Foro de Inteligencia, Espionaje y Servicios Secretos

Defensa ofreció a las empresas pesqueras tener un “oficial de enlace” en tierras africanas, concretamente en Kenia. Se trataría de uno de los miembros del Centro Nacional de Inteligencia destinados en ese país.

De hecho, según esas informaciones, el CNI ha creado una especie de “red” en los países costeros africanos que, entre otras cosas, tendrían que ponerse en acción en casos de secuestros, como ahora ha ocurrido con el atunero.

Esos agentes del CNI, que se calcula que son cinco en la “base” de Kenia, eran los designados para convertirse en “negociadores” con los piratas en caso de secuestro. De hecho, ya intervinieron en Chad con ocasión del incidente con los niños que había reclutado la organización Arc de Noe para llevarlos a Francia, en el que fueron detenidos los pilotos y la tripulación del avión español contratada para realizar el transporte.

Somalia's Islamists Attempt to Rein in Pirates

By Sunguta West

Months after gaining control of Mogadishu, the main seaports and most of the southern parts of the country, Somalia's Islamic Courts Union (ICU) has begun to rein in sea piracy. Somalia's 3,300 kilometer coastline has been classified by the International Maritime Bureau as one of the world's worst affected areas for piracy. Media reports, however, say that incidents of piracy have declined since the ICU began to consolidate power throughout the country. While advancing within Somalia's mainland, the ICU has also advanced along the coastline, taking control of cities that had traditionally been used as pirate bases.

On August 15, hundreds of ICU fighters traveled in pickups mounted with guns (known locally as technicals) to Hobyo, a port city near the autonomous region of Puntland. In the town, the ICU failed to meet any resistance and took over the port. On August 12, the ICU captured the coastal town of Harardheere, a pirate base 400 kilometers north of Mogadishu, before taking over Eldher a day later (Hirran Online, August 13). An unidentified Islamist militia commander was quoted in the media as saying that the ICU had to secure Harardheere and its surroundings since the area was rife with pirates and that piracy was a crime that needed to be stopped (Hirran Online, August 13).

Piracy in Somalia is a lucrative business, centered in drugs, weapons and human smuggling, primarily across the Gulf of Aden and back. Warlords had used piracy to fund their militias. The coast has been a major trade route for key commodities such as oil, grain and iron ore. Oil, for instance, travels from the Middle East down the Red Sea, to the Gulf of Aden, and then to the southern regions of Africa. Along this route, these ships had become targets for Somali pirates. The UN Security Council Monitoring Group for Somalia, in a briefing letter dated May 5, said that there have been an estimated 45 attempted hijackings and 19 successful ones on the Somali coast between early 2005 and April 2006.

Four main pirate groups have been identified as operating along the Somali coastline. The National Volunteer Coast Guard (NVCG) has been said to specialize in intercepting small boats and fishing vessels around Kismayu on the southern coast. It is commanded by Garaad Mohamed, who was formerly part of the warlord faction but who is believed to have recently defected to the Islamists (Somaliland Times, December 22, 2005).

There is also the Marka group, which is made up of several, but scattered and less organized smaller groups operating around the town of Marka. They have fishing boats and fleets with larger operating ranges. They were engaged in robbing and smuggling under the command of Sheikh Yusuf Mohamed Siad (also known as Yusuf Indha'adde), who is now a member of the ICU. It is not clear, however, whether his support of the ICU will continue. For instance, according to the Somaliland independent daily Haatuf on August 11, Indha'adde has refused to hand over his weapons to the ICU saying that although his administration in Lower Shabelle supports the Islamic courts, it was a separate entity and the courts should stay out of his affairs. It is possible that a clash between Indha'adde and the ICU will occur in the future.

The most powerful pirate group is the Somali Marines, which reports say is the most sophisticated of the pirate groups and one that has a military structure. It has a fleet admiral, admiral, vice admiral and a head of financial operations (UN Security Council Monitoring Group, May 5). It is said to have a capability to operate further off-shore than the other groups and participate in piracy activities involving vessel seizures, kidnappings and ransom demands. Their activities are around the areas of the central Somali coast of Haradheere. The Somali Marines, or the Defenders of Somali Territorial Waters as they like to be called, are loyal to regional warlord Abdi Mohamed Afweyne. They were responsible for the recent hostage saga where they held 25 hostages for four months until a sizeable ransom was paid, upwards of $2 million; on August 6, the hostages were released (Kenya Television Network, August 6). The fourth significant pirate group is that of traditional Somali fishermen who operate around Puntland and are largely referred to as the Puntland Group.
Although the ICU leadership had, after taking control of Mogadishu and most of the southern region, issued a warning against piracy, armed men in speedboats continue to open fire on passing ships, hoping to seize them and earn ransom money. Nevertheless, the hardline ICU leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys was quoted in the media as saying that piracy was illegal and that his forces would crack down on pirate activities (Channel NewsAsia, July 30). While pirates continue to operate off Somalia's coastline, it appears that the ICU is attempting to consolidate control over pirate bases with the attempt of reining in the pirates. In some cases, pirates have joined the ICU fighters, while in others they have fled and remain in hiding. As the Islamists expand their control over Somalia, international observers continue to watch whether the Islamists are truly interested in or capable of securing one of the world's most pirate-plagued coastlines.

OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE, CIVIL MARITIME ANALYSIS DEPARTMENT, WORLDWIDE THREAT TO SHIPPING, MARINER WARNING INFORMATION

Somalia’s Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) seized
control of Harardhere, per 13 Aug reporting. The central township
near the coastline has been a base of piracy and dozens of
hijackings of ships in the Indian Ocean. Islamic courts official
Sheikh Said Ali told reporters that the Islamic Courts are in full
control of Harardhere. He claimed the era of banditry and piracy
was over and the actions of pirates were unlawful, unacceptable,
and un-Islamic. Ali warned that anybody suspected of aiding
pirates or being among them will be punished according to Sharia
law. Residents of Harardhere said the pirates, calling themselves
the Defenders of Somali Territorial Waters and loyal to regional
warlord Abdi Mohamed Afweyne, fled before the Islamic militiamen
battlewagons arrived (AFP, BBC).

"También tenemos entendido que los piratas llegaron a la localidad de El Hud, donde alquilaron unos coches en los que se marcharon", agregó Ahmed.

Al contrario que Francia, España no preparó una operación militar para perseguir a los piratas cuando pusieran en libertad a sus rehenes. Preguntada por el paradero de los secuestradores, De la Vega se limitó a indicar que "los servicios de inteligencia siguen trabajando".

El presidente de la autoridad portuaria de la localidad somalí de Haradhere, Absisalam Jalif Ahmed, declaró a Reuters que, según sus servicios de inteligencia, los captores habían recibido 1,2 millones de dólares (766.188 euros) "que fueron entregados en un barco pequeño".