Antioquia Governor Luis Alfredo Ramos called on police and Prosecutor
General to investigate possible ties between paramilitary drug
organization The Office of Envigado and Lebanese Muslim extremist
organization Hezbollah.
The Governor, alarmed by an article in El Espectador, says this is the first time he hears about the alleged ties between the paramilitaries and the islamists.
According to El Espectador, a Lebanese criminal, who was arrested in the Colombian capital Bogotá in October 2008, is the link between the Medellín-based paramilitary group and the Lebanese opposition group that is considered a terrorist organization by many western countries.
The suspect, Chekri Mahmoud Harb, is wanted by the American anti-narcotics agency and allegedly linking the Antioquia paramilitaries with not just the Hezbollah, but also Afghanistani Taliban.
U.S. ambassador to Colombia Michael Brownfield said on a visit to Medellín “it is no secret that the so-called group of Envigado represents a threat to Medellín, to Antioquia, to the Republic of Colombia and to teh United States of America and I think anyone who is disarmed and in jail for being affiliated with this group is a step forward for both countries,” without acknowledging ties between the paramilitaries and the islamists.
