A former Houston man arrested in Kenya last month has been charged in Texas with teaming with al-Qaida to overthrow the Somali government and form an Islamic state there. Daniel Joseph Maldonado, 28, also known as Daniel Aljughaifi, was ordered held without bail Tuesday on federal charges of undergoing military training with a terrorist organization and conspiring to use a destructive device. Maldonado was returned to the United States on Monday night and appeared Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley, the U.S. attorney's office in Houston said. A detention hearing is set for next week. Maldonado's arrest marks the first criminal prosecution of an American suspected of joining terrorists in Somalia, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein said in a statement.
According to the criminal complaint, Maldonado traveled from Houston to Africa in November 2005. By December 2006, the complaint says, he was in Somalia and had joined with the Islamic Courts Union and elements of al-Qaida to fight in a rebellion designed to overthrow the Somali government and install an Islamic state. The complaint says Maldonado was issued an AK-47 rifle and attended two military training camps at which members of al-Qaida were present. Maldonado was captured by the Kenyan military on Jan. 21 as he fled Ethiopian and Somali forces. He was expelled by Kenya and turned over to U.S. officials for his return to Houston.
It wasn't clear Tuesday whether Maldonado had a lawyer. The U.S. attorney's office did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.