues, and most of what I found was speculation," he said.