TOP STORIES
Documents hint of terror suspect's dark side 
06:48 PM CST on Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Click to watch exclusive video of Maldonado | Jeff McShan's report | Brad Woodard's report
Twenty-four hours after the arrest of a former Sharpstown man we're getting a clearer picture of the terror suspect.
KHOU
Daniel Maldonado, in green shirt, was returned to Houston under heavy guard.
The FBI says Daniel Joseph Maldonado is a Muslim extremist who trained with al-Qaida.
Maldnonado, a.k.a. Daniel Aljughaifi, said he had no issue with the Sept. 11 attacks because he was angry with Americans.
The American citizen would have no problem killing fellow Americans, according to authorities, or the people of Somalia where he allegedly waged jihad after receiving training from al-Qaida.
The 28-year-old was under heavy guard when he appeared in federal court Tuesday.
He is charged with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction outside of the United States and receiving military training from a known terrorist organization read against him. That terrorist organization has been identified as al-Qaida.
11 News sources said Maldonado briefly moved to Houston in August 2005 because of personal contacts. They also say that was around the time he started showing up on a Houston-based Web site using his Islamic name.
The Islamic network provided a forum to express his views on religion, which is providing us with some insight into the man.
At one point he wrote: "As far as so-called traditionalists and the claim to traditional Islam, you can do just about anything for a long period of time, and it will be come tradition."
He goes on to write: "Each and every group has suffered from the same problems. They all hold fast to one and only one part of Islam while paying little to no attention to other parts of our great religion."
The heading to Maldonado's personal blog reads: "Conquer and unite." And in August of last year, while apparently in Egypt, he wrote: "Wow it's all starting to make sense. I have started to understand much more about Arabic than I ever have. I have a long way to go, but I just thought that it was worth being happy about."
And in May of last year -- apparently in reference to plans for an Islamic network Web site -- he wrote about a lot going on. "I am not sure if I even have permission to talk about it. I can tell you this, there are plenty of cool things happening that look like they will be a hit once we launch them."
The Web site is apparently run out of a on Richmond in southwest Houston. We were told the people who run the site are visiting Jordan.
According to court documents, the FBI began watching Maldonado when he lived in the Sharpstown area.
They say during that time he traveled to Africa and then Somalia where he fought and trained with al-Qaida.
The feds say Maldonado received extensive training in explosives from an individual called “The Bomb Maker” who assembled, produced and tested improvised explosive devices. “The Bomb Maker” frequently talked about knowing and speaking with Osama bin Laden.
Maldonado also allegedly received training on TNT and nitrates from this man.
The feds said Maldonado was willing to fight on behalf of al-Qaida, and that he even offered to be a suicide bomber if he was wounded in battle and was no longer able to fight on the front lines.
“Any who seek to aid terrorists in their mission to threaten our national security will be held to account for such serious criminal conduct,” said United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle Tuesday.
While in Somalia, Maldonado joined the Islamic Courts Union to fight “jihad” against the Transitional Federal Government to establishment of an independent Islamic State in Somalia. In the fall of 2006, the ICU used suicide bombers and vehicles containing improvised explosive devices to target the leadership of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia .
According to the complaint, Maldonado was provided an AK-47, equipped with military combat uniforms and boots in Mogadishu, and participated in training camps in Kismaayo and Jilib. The camps included physical fitness, firearms and explosives training — all in preparation to go to the front to fight for the ICU.
Al-Qaida members were allegedly present at the training camp.
Maldonado was captured by the Kenyan military on Jan. 21 as he fled to avoid Ethiopian and Somalian forces, according to federal agents.
He was later expelled by Kenyan officials and handed over to American authorities and Special Agents of the FBI.
The Joint Terrorism Task Force transported Maldonado back to the United States on a secret mission. He arrived in Houston on Monday night on a private plane that landed and Ellington Field.
Maldonado could get up to life in prison if convicted.
He is being held without bond. His next hearing is Feb. 20.
Inside KHOU.com
News Your Way: Get KHOU.com headlines
delivered to your favorite RSS reader.
Submit Your Video: Upload your videos and browse others in our video section.
Find Activities: What's happening in your neighborhood? Community Calendar.
Discuss the News: Talk about the latest news, weather and entertainment headlines in our online forums.
Headlines in Your Inbox: Sign up for our e-mail alerts.
More Top Stories
Popular Stories





You must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register Now!
You are logged in as screenname | Log Out
You are logged in, but do not have a "screen" name. Create a Screen Name