US says a smuggler with terrorist ties helped get migrants from Uzbekistan into the country

By REBECCA SANTANA and ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it has detected and stopped a network attempting to smuggle people from Uzbekistan into the United States and says at least one member of the network had links to a foreign terrorist group. A statement from the National Security Council said U.S. officials do not believe the Uzbek nationals who used the smuggling network had any terrorist ties or were planning a terrorist attack. The statement did not specify the foreign terrorist group, but a U.S. official told The Associated Press that it was the Islamic State. The statement said U.S. worked with governments overseas to detain key members of the smuggling network, including the person with the foreign terrorism links.