Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[ergo sum]

Nicaragua

In Nicaragua, the United States has one target: the SA-7. Thousands of these Russian-made surface-to-air missiles are still stockpiled. In the wrong hands, they could be used against commercial aircraft, as they were in an unsuccessful attack in November against an Israeli airliner in Kenya.
As if to emphasize the imminent danger, an investigation last month by the Organization of American States revealed that a Lebanese arms broker, captured in Europe and allegedly linked to al Qaeda, planned to acquire weapons from the Nicaraguan army, including 20 SA-7 missiles. The investigation also disclosed that 3,000 AK-47 assault rifles and 2.5 million rounds of ammunition had already wound up in the hands of illegal paramilitary groups in Colombia because of negligence on the part of Nicaraguan authorities.


In Colombia, the AK-47s, not missiles, from the Nicaraguan arsenal ended up in the hands of right-wing forces with no known connection to al Qaeda. The Colombian government is now seeking to disarm these groups.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12341-2003Feb27.html