On February 14, a series of explosions rocked the central Bangkok neighborhood of Ekamai. The blasts came a day after improvised explosive devices (IED) targeted Israeli diplomatic interests in New Delhi, India, and Tbilisi, Georgia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of masterminding the plots, suggesting the involvement of Hezbollah or Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force. While no organization has claimed credit for the attacks, the timing, targets, and circumstances suggest one of those two organizations may have been behind the attacks.

http://www.osac.gov/Pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=11993

CCI Note: If you are not a subscriber to OSAC, you can initiate a subscription at www.OSAC.gov

U.S. citizens traveling or residing in India are strongly encouraged to maintain a high level of vigilance, remain aware of their surroundings, monitor local news reports, avoid crowded places, and take appropriate steps to bolster their personal security.

U.S. citizens traveling and residing abroad should enroll in the Smart Travelers Enrollment Program (STEP).  U.S. citizens without internet access may enroll directly at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate at their destination.  By enrolling, U.S. citizens make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency.

Updated information on travel and security may be obtained from the Department of State by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444.  For further information, please consult the Worldwide Caution and other consular information, including Country Specific Information, for specific countries.  These products and the latest international travel information for U.S. citizens are available on the Bureau of Consular Affairs website. Follow us on Twitter and the Bureau of Consular Affairs page on Facebook as well.  You can also download our free Smart Traveler iPhone app to have travel information at your fingertips.

U.S. citizens with questions or concerns may contact the American Citizens Services Unit of the Embassy or the Consulates General for further information:

• The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi is located at Shanti Path, Chanakya Puri 110021; telephone +91-11-2419-8000; fax +91-11-2419-8587.  For after-hours emergencies, please call the 24-hour operator at (+91-11) 2419-8000 and ask for American Citizen Services. ]]> http://www.cricon.org/2012/emergency-message-for-u-s-citizens-new-delhi-india-attack-on-israeli-diplomat/feed 0 http://www.cricon.org/2011/halls-of-justice-tv-features-cci http://www.cricon.org/2011/halls-of-justice-tv-features-cci#comments Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:30:54 +0000 Bob Klamser http://www.cricon.org/?p=543

Price for the CMS is $575 per student. Lodging and meals are the responsibility of the student, but discounted options are available near the training venue and are provided with registration materials. Seminar fee discounts are available for (1) more than one person attending from the same organization; and (2) attending both the CMS and FSS. Both discounts are calculated automatically when you register.

Our next CMS will be in Colorado Springs, USA on May 7-9, 2012.

Register Today

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Price for the FSS is $625 per student. Lodging and meals are provided at the venue (the M Lazy C Ranch) but are the responsibility of the student. Seminar fee discounts are available for (1) more than one person attending from the same organization; and (2) attending both the CMS and FSS. Both discounts are calculated automatically when you register.

Next Offering: May 2-4, 2012, at the M Lazy C ranch 40 minutes from the Colorado Springs airport (www.mlazyc.com)
Registration for next FSS

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Field Security Seminar Dates: Date: March 29-31, 2012 (repeated April 2-4 for NGO’s)

Location: Kusyombunguo Guest House, Lukenya Rd. off Mombassa Rd., Lukenya, Kenya (45 kilometers from Nairobi city).

Registration includes accommodations for two nights, meals, breaks, training and  materials. The course will be taught in English. There is no previous security training needed to attend this course.  This course will be repeated for NGO’s April 2-4, 2012.

Discounts available for early registration (prior to March 1), attending both seminars, and for multiple attendees from each organization.

Download flyer

Crisis Management Seminar Dates: April 10-12, 2012

Location: Gracis Gardens (on Dennis Pritt Rd.), Nairobi.

Registration includes training, materials (including CCI’s EZRA risk assessment software), lunch and breaks. The course will be taught in English.  No previous security training needed to attend this course.

Download flyer

Law enforcement and military sources are reporting the establishment of a Hezbollah presence in Mexico, possibly supported by Iranian elements, targeting Western interests in Latin America.

ANALYSIS

In June 2011, a computer hacker group, Luiz Security, targeted the Arizona Department of Public Safety claiming to have recovered a document from the Tucson Police Department mentioning the presence of Hezbollah militants operating on the U.S. border with Mexico. A few months earlier, the Kuwaiti daily newspaper Al-Seyassah published an article saying that operatives of the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah were employing Mexican nationals to set up a network in Latin America to target Israeli and Western interests. According to the newspaper, the Hezbollah group’s alleged leader, Ali “Jameel” Nasr, a 30-year-old Mexican national of Lebanese descent, was arrested in the Mexican city of Tijuana in July 2010.

With the arrest of Jameel Nasr concerns have risen concerning Hezbollah’s presence in Mexico and the implications due to Hezbollah’s expertise in the making of improvised explosive devises (IED’s). The use of IED’s in Mexico and Hezbollah’s extensive use of IED’s raises strong suspicion concerning a possible connection. Hezbollah is believed to have been behind the bombing of a Jewish cultural center in the Argentinean capital Buenos Aires in 1994, in which 85 people were killed. In the first week of July 2010, a car bomb that had “Hezbollah-like sophistication” killed four people in Ciudad Juarez.
The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), a public-private information sharing network sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, acknowledges that Hezbollah has a meaningful presence in Mexico but believes the vast majority of its activity is financial (i.e. moving money into and out of the US. OSAC does not sees current evidence of operational activity by Hezbollah in Mexico.
Congresswoman Sue E. Myrick reports that in the U.S., particularly in the Southwest, officials are beginning to notice that tattoos of gang members in prisons are written in Farsi, implying an Iranian influence that can be traced back to its proxy army, Hezbollah. In the document hacked by LulzSec it is possible to see photos of these tattoos on individuals in jail; some of them portraying a crossed AK-47 gun, the symbol of Hezbollah.

Michael Braun, former assistant administrator and chief of operations at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), has stated that members of the elite force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are showing up in Latin America. Roger Noriega, former assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, in testimony before the Committee on Homeland Security stated that “as a result of the support Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Bolivia and others are giving to the terrorist organization, a more active role for Hezbollah should be expected in the future.” Noriega predicted that Iran and Hezbollah will carry out an attack on U.S. personnel and interests in the Americas the U.S. using their networks in Latin America as soon as Hezbollah operatives believe that they are capable of such an operation without implicating their Iranian sponsors.

RECOMMENDATIONS

There appears to be an increasing threat of targeting American interests, which certainly could include mission agencies, in Central and South America by Hezbollah elements. It is CCI’s opinion that such a threat includes any Christian ministry or faith-based NGO. Initiating any actual attack against a target, however, requires advance planning and surveillance. This provides an opportunity for potential targets and victims to detect and deter well before an attack actually begins.

It is recommended that organizations working in the region implement and/or enhance efforts to detect and report any surveillance or suspicious activities. Staff training is critical. Information-sharing with like-minded entities is strongly recommended along with regular monitoring of local media sources. Finally, many of the venues most likely to become targets of a Hezbollah style attacks can be pre-identified and avoided (places like larger restaurants, sports facilities, clubs and discos, and other places where crowds, especially expatriates, congregate).

Increased security measures at churches and places of assembly for worship, increased vigilance for suspicious activity and surveillance, and the presence of visible protective officers (police officers or private security guards) are all steps that should be considered.

CCI stands ready to support Christian agencies in the response to this increased threat, to conduct site-specific assessments, to provide training and to assist agencies in the implement these recommendations and additional actions; and to discuss specific issues and situations. We remain the only Christian agency in the world that provides real-time on-site support and assistance in crises and emergencies without charging fees.

Contact us:

Crisis Consulting International
PMB 223, 9452 Telephone Rd.
Ventura, CA 93004 U.S.A.
Tel (+) 1-805-642-2549
Fax (+) 1-805-987-5192
Email: info@CriCon.org
Web www.CriCon.org

© 2011 Crisis Consulting International. Permission is granted to Christian non-profit agencies to reproduce and distribute this Advisory in its entirety only and with attribution to CCI. All other rights reserved.

1. Payment of Ransom, Yielding to Extortion
2. Negotiation with Kidnappers and Hostage-takers
3. Family Relocation
4. Notification to Governments in Kidnapping & Hostage Taking
5. Risk Assessment
6. Contingency Plans
7. Training
8. The Crisis Management Team
9. Information Management
10. Member Care
11. Evacuation Authority
12. Evacuation Criteria