Latin America: Terrorism Issues
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Since the September 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, U.S. attention to
terrorism in Latin America has intensified, with an increase in bilateral and regional cooperation.
In its 2009 Country Reports on Terrorism (issued in August 2010), the State Department
maintained that terrorism in the region was primarily perpetrated by terrorist organizations in
Colombia and by the remnants of radical leftist Andean groups. Overall, however, the report
maintained that the threat of a transnational terrorist attack remained low for most countries in the hemisphere. Cuba has remained on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1982 pursuant to Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act, which triggers a number of
economic sanctions. Both Cuba and Venezuela are on the State Department’s annual list of
countries determined to be not cooperating fully with U.S. antiterrorism efforts pursuant to
Section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act. U.S. officials have expressed concerns over the past
several years about Venezuela’s lack of cooperation on antiterrorism efforts, its relations with
Iran, and President Hugo Chávez’s sympathetic statements for Colombian terrorist groups..."