Gangs and Terrorists in our Midst as Partners in Crime:
The Newest Threat Exposed as the Tenth Anniversary of September 11th arrives.

September 7, 2011 By Sgt. Lou Savelli, NYPD (retired)

Lou Savelli
Lou Savelli, former Detective Supervisor, NYPD Terrorist Interdiction Unit.

GIn the last few years, US Armed Forces, Federal Agencies, Intelligence Officials and Border Protection Agents have been increasingly concerned about the threat of terrorism and its connection to the US-Mexico border. In our training course, Gangs and Terrorism, we have exposed the historical and current connection between, what the government calls 'Special Interest Aliens' (Aliens from countries that Al Qaeda is active), and gang members. In our effort to help America's Homeland Security Forces and local, state and federal law enforcement officers better prepare for this increasing threat, we, at GTI, have exposed a myriad of conspiracies and links between foreign terrorists, American Street gangs, Transnational Organized Criminals and Drug Cartels and how their partnerships can be found in so many American cities.

As we stand here, safe in our homes, on the tenth anniversary of the September 11th (2001) attacks, we must be reminded that the threat from Al Qaeda and other foreign and domestic terrorists is ever present in this country and far more diverse and problematic. Al Qaeda, for example, has partnered with the leadership of Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) along the Mexican border to easily infiltrate our country and increase their ability to exact terrorist attacks. A current top Field Commander of Al Qaeda, under the new leadership of Ayman al Zawahiri, met with high-ranking MS 13 members at an internet cafe to secure border crossing and Spanish language and culture training for his members. That current top field commander, Adnan El Shukrijumah, a Saudi - born Muslim, who holds citizenship in Guyana and the US, played a significant role in the radicalization of Maniac Latin Disciple street gang member Jose Padilla, also known as the Dirty Bomber. El Shukrijumah has been wanted by the FBI since September 11th, 2001 and is listed on the FBI website at www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists/adnan-g.-el-shukrijumah. These types of terrorist connections, involving gangs, foreign terrorist groups, radicalization of gang members and inmates, drug cartels, domestic terrorists and others are exposed in our training class as well as interdiction, interrogation and investigation methods.

Like Al Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas have used the Mexican border to smuggle operatives in and out of the US but in recent months, western US law enforcement officers have faced another tactic used by Middle Eastern terrorists. This tactic, which I call 'Cultural Transformation', involves Middle Eastern Muslim aliens from countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, or any country where Al Qaeda and similar terrorist groups are active, transforming into a near-perfect facsimile of a Mexican citizen. In Cultural Transformation, these Muslim terrorists take the Islamic tactic of 'Taqqiya' (lying or deception in the call of Islam) to a new level. They undergo 'language' and 'cultural' training provided by gang members, such as MS13, Surenos and 18th Streeters, and 'coyotes' (human smugglers). After the terrorists have learned (fluently) the authentic Mexican dialect version of Spanish, sporting appropriate clothing, hairstyles and jewelry, and well versed in Mexican customs, they are smuggled across the border into the US. Once in the US, they show up on the doorstep of the Mexican Embassy, armed with their new Spanish name, and are issued a Mexico Matricula Card as identification. Now, they are able to blend into the landscape as Mexicans and travel across the US living as Mexicans but ready to 'activate' into the call of Jihad against the American Kuffar (non-believers). In the Gangs and Terrorism courses, we will instruct law enforcement officers how to uncover such deception, the wide use of fraudulent and fraudulently obtained documents by terrorists, and how to identify such documents and individuals who use them.