History of Maicao

amount of goods to pass from Maicao into the Colombian interior, but only if they were declared to customs officials and duty was paid on them. Cigarettes however moved outside the Maicao special customs zone "duty not paid" and from there into the black market.

In 1997 these Middle Eastern immigrants built the Mosque of Omar Ibn Al-Jattab, one of the largest mosques in Latin America.

Maicao became subject to royalties coming from the exploitation of coal in the Cerrejon coal mine, however municipal administrations have been subject to widespread corruption and royalties have been temporarily suspended. The culture of avoiding paying taxes has created in numerous occasions tensions between the locals and the government, including burning down the local tax bureau office DIAN in protest for confiscating large amounts of contraband. The municipality also suffered a problem of displaced people due to the internal armed conflict and deficiencies in education and health.

On March 19, 2000 the town of Albania segregated some 425 km² from Maicao and becoming a municipality. The municipality of Maicao lost a large area over the coal mine section decreasing the royalties percentage intended for the region.

Hezbollah ties

According to FBI investigators who allegedly told Rio de Janeiro's O Globo in late October 2001 that in addition to the Triborder Region, a focal point of terrorism in South America was Maicao, described as an Islamic community of approximately 4,670 vacation spot for orthodox Islamics and the largest and best organized Islamic community in Colombia with a minority Shiites reportedly more closely associated with the Muslim fundamentalist concept