The fact that he recently converted to Islam had nothing to do with it.

Via Daily Beast:

A Cuban national was dragged cuffed and defiant into a Colombian court last week for an alleged “terror plot” to kill American diplomats on behalf of Islamic State (ISIS) extremists in the nation’s capital of Bogotá.

Raúl Gutiérrez, 43, pled not guilty to the charges that he had conspired with an international ISIS cell to blow up a restaurant popular with Embassy staff and other foreigners in the Zona Rosa (Pink Zone) region of Bogotá. […]

In the wake of Gutiérrez arrest, much was made of the fact that he was a Cuban citizen who only recently converted to Islam. Why would a native son from the “Pearl of the Caribbean” choose to join a Middle Eastern sect famous for beheading helpless prisoners and blowing up archaeological treasures?

“On the one hand, it is surprising since Latin America has no Muslim tradition and, in general, the culture is very far from that of radical Muslims,” Hernando Zuleta, director of the Center for the Study of Drugs and Security (CESED), told The Daily Beast. “It is also surprising that he is Cuban because the Caribbean spirit does not seem compatible with the idea of ISIS,” Zuleta said.

“On the other hand, in Latín América there are many people who hate the U.S.,” and blame “the origins of the ills of our nations on foreign powers.”

Gutiérrez seems to have fallen into that camp. Investigators reported they had originally tumbled to his radicalized behavior—including adding the word “jihadist” to his social media handles—after following the thread of his anti-U.S. rhetoric on the Internet.

CESED’s Zuleta speculated that the attack “may have been planned [for the Bogota embassy] since Colombia has been the most constant ally of the U.S. in the region.”

Zuleta also said certain anti-Latino remarks made by President Donald Trump could have added fuel to the Cuban zealot’s fire:

“I do believe that Trump’s speech and some of his policies generate an increase in anti-gringo sentiment,” he said. “Calling Latinos ‘bad hombres.’ talking about how they entrap America, and building walls generates a sense of enmity.”