A CBP agent watches the Mexico-U.S. border in Imperial Valley, California. (Photo: U.S. Border Patrol/Gerald L. Nino)
By Patrick Goodenough
Thursday, October 02, 2014
Some 9,862 aliens apprehended by agencies falling under the Department of Homeland Security in fiscal year 2013 came from 15 countries that are either state sponsors of terrorism, considered terrorist safe havens or have otherwise been associated with terrorism in recent years.
The vast majority of these came from three countries in the Western Hemisphere – Cuba (2,809 apprehensions), Venezuela (2,712) and Colombia (1,987), according to newly-released DHS Office of Immigration Statistics data.
Cuba is one of four U.S.-designated state sponsor of terrorism, while Venezuela and Colombia are deemed terrorist safe havens.
The latest State Department annual report on terrorism cites “credible reports that Venezuela maintained an environment that allowed for fundraising activities that benefited known terrorist groups. Individuals linked to Hezbollah as well as [left-wing Colombian terrorist groups] FARC and ELN members were present in Venezuela
On Colombia, the report credits government efforts to combat terrorism, but says terrain and dense forest cover, low population densities and historically weak government presence in its border areas “have often allowed for potential safe havens for insurgent and terrorist groups.”
Nigeria accounts for the next biggest nationality of apprehended aliens among countries where terrorism poses a serious problem, with 492 apprehensions in FY2013, followed by Pakistan with 334.
Nigeria is home to the notorious Boko Haram terrorist group, while a myriad of Islamist terrorist groups are located in Pakistan, especially in the tribal areas, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (formerly the North-West Frontier Province) and Balochistan. Among them are groups that have declared the United States to be their enemy, including al-Qaeda, the Taliban, the Haqqani network, Laskhar e-Toiba and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Next among terror-linked countries are Saudi Arabia (264 apprehensions in FY2013), followed by Iran (257), Lebanon (230), Somalia (214), Iraq (169), Sudan (168), Syria (72), Afghanistan (70), Yemen (68) and Libya (16).