MEXICO CITY ? Mexico said it has detained a man believed linked to the groups that carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United
States.
The federal attorney general's office, in a bulletin issued late Tuesday, identified the man as Amer Haykel and said he was a British citizen born in
Beirut, Lebanon.
"According to U.S. authorities, he is linked to extremist groups believed to be involved with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in New York," the agency
said.
It did not say if he faced any charges or if he was believed to be personally involved in any terrorist actions.
President Vicente Fox's spokesman Ruben Aguilar said Wednesday the arrest showed that Mexican officials are capable of detecting people illegally in
the country and of protecting the border.
Haykel was detained in Todos Los Santos in the municipality of La Paz near the tip of the Baja California peninsula. It said he was located at a fire
station after a U.S. government tip, but it didn't say what he was doing at the time of the arrest.
He was brought to Mexico City for immigration processing.
Officials have long expressed concerns that terrorists might use Mexico or Central America to stage an attack on the United States.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, there have been a series of arrests and reports ? from Panama to the Mexico-U.S. border ? indicating that terrorists might
be in the region. But so far, there has been little hard evidence that anyone was linked to al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups.
Last week, Pakistani Arif Ali Durrani, 55, was arrested in the beach resort of Rosarito, across the border from San Diego.
A former U.S. resident, Durrani was handed over to U.S. officials, who charged him with illegally exporting parts used in fighter jet engines. Durrani
has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and faces a trial in August.
Durrani served five years in prison for selling missile parts to Iran in the 1980s.
In July, a South African woman was arrested in Texas after she swam across the Rio Grande from Mexico. The arrest of Farida Goolam Mahomed Ahmed, 49,
led to speculation of terrorist activities at the border, but officials found no evidence of such a link.
She was convicted of illegal entry into the United States, making false statements to federal authorities, and misuse of an altered South African
passport. Authorities deported her in March.
Central American officials have also reported several alleged terrorist sightings or concerns ? including the theory that terrorists were recruiting
from the region's violent gangs.
But so far, the U.S. government has backed only one report: An alleged top al-Qaeda operative, Adnan El Shukrijumah of Saudi Arabia, spent 10 days in
Panama in April 2001.
MEXICO CITY, June 22 (Reuters) - Often criticized by the United States for failing to halt border violence, Mexico said on Wednesday its arrest of a
terror suspect shows it is up to the task of securing the frontier.
"The Mexican security apparatus is capable of detecting people who are here irregularly and guarantee national security and cooperation with the
United States," government spokesman Ruben Aguilar told journalists.
Amer Haykel, sought by the United States for links to groups presumably involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was arrested on Tuesday and taken
Mexico City for questioning by immigration authorities.
It appeared to be the first confirmed case of a terror suspect being found in Mexico.
The Mexican Attorney General's office said police arrested Haykel, a British citizen who speaks four languages and was born in Beirut, at a fire
station in the northern state of Baja California Sur in cooperation with U.S. authorities.
Aguilar said regular contact between Mexican and U.S. authorities led to the arrest.
"This constant communication also guarantees the protection of the border zone with the United States," he said.
Washington has complained several times this year that Mexico is unable to halt rampant drug violence on the border. Dozens of U.S. citizens have been
abducted or killed in a war between rival cartels in border cities.
Relations hit a low in January when Mexico warned the United States not to interfere with its internal affairs after the U.S. ambassador complained
that Mexican police were failing to halt the violence.
U.S. officials have long been concerned that the U.S.-Mexican border could be a soft spot in the fight against terror.Dave - 6-22-2005 at 04:29 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Anonymous
"The Mexican security apparatus is capable of detecting people who are here irregularly and guarantee national security and cooperation with
the United States," government spokesman Ruben Aguilar told journalists.
That's funny. Arif Duranni spent six years in Mexico after being deported from the U.S. He had an FM and was a business owner. He continually bribed
immigration officials even after the U.S. issued arrest warrants.
Mexico's security apparatus may be capable, but that's about as far as it goes.
Mexico links detained man to Sept. 11 terror groups
CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico ? A Lebanese-born man detained this week on Mexico's Baja California peninsula is believed linked to extremist organizations
with ties to the Sept. 11 terror attacks, Mexican prosecutors said.
Amer Haykel told acquaintances he was a pilot who was wandering the world on a tight budget. He seemed like "a straightforward person," said Gabriel
Garcia of the Cabo San Lucas fire station, where Haykel had sought shelter for several days.
Mexico's federal attorney general's office said late Tuesday that U.S. authorities linked the Lebanese-born British citizen "to extremist groups
believed to be involved with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in New York."
It did not say if he faced any charges or if he was believed to be personally involved in any terrorist actions.
On Wednesday, Mexico's attorney general's office said officials were trying to determine Haykel's legal status. He was being held in Mexico City by
immigration authorities.
In Washington, White House spokesman Scott McClellan referred questions to the Mexican government. Britain's Foreign Office and London's Metropolitan
Police said they had no details on Haykel.
Haykel was arrested on Monday at the volunteer fire station of Todos Santos, a small town on the Pacific coast about 35 miles northwest of Cabo San
Lucas that is known as a haven for U.S. expatriates.
Garcia said Haykel "went off all day and returned at 7 in the night to sleep" at the station. Haykel told the firefighters he was a pilot and "found
himself traveling around the world, but he was doing it without money, seeking rides," Garcia said.
Officials have long expressed concerns that terrorists might use Mexico or Central America to stage an attack on the United States.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, there have been a series of arrests and reports ? from Panama to the Mexico-U.S. border ? indicating that terrorists might
be in the region. But so far, there has been little hard evidence that anyone was linked to al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups.
Last week, Pakistani Arif Ali Durrani, 55, was arrested in the beach resort of Rosarito, across the border from San Diego.
A former U.S. resident, Durrani was handed over to U.S. officials, who charged him with illegally exporting parts used to cool fighter jet engines.
Durrani has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Durrani served five years in prison for selling missile parts to Iran in the 1980s.
Central American officials have also reported several alleged terrorist sightings or concerns ? including the theory that terrorists were recruiting
from the region's violent gangs.
But so far, the U.S. government has backed only one report: An alleged top al-Qaeda operative, Adnan El Shukrijumah of Saudi Arabia, spent 10 days in
Panama in April 2001.
21:55 El presunto terrorista detenido en Baja California Sur, Amer Haykel, fue liberado este mi?rcoles, ya que no representa ning?n riesgo para el
pa?s y no era buscado por alguna autoridad extranjera.
As? lo confirm? el Instituto Nacional de Migraci?n (INM), quien dio a conocer que "el aseguramiento se realiz? en el contexto de una estrategia de
seguridad fronteriza entre M?xico y Estados Unidos? para minimizar los riesgos en la seguridad nacional de ambos pa?ses.
Sin embargo, la Procuradur?a General de la Rep?blica (PGR) inform? ayer que su detenci?n se debi? al intercambio de informaci?n con Estados Unidos,
que emiti? una alerta roja contra el presunto integrante de Al-Qaeda y sus nexos con el atentado del 11 de septiembre de 2001.
De hecho, un informe de la dependencia da cuenta de que al sujeto se le segu?a la pista desde abril pasado, por diversos estados del pa?s, ante la
orden de arresto que exist?a contra Haykel.
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- The Mexican government blamed the United States on Thursday for confusion leading to the detention of a Lebanese-born,
British citizen falsely suspected of terrorist links.
President Vicente Fox's spokesman Ruben Aguilar said U.S. officials had dropped the man from alert lists but failed to tell Mexico.
Mexican agents detained Amer Haykel on Monday after U.S. authorities provided information that he was linked to extremist groups tied to the September
11 attacks. They released him Wednesday, saying he had done nothing wrong.
"The United States will issue an explanation about this problem of a lack of communication, for having sent alert lists to Mexico on which this man's
name has not been erased," Aguilar told a news conference.
He said Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal had brought up the matter with U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza in a meeting Wednesday.
Mexico's National Immigration Institute said it had confirmed that Haykel "doesn't represent any threat to national security, nor is he wanted by
authorities in any country."
Before his arrest, Haykel spent several days in the Baja California tourist resort of Cabo San Lucas, sleeping in a fire station, according to those
who met him.
Haykel told acquaintances he was a pilot who was wandering the world on a tight budget.
