This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 003095 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR S/CT AND TTIC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER ASEC KCRM EFIN KHLS KPAO BR
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: 2004 ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT 
 
Ref: State 245841 
 
PATTERNS OF GLOBAL TERRORISM 
 
¶1.  (U) Triborder Area (Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay) 
 
(Please review with submissions from other TBA posts.) 
The Triborder area (TBA) -- where Argentina, Brazil, and 
Paraguay converge -- has been characterized as a regional hub for 
Hizballah and HAMAS fundraising activities.  However, the region 
more widely known as a center for arms and drug trafficking, 
contraband smuggling, document and currency fraud, money 
laundering, and the manufacture and movement of pirated goods. 
Although there continued to be reports during 2004 of an al-Qaida 
presence in the TBA, these reports remained uncorroborated by 
intelligence and law-enforcement officials. 
 
¶2.  (U) In December 2004, senior level U.S. officials attended a 
meeting in Asuncion, Paraguay, of the Tripartite Commission 
of the Triple Frontier, a security mechanism established by 
the three TBA countries in 1998. The "Three Plus One" 
group (the three TBA countries plus the United States) 
serves as a continuing forum for fostering cooperation and 
terrorism prevention among the four countries. Participants 
concluded that available information did not substantiate 
allegations of operational activities by terrorist groups in the 
TBA at the present time. International terrorist financing and 
money laundering with roots in the TBA remain an area of 
heightened concern. The parties agreed to conduct a concerted 
effort to foster legitimate economic activity in the TBA. 
 
¶3.  (U) Brazil continues to extend practical and effective 
support for US counter-terrorism efforts.  For example, the 
Government of Brazil diligently pursues investigative leads 
provided by US intelligence, law enforcement, and financial 
agencies regarding terrorist suspects. 
 
¶4.  (U) Although the Government of Brazil is committed to the 
fight against terrorism, lack of resources and inadequately 
trained personnel hampers its response.  The United States 
continues to work with Brazil in several bilateral, multilateral, 
and international forums to identify groups and individuals 
suspected of possible links to terrorist groups.  Specialists 
from 
the United States work with elements of the Brazilian Government 
responsible for combating terrorism, including the Federal Police 
and the Brazilian Intelligence Service.  Brazil is increasingly 
capable of monitoring domestic financial operations and 
effectively utilizes its Financial Activities Oversight Council 
(COAF) to identify possible funding sources for terrorist groups. 
Recent bilateral assistance and training provided by the USG to 
COAF emphasized upgrades to its database and data collection 
mechanism.  In January 2005, the Brazilian Federal Police will 
inaugurate a Regional Field Office in Foz do Iguacu, Parana, to 
coordinate its intelligence and enforcement efforts in the TBA. 
 
¶5.  (U) Since taking office in January 2003, Brazilian President 
Ignacio Lula da Silva has vigorously condemned terrorism.  The 
Lula administration, however, does not acknowledge the presence 
of 
terrorist groups on Brazilian soil and insists that no 
identifiable terrorist incidents have occurred in the country. 
In 
2003, the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies passed a bill on cyber- 
crime aimed at preventing terrorist hack attacks, however the 
bill 
continues to languish in the Brazilian Senate. 
 
¶6.  (U) There are no significant impediments to the prosecution 
or 
extradition of suspected terrorists by Brazil, although Brazil's 
legal procedures are often tedious and protracted. Brazilian law 
prohibits the extradition of Brazilian citizens and allows only 
very measured and careful consideration for the extradition of 
naturalized citizens (for previous crimes and drug trafficking 
only) and foreigners (for all but ideological or political 
crimes). 
 
¶7.  (U) After extensive legal maneuverings, Brazil extradited 
Assad Ahmad Barakat to Paraguay in November 2003.  Throughout the 
case, Brazilian extradition procedures were followed rigorously. 
Barakat, a naturalized Paraguayan of Lebanese origin who had 
lived 
in the TBA for approximately seven years, was suspected of 
involvement in political and financial activities supporting 
Hizballah organizations.  He was arrested on a Paraguayan 
extradition request in June 2002 by Brazilian authorities.  In 
2004, Barakat was convicted in Paraguay of tax evasion and 
sentenced to 6 years of prison.  However, given his time served 
in 
Brazil and anticipated early release for good behavior, Barakat 
could be free within two years.  He is currently appealing this 
sentence. 
 
¶8.  (U) In May 2004, the Government of Brazil at the 
initiative of the Chief of the Presidency's Institutional 
Security Office created a technical team composed of 
representatives from five key ministries and the three branches 
of 
the Armed Forces to formulate a national policy to combat 
terrorism.  The group delivered to the President its 
recommendations which will serve as the basis for a bill the Lula 
administration intends to submit to the Brazilian Congress.  This 
bill will call for the establishment of a national authority for 
combating terrorism. 
 
¶9. (U) In November 2004, at the Sixth Conference of Defense 
Ministers of the Americas, Brazil declined to support the 
U.S. proposal to reorganize and restructure the Inter-American 
Defense Board as a tool for coordinating regional counter-crime 
and counter-terrorism efforts. Brazil is reluctant to tamper with 
the mandate of the IADB. 
 
¶10. (U) In November 2004, President Lula and Russian Federation 
President Vladimir V. Putin issued a joint declaration calling 
for 
compliance with United Nations Resolutions 1540 and 1566.  These 
resolutions deal with the prevention of access to weapons of mass 
destruction by non-state agents and with the threats to 
international peace and security raised by terrorism. 
President Lula also declared himself in favor of entering 
negotiations on a Universal Convention on International 
Terrorism and the International Convention to Fight Acts of 
Nuclear Terrorism, all within the framework of the United 
Nations.  Brazil has signed all of the twelve current UN 
conventions on terrorism and is a party to nine. 
 
DANILOVICH