Alleged al-Qaeda Jihadis Caught Trying to Enter U.S. with Fake Colombian Passports
Woohoo Paul. Wazzup down there?
American authorities identified and apprehended three Syrian nationals accused of belonging to al-Qaeda in Dallas, Texas, from Colombia, the Colombian news agency RCN reported on Thursday, publishing images of the three individuals’ fake passports.
According to RCN, American law enforcement identified the three individuals as Al Raefee, Tuameh Tuameh, and Al Harari Al Harari. The three are believed to be in U.S. custody, soon to be charged with membership in a terrorist organization. The men appear to have entered Colombia through Venezuela, where they acquired Colombian residency paperwork, a government identification card, and a Colombian passport through an illegal documentation network.
Journalist Luis Carlos Vélez published images of the counterfeit passports on Twitter, noting that the men appeared to have crossed into Colombia through the La Guajira border crossing with Venezuela. Reports have not yet specified how the Syrians entered Venezuela or how long they had spent in the country after leaving Syria. Vélez reportedly stated that the U.S. embassy identified them as al-Qaeda terrorists when they attempted to procure U.S. visas, which does not align with the RCN report that police arrested them in Dallas. The RCN report does not note if Dallas authorities arrested them at the airport, which would suggest the men did receive U.S. visas and got onboard a flight to the country, or if they arrived by other means.
First I’m hearing of it. Don’t pay much attention to the leftist news down here. But Venezuela has a long time relationship with Syria, etc. Chavez and Maduro have a long history of harboring anyone who would be a danger to Colombia or the U.S.. With all the unrest in our neighbor to the east it’s no big deal for someone to cross just about anywhere they want. It is interesting to note that they are reported as having been caught up in the US of A. My question is how they got that far? Did they have fake US visas as well, or did the fake passports pass US visa personnel scrutiny? You sure aren’t going to get on a plane for the US without something in your passport indicating you’re welcome there.