KIM KARDASH
JF-Expert Member
- Sep 21, 2011
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- Saadi Gadhafi, a son of the deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, tried to travel secretly to Mexico with false documents, Mexico's interior minister said Wednesday. Four people have been implicated in the plot -- a Canadian, a Dane and a two Mexicans, said the minister, Alejandro Poire.
The arrests of the plotters, which occurred in November, were announced Wednesday.
"With these actions, the federal government contributes actively to a safe North America," said Alejandra Sota, a government spokeswoman.
The plan was to provide false documents claiming Mexican nationality for Saadi Gadhafi and his family, and to purchase a number of properties in Mexico that would be used as safe houses, Poire said.
One of the purchased houses was in the tourist town Bahia de Banderas in Nayarit state, he said.
Mexican intelligence first sniffed the plot on September 6, he said.
Intelligence agents followed the trail and discovered that Cynthia Ann Vanier, a Canadian, was the leader of the ring, Poire said. She was in direct contact with the Gadhafi family, he said. She was arrested on November 10.
The following day, authorities arrested Gabriela Davila Huerta o Cueto, a Mexican living in the United States who Poire said was in charge of getting the false documents.
Pierre Christian Flemsborg, a Dane, was in charge of logistics, Poire said, and was arrested on November 11.
Also arrested was Mexican Jose Luis Kennedy Prieto, who helped with obtaining the false documentation, Poire said.
The suspects face charges including falsifying documents and opening up bank accounts with false identities.
According to the latest reports, Saadi Gadhafi remains in Niger, a landlocked West African nation bordering Libya, where he fled as his father's regime collapsed this year.
Saadi Gadhafi had offered to negotiate an end to the war with the rebels in Libya months ago, after his father's troops lost control of Tripoli, but he later seemed to change his mind.
Saadi Gadhafi's lawyer, Nick Kaufman, said he spoke with his client Wednesday and "he enjoys the protection of the Niger authorities and is fully respecting the restraints placed on him presently by the international community. "
Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou had reaffirmed his country's decision to grant asylum to Saadi Gadhafi, saying he should be allowed to stay and be treated just like other Libyan refugees. Libya's National Transitional Council has blasted that stance.
A businessman, Saadi Gadhafi ran the Libyan Football Federation before the unrest began. He played soccer for Perugia in Italy for one season. Leaked U.S. diplomatic cables posted on WikiLeaks claim that he had "scuffles" with police in Europe.
Moammar Gadhafi was killed in Libya on October 20.
Another of his sons, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, was captured after a gun battle in the Libyan desert. Senior Libyan military officials said they believe the potential Gadhafi successor was also trying to make his way to Niger.
Saif al-Islam had been on the run since shortly after the fall of his father's Bab al-Aziziya compound in the capital in August.
The International Criminal Court in Netherlands wants Saif al-Islam for alleged crimes against humanity, including murder committed during the uprising this year.
