www.voanews.com VOA News 25 Feb 2003, 23:43 UTC

Venezuelan authorities say at least four people have been injured after powerful bombs exploded in the Colombian and Spanish diplomatic missions in Caracas.

Officials say the bombs exploded within 15 minutes of each other Tuesday, first at the Spanish Embassy and then at the Colombian consulate. The blasts left the facades of both buildings in shambles and damaged nearby structures.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but authorities say leaflets signed by a pro-government group were found scattered at both sites.

The trouble comes two days after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez accused Colombia and Spain of siding with his opponents.

The two countries, among others, had expressed concern about the government's recent arrest of business leader Carlos Fernandez.

He helped organize Venezuela's two-month general strike that was aimed at forcing President Chavez to resign and call early elections. Venezuelan Deputy Foreign Minister Arevalo Mendez condemned the attacks, saying authorities will find the people responsible.

State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said the bombings and other recent developments in Venezuela highlight the need for that government and its opponents to uphold a recent agreement to avoid violence.

The Atlanta-based Carter Center, which works around the world to mediate conflicts, also called on both sides to abide by the commitments stated in the accord. Last year, the Carter Center sent a delegation to Venezuela in an effort to bridge the country's political divide.

www.voanews.com David Gollust State Department 25 Feb 2003, 22:27 UTC

The United States is condemning the bomb attacks early Tuesday against Spanish and Colombian diplomatic offices in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. The bombings followed criticism of the two countries by President Hugo Chavez on Sunday for alleged meddling in the Venezuela's political crisis.

Venezuelan soldier stands in front of damaged Colombian consulate Officials here say the early-morning explosions at the Spanish embassy and the Colombian consulate were the latest in a troubling series of events in Venezuela since last week, highlighting the need for progress in dialogue between President Chavez and the opposition.

The powerful blasts, within a 15-minute span, injured at least four people and caused material damage at the diplomatic posts and nearby buildings.

At a news briefing, State Department spokesman Philip Reeker condemned the bombings and called for an "expeditious and thorough" investigation of the attacks, which he noted had followed criticism of the two governments, among others, by President Chavez.

Spokesman Reeker said the attacks, and other recent developments in the long-running political crisis, underscore the need for the Venezuelan parties to uphold an agreement they made only last week to avoid violence and curb political incitement:

"It's regrettable that recent events like the unsolved killing of members of Venezuela's armed forces and police, the recent arrests and the threat of arrests of opposition activists and now today's bombings stand in sharp contrast to the commitments that were undertaken by both sides in that agreement," he said. "The pledge from February 18 specifically emphasized the need to curb confrontational rhetoric and moderate the tone, style and content of language, and to reject any manifestations of violence or intolerance."

Hugo ChavezThe bombings came less than two days after President Chavez had criticized Spain and Colombia, along with the United States and Organization of American States Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria, for alleged interference in Venezuela's internal affairs.

All of them had spoken out against the arrest last week of business leader Carlos Fernandez, a key figure in the two-month general strike against Mr. Chavez that faded out earlier this month. Another strike leader, labor federation chief Carlos Ortega has gone into hiding in the face of a warrant for his arrest.

The OAS chief, Mr. Gaviria, has been trying to mediate an end to the Venezuelan political conflict. The United States, Spain and Colombia are among members of an international "group of friends" aimed at supporting the negotiating process.

www.alertnet.org 25 Feb 2003 22:51

WASHINGTON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - The United States condemned bombings against the Spanish and Colombian diplomatic missions in Caracas on Tuesday and suggested a link with verbal attacks by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on both countries.

Two bombs tore into the Spanish embassy and the Colombian consulate, injuring five people less than 48 hours after President Chavez accused the two nations of meddling in Venezuela's political crisis.

"Let me strongly condemn today's bombings and, of course, the use of any form of violence," U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker told a daily briefing.

"We note that those bombs follow some sharp verbal attacks by President Chavez on the international community, as well as individual Venezuelans and institutions," he added.

Reeker declined to say that the United States saw a causal connection between the bombs and the rhetoric.

Leaflets scattered at both sites were signed by the "Bolivarian Liberation Force - the Coordinadora Simon Bolivar urban militias." The Coordinadora Simon Bolivar is a known radical pro-Chavez group.

Venezuela's government quickly denied its sympathizers were behind the blasts and suggested that some elements of the opposition had more to gain from the attacks, which could isolate the troubled oil-rich nation.

Reeker said the bombings showed the need for rapid progress in dialogue between supporters and opponents of Chavez.

Chavez's opponents, saying he ruled like a dictator, tried to drive him out of office by launching a general strike in December but the strike fizzled out in February. Chavez says he is a friend of the poor against the old elite.

The Bush administration has been critical of Chavez's policies and was slow to condemn a coup against him last April. It favors the inconclusive dialogue mediated by the Organization of American States.

www.time.com By TIMOTHY J. BURGER AND ELAINE SHANNON/WASHINGTON Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2003

Osama is still public enemy number one, but the feds are growing more concerned about Hizballah. Could the group be poised for an attack in the U.S.? 

At first blush, it sounds like a run of the mill smuggling case. On Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina, 29-year-old Lebanese national Mohamad Hammoud will be sentenced on charges of running cigarettes from North Carolina to Michigan. But Hammoud isn't some two-bit crook trying to make a little extra cash. He's considered by the feds to be a dangerous terrorist. Hammoud has been convicted of using his illicit income to help fuel Hizballah, the Lebanon-based, anti-Israel terrorist army. For his crime, he faces up to 155 years in prison. Federal prosecutors are convinced he was a young extremist militant before he gained entry to the U.S. through Venezuela in 1992 with a $200 fake visa. They maintain that he stayed in the U.S. by entering into first one, and then another, phony marriage to American women — all the while still engaged to another woman in Lebanon.

For most Americans, Osama bin Laden is the frightening face of international terrorism. But lately, Hizballah is almost as high on the feds' threat meter. "Al Qaeda has not been the only threat. Prior to September 11th, Hizballah had killed more Americans than any other terrorist group," FBI Director Robert Mueller said last year. Just three weeks ago, two alleged Hizballah soldiers were among several individuals indicted in Detroit — also in a cigarette smuggling scheme that the government said is linked to Hammoud's. Prosecutors allege that they, too, were raising money for Hizballah. And TIME has learned that the FBI is investigating the activities of hundreds of suspected Hizballah members or sympathizers in the U.S. — including several dozen émigrés believed to be hard-core Hizballah believers. The investigation is spread over many cities including New York, Los Angeles and Boston. "You could almost pick your city and you would probably have a presence," says one knowledgeable law enforcement official. The concern is that Hizballah — among other groups — may have U.S.-based sleepers in place not only to raise money, but also to pounce with an attack when the timing is right.

Hizballah is certainly a menacing terrorist group with a known track record of brutal attacks all over the world. The organization's American victims in Lebanon range from Navy diver Robert Stethem — his murdered body was thrown out the window of a TWA airliner in a 1985 hijacking in Beirut — and CIA station chief William Buckley the same year, to 241 killed in a 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine headquarters that led Ronald Reagan to withdraw U.S. forces from Lebanon. The group was also blamed for lethal 1990s bombings of Jewish targets in Argentina — showing that its deadly reach extends far beyond the Mideast.

Attacks like these help account for a $25 million bounty the U.S. has placed on the head of Hizballah's Imad Mugniyeh, who is listed among America's 22 most wanted terrorists and is believed to be hiding out in Lebanon. "Hizballah may be the 'A team' of terrorists, and maybe al-Qaeda is actually the 'B team.' And they're on the list and their time will come," Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said last September. "They have a blood debt to us,... and we're not going to forget it." Added an old counter-terrorism hand: "They're very good and very deadly. For whatever reason, they've stopped killing Americans." But if they decide to start again, U.S. officials dread their professionalism, training and discipline — and their penchant for particularly deadly suicide attacks. "They're military trained. They keep their military skills up," said Chris Swecker, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Charlotte office and a key player in the Hammoud case.

The Hammoud case is auspicious because it has been the first of its kind under a 1996 anti-terror law that outlawed giving material support to terror groups, such as an uncertain amount of smuggling profits that Hammoud was proved to have sent abroad. "The case was about fund-raising, but there was enough evidence seized in the course of the investigation to justify a legitimate concern about terrorism in general," U.S. attorney for Charlotte Bob Conrad tells TIME of the charges his office brought against Hammoud and two dozen or so others, including his brother and several Americans. "A group such as this is in place to do other things."

The Hammoud case began innocuously enough in 1995. Local sheriff's detective Bob Fromme, working off-duty as a security guard at JR Tobacco Warehouse in Statesville, N.C., grew suspicious when he saw a group of Middle Eastern men repeatedly buying hundreds of cartons of cigarettes apiece. Local prosecutors in tobacco-friendly North Carolina weren't interested, but Fromme persuaded the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to investigate. Just as they were poised to bring charges, the FBI swooped in and took over — linking the smuggling operation to the Hizballah cell that Hammoud allegedly headed.

The FBI is using fund-raising investigations like the one in Charlotte to nab operatives like Hammoud while trying to roll up any possible plans for violence. As FBI agent Swecker put it: "These fund-raising cases were good ways to get in and see what they were doing. And if we had to wait and see what they were doing — I mean that'd be way too late." So far, neither Hammoud's gang nor other Hizballah operatives are accused of planning specific attacks here. But Conrad noted that the government filed an affidavit citing a confidential source who said that "if Hizballah issued an authorization to execute a terrorist act in the United States, Mohamad Hammoud would not hesitate in carrying it out." And prosecutors may present evidence at Hammoud's sentencing from an inconclusive post-trial investigation of allegations that Hammoud sought a hit man to "put bullets into the skull" of Kenneth Bell, the lead prosecutor.

Evidence gathered in the case included photos of Hammoud handling guns and rocket launchers in Lebanon and taking target practice in the U.S., as well as brandishing an automatic rifle in Hizballah headquarters in Lebanon — at age 15. Seized from Hammoud's house was a videotape of Hizballah men with explosive belts around their waist "and the interpretation of the chanting is that 'We pledge to detonate ourselves to shake the ground under the feet of our enemies, America and Israel,'" Conrad says. "To me, that indicates a general intent to engage in violence on our soil." Canadian intelligence intercepts showed the Charlotte cell had been in close contact with Hizballah leaders in Lebanon, and the cell was found to have procured "dual-use" equipment for military use there.

Hammoud denied during his trial that he was a Hizballah militant. His lawyer could not be reached. Hizballah leaders in Lebanon also could not be reached for comment. Federal sources say the FBI has identified a small number of emigres who attended Hizballah training camps in Lebanon and now reside in the U.S. A few of these have even returned to Lebanon for more advanced training, sources say. Agents are monitoring them closely, along with a larger number of suspected Hizballah members, associates and sympathizers suspected of providing logistical support for the organization.

While authorities put the heat on Hizballah here, the U.S. has also moved to try to rein in the terror group abroad. In a private meeting in Damascus last April, Secretary of State Colin Powell asked Syrian President Bashar Assad to restrain Hizballah forces that had been firing rockets at Israel from the north. A diplomatic source critical of Iran's role in arming Hizballah tells TIME that the U.S. has at least twice asked Saudi Arabia to stop giving Iranian military supply planes overflight permission for loads of weaponry earmarked for Hizballah. "We continually raise this issue with diplomatic discussions and our views on overflight are well known throughout the region," a U.S. State Department official told TIME. "We don't tolerate illegal flow of weapons and that message has not changed." A Saudi spokesman had no immediate comment.

Meanwhile, the feds are watching closely to see if groups such as Hizballah use the Iraq crisis as a lynchpin for attacks. "If they sympathize and identify with Iraq and they decide this is just an affront to Muslims all over the world, then they could decide to get involved," said one law enforcement official. "We are certainly watching that--nationwide."

Whether Hizballah switches from quiet fund-raising to attack mode in the U.S. "is a big issue," agrees Rep. Jane Harman of California, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. "They don't ask our permission."

Additional reporting by Viveca Novak and Adam Zagorin/Washington; Kim Ghattas/Beirut; Matt Rees/Jerusalem

www.newswales.co.uk 25/2/2003

Security scares at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports have highlighted how vulnerable Britain is to terrorist attacks.

But the discovery of a live grenade that haad been smuggled on board a flight from Venezuela to Gatwick Airport should not surprise anyone who has listened to repeated warnings from airport and security experts, according to the Farmers’ Union of Wales.

"The FUW warned the Government as long ago as October 2001 that terrorists could exploit lax customs controls both in the UK and abroad to smuggle weapons into this country," said union President Bob Parry. "The fact that a live grenade can be smuggled onto a British jet in Venezuela graphically illustrates our point that we are extremely vulnerable to attack."

Although the Venezuela case has shown how explosives can be taken on board a passenger jet, the FUW has focussed attention on the potential biological terrorism threat posed by the £1 billion a year criminal trade in illegal meat imports.

The threat was highlighted once again today (Tuesday) during a fact-finding visit to Heathrow Airport by the FUW and Plaid Cymru MPs Elfyn Llwyd of Meirionydd Nant Conwy and Adam Price of Carmarthen East and hosted by air cargo expert Clive Lawrance of Ciel Logistics.

Mr Lawrence first became concerned about the illegal meat trade when his staff were called in to deal with suitcases leaking blood and covered in maggots that were full of illegal bush meat, including monkey, antelope and bush rats known as grasscutters.

His investigations took him to several countries in west Africa, where he witnessed passengers filling their luggage with bush meat - with the assistance of airport workers. When he attempted to video what was going on, he was surrounded by security guards and told to stop filming.

Bush meat can carry a number of diseases which pose a threat to animal and human health in this country, yet the meat still ends up in British shops and markets every year. The FUW is also concerned about the tons of illegal beef, pork and chicken that arrives at our ports every day which could also carry disease.

It is widely accepted that the 2001 foot and mouth epidemic was triggered after the disease was imported into this country on a batch of illegally imported meat.

The same smuggling routes could be exploited by terrorists determined to bring biological weapons into Britain, believes the FUW.

"If we know that it’s so easy to smuggle large quantities of illegal meat into this country, then it’s pretty obvious that terrorist organisations are also aware of the possibilities," said Mr Parry.

"It’s not our intention to spread alarm, but simply to raise awareness of this very grave issue," he said. "The union has petitioned the Government to take the issue of illegal meat imports seriously, and urged them to invest far more resources into tackling this crime.

"We have suggested the creation of an illegal meat task force to co-ordinate the tasks currently undertaken by a range of law enforcement agencies including customs and excise, environmental health officers and the police.

"The union has also urged the introduction of X-ray machines to check incoming luggage, and teams of sniffer dogs working around the clock at international airports to counter the threat."

Although such measures would help prevent illegal meat entering the country, action also needs to be taken at source, believes the FUW.

"The fact that airport workers in some countries actively assist smugglers get the illegal meat on board aircraft is a major cause for concern, and needs a concerted effort by the international community to stop it," said Mr Parry.

"It is becoming obvious that the illegal trade in bush meat must not only be stopped to save several species of wildlife from extinction, but also to close a potentially lethal security gap before it is exploited by terrorists," he said.

Today’s visit by the MPs is the latest effort in a long running campaign by the FUW to raise political awareness of the scale of the illegal meat trade. Prior to Christmas the union, through Adam Price MP, organised a Parliamentary seminar on the subject in the Houses of Parliament which was attended by MPs and members of the House of Lords from all political parties. Union President Bob Parry also spoke to senior environmental officers in London earlier this month.