DIFFERENT ANGLE by Kenneth Rijock
Money from Iran and Venezuela destined to provide financial support for the FARC, and for other radical leftist groups seeking to topple democratic Latin American governments, is being funnelled out of Venezuela, and into Central America, in a complex scheme that cleverly hides its illicit origins. The seizure recently of a large amount of cash hidden in a FARC safe house in Costa Rica was a rare glimpse into the use of that country as a key stopover for money en route to the FARC. There is much more going on under the radar regarding the use of that country's financial structure for terrorist financing of the FARC's hemisphere-wide operations.
- The funds originate in Venezuelan banks that are assisting both the Venezuelan and Iranian governments in achieving their radical political goals, to wit: replacing those remaining democratic Latin American governments with extreme leftist regimes allied with Venezuela.
- Private Venezuelan banks place Iranian and Venezuelan state funds, via wire transfer and bulk cash shipments, in their branches,affiliates subsidiaries and correspondents in the Republic of Panama.
- The Iranian-owned Venezuelan financial institution, Banco Internacional Desarrollo* (BID), has been named as a primary force in several such transfers. This bank received its charter in only one week after its application had been filed, which is extraordinary in and of itself, and it has been extremely active throughout all regions of Latin America.
- The funds, now layered as the result of their presence in Panama, are next wired to banks in Costa Rica.
- From Costa Rica, funds are transferred to the FARC, and are delivered to several radical leftist groups, including other designated global terrorist organisations, There is no indication that Costa Rica law enforcement or regulatory authorities have interdicted or seized any of these inbound or outbound wire transfers, or cash withdrawals, most of which reportedly ends up in the hands of the FARC. Other radical organisations, dedicated to the violent overthrow of their country's lawfully-elected governments, also are recipients of these funds.
Needless to say, the existence of this terrorist financing pipeline is a sufficient reason to increase country risk for Costa Rica at this time to high, and to keep it there. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
* See the World-Check article Warning on Deceptively-Named Bank in Venezuela, 22 March, 2008.
http://www.world-check.com/articles/2008/03/22/warning-deceptively-named-bank-venezuela/
The facts and opinions stated in this article are those of the author and not those of World-Check. World-Check does not warrant the accuracy of any facts and opinions stated in this article, does not endorse them, and accepts no responsibility for them.
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