Mayport To Investigate Terror Activity In South America
POSTED: Monday, July 12, 2004
MAYPORT NAVAL STATION, Fla. -- Believing that terrorist groups may attempt to establish South American footholds to stage attacks in the United States, Sen. Bill Nelson said Monday that Mayport's Naval Forces Southern Command will be at the forefront of the investigation.
The naval command, which relocated to Mayport in April, oversees a region that includes Latin America, the Caribbean, and parts of South America that will come under dramatically increased scrutiny by the U.S. military under new legislation proposed by Nelson.
The measure, expected to clear a conference between the House and Senate leaders later this month, would require the State and Defense departments and the CIA to quickly investigate and report to Congress on terrorist operations in Colombia and Venezuela.
Nelson cited the probe as illustrating Mayport's significance in the global campaign against terrorism.
"Naval forces here play a quiet but important role in many counter-terrorism activities," Nelson said after a briefing with base officials. "We have to be vigilant about terrorist operations in our own backyard."
Nelson's made visits to Columbia and Venezuela in the past year. During both, he met with government leaders and intelligence officials and received briefings on terror-group activities in the region. Those briefings led to the legislation requiring an investigation of such activities and a report to Congress within 60 days of passage.
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