Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

December 20, 2016 By Fausta

Uruguay: Jihad Diyab’s back

Let’s hope Gitmo alumnus Abu Wa’el Dhiab, a.k.a. Jihad Ahmad Diyab, a.k.a. Abu Wael Dihab, a.k.a. Jihad Ahmed Mujstafa Diyab, a.k.a. Jihad Diyab has a frequent-flyer card by now.

The last time we looked, he was on his way back from Venezuela, where he had turned up at Uruguay’s consulate in Caracas and asked for assistance to fly to Turkey or some other country. His family is in Turkey, and refuse to go to Uruguay.

Turkey doesn’t want him.

Back then I posted,

A known terrorist, who supposedly needs crutches to get around, goes missing for several weeks, to eventually turn up some 4,600 miles away from Montevideo (a little under the distance from New York to Moscow), in Venezuela, of all places, just so he can petition the Uruguayan consulate – which he could do in Montevideo – to “ask for assistance to fly to Turkey or some other country to be reunited with his family.”

After his return, he went on an extended hunger strike, following which he was flown to South Africa (I assume at Uruguayan taxpayers’ expense).

As it turns out, South Africa doesn’t want him either:

Former Guantanamo detainee Jihad Diyab is returning to Uruguay this weekend after being denied entry to South Africa, according to Christian Mirza, a former refugee mediator for the Uruguayan government.

As you may recall, the former member of the “Syrian Group”, which was “comprised of dismantled terrorist cells that escaped Syrian authorities and fled to Afghanistan (AF) in 2000,” was released by the Obama administration from Guantanamo and sent to Uruguay. He went to Argentina last February, and declared himself  “ready to fight“, just the thing when you want to make yourself welcome to a foreign country and your first name is Jihad.

After that, Diyab tried to enter Brazil three times but was turned away at the border. Authorities lost track of him, he turned up in Venezuela, was returned to Uruguay where he went on hunger strike, and now this.

Anyone running a pool on where he’ll turn up next?



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Filed Under: Fausta's blog, terrorism, terrorism. Latin America, Uruguay Tagged With: Abu Wael Dihab, Abu Wa’el Dhiab, Fausta's blog, Gitmo, Jihad Ahmad Diyab, Jihad Ahmed Mujstafa Diyab, Jihad Diyab

June 23, 2016 By Fausta

Gitmo alumnus off to the Balkans

and not just any guy, but Bin Laden’s [alleged] former bodyguard,

Red marks the spot

U.S. Sends Guantanamo Prisoner to Montenegro

The prisoner, Abdel Malik Ahmed Abdel Wahab Al Rahabi, was one of the first to arrive at the facility when it opened in January 2002. He was never charged with a crime, but U.S. officials suspected he was one of Osama bin Laden’s body guards, according to leaked prison documents.

What could possibly go wrong?

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Filed Under: Cuba, Osama bin Laden, terrorism Tagged With: Abdel Malik Ahmed Abdel Wahab Al Rahabi, Gitmo, Guantánamo

February 23, 2016 By Fausta

Waiting for Obama’s announcement on closing #Gitmo

and whether he’ll gift-wrap it for the Castros before he heads to Cuba

#Obama expected to present #Gitmo closure plan Tuesday https://t.co/JqSLMo7mDj pic.twitter.com/L3exildpP9

— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) February 23, 2016

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Filed Under: 9/11, Barack Obama, Communism, Cuba, terrorism Tagged With: Fausta' blog, Gitmo, Guantánamo

January 11, 2016 By Fausta

The re-captured Chapo Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Two big stories this week:

  • The U.S. shipped a Hellfire missile to Cuba, and
  • El Chapo got busted for the third time. Sean Penn got the interview, though. UPDATE: It was a movie deal disguised as an interview.

El Chapo’s now in the same jail as he dug the tunnel from last year when he escaped. What could possibly go wrong?

ARGENTINA
Argentina’s new government says it will press claims to Falkland Islands. Buenos Aires demands talks over future of disputed territory dashing hopes that Mauricio Macri will offer more conciliatory approach than Cristina Kirchner

BOLIVIA
Evo Morales forces nurses to wear veil at Iran-financed hospital: Denuncian que obligan a usar velo a enfermeras

BRAZIL
Squeezing the poor: Bus-Fare Protests in Brazil Turn Violent. Seventeen people were arrested in São Paulo as protesters rioted against an 8-cent increase in bus and subway fares.

Brazil Inflation Reaches Highest Level in 13 Years. Consumer price inflation in Brazil increased last year to the highest rate in 13 years, underscoring one of the main challenges facing Latin America’s largest economy.

Rio planned Olympic-scale sewerage project. But citizens say no thanks. Rio’s mayor says that the network is an Olympic legacy. So why have so few people connected to it?

CHILE
Chicken Price-Fixing Charges in Chile Send Cencosud Tumbling

COLOMBIA

#DerrocheHistórico pic.twitter.com/oaJPmXk2DY

— Julián Buitrago (@julianbuitragoa) January 7, 2016

Is Colombia Really Safe? A Firsthand Look.

CUBA

Congress Knew About Hellfire Missile in Cuba, A Year Ago

Cuban political prisoner Vladimir Morera Bacallao ends hunger strike ‘against his will’

Dems on parade, In Cuba, Gov. McAuliffe touts his state’s pork, wine — and seaport. Va. leader is outraged to learn pork is trucked from his state to Florida before being shipped to Havana

ECUADOR
TRENACO SA: unknown Swiss outfit bags $20bn contract from PDVSA. Read the article to find out why Ecuador.

GUANTANAMO
Ghana falsely claims 2 former Guantanamo detainees were ‘cleared of any involvement’ in terrorism

HONDURAS
Search on for ‘City of the Monkey God’. The President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, says scientists plan to explore a jungle site where they believe a mysterious ancient city is hidden.

IMMIGRATION
More African and Asian Migrants Are Arriving in Mexico After Long Latin American Journeys

Ismael paid a man in Kenya $5,000 dollars for a fake passport, a plane ticket to Brazil and introductions to a spidery network of human smugglers that eventually got him to Tapachula and the Hotel Palafox.

Disclosure: Another 41 Foreign-Born Individuals Snagged On Terror Charges. Obama administration withholds details as more attacks occur

JAMAICA
Jamaica homicides jump 20 pct, to highest level in 5 years

MEXICO
No ‘Mission Accomplished’ In Mexico Till Chapo Is Supermaxed

A new UCLA study shows that Guzman’s drug war has taken so many lives that it’s reduced Mexican lifespan expectations by six months, with the worst declines in the states where Guzman operates.

Yet a Facebook commenter said that Mexicans consider the news as a way for Peña Nieto to create a distraction from the poor economy.

PANAMA
How Panama and Mexico Help Potential Terrorists Reach the U.S. Border

PARAGUAY
More soccer scandals, Paraguay to send documents seized in CONMEBOL raid to US

PERU
Sex, surgery and HIV: Living in the shadows, the secret struggle of Peru’s transwomen who sell their bodies… and may be dead by 35

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico Defaults on $37 Million in Debt.

The defaulted debt corresponds to $35.9 million in bonds issued by the Puerto Rico Infrastructure Finance Authority and $1.4 million in Public Finance Corp. bonds

Staying Clear of Puerto Rico Bonds

Gimme, gimme: Puerto Rico Pleads for Congressional Help as Lawsuits Are Filed

Puerto Rico faces first lawsuit over US territory diverting funds to meet bond payments

The lawsuit filed late Thursday by Assured Guaranty Corp. and Ambac Assurance Corporation claims the government violated the U.S. constitution by diverting tax revenues meant to back certain bonds and used them instead to finance general obligation bonds, which have higher priority.

URUGUAY
Marijuana tops list of drugs seized in Uruguay, gov’t says

VENEZUELA
Santero Economists Take Over Economic Policy In Venezuela

Removal of Chávez Images From Venezuela Capitol Raises Tension



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Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Evo Morales, Honduras, immigration, Jamaica, Latin America, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela Tagged With: Fausta' blog, Gitmo, Guantánamo

July 27, 2015 By Fausta

As expected: WH finishing up latest plan for closing Guantánamo

All part of the plan:

A White House spokesman says the administration is in the “final stages” of drafting its latest plan to close the prison holding terrorism detainees at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
. . .
Press secretary Josh Earnest says closing Guantánamo remains a priority. Earnest said Wednesday it’s a waste to spend more than $100 million per year on a prison holding only 116 detainees.

Earnest ignores any importance of Guantánamo base as a strategic asset.

I stand by my prediction: Obama will gift Guantánamo base to the Castros before his term is over.

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Filed Under: Cuba Tagged With: Fausta' blog, Gitmo, Guantánamo

July 16, 2015 By Fausta

Cuba: “What next” would mean

In yesterday’s post, Cuba: What next?, I posited,

I have been predicting for quite a while that the Obama administration’s next goal regarding its foreign policy on Latin America is to gift the Guantanamo naval base to the Castro’s communist regime.

Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) explains the consequences this will have for America:

Aside from further demonstrating weakness, relinquishing the base at GTMO would be a strategic misstep of epic proportions for the United States. It would have significant national security and military implications. GTMO is the oldest overseas U.S. naval base and only permanent U.S. defense base in the region. Its location enables U.S. forces to maintain full advantages across a wide spectrum of military operations. It plays a critical role in migrant operations assistance missions and is a logistics center for U.S. ships and aircraft, allowing these assets to maintain tactical advantages and freedom of movement in strategic waters in a region with limited U.S. military presence.

If Castro achieved control of GTMO, what would happen? The all-too-obvious answer is that it would allow him to extend an invitation to one of the close allies of Havana, such as the Putin regime in Moscow or the mullahs in Tehran. If any of the actors interested in taking over the lease of GTMO does move into the warm Cuban waters off Florida’s southern coast, this would provide a direct military threat to the U.S. homeland. Consider for a moment the depth of waters and potential ability for nuclear submarines to conduct intelligence operations or worse.

Two years ago, the Russian Defense Minister stated that Russia wants to build military bases in several countries in the Western hemisphere, including Cuba. Press reports of Russian intelligence ships operating in the waters around Cuba, most recently earlier this year on the eve of U.S. talks with Cuba in Havana, prove that Russia is deadly serious about making good on those intentions.

Duncan does not exaggerate; Last year Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that Russia is planning to expand its permanent military presence outside its borders by placing military bases in a number of foreign countries:

the list includes Vietnam, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, the Seychelles, Singapore and several other countries.

“The talks are under way, and we are close to signing the relevant documents,” Shoigu told reporters in Moscow.

The minister added that the negotiations cover not only military bases but also visits to ports in such countries on favorable conditions as well as the opening of refueling sites for Russian strategic bombers on patrol.

Duncan continues

Remember what Russia is doing in its own neighborhood for a moment. Vladimir Putin brazenly acted to annex the Crimean Peninsula, ignoring the international outrage, and Ukraine is worried about a “full-scale” Russian invasion. If the U.S. gave way on GTMO, Putin would likely welcome the opportunity to have warm-water lodging for his navy only 90 miles from the United States.

And let’s not forget Iran,

Similarly, Iran continues to test the patience of the international community with its nuclear operations and refusal to cooperate with international inspectors. If things go badly for Iran with any nuclear deal, having a deeper presence in Latin America through Cuba offers Iran options for retributive action should they want it.

Dr Ely Karmon, in his report Iran in Latin America: President Rouhani’s Era points out,

On April 30, 2014, the State Department issued its Country Reports on Terrorism 2013, which stated that “Iran’s influence in the Western Hemisphere remained a concern,” but that “due to strong sanctions imposed on the country by the United States and the European Union, Iran has been unable to expand its economic and political ties in Latin America.”[2]

Whether Iran gets what it wants on the nuclear deal (which it does) or not, by lifting sanctions, the U.S. has given Iran every incentive to continue its ongoing economic and political expansion into Latin America. You can expect that making a deal with the Castros on Gitmo is part of their plans.

Related:
1. The Deal Wasn’t About Iran’s Nukes

The administration readily caved on Iran’s nukes because it viewed the matter only as a timely pretense for achieving other cherished aims. These were: (1) preventing an Israeli attack on Iran; (2) transforming the United States into a more forgiving, less imposing power; (3) establishing diplomacy as a great American good in itself; (4) making Iran into a great regional power; and (5), ensuring the legacies of the president and secretary of state as men of vision and peace.

Items 2-5 will play well with that Gitmo gift.

2. Raul Castro calls for new Cuba-US relationship (emphasis added)

In a speech to the National Assembly, Mr Castro said that, for normal relations to resume, a US embargo on Cuba would have to be lifted.

He also called for the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay to be returned to Cuba.

The die is cast, now we just wait for it to roll.

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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Cuba, Fausta's blog, Iran, Russia Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Gitmo, Guantánamo

February 5, 2015 By Fausta

Cuba: Next, O will give away Gitmo

I’m seeing this in the crystal ball: The Obama administration’s objective is to give Guantanamo Base to Cuba. They understand that,

Once played, the Guantanamo card will be gone and Washington’s long-term leverage over Havana will be forever altered.

Obama Does Have a Strategy
Once you see what he is trying to accomplish, it all makes sense.

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Filed Under: Communism, Cuba, Czech Republic Tagged With: Fausta' blog, Gitmo

January 29, 2015 By Fausta

Cuba: Gimme, gimme, gimme Gitmo!

Now that the murderous Communist regime in Cuba knows that to the Obama administration the word “easement” means “A deal for which the U.S. gets nothing in exchange”, they want more.

Who wouldha thunk it!

How much more?

The whole enchilada (YES, I KNOW ENCHILADAS ARE MEXICAN. Bear with me here!):

  • Ending what’s left of the embargo
  • Ending all TV and radio broadcasts to the island
  • Cutting off support to dissidents
  • Removal from the states sponsors of terror list
  • Giving Guantanamo Base to Cuba

and (drumroll please)

  • Reparations! “just compensation to our people for the human and economic damage that they’re suffered.”

Since Communists love slogans, Gimme, gimme, gimme Gitmo!

Lest you believe that gifting Gitmo to Russia and all of these concessions are unlikely to come about, keep in mind that Obama is obsessed with his “legacy”. Take it away, Ed!

Only if one believes that these conditions will discourage Obama. He’s desperate for a foreign-policy achievement that will allow him to claim a legacy, and Castro knows it. (So does Iran.) Castro isn’t anywhere near as desperate for normalized relations with the US; he gets plenty of hard currency from the rest of the world, and exchanges it with the near-worthless Cuban peso with which he pays Cubans. Castro wants to strengthen his regime, and humiliating Obama will raise his prestige immeasurably at home.

Gifting Gitmo already has support among some, but as Joshua Treviño commented on Facebook (emphasis added),

We need to establish a new rule of thumb: anyone arguing that major bargaining points should be ceded in exchange for unforced goodwill does not understand basic power dynamics and should be ignored in policymaking henceforth. The Cuban regime isn’t going to be any more grateful or well-disposed toward us after occupying Guantanamo than they are now. They’ll just feel, with some justification, like they’ve won — and moreover won cheaply. What good that does us, well, ask the Israelis about the goodwill garnered after leaving Lebanon and Gaza.

As for the hand-waving dismissal of the modern importance of “conventional hemispheric defense,” that is the sort of thing one writes when one’s historical horizons are confined to an exceedingly small slice of history.

The small slice of history, in this case, “is all about the O.”

Somewhere in Cuba, Fidel’s amanuensis is gloating,

[Read more…]

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Filed Under: Barack Obama, Communism, Cuba, Raul Castro Tagged With: Fausta' blog, Gitmo, smart diplomacy

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