The Brownsville Herald
September 3, 2004 — Al-Qaida may have an alliance with a violent Central American gang that has established a presence near the Texas-Mexico border, according to members of the U.S. House Select Committee on Homeland Security.
Mara Salvatrucha, an El-Salvador-based gang, has met with the terrorist group and may attempt to infiltrate the U.S. border, committee member U.S. Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz, D-Texas, said Thursday at the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates.
“We have been in contact with El Salvadoran officials and they have verified that al-Qaida has been active in these gangs,” Ortiz said.
“(The gang members) are all over the place. We know (they) are in the Virginia area and across the border in Matamoros and possibly here.”
Ortiz was joined Thursday by fellow committee members U.S. Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, who each expressed their concern for more cooperation among Border Patrol, the FBI and CIA.