Of all the leads about the smuggling of potential terrorists from Mexico into the United States, the most intriguing may be the case of a young Lebanese man who was dropped off at a Chula Vista hospital in June 2002.
The man, near death, showed signs of radiation poisoning, suggesting work with a radiological "dirty bomb."In the end, the radiation symptoms were discounted and the man died of undetermined causes. But the case led to the arrest of the owner of a Lebanese restaurant in Tijuana who last year was convicted of operating a smuggling ring, in league with a Mexican diplomat based in Lebanon. U.S. officials estimated that he arranged for the illegal entry of 80 to 200 Arabs into the United States over a period of months.
Then, in July, federal agents arrested an Egyptian man in Miami on charges that he ran a smuggling ring based in the Middle East and Latin America. Ashraf Ahmed Abdallah, 34, was charged with directing migrants from Egypt and neighboring countries to travel to Latin America, and from there to Guatemala, the base of the smuggling operation, where they would be transported through Mexico for entry into the United States.
Although police have not detained any terrorist suspects trying to enter the United States from Mexico, a recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement memorandum obtained by The Times says that the Drug Enforcement Administration developed intelligence that Al Qaeda operatives had been in contact with human and drug smuggling rings in Mexico to gain entry into the United States. Homeland Security officials said they had been unable to confirm the information but took it seriously.
Border security issues in general have caused a renaissance of sorts in U.S.-Mexico relations on immigration. Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the United States has been pressing Mexico to tighten security at its airport and borders. The Mexican response has drawn praise from U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza and other American officials, even as officials of both countries acknowledge the impossibility of fully securing the border.
"There's a constant and increasing stream of information sharing," said a U.S. official, who credits the Mexicans with "full cooperation." A Mexican official said Mexico was conducting a "very fluid, transparent" exchange of intelligence with Washington.
Mexico has taken other steps in the face of terrorist threats to the United States. It joined the United States in anti-terrorist training exercises and last year unveiled a plan to deploy 18,000 security personnel to the border.
Over the last two years, the Mexican government has arrested more than 50 former and current immigration agents and officials on charges of collaborating with migrant-smuggling rings.
In February, Mexico upgraded and computerized a system that tracks foreigners entering at the country's five biggest airports. Mexican officials said the system is on alert for 1,710 individuals with some degree of trouble with law enforcement agencies, including about 50 wanted or suspected terrorists.
"What you have is better information of who is coming into the airports, but we still have land borders that are extremely porous to undocumented migrants," said Gustavo Mohar, a migration expert and former Mexican diplomat.
Schmitt reported from Washington, Reza from San Diego and Boudreaux from Mexico City. Staff writers Josh Meyer in Washington and Douglas Frantz in Istanbul, also contributed.
