Mexican Diplomat Charged With Helping Smuggle Arabs Into U.S.

humaneventsonline ^ | Dec 31, 2003 | Terence P. Jeffrey

[VU4G10]

The real life horror story that began eighteen months ago when an Arab illegal alien named Youseff Balaghi showed up at a San Diego hospital, dying from what the Border Patrol initially—and erroneously—feared was radiation sickness, has now reached high into Mexico's foreign service.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Imelda Ortiz Abdala was Mexico's consul in Lebanon. On Nov. 12, 2003, Mexican authorities arrested her, according to the Associated Press, "on charges of helping a smuggling ring move Arab migrants into the United States from Mexico." The AP said Mexico had also arrested "alleged ring leader Salim Boughader Mucharafille." Boughader earlier pleaded guilty in the U.S. to the smuggling incident that resulted in Balaghi's death.

Unfortunately, this story is not over.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Skerlos prosecuted Boughader. This week, citing Ortiz's arrest, I asked him if there were other rings still bringing Middle Easterners in from Mexico.

"Yes," he said.

Another Front

Far from Iraq, there's another front where the terror war's not over. It's on our own border—and, here, the key enemies are the smugglers who bring people such as Balaghi into California, and who collaborate with allegedly corrupt officials such as Ortiz.

In congressional testimony in 2002, then-Assistant Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Joseph Greene said: "Information available to the INS indicates terrorist organizations often use human smuggling operations to move around the globe." According to a Library of Congress study, "Organized Crime and Terrorist Activity in Mexico, 1999-2002," former Mexican national security adviser Adolfo Aguilar Zinser said in May 2001: "Spanish and Islamic terrorist groups are using Mexico as a refuge."

How is the U.S. countering the threat of terrorists using human smuggling operations and finding refuge in Mexico? Rather than securing our border generally, the government tolerates large-scale illegal immigration, while trying to selectively stop the smuggling operations most likely to move terrorists. The administration, Greene told Congress, has put in place an "enforcement initiative aimed at targeting alien smuggling organizations specializing in the movement of U.S.-bound aliens from countries that are of interest to the national security of the United States."

Balaghi was from Lebanon.

On June 5, 2002, he showed up, vomiting blood, at Scripps Memorial Hospital-Chula Vista. He quickly died. When the Border Patrol heard his symptoms, they feared radiation sickness—and dispatched an agent with a detector to check his remains.

Balaghi was clean. But he was far from the only Middle Easterner Boughader's ring had smuggled.

In an affidavit, Border Patrol Agent John R. Korkin said an investigation "positively identified at least 80 Lebanese nationals that have been, or were intercepted in the process of being, smuggled into the U.S." by the ring. Boughader admitted in court to smuggling more than 100. He was sentenced to one year in prison, and deported to Mexico in November.

Almost immediately, Mexican authorities arrested him in their own anti-smuggling case. A few days later, they arrested Ortiz.

She had worked in Mexico's foreign service for 25 years. From 1998 to October 2001, AP reported, she was Mexico's consul in Lebanon. She later directed the consular office in Mexico City.

She was fired in May, AP said, "after 150 Mexican passports were stolen and two others were found to have been issued irregularly."

Jose Santiago Vasconcelos, Mexico's assistant attorney general, told Notimex that Boughader's ring moved "a great number of Arabs" into the United States. El Occidental, a Mexican newspaper, said it was "at least 200."

I asked Skerlos to compare that number to the "at least 80 Lebanese nationals" cited in Korkin's affidavit "I think it is fair to say that the numbers we included in our affidavit were conservative," he said.

Almost a month after Ortiz was arrested, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said: "The bottom line is, as a country we have to come to grips with the presence of 8 to 12 million illegals, afford them some kind of legal status some way, but also as a country decide what our immigration policy is and then enforce it."

No, Mr. Secretary. We already have immigration laws. It's your duty to enforce them. If the arrest of a Mexican diplomat for helping to smuggle Arabs into the U.S. can't convince you of the need for that, what will?

[Bikers4Bush]

Just because the RATmedia doesn't like him does not mean that we should trust him.

Follow blindly if you choose, many of us will choose to do otherwise.

[justshutupandtakeit]

I trust his results. He is one of the RATmedia's greatest enemy and it will stop at nothing to get rid of him including provoke deluded "conservatives" to do their dirty work for them. How painful it is to watch this work to perfection among those who should know better.

[Bikers4Bush]

Like I said, you're free to follow blindly.

This administration has done enough in a short time to warrant my being wary of them.

[Lady Heron]

On June 5, 2002, he showed up, vomiting blood, at Scripps Memorial Hospital-Chula Vista. He quickly died. When the Border Patrol heard his symptoms, they feared radiation sickness—and dispatched an agent with a detector to check his remains.

Balaghi was clean.

So, what did he die of if not radiation????? Vomiting blood does not sound good.

[Domestic Church]

They didn't mention an autopsy either.

[ZULU]

Bienvenido Morescos!! Or should I say, Bienvenido Petrodollars?

Why not??

Rove, Ridge and Bush continue to allow an army of illegal invaders across our borders every night. Why shouldn't a guy make some money over this??

[justshutupandtakeit]

If supporting our leader during time of war is "following blindly" I plead guilty. If defending our leader and his chief election architect against RATmedia slander (no matter who mouths it) is "following blindly" I plead guilty. If recognizing that the RATmedia is desperate to get rid of Bush and countering those desperate attempts is "following blindly" I plead guilty.

The real problem is those who witlessly join America's enemies in these misrepresentations, character assassinations and outright lies. These enemies I will oppose to the last breath blindly or not.

How can you claim to support Bush yet attack the person who is as responsible for his election as any single man? Can you not see that you are doing Dean/Kerry/Hillary's work for them? Can you not realize that such attacks bring joy to the hearts of America's REAL enemies? And THEY are NOT Karl Rove.

[philetus]

"What happened to "the rule of law" that was so frequently cited when refering to the previous administration? Has the rule of law been suspended?"

This is easy.
The "rule of law" for We the People is still in effect. The "rule of Law" for pols, the very rich, the hollywood crowd, etc. has never really existed. When one of them become a big enough embarrasement, the others take him\ her out. Or send them to Aspen.

[citizen]

bttt for later

[King Prout]

things that make ya go "hmmmmm" (and don't do the same to geiger counters)

[Boot Hill]

"That's it. Cut off all talks with fox and co. and seal the damn southern border."

Better late than never (except I would not limit it to the southern border). Bikers4Bush has it right and this has to be repeated over and over and very loudly. Enough is enough.

--Boot Hill

[Knightsofswing]

Let us invite this socalled diplomat to visit one our better spots;


Fort Levenworth prison!

[VOA]

bump

[Minutemen]

bump

[DustyMoment]

Lots of interesting discussion on this topic. This is one of the reasons that Bush is beginning to remind me more of Nixon than Reagan. Nixon was a great president from the standpoint of foreign relations. His partnership with Henry Kissinger did much to relieve international tensions around the world. But, as a domestic president, he flat out sucked. He couldn't burp in the US and get it right.

Bush does have some good ideas about the domestic issues. He has reversed the economic downslide without a whole lot of help from Congress other than the tax cuts. However, when the President's party has a majority in both the House and the Senate and he STILL can't get his agenda pushed through, I really have to question his management style and his commitment to the country. Shoot, Daschle was SML and accomplished more of the Dem agenda than Bush has of his own agenda.

Bush and Ridge are notoriously soft on illegal immigration and choose to ignore our borders and our immigration laws. Bush was soft on Mexico when he was Gov. of Texas and, despite having been knifed in the back by Vicente Fox over Iraq, Bush will climb back into bed with him over immigration.

Not only is Bush clueless about the damage being done to America by the illegals, he refuses to consider ANY measure that will close the border and put a stop to it. After legalizing this next bunch of 8 - 12 million and refusing to close the border, the next legalization effort in about another 20 years will probably legalize about 100 million Mexicans. By then, Spanish will be the official language of the US and Mexico will either own us or we will have made it into the 51st state so they can rule us.

What Bush and Co. fail to understand is that taking a war overseas and talking tough doesn't mean squat when you leave the backdoor wide open. Both our northern and southern borders are so porous, it's like trying to get sand to hold water. Until Ridge, Bush and Rove sit down and educate themselves on the massive volumes of immigration law, the Dept. of Homeland Security will be nothing more than a boondoggle that created bigger government, larger budget, more people and nothing to show for it. IOW, business as usual.

Frankly, the best option we have may would be to draft Tom Tancredo at the Republican Convention and send W home. I know our lips are moving, but the boy simply ain't hearing a word we are saying to him.

[EverOnward]

Question: Do you approve of the way the Bush administration is handling the illegals pouring in from Mexico? And if yes, why?

[Helix]

Bump!

[JackelopeBreeder]

Thanks, this story has been developing for over a year.

Sorry to say, but the percentage of OTMs (Other Than Mexicans) has been increasing lately. It used to be about 2 or 3 percent, but is estimated at about 10% now. Most are still Latin American of some variety, but there are also quite a few Europeans, Asians, and Middle Easterners.

There is one area of Cochise County that the Border Patrol calls OTM Alley just because they catch so many non-Mexicans there. A few weeks back they caught a group of 25-30 Haitians there who had managed to make it 20 miles north on foot before running out of water.

The first group of illegal aliens I spotted by myself and fed to the Border Patrol was in OTM Alley. A Border Patrol agent told me later that the group included four Chinese. I can't confirm it as I was never close enough to see faces clearly.

A friend of mine was checking out the area one evening and found a Brazilian driver's license. It had been issued that morning -- in Brazil. This guy had managed to make it all the way to Sierra Vista in time for dinner.

One other oddity about OTM Alley -- we don't find much personal documentation abandoned at the load out sites. What we do find almost always has the names carefully removed. We find plenty of documentation at other sites: passports, driver's licenses, voter registration cards, matriculas, birth certificates, family photos. I have a box full of the stuff and could probably re-invent myself under several identities.

[JDGreen123]

This one gives me shudders. Since the idiots here in Tennessee still issue drivers licenses to illegal aliens, I can piece in this story for a nightmare scenario. Bin Laden or his associates get to Mexico, are smuggled in to the US with Mexican documents provided by this ring, make their way to Tennessee, get a license and rent a truck all in one day, and then drive a nuclear device right in to who knows where. Scary!

[kstewskis]

i think that the secret strategy is this: the US will become a Mexican Islamic State. then we won't have to worry about terrorists so much, and all illegals will be legal.

I don't think you are too far from the truth.

Call it what you will, but I'm convinced Mexico is trying to dismantle and invade this country, and "reclaim" territory that was once upon a time theirs. They will do anything to sabotage the US, including importation of Arabs who seek to destroy us.

Mexico already refused to have "anything but a Mexican National" on board as a Marshal for flights into the US. What's their problem? What are they afraid of? It's our ass on the line, not theirs. But when do they care about our ass? A lot of help we got from them during the Iraq war.

/sarcasm

They don't give a crap about anything but themselves. They will screw and milk the US for everything we are suckered into giving them, and they will spit it all out. Just look at the run down barrios that were once inhabited by proud "Americans" of all types, nationalities and colors.

They are cooperating by smuggling Chinese, former Soviet Republic mafia types, Middle Eastern terrorists into our borders.

I agree with B4B....seal our borders. Our enemy is just south of it, aiding in attack and invasion against us.

/ rant off.