WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01209A000700020001-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 131
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 11, 2008
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 2, 1976
• Content Type: PERRPT

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Secret
Weekly Situation Report
on
International Terrorism
State Dept. review completed
ARMY review(s) completed.
USAF review(s) completed.
FBI Review completed
OSD review completed
Secret 95
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WEEKLY SITUATION REPORT
Articles:
Owens-Illinois Manager Abducted in Venezuela (Page 1)
Release of American Hostages in Beirut (Page 4)
Attack on Soviet Residence in New York (Page 5)
Notes:
Indonesian Consulate General in Amsterdam to Close (Page
European Community Ministers Discuss Counterterror Policy
(Page 8)
TAB A - Chronology of Significant International Terrorist Acts
CHART: Incidence of Significant International Terror-
ist Acts as Listed in Weekly Situation Reports
- 1975 (Page A-1)
Chronology (Page A-2)
TAB B - Terrorist Threats and Plans
1. Terrorist Threats and Plans: Western Hemisphere
Including United States
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II. Terrorist Threats and Plans: Europe
III. Terrorist Threats and Plans: Middle East
IV. Terrorist Threats and Plans: Africa
V. Terrorist Threats and Plans: Far East
Terrorist Threats and Plans: Worldwide
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ARTICLES
Owens-Illinois Manager Abducted in Venezuela
On 27 February seven men abducted William E. Niehous,
the vice president and manager of the Owens-Illinois glass
company in Venezuela, from his home in Caracas. According
to Niehaus' wife, two of the kidnappers came to the front
door while the family was watching television. One was
wearing the full dress uniform of a Venezuelan army officer
and the second, a camouflage uniform but with ordinary
street shoes rather than combat boots. These individuals
talked their way into the house and were immediately fol-
lowed by three others who wore masks and gloves. The two
remaining kidnappers stayed. outside.
The men overpowered Niehous and tied up his wife., their
three sons and the maid. They then injected Niehous with a
blue liquid which is believed to be sodium pentathol. The
kidnappers took Niehous' outdated passport, two of his three
sons' passports, his car keys but not his car, and an
undetermined amount of cash. They did not touch Mrs. Niehous'
jewelry. On 1 March an automobile believed to be involved
in the kidnapping was found in the city of Maracay. Docu-
ments and clothing belonging to Niehous were found in the
car.
Niehous' abductors have thus far not demanded any
ransom. In a seven-page communique signed by the "Comando
Revolucionario, Operacion Argimiro Gabaldon," the kidnappers
stated that Niehous had been arrested and imprisoned pending
a revolutionary trial for "political and economic sabotage."
The communique cited a business survey and other Owens-
Illinois internal corporate correspondence as evidence of
political and economic subversion on the part of the company.
The Owens-Illinois office was burglarized late last year. A
quantity of money was stolen, but no check was made at that
time to determine if any company documents were stolen.
The communique further stated that Niehous was cur-
rently being interrogated as part of the trial process to
which he had been summoned, and that any repressive measures
on the part of the government would result in his death.
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The message ended by giving fraternal greetings to the Revo-
lutionary Coordinating Junta (JCR) and its member organiza-
tions and to the Palestinians, Vietnamese, Laotians and
Cambodians. A later letter identified Argimi.ro Gabaldon as
a guerrilla commander of the Simon Bolivar detachment who
died some years ago in Lara state.
Niehous' abductors are believed to belongto the Bandera
Roja (Red Flag). The modus operandi used by the Niehous
kidnappers is very similar to that employed by the BR in a
kidnapping which took place three years ago. Mrs. Niehous
was shown a picture of an individual who injected the victim
of the previous kidnapping with a soporific and said that he
resembled one of the men who`took part in her husband's
abduction. In a later press interview, Mrs. Niehous said
that two of the kidnappers were youths she had earlier hired
to cut her lawn.
The Venezuelan authorities reacted swiftly and have
been raiding the houses of known or suspect BR'members with
no result. They have assembled composite drawings of three
individuals involved in the operation and are combing their
mug files for match-ups. On 1 March the President of Vene-
zuela stated that "the government will face uip'to the kidnap-
pers no matter what the price," and compared the Niehous
kidnapping to the attacks on OPEC in Vienna and on the
Israelis at the Munich Olympics.
The BR was formed in 1969 when radical elements of the
Venezuelan Movement of the Revolutionary Left, split off from
the main group in order to oppose by terrorism' the govern-
ments' pacification program, which offered amnesty to the
guerrilla leaders of the 1960's. The BR cooperated with the
small remaining guerrilla groups such as the Armed Forces of
National Liberation (FALN) and the Organization of Revolution-
aries. This relationship became strained in 1973 because of
the BR's penchant for conducting flamboyant operations which
provoked government repression. In 1973 the government
killed or imprisoned most of the BR leaders, but in January
1975 the BR, with the assistance of the FALN, staged a
spectacular jail break in which 23 BR and FALN'terrorists
were set free. The BR leaders, Carlos Betancourt and Gabriel
Puerta, are still at large. It is estimated that there are
currently 50 BR activists in Venezuela.
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The abduction of William E. Niehous is an extremely
sophisticated operation and is a classic example of using an
act of political terrorism as "the propaganda of the deed."
By putting Niehous on trial for economic crimes, the terror-
ists have directly interjected themselves into the Venezuelan
political milieu, because at the present time the Venezuelan
congress is investigating allegations of bribery of Vene-
zuelan officials by a U.S. oil firm in Venezuela. Therefore
the time is a propitious one for the terrorists to portray
themselves as the defenders of the average Venezuelan. To
demand a ransom for Niehous' release would tend to taint the
"purity" of the terrorists' political motives with criminal
ones, unless, of course, they decide to adopt the expedient
of demanding ransom in kind, e.g., distribution of food and
clothing to the poor.
Because of the sophistication of the operation, and
because the BR communique singled out the JCR member groups
but no other Latin American terrorist organizations, it is
possible that the JCR may have had a hand in the planning or
conception of this operation. Venezuelan terrorists are
believed to have been in contact with the JCR in 1974. The
current extent of the contacts Venezuelan terrorists have
with the JCR or other terrorists is not known, and there is
no concrete evidence to point to JCR involvement in the
operation. Nevertheless, the possibility of JCR involvement
will be examined closely in the days to follow.
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Release of American Hostages in Beirut
Charles D. Gallagher and William R. Dykes, director and
deputy director of the USIA Regional Service Center in
Beirut, were freed at the home of Lebanese political leader
Kamal Junblatt on 25 February and turned over to U.S. em-
bassy officers. Both men had been abducted on 22 October
while en route to work. Both were described as being basi-
cally in good health in spite of their lengthy captivity.
They were flown to Athens the following day to rejoin their
families. The story was given considerable coverage in the
Beirut press, which reported many unconfirmed allegations
about the circumstances of the release.
While the modalities surrounding the freeing of the two
men remain clouded, there seems to be no doubt that the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was the orga-
nization which held them in custody after they had been
kidnapped by Lebanese leftists. Although it was widely
accepted that the PFLP had been involved, its spokesman in
Beirut adhered on 25 February to the organization's public
position of denying involvement in the kidnapping. In view
of the PFLP's continued involvement in international terror-
ism and its hostility toward the United States, it would
appear to have succumbed reluctantly to various, as yet
undefined, pressures brought against it in the case of the
two Americans.
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Attack on Soviet Residence in New York
Early in the morning of 27 February several shots were
fired at the Soviet residential complex in Riverdale, New
York. No one was injured but one bullet was reported to
have passed close to a duty officer and lodged in a wall.
Shortly after the shooting the UPI, AP and the New York
Post received'similar calls from a woman who claimed respon-
sibility for the shooting on behalf of the "Jewish Armed
Resistance." She said that "we warn Ford and Kissinger that
we shall destroy detente by escalating our attacks and even
kidnap Soviet diplomats in the United States," if a Soviet
Jewish girl is not permitted to emigrate to Israel.
The Soviet mission to the United Nations immediately
protested the attack to the U.S. mission and complained that
the U.S. government has done nothing to protect their
installations. They said this was the third incident since
1971 in which Soviet buildings had been attacked, the others
having occurred on 20 October 1971 and 19 January 1975.
They requested that the persons responsible for the attacks
be arrested and punished.
The Soviets also furnished U.S. authorities a copy of
a letter which they said had been sent to all "non-Socialist
missions" to the UN. The letter named five Soviet officials
as being KGB agents. It was signed in type by the "chiefs
of political coordination" of Free Poland, Free Slovakia,
Free Cossackia and Free Croatia. Attached to the letter
was a press release which protested the activities of the
five Soviets because of "the role the KGB played" in dis-
closing names of CIA agents in Western Europe, which the
statement claimed led to the death of Richard Welch in
Athens. The release also stated that the organizations
neither conduct nor condone any violence in the U.S. but
wish to make it clear that the death of nine of their
people at the hands of Communist assassins in Western Europe
in recent months will not go without retribution. (No other
information is available about any such assassinations.)
The Soviet representative claimed that he had informa-
tion that the group or groups sending such letters are
working together with the Jewish Defense League and other
Jewish groups. He believes the five Soviets named in the
letter are in danger.
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According to the FBI, there is no evidence of a connec-
tion between the writer of the letter and the group which
calls itself the "Jewish Armed Resistance". The FBI added
that the four groups which allegedly signed the letter
concerning the KGB do not actually exist, but rather are
names used in a one-man operation.
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Indonesian Consulate General in Amsterdam to Close
Indonesian officials state they will close their con-
sulate general in Amsterdam for security reasons. No date
was given for the closing. This step results from the re-
cent terrorist acts by South Moluccan extremists attempting
to win support for their cause of independence from Indo-
nesia.
On 2 December 1975 a group of heavily armed South
Moluccan terrorists seized control of a train in The Nether-
lands, and on 4 December 1975 seven South Moluccans seized
the Indonesian consulate in Amsterdam (see the 9 December
issue). In April 1975 Dutch authorities arrested 10 South
Moluccan terrorists who admitted they planned to kidnap
Queen Juliana and members of her family. In December 1974 a
group of South Moluccans fire-bombed the Hague Peace Palace.
(See the issues of 8 April 1975 and 30 December 1974.) With
violence increasing, the Indonesians apparently feel that
the consulate building is vulnerable to further terrorist
actions and have decided to do away with this target.
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European Community Ministers Discuss Counterterror Policy
The problem of international terrorism was discussed at
the European Council of Ministers meeting in Luxembourg on
23 February. Following a suggestion made by the West German
Foreign Minister and seconded.by Danish and Belgian repre-
sentatives, the ministers agreed to consider proposing a
discussion in the United Nations of international anti-
terrorist measures. This action would be separate from the
efforts of EC states to coordinate their own responses to
terrorist situations within the community, which. are being
handled via an informal conference of interior or justice
ministers. The Foreign Minister of Luxembourg commented to
the U.S. embassy that if the EC does decide to take the
matter to the UN, he doubts that the outcome will be success-
ful. He speculated that the problem of defining terrorism
in an international context raises so many political issues
that any action proposed in the UN will be stillborn. (In
addition to the EC nations, the governments of Venezuela and
Colombia have stated their intention to bring th.e matter of
international terrorism before the UN.)
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INCIDENCE OF SIGNIFICANT INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST ACTS
AS LISTED IN WEEKLY SITUATION REPORTS - 1976
TOTAL
U.S. TARGETS
I I I I I_ I I
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
NOTE: THIS GRAPH DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT ALL INCIDENTS RECORDED
IN TAB A DURING THE ABOVE PERIOD, AS INCIDENTS WHICH LATER PROVE NOT TO
HAVE SIGNIFICANT INTERNATIONAL SCOPE ARE OMITTED FROM THE MONTHLY TOTAL.
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CHRONOLOGY OF SIGNIFICANT INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST ACTS
Date: 27 February 1976 Shots Fired at Soviet
Residential Complex
Place: United States, Several shots were fired at
New York the Soviet residential com-
plex in New York. Only minor
damage was sustained and
there were no personal in-
juries. An unidentified
woman claiming to represent
the Jewish Armed Resistance
called several news agencies
and claimed credit for the
shooting and threatened that
Soviet diplomats would be
kidnapped unless a Soviet
Jewish teenager were allowed
to emigrate to Israel.
Date: 27 February 1976 U.S. Businessman Kidnapped
William Niehaus, the Owens-
Place: Venezuela, Caracas Illinois glass company mana-
ging director in Venezuela,
was kidnapped from his home
by seven gunmten. A group
called "Revolutionary Com-
mand" has claimed credit for
the kidnapping and is
threatening to kill Niehous
unless the Venezuelan gov-
ernment stops "a wave of re-
pression" against the people.
No demands for money were
made; however, the Interior
Minister told a news confer-
ence that the kidnappers
apparently are "left-wing
groups in search of fund,;-"
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Date: 27 February 1976
Bombs Explode at U.S. Banks
Homemade bombs exploded at
Place: Greece, Athens the American Express and
Chase Manhattan offices in
downtown Athens. The police
have no information on the
identity of the bombers.
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I. Terrorist Threats and Plans:
Western Hemisphere, Including the United States
Target: PAN AMERICAN The Pan American World
MANAGING DIRECTOR Airways director has been
threatened with death by
Place: Argentina, an anonymous caller who
Buenos Aires said he was a member of
the Montonero guerrilla
Date: Unknown orgapization Ala 22 Win
22).
Target: U.S. OFFICIAL The Nigerian high commissioner
to Barbados advised the U.S.
Place: Guyana, Georgetown ambassador in Bridgetown that
he had learned of a potential
Date: Unknown threat against the U.S. deputy
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* Indicates a new threat reported for the first time.
* Indicates a revision of a threat reported in previous issues.
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III. Terrorist Threats and Plans: Middle East
No significant terrorist threats were reported during
the period 25 February - 2 March 1976
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