Acts of terror, illicit drugs and money laundering
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13590790410809086 |
| Published date | 01 April 2004 |
| Date | 01 April 2004 |
| Pages | 158-162 |
| Author | Ed Jurith |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance |
Journal of Financial Crime Ð Vol. 11 No. 2
Acts of Terror, Illicit Drugs and Money Laundering
Ed Jurith
INTRODUCTION
In the spring of 2001, Antonio Pereira, age 65, was
kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC) terrorist group. While ransom
negotiations with his family were under way,
Pereira fell seriously ill. Courageously, Pereira's
25-year-old daughter Melina oered to be taken
captive in exchange for her father's release. After the
exchange, the Pereira family was unable to come up
with enough ransom to secure her release. Relatives
pleaded with the FARC terrorists to accept a smaller
ransom. The FARC responded with a note saying
that the young girl had been killed and her body
buried. Melina Pereira's body was later recovered in
the northern state of Santander, Colombia Ð she
was shot three times in the back at close range.
1
It would be reassuring to be able to say that the
brutal murder of a kidnapping-for-pro®t victim
was an isolated incident in 2001, but that is simply
not the case. In fact, the FARC kidnapped 714
persons in 2001 alone. The other two main terrorist
groups operating in Colombia, the United Self-
Defense Forces (AUC) and the National Liberation
Army (ELN) kidnapped 259 and 875 respectively in
2001. These three terror groups combined killed an
estimated 3,500 people last year. The individuals
killed are often kidnapping victims whose families
simply cannot pool enough money to pay their
ransoms on time. With an average of 3,000 kidnap-
pings per year, it is no wonder that the US State
Department regards Colombia as the most likely
place to be kidnapped in the world.
What these terrorist groups do not get from the
families of their kidnapped victims, they get from
narcotics tracking. In fact, it is estimated that
drug tracking activity generates between $400m
and $600m tax free a year for the FARC guerillas
and 40± 70 per cent of the AUC's income. But drug
tracking is not unique to the Colombian-based
terror groups. It has been con®rmed by the US
Department of State that 12 of the 28 known terror
organisations trac in drugs.
The author of this paper is General Counsel for
the Executive Oce of the President, Oce of Na-
tional Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The principal
purpose of the ONDCP is to establish policies,
priorities and objectives for the nation's drug
control programme. Part of the ONDCP's mission
is to help coordinate the activities of US federal
agencies participating in counter-drug operations
against international terrorist organisations involved
in drug tracking. The goal here is to disrupt the
illicit drug industry that provides some terrorist
organisations with a signi®cant part of their revenue.
Through a media campaign, the ONDCP also
educates the USA's youth on the dangers of drug
use and abuse. A recent advertising campaign is, in
part, dedicated to explaining the nexus between
drugs and terror.
What is the USA doing to keep its children o
drugs? Well, for one thing, it is letting them in on
a fact the international intelligence community has
known for years Ð that their individual choices
about illicit drug use have the power to support or
undermine the war on terrorism. This is not an
abstract nexus Ð the link between narcotics track-
ing and terrorism is undeniable and is, in many
regions, the rule, rather than the exception. Telling
real-life stories of narco-terror victims is one way
the ONDCP educates the USA's youth on the link
between drugs and terrorism and reinforces the
reality that drug use is not a victimless crime.
The object of this paper is to highlight the
undeniable nexus between acts of terror, illicit drugs
and money laundering.
NARCO-TERRORISM AND ITS LINK TO
MONEY LAUNDERING
Most of the strategies presently being applied to
combat terrorism Ð eg following mo ney trails,
freezing assets and safeguarding borders Ð are ones
already used to combat drug tracking, money
laundering and other organised crime. This is because
terrorism and organised crime are inextricably
linked. For example:
terrorists engage in organised crime activity to
support themselves ®nancially;
organised crime groups and terrorists operate on
network structures that frequently intersect;
Page 158
Journal of Financial Crime
Vol.11,No. 2, 2003,pp. 158 ±162
#HenryStewart Publications
ISSN 1359-0790
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