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TIJUANA, Mexico — A restaurateur in this border city ran another business smuggling Lebanese compatriots into the United States, some with connections to Hezbollah (search). A Sept. 11 commission staff report called him the only “human smuggler with suspected links to terrorists” convicted in the United States. But he is not unique, according to an Associated Press investigation based on government and court records and scores of interviews.
Many smuggling pipelines through Latin America and Canada have illegally channeled thousands of people from countries identified by the U.S. government as sponsors or supporters of terrorism.
The men flocked to the cafe under the sign with the cedar tree, symbol of their Mideast home. Here, in this alien border land, it was the beacon that led to an Arab “brother” who would help them complete their journey from Lebanon (search) into America.
They would come, sometimes dozens a month over a three-year period, to find Salim Boughader Mucharrafille (search) — the cafe owner who drove a Mercedes and catered to some of Tijuana’s more affluent denizens, including workers at the U.S. consulate only a short stroll away. His American customers were unaware that the savvy boss of La Libanesa cafe ran a less reputable business on the side…
foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161473,00.html
Many smuggling pipelines through Latin America and Canada have illegally channeled thousands of people from countries identified by the U.S. government as sponsors or supporters of terrorism.
The men flocked to the cafe under the sign with the cedar tree, symbol of their Mideast home. Here, in this alien border land, it was the beacon that led to an Arab “brother” who would help them complete their journey from Lebanon (search) into America.
They would come, sometimes dozens a month over a three-year period, to find Salim Boughader Mucharrafille (search) — the cafe owner who drove a Mercedes and catered to some of Tijuana’s more affluent denizens, including workers at the U.S. consulate only a short stroll away. His American customers were unaware that the savvy boss of La Libanesa cafe ran a less reputable business on the side…
foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161473,00.html
