Suspect ‘NY airport plot’ surrenders

PORT-OF-SPAIN – A fourth suspect in an alleged plot to attack New York’s John F Kennedy Airport surrendered in Trinidad as some US authorities raised concerns about the potential for a Caribbean terror threat.

Abdel Nur, a Guyanese national accused of seeking support for the alleged plot from the leader of a radical Muslim group in Trinidad, smiled as he turned himself in Tuesday at a police station outside the capital of Port-of-Spain. Nur has become Exhibit A for those who fear deep social inequality in the Caribbean could foster virulent anti-US sentiment and even make the islands another recruiting ground for terrorists.The 57-year-old suspect, who worked odd jobs at a currency exchange house and lived in a poor neighbourhood back in Guyana, seemed to dismiss such concerns as he entered a courthouse later on Tuesday.”It is a conspiracy and a set-up,” Nur told reporters.Trinidad, which is about 6 per cent Muslim, is home to Jamaat al Muslimeen, a radical group that staged the only Islamic revolt in the Western Hemisphere, a deadly 1990 coup attempt sparked by still unresolved land claims.Nur allegedly met with the group’s leader, Yasin Abu Bakr, in an unsuccessful effort to get support for the airport attack.Abu Bakr told The Associated Press on Monday that his group had no connection the New York plot.Trinidad is not a hotbed of anti-Americanism -in fact, its US ties are substantial and growing.About 20 000 US citizens visit the islands each year for tourism and business and about 4 600 claim residency in the country, according to the State Department.The US in turn is home to thousands of people of Trinidadian descent.Nampa-APNur has become Exhibit A for those who fear deep social inequality in the Caribbean could foster virulent anti-US sentiment and even make the islands another recruiting ground for terrorists.The 57-year-old suspect, who worked odd jobs at a currency exchange house and lived in a poor neighbourhood back in Guyana, seemed to dismiss such concerns as he entered a courthouse later on Tuesday.”It is a conspiracy and a set-up,” Nur told reporters.Trinidad, which is about 6 per cent Muslim, is home to Jamaat al Muslimeen, a radical group that staged the only Islamic revolt in the Western Hemisphere, a deadly 1990 coup attempt sparked by still unresolved land claims.Nur allegedly met with the group’s leader, Yasin Abu Bakr, in an unsuccessful effort to get support for the airport attack.Abu Bakr told The Associated Press on Monday that his group had no connection the New York plot.Trinidad is not a hotbed of anti-Americanism -in fact, its US ties are substantial and growing.About 20 000 US citizens visit the islands each year for tourism and business and about 4 600 claim residency in the country, according to the State Department.The US in turn is home to thousands of people of Trinidadian descent.Nampa-AP