US embassy cable - 04TEGUCIGALPA1467

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001467 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FBI FOR SIOC AND ITOS/TGU 
STATE FOR S/CT, INR/IAA, NEA, AND CA 
STATE FOR INR/TIPOFF 
STATE FOR DA/IP/WHA AND DS/ICI/ITA 
STATE FOR WHA/PPC AND WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2029 
TAGS: PTER, ASEC, KVPR, PINR, KJUS, KCRM, PGOV, CVIS, HO 
SUBJECT: HONDURAN SECURITY MINISTER ALLEGES SENIOR AL-QAIDA 
OPERATIVE VISTED HONDURAS 
 
REF: A. PANAMA 1372 
 
     B. PANAMA 1515 
     C. TEGUCIGALPA 1046 
     D. 06/09/04 RSO TEGUCIGALPA-PANAMA LEGATT-DS/IP/WHA 
        EMAIL 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Francisco Palmieri; 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (S) Summary: On June 29, Honduran Minister of Public 
Security (MOPS) Oscar Alvarez told the Honduran press senior 
Saudi Al-Qaida operative, Adnan Gulshair El-Shukrijumah, had 
been spotted in Honduras but has since left the country. 
MOPS Alvarez alleged that El-Shukrijumah was seen in an 
internet cafe before heading to Panama.  These reports are 
uncorroborated and premature, although Post believes there 
may exist a possibility that El-Shukrijumah recently visited 
Honduras.  In conjunction with Honduran authorities, RSO has 
been tracking the internet cafe lead and a separate possible 
sighting, in an effort to confirm El-Shukrijumah had, in 
fact, been to Honduras.  However, MOPS Alvarez's public 
comments, partly based on a Panamanian newspaper report he 
had recently read, will complicate this effort.  End Summary 
 
2. (S) On June 29, Honduran Minister of Public Security 
(MOPS) Oscar Alvarez told the Honduran press that senior 
Saudi Al-Qaida operative, Adnan Gulshair El-Shukrijumah had 
been spotted in Honduras but has since left the country. 
MOPS Alvarez alleged that El-Shukrijumah was cited in an 
internet cafe before heading to Panama, where he allegedly 
might be working on a plan to attack the Canal.  Prior to 
these allegations, El-Shukrijumah's presence in Panama had 
been highly suspected (ref A and B). 
 
3. (S) RSO has been tracking two separate possible sightings 
(ref D) of El-Shukrijumah in Honduras.  The first report 
concerned two American TDYers who had a possible sighting of 
El-Shukrijumah on June 2, 2004.  The reported sighting 
occurred at approximately 12:15 pm when both TDY personnel 
were eating lunch at a Subway sandwich shop located a few 
blocks from the Embassy.  While eating, they noticed two men 
enter the shop.  Both men appeared to be of Arab extraction. 
The men had entered together and appeared to be friends. 
According to the TDY personnel, while standing in the 
sandwich line both men noticed the American sitting in the 
nearby booth eating.   At this point, both subjects started 
whispering amongst themselves and looking at the Americans. 
The older subject seemed very nervous and impatient.  The TDY 
personnel noted that both subjects were carrying laptop bags 
strapped over their shoulders. The older subject's bag had a 
Microsoft emblem, plus he was wearing a fanny pack in front. 
(Note: These TDY personnel were both technicians who work 
with computers and other related equipment. End Note.) 
 
4. (S) The TDY personnel stated that neither subject appeared 
to be fluent in Spanish when ordering their food, appearing 
to struggle a little with the language.  As the Americans 
were leaving the sandwich shop, they noticed the older 
subject was paying for his food with a grayish silver-colored 
visa card and also appeared to have some form of Honduran ID 
in his other hand.  The TDYers came back to the Embassy and 
reported to their supervisor that they had seen two Arab 
males acting strangely in the Subway sandwich shop.  At the 
time they reported this contact, neither was aware of the 
look-out for El-Shukrijumah.  The two then reported to the 
RSO after they saw the photo of El-Shukrijumah in the local 
paper.  They both believed that the younger subject had a 
strong resemblance to El-Shukrijumah. 
 
5. (S) The second incident allegedly occurred at an 
unidentified internet cafe in Tegucigalpa soon after the FBI 
poster identifying El-Shukrijumah as a wanted terrorist 
suspect was released. This is the report that MOPS Alvarez 
shared with the Honduras press.  While it should not be 
dismissed out of hand due to the nature of the incident, RSO 
has not/not been able to confirm or corroborate any of the 
details of this alleged incident.  RSO notes, however, that 
the physical description of the internet cafe sighting of the 
two suspects resembles the description of the individuals 
seen at the Subway shop by the American TDYers 
6. (S) Comment:  MOPS Alvarez's remarks regarding 
El-Shukrijumah's presence in Honduras are premature and 
unsubstantiated.  He acknowledged later that his comments 
that El-Shukrijumah was en route to Panama and might be 
planning to attack the Canal, were based on a newspaper 
article he read last weekend while visiting Panama.  While it 
is possible El-Shukrijumah visited Honduras recently, Post 
can not/not confirm this.  RSO is continuing to investigate 
and Post will report via septel any further confirmed 
evidence of El-Shukrijumah's alleged presence.  MOPS 
Alvarez's public comments, however, were unconstructive and 
could possibly hamper this effort. End Comment. 
 
Palmer