A Syrian woman believed to be directly involved in the ISIS terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13th traveled in Latin America before reaching France, according to an anonymous Colombian immigration official quoted by EFE. According to official, a woman known as Sakhadi Seham entered Bogota, Colombia from Ecuador in July of 2015 and bribed officials working for immigration and customs agency (DIAN) to let him leave the country. Latin America is often overlooked in the global fight against terrorism, despite serving as a haven for extremist groups fro decades.
Did an ISIS terrorist use Colombia’s corrupt networks to reach France? If true, the reports could confirm fears long held by security expert hat terrorists based in the Middle East might take advantage of Latin America’s corrupt institutions.
Latin America has long been a haven for victims and perpetrators of conflict in the Middle East. Chile and Argentina were stomping grounds of Nazis and fleeing European Jews. Palestinian refugees fled Israel and scattered from Brazil to Mexico, often supporting the Palestinian Liberation Organization via a tax on diaspora communities.
In August, six Colombian officials from DIAN were suspended and 50 implicated in multiple bribery cases. It’s not clear if any of the accusations were related to the alleged ISIS agent. The investigation began after the U.S. State Department complained of improper departures from Colombia, precisely what the alleged ISIS agent achieved in July.
More than just release the woman with the fake Israeli passport, it’s possible that the corrupt immigration officials provided other services.
Colombia Reports published a story in October reporting that DIAN agents involved in the ring were suspected of “clearing background checks, falsifying travel documents and officiating stamps and seals in exchange for large sums of money ranging from $300,000 to $5 million.”
A few months later in Paris, 129 people were killed and over 300 were injured. If the EFE story is confirmed, the DIAN officials could find themselves caught up in a terrorist manhunt. French and U.S. investigators are no doubt tracing the travel history of all the Paris attackers.
While initial reports indicated that at least one of the attackers had entered the country under the cover of refugee status, the Colombian twist might point to a simpler strategy to stay off of European counter-terrorism radar: leveraging the corrupt institutions in Bogota.
This article was updated to show that the Syrian citizen was a woman, not a man.
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