The plot involved a suspect named Ahmed, a member of the Islamist extremist terrorist group "Al Shabaab" based in Somalia.
Borderland Beat originally published the documents with other source material including links to U.S. Federal Criminal Complaints involving the movement of other Somalis, including at least two other members of Al Shabaab, in Mexico.
The purpose of the post was to highlight possible Islamic terrorist threats within Mexico in light of the Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian Ambassador, which involved a DEA confidential informant with ties to Los Zetas.
The Operativo Salim documents were obtained by Borderland Beat from an anonymous source.
We did not attempt to get confirmation from the Mexican government, knowing that if the documents are indeed classified we would not be given an official confirmation.
We attempted to get confirmation of other unconnected documents that were sent to BB by the same sources and were told that those documents, and the Naval Ministry seals on them, appeared to be legitimate.
Therefore, we published the Naval Ministry documents for what they were, documents sent to us by an anonymous person, with the understanding that it would be next to impossible to get true confirmation from the Mexican government, and we left it up to the readers to form their own conclusion as to the authenticity of the documents.
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2011/10/mexico-operativo-salim.html
The following is the press release issued by Mexico's Naval Ministry denying the authenticity of the documents published in our original "Operativo Salim" post.
Comunicado de Prensa: 333/2011 18 de octubre de 2011
LA SECRETARÍA DE MARINA RECHAZA LA AUTORÍA DE SUPUESTO INFORME CONFIDENCIAL QUE CIRCULA EN ALGUNOS MEDIOS DE COMUNICACIÓN
Mexico, D.F.- En relación con las notas periodísticas que hacen referencia a un supuesto informe confidencial de la Secretaría de Marina-Armada de México, en el que se asienta el hallazgo de material explosivo en la colonia Roma el 9 de junio de 2010, se señala lo siguiente:
1) La Secretaría de Marina rechaza categóricamente la autoría del supuesto informe en posesión de algunos medios de comunicación. El documento es apócrifo, ya que los impresos con sello de goma, el sello de agua que se aprecia en el documento, así como el formato del mismo no corresponden con los utilizados por esta dependencia del Gobierno Federal.
2) Al igual que en otros temas de seguridad nacional que han sido filtrados a los medios de comunicación nacionales e internacionales, esta Secretaría no se pronuncia sobre los contenidos de las notas.
Gobierno Federal
-ooOoo-
THE NAVAL MINISTRY REJECTS THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE CLASSIFIED REPORT CIRCULATING IN THE MEDIA
Mexico City - On with the news stories that refer to an alleged classified report by the Naval Ministry of Mexico, which establish the discovery of explosives in the Colonia Roma on June 9, 2010, we state:
1) The Naval Ministry categorically rejects the authenticity of the alleged report in possession of some media. The document is false , as printed with a rubber seal and watermarks seen in the document, and the format does not correspond to that used by this agency of the Federal Government.
2) As in other national security issues that have been leaked to the nation and international communications media, this Ministry does not comment on the contents of the notes.
It may be significant that the communique only denies the authenticity of the document.
Mexican media stories published in June 2010 mention that a bombing plot was foiled when Mexican Marines raided a residence in the Colonia Roma in Mexico City. Some published stories even mention that the raid by the Marines was based on information forwarded by the DEA to Mexican Naval intelligence that an Islamic terrorist named Salim or Saleem that had entered Mexico through the southern Guatemalan border.
According to the Milenio Weekly story (Spanish) linked below, the DEA obtained the name of Salim during an investigation of Los Zetas weapons and explosives procurement networks.
http://www.msemanal.com/node/2539
The Milenio Weekly story and another one published today by the MVS news agency
describe how shortly after the raid in the Colonia Roma, the Naval Ministry issued a news release that it had arrested four suspects and seized 20 kilos of high explosives.
Within several hours Mexico's Attorney General's Office (PGR), the federal organized crime task force (Siedo) and the Interior Ministry (Gobernacion, Segob) all issued a different version of the incident.
The official government version was that the four suspects were artists and the paraffin and pure glycerin were materials used in plastic artwork.
http://www.noticiasmvs.com/noticias/nacionales/informe-de-la-semar-revela-presunto-atentado-contra-embajada-de-eu-en-mexico-702.html
According to the MVS news story linked above, Dolia Estevez, MVS's U.S. correspondent, confirmed the existence of the plot to bomb the U.S. embassy in Mexico and the role of the DEA in providing information on Ahmed with sources in the U.S. government when the raid occurred in 2010.
Furthermore Ms. Estevez stated that she confirmed the authenticity of the documents leaked to Borderland Beat with U.S. government sources.
MVS labels what happened after the Marine raid in June 2010 as a coverup by the Mexican government to deny the existence of a plot by Islamic terrorists to carry out an attack inside Mexico.
Why the coverup is deemed necessary is unknown. Only the Mexican government can answer that.
It is believed that the suspect named Ahmed Saleem remains at large.
Images of the raid in Colonia Roma, Mexico City, 6/9/2010
Additional sources:
http://www.proceso.com.mx/?p=284861
http://www.noticiasmvs.com/entrevistas/primera-emision-con-carmen-aristegui/dolia-estevez-corresponsal-en-washington-876.html
http://www.sinembargo.mx/18-10-2011/58481
I call BullShit! More propaganda, what's up with those bags? One looks like it has 2 cell phone batteries, a diaphragm, and a mislabeled caguama. Everyone I know has battery cables. If there are attacks on US diplomatic offices in Mexico City, then the US will have no choice then to intervene. Hmmm?
ReplyDelete@Capo
ReplyDelete"If there are attacks on US diplomatic offices in Mexico City, then the US will have no choice then to intervene."
That's probly a pretty good assumption.
The evolution of cartel factions like the "Mata Zeta's" and more advanced international terrorism plots the drug war in Mexico will start to be much more problematic for US security interests.
With elections coming soon in Mexico and the US this could put the political elite on both sides of the border in an awkward situation.
While i am not an Obama fan i have been quite surprised at his dramatic expansion of deportation efforts of illegals, the increased border security. And most surprised at the dramatic increase Obama has commissioned on the use of drone strikes to kill suspected terrorists.
With CIA intelligence and an extensive drone program teaming up with the mexican military/government you would avoid the outrage of mexican claims of trampled "Soverienty" by US soldiers w/arms on the mexican soil.
You can't help but think they are already considering this option to avoid what would inevitably result in mass casualties by sending a large contingent of troops into the hills of Sinaloa to root out Chapo. I thought it interesting that the US government new immediately when Chapos wife crossed the border to have her children in a california hospital and had her shadowed her whole stay and right up to the minute she crossed back into Mexico.
Important clarification:
ReplyDeleteDolia Estevez stated in today's morning news broadcast on MVS that she neither confirmed a plot against the US Embassy nor verified the authenticity of the documents published by Borderland Beat with U.S. government sources.
Audio of the segment is available here: http://www.noticiasmvs.com/entrevistas/primera-emision-con-carmen-aristegui/dolia-estevez-corresponsal-washington-102.html/
The MVS link includes the following written statement: "Dolia Estévez aclara que ella no confirma con fuentes de EU el complot para atacar la embajada de Estados Unidos en México."
Estevez's own statements in the audio contradict this passage of the above article:
"According to the MVS news story linked above, Dolia Estevez, MVS's U.S. correspondent, confirmed the existence of the plot to bomb the U.S. embassy in Mexico and the role of the DEA in providing information on Ahmed with sources in the U.S. government when the raid occurred in 2010.
Furthermore Ms. Estevez stated that she confirmed the authenticity of the documents leaked to Borderland Beat with U.S. government sources."
You may want to listen to the interview of October 18 where Dolia Estevez admitted that Borderland Beat had confirmed the documents in mexico and she had confirmed the documents on the other side (US). Estevez is a correspondant in DC (US). The link of interview below:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.noticiasmvs.com/descargar/audio/?audio=f2b246192d43908d1f9197053bcf7eb8.mp3
why dont they also admit this "story" was a cia propaganda piece beating the drums for more " nation building " and control of the drug and oil market like in afganistan and libya and iraq and panama and soon to be iran....
ReplyDeleteWhy do the pictures taken outside look as if they were taken about noon if the supossed marines raid its been said that happened at a little after 1:00 in the morning?
ReplyDeleteXXX
Por qué las fotos del exterior se ven como que fuerón tomadas amediodía si el supuesto ataque de los marinos fue un poco despues de la 1:00 am?