Judicial Watch is reporting that, rather than working to protect Americans, the FBI's reaction to a report of an ISIS cell in Mexico, eight miles outside of the United States, was to hold a "spin" meeting with the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juárez - without the Department of Homeland Security. They are, reportedly, trying to figure out how to create a successful press strategy to deny the report about the cell and to identify who is leaking the information.
On Tuesday Judicial Watch published a report gleaned from sources in Mexico that an ISIS cell is operating on Mexican soil just a few miles outside El Paso, Texas. Their sources included a Mexican Army field grade officer and a Mexican Federal Police Inspector.
According to the report:
The exact location where the terrorist group has established its base is around eight miles from the U.S. border in an area known as “Anapra” situated just west of Ciudad Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Another ISIS cell to the west of Ciudad Juárez, in Puerto Palomas, targets the New Mexico towns of Columbus and Deming for easy access to the United States, the same knowledgeable sources confirm.
The cell was discovered during Mexican Army-Federal Police operation the prior week, which turned up documents in Arabic and Urdu, including plans of Fort Bliss – which houses the U.S. Army’s 1st Armored Division.
Following up two days after their initial post, Judicial Watch reported the FBI is in crisis mode, not necessarily to prevent an ISIS attack, but to issue the best denial of the original report:
Responding to Judicial Watch’s report earlier this week of ISIS activity along the Mexican border, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) supervisors called a “special” meeting at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juárez.
A high-level intelligence source, who must remain anonymous for safety reasons, confirmed that the meeting was convened specifically to address a press strategy to deny Judicial Watch’s accurate reporting and identify who is providing information to JW. FBI supervisory personnel met with Mexican Army officers and Mexican Federal Police officials, according to JW’s intelligence source. The FBI liaison officers regularly assigned to Mexico were not present at the meeting and conspicuously absent were representatives from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It’s not clear why DHS did not participate.
Publicly, U.S. and Mexico have denied that Islamic terrorists are operating in the southern border region, but the rapid deployment of FBI brass in the aftermath of JW’s report seems to indicate otherwise.