EXCLUSIVE: Somali Lawmaker Shares How US Pays The Price Of Somali Terror And Trafficking

Somali officials are allegedly linked to a network trafficking terrorists, fraud and children into the U.S. and Western nations, according to confidential reports exclusively shared with the Daily Caller by a Somali lawmaker.

Dr. Abdillahi Hashi Abib, a member of Somalia’s Parliament and Foreign Affairs Committee, shared the February letters with the Caller after allegedly receiving no response from the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

A Feb. 12 letter alleges that Somali nationals, including Somali officials with dual U.S.-Somali citizenship, use connections with foreign governments to traffic Somalis into the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. 

More than 6,900 Somali nationals — including children and people tied to the terrorist group al-Shabaab — were trafficked over the past five months, the February letter claims. The operation allegedly generated roughly $25,000 “per trafficking batch.”

Previous reporting by the City Journal alleged that “untold millions” of U.S. tax dollars from Minnesota’s Somali population were transferred to Al-Shabaab. (RELATED: SCOOP: Tim Walz Accused Of Stonewalling Key Probe As Somali Fraud Sweeps His State)

Some Somali officials allegedly abuse their public offices, diplomatic status and immunities to “facilitate personal enrichment through organized trafficking operations.”

My source @MPDrAbib shared alleged fake passports, visas, and Ethiopian Airlines emails confirming Somali docs are forgeries.

Reports back Abib’s claims.

Similar forgeries are being used to smuggle terrorists & fraudsters into the US—with Minnesota as a key hub.
Stay tuned… pic.twitter.com/eRThsFTnYx

— Derek VanBuskirk (@DerekVBK) March 5, 2026

The letter pointed to Hinda Culusow — an alleged U.S. citizen and chief of protocol for the Somali president — and her husband, who is a sitting member of Somalia’s Parliament.

The letter claims they reportedly control or own a private travel agency that acts as a “key operational hub within this trafficking pipeline” and allegedly facilitates “documentation, travel logistics and intermediary arrangements” to move clients through irregular channels.

Three attached receipts — $1,320, $330 and $450 — allegedly show clients taken into Egypt before continuing to Western nations, Abib told the Caller. The documents allege the fees were sent to Culusow and her husband.

The agency listed on the payments, Sky Som Air & Logistics, did not reply to the Caller’s request for comment as of publication.

The letter further alleges that U.S. citizen and Somali State Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Mohamed Omar coordinated with his brother-in-law, who is Somalia’s ambassador to Cuba, to sell Cuban government scholarships. The scholarships are allegedly used for migration purposes to eventually gain entry into the U.S., according to the letter.

There are reports that individuals with ties to the U.S. designated Foreign Terrorist Organization Al-Shabaab allegedly travel to the U.S.–Mexico border and request political asylum, the letter states.

The letter says that Somalia’s Minister of Education Farah Abdiqadir backs the alleged scheme.

The letter includes examples of Cuban visas and documentation listing 10 students approved to travel under a “scholarship of medicine.”

The letter shows the Somali passport of 33-year-old Shafie Abdirahman Ali, whose occupation was listed as “student.” Abib alleges that Ali was arrested for terrorism, released by corrupt government officials and sent to Germany in November.

Abib also told the Caller that hundreds of minors are coerced into trafficking schemes every month, with the Somali government promising families a new life outside a drought-stricken country by covering travel expenses.

Parents later receive video calls from children held captive in Libya under ransom for the full $25,000 cost, he claimed. With Somalia’s annual GDP per capita at approximately $600, death or sex slavery becomes the likely outcome for many, Abib told the Caller.

The letter includes a photo of two allegedly trafficked children taken during ransom negotiations, according to Abib. An alleged ransom video was also sent to the Caller by a whistleblower.

The photo shows a Somali minor during an alleged ransom call to his or her parents. (Photo shared in a document by Somali lawmaker Dr. Abdillahi Hashi Abib)

Abib described these cases as only “samples” of the evidence he possesses, telling the apparently unresponsive House Oversight Committee that he is prepared to provide records, visa and passport data, financial transaction pathways, witness and parental testimony, and identifying details including names, dates and routing mechanisms. (RELATED: Healthcare, Daycare And Food Aid: Somali MP Shares The Source Of The Scams)

He claims the committee has not followed up. He reflected on what he described as a broader pattern across federal agencies in both former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump’s administrations.

Abib claimed to the Caller that officials in Trump’s administration focus on platitudes or placing bandages on fraud in Minnesota, rather than focusing on what he views as the root cause: the Somali government.

In a separate February report, Abib warned the committee of a grave national security threat posed by terrorists operating freely in Somalia.

“[T]he government functions as a captured apparatus for elite enrichment,” the letter claims.

The report classifies Al-Shabaab as a “critical” threat that has formed a “parallel state,” levying its own taxes, undermining federal legitimacy and disrupting elections and humanitarian operations. It warns that the group is planning drone attacks in high-security areas of the capital, including the airport, training compounds, and sensitive diplomatic and security facilities.

Photos included in the report show what Abib described as an Iranian drone, along with images of U.S. ammunition and armored vehicles in the terrorist group’s possession.

The letter also classifies another group, the Islamic State Somalia Province (ISSP), as a “high” threat. The letter cited the terrorist organization’s lethality, ideological rigidity, appeal to foreign fighters and links to smuggling and transnational financing.

Abib accuses the Somali government of suppressing information by framing losses as victories and withholding critical intelligence from the public, Parliament and U.S. intelligence agencies — creating what he described as “strategic and policy implications for the [U.S.].”

The information relayed in the report was obtained through a whistleblower within Somali intelligence structures.

The photo shows an Iranian drone allegedly used by terrorists in Somalia, suggesting they are capable of carrying out threats against high-value targets. (Photo shared in a document by Dr. Abdillahi Hashi Abib)

Though Abib says the situation appears grim due to Somali inaction and insufficient U.S. understanding of regional threats, he outlines recommendations for the United States: independent verification mechanisms, whistleblower protections, an oversight investigation, targeted sanctions on corrupt officials and removal of corrupt Somali leadership followed by a political transition until a new leader is duly elected.

The Caller previously reported on his “roadmap” for addressing fraud in January.

“This failure now directly threatens U.S. national security, U.S. personnel, U.S. taxpayers, and U.S. strategic interests in the Horn of Africa and beyond,” the report says. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: How Biden Admin Sowed Seeds For Somali Aid Fraud Scandal)

“The America First State Department stands ready to ensure President Trump’s war on fraud to fight widespread abuses across our nation is successful,” the U.S. State Department told the Caller. “We are committed to implementing foreign assistance that delivers for the American people following years of wasteful, woke and weaponized programming.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was carbon copied and sent the letters, according to documents obtained by the Caller.

The Caller reached out to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, but they have not responded as of publication.