The Terrorist-Criminal Nexus: An Alliance of International Drug Cartels, Organized Crime, and Terror Groups

343 Pages·2013·12.1 MB·English

by  Jennifer L. Hesterman

Homeland Security/Terrorism H The Terrorist-
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Postmodern global terrorist groups engage sovereign nations asymmetrically s
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with prolonged, sustained campaigns driven by ideology. Increasingly, e
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transnational criminal organizations operate with sophistication previously only m
found in multinational corporations. Unfortunately, both of these entities can now a Criminal Nexus
effectively hide and morph, keeping law enforcement and intelligence agencies in n
the dark and on the run.
Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that al Qaeda, Hezbollah, FARC, drug T
cartels, and increasingly violent gangs—as well as domestic groups such as the h
An Alliance of International Drug Cartels,
Sovereign Citizens—are now joining forces. Despite differing ideologies, they are
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threatening us in new and provocative ways. The Terrorist-Criminal Nexus: An
Alliance of International Drug Cartels, Organized Crime, and Terror Groups Organized Crime, and Terror Groups
frames this complex issue using current research and real-world examples of T
how these entities are sharing knowledge, training, tactics, and—in increasing e
frequency—joining forces.
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Providing policy makers, security strategists, law enforcement and intelligence
o
agents, and students with new evidence of this growing threat, this book:
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• Examines current and future threats from international and domestic
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criminal and terror groups s
• Identifies specific instances in which these groups are working together t
or in parallel to achieve their goals -
C
• Discusses the “lifeblood” of modern organizations—the money trail
• Describes how nefarious groups leverage both traditional funding r
methods and e-commerce to raise, store, move, and launder money i
m
• Explores the social networking phenomenon and reveals how it is the
perfect clandestine platform for spying, communicating, recruiting,
and spreading propaganda i
n
• Investigates emergent tactics such as the use of human shields, and
the targeting of first responders, schools, hospitals, and churches a
l
This text reveals the often disregarded, misunderstood, or downplayed nexus
N
threat to the United States. Proving definitively that such liaisons exist, the book
provides a thought-provoking new look at the complexity and phenomena of the
e
terrorist-criminal nexus.
x
u
K15479 Jennifer L. Hesterman
s
ISBN: 978-1-4665-5761-1
90000
www.crcpress.com
9 781466 557611
w w w . c r c p r e s s . c o m

The Terrorist-
Criminal Nexus
An Alliance of International Drug Cartels,
Organized Crime, and Terror Groups

The Terrorist-
Criminal Nexus
An Alliance of International Drug Cartels,
Organized Crime, and Terror Groups
Jennifer L. Hesterman
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2013 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
No claim to original U.S. Government works
Version Date: 20130220
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4665-5762-8 (eBook - PDF)
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Contents
Preface xv
About the Author xxi
Chapter 1 A Poisonous Brew 1
References 5
Chapter 2 Transnational Organized Crime:
The Dark Side of Globalization 7
Multinational Corporate Sophistication 8
Transnational Organized Crime on the Rise 9
Scoping the TOC Challenge 10
Eurasian Transnational Crime: Size, Wealth, Reach 11
Italian Transnational Crime:
Not Your Grandfather’s Mafia 13
Baltic Transnational Crime: Emergent and Deadly 17
Asian Transnational Crime: Sophisticated and
Multicultural 18
African Criminal Enterprises: Internet Savvy and Vast 20
Emerging Area of Concern: North Korea 22
Fighting Transnational Crime Overseas … and within
Our Borders 23
Palermo Convention: First Strike on TOC 24
National Strategy to Combat Transnational
Organized Crime 25
Agencies and Methods 28
INL 28
DOJ 29
FBI 30
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
v
vi Contents
Major Areas of Concern, Progress, and Lessons Learned 32
Counternarcotics 32
Human Trafficking 35
Money Laundering 37
Corruption 38
Lessons Learned 39
References 40
Chapter 3 Postmodern Terrorist Groups 43
Postmodern Organizational Theory:
The Rise of Modern Terrorism and Groups 45
Genesis of Postmodern Groups and Thinking 45
Upstream Thinking 46
Epistemology 47
Deconstruction 47
Deconstruction’s Danger 48
Postmodern Organizational Theory 48
Neo-Marxist Organizational Theory 49
Diagnostic Tools of Postmodernism 51
Systems Theory 51
Environmental Theory 52
Symbolic Theory 53
Postmodern Theory and the Rise of Modern Terrorism 53
Final Thoughts on Postmodernism 54
Modern Terrorism’s Roots 55
What Is Terrorism? 55
Terrorism’s Target 56
The New Anatomy of a Terrorist Group 57
Life Cycle Study 58
Terrorist Group Members 60
Behavior 60
Motivation 61
Culture 62
Environment 63
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Contents vii
How Terrorist Groups End 64
International Terrorist Groups: The “Big 3” 66
Al Qaeda and Affiliates 66
The Ideology 67
Rise of bin Laden and al Qaeda 68
Emergent al Qaeda 69
AQAP or Ansar al-Sharia 69
Other Al Qaeda Splinter Groups 70
Bin Laden Speaks 72
Al Qaeda’s New Goals and Tactics 73
Al Qaeda and Nexus 73
Hezbollah 75
Unique Structure 76
Methodology and Objectives 76
Primary Area of Operations 77
Tactical Depth and Breadth 77
Political Acumen 78
Leveraging the Community 78
Strong Leadership 79
Active and Deadly 79
Global Operations 80
Latin America 80
Nexus Concern: Venezuela 80
West Coast of Africa 82
Europe 83
Iraq 83
Canada 83
United States 84
U.S. Response 85
FARC 85
Colombia: A Sophisticated, Transnational Narco-State 86
Final Thoughts 87
References 88
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
viii Contents
Chapter 4 Domestic Terrorism and the Homegrown Threat 93
History of Domestic Terrorism in the United States 94
The Twenty-First Century and the Rising Tide
of Domestic Extremism 99
Right-Wing Extremism 100
Militias 102
Sovereign Citizens 103
Left-Wing 106
Anarchists 106
Single-Issue or Special-Interest Terrorism 110
The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) 110
Animal Liberation Front (ALF) 110
Homegrown Terror 113
Rehabilitation and the Domestic Terrorist 115
Jihadist Defined 116
Recidivism 116
Terrorist Recidivism 116
Counterradicalization Efforts 117
Inside the Saudi Program 117
Possible Solutions in the Homeland 119
The Lone Wolf 120
Gangs: Evolving and Collaborating 122
MS-13—Moving toward 3G2 123
History 124
Structure 124
Operational Activities 124
Adaptable and Morphing 124
Sophistication 124
Internationalization 124
Rival Gang 125
Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMGs) 126
Prison Gangs 126
Special Concern: Gangs and the Military 127
© 2010 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC