The kidnapping on Feb. 27 of William Niehous, general manager of Venezuelan operations for Owens-Illinois Glass has cast light on the role of Arab terrorists in Latin American guerrilla activity, according to the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.
The Venezuelan government announced on April 6 that it would nationalize the company after Owens-Illinois paid for the publication of the guerrillas political manifesto as a condition for Niehous’ release.
The manifesto, which appeared as a half-page advertisement in leading papers in the United States and Europe, charged that the company was plundering the country and the working class. It concluded with a statement of support for the Arabs: “We definitely support the just cause of the Palestine Arab people who decidedly oppose Yankee imperialism and its lance point Zionism.”
Rabbi Morton M. Rosenthal, director of the ADL’s Latin American affairs department, said that Venezuelan journals have linked the Niehous kidnapping to a group called the “Latin American Political Bureau.” Its existence and schemes for wholesale kidnapping were uncovered by Argentine police authorities last December following the arrest and interrogation of Ismael Haieck an Argentine national who underwent guerrilla training in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.
THE CASE OF ISMAEL HAIECK
When Haieck returned to Argentina to work with the Bureau; he had already served the Arab guerrilla cause in Europe. Familiar with this background, police kept him under surveillance to find possible Arab links to subversive groups in Argentina.
A search of the building in which he was arrested led police to discover equipment for forging documents and printing propaganda for the Arab League and the Montoneros, an Argentina guerrilla organization. Also found was a radio transmitter with which Haieck was able to communicate with guerrilla bases in other countries.
The Venezuelan magazine “Zeta” reported that Haieck admitted to Argentine officials that the Bureau’s continent-wide plans included financing subversive activities by kidnapping wealthy individuals in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile. Colombia and Venezuela. The authorities also uncovered a list of potential victims which Haieck was processing for the Bureau.
ARAB TERRORISTS IN COLOMBIA
Arab terrorists are also in the news in Colombia, according to Rosenthal. Police officials there have denounced the illegal entry of Arab terrorists who are working with local extremist groups in fomenting social unrest. General Jose Matallana, head of the country’s security service, said that “elements of Arab nationality supposedly linked to extremist groups have managed to enter Colombia.”
The police official said authorities have been ###verify that the Arab terrorists are trying to mix with the population and he asked Colombian citizens to help the security forces identify them.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
