NCJ Number
77539
Date Published
1979
Length
22 pages
Annotation
The names, organizational styles, objectives, and some representative activities of some of the most active terrorist groups in the United States are presented.
Abstract
The most active U.S. terrorist groups are the Armed Forces of National Liberation for Puerto Rico (FALN) and the New World Liberation Front (NWLF) and its affiliates. The FALN, whose campaigns of bombing are limited largely to the New York City and Chicago areas, states its objective as 'freeing Puerto Rican political prisoners and ending alleged mainland exploitation of the island's resources.' The FALN has consistently supported the demands of the Puerto Rican Socialist Party in its many communiques and armed attacks. The NWLF, which is active primarily in California, Washington, and Oregon, is a Marxist-Leninist group advocating the destruction of the U.S. Government and private industry. Its more than 40 bombing incidents since October 5, 1974 have been directed against the symbols of capitalism. These terrorist groups prefer the urban environment because of the political and economic importance of cities as the administrative and commercial centers of regions and because of the large numbers of disadvantaged persons who are vulnerable to terrorist propaganda and recruitment. Communication among terrorists is accomplished through a predetermined system of 'dead-drops,' which consists of a network of coin-box telephones and storage lockers for use in verbal communication and weapons storage. Other terrorist groups engaged in limited terrorist activity are anti-Castro Cuban groups, the World Community of Al-Islam in the West, and the Ku Klux Klan. Active membership in domestic terrorist organizations is at its lowest ebb in recent years, although a variety of causes susceptible to manipulation by a trained propagandist have proliferated. Foreign associations with U.S. terrorist groups are at a minimum. A total of 72 notes are listed.