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In my first career, I stood in courtrooms as a defense attorney dealing intimately with the fallout of organized crime and gang violence. I have cross-examined operatives, analyzed thousands of pages of gang intelligence and witnessed firsthand the brutal efficiency of transnational syndicates. If my time immersed in the legal trenches of the gang world taught me one undeniable truth, it is this: cartels do not respect international borders. In fact, they weaponize them. For too long, the jurisdictional lines on a map have served as the greatest defense strategy for the world's most violent criminal organizations.
We have treated multinational, multibillion-dollar criminal enterprises as localized law enforcement problems. Fortunately, the landscape of international justice is shifting. The U.S.-led "Shield of the Americas" initiative, which recently designated eight major criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations, is fundamentally rewriting the playbook on how we dismantle these syndicates.
There remains one critical holdout, Brazil, whose president is not expected to join this critical coalition. Indeed, the reelection of incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva all but ensures an increase in organized criminal activity in Brazil.
To understand the necessity of this initiative, one must understand how modern cartels operate. In the courtroom, you quickly realize that the street-level gang members, like the MS-13 triggermen or the Tren de Aragua enforcers, can be the lowest rung on a massive, sophisticated corporate ladder.
These organizations operate with the logistical precision of Fortune 500 companies. They manage complex supply chains, launder money through intricate global financial networks and employ specialized cells for enforcement, distribution and corruption.
At times, our legal framework has been outmatched by their agility. A drug shipment might originate in the Andes, be financed through a front company in Central America and be distributed by local gangs in American cities. When law enforcement attempts to build a case, they can hit a variety of bureaucratic obstacles and challenges sharing evidence, securing extraditions or tracing illicit funds across different countries. The cartels know this and deliberately structure their operations to exploit operational disconnects between regional governments.
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By officially designating eight major cartels and gangs, including the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and Tren de Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists, the U.S. government dramatically altered the legal reality.
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The terrorist designation unlocks a completely different enforcement arsenal. It allows for the immediate freezing of assets, imposes severe penalties for anyone providing "material support" and authorizes deep, aggressive disruption of their financial networks.
You cannot arrest your way out of a cartel problem – you must disrupt the business itself. By targeting their money and imposing serious consequences on the seemingly legitimate financial institutions that launder it, the Shield of the Americas strikes at the absolute core of cartel power. It equips law enforcement to fight proactively and focus on strategic dismantling of cartel financial infrastructure.
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Equally crucial is the initiative’s mandate for unprecedented intelligence sharing and military coordination. Currently, countries like Argentina, El Salvador, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay and Chile are participating in the Shield of the Americas.
This will help break down silos where one law enforcement agency has one piece of the puzzle, while authorities in Colombia or El Salvador hold the rest. Without a streamlined mechanism to share that data, the kingpins remain untouchable.
The Shield of the Americas facilitates the real-time sharing of actionable intelligence among partner nations. This means that a cartel operative’s communications intercepted in Lima could be instantly used to disrupt a trafficking route in Central America and ultimately support a federal indictment in New York. Furthermore, joint military coordination ensures that the sheer firepower of these cartels could be matched.
The final critical piece of this initiative is Brazil, South America’s largest nation.
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Brazil is a continent-sized nation with its own deeply entrenched criminal organizations, most notably the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and the Comando Vermelho. These groups have grown into major forces in the global drug trade, forging alliances with international cartels and expanding their reach far beyond Brazilian borders. Unfortunately, the current government has abstained from joining the U.S.-led effort, which is expected to continue in light of the recent presidential election.
Brazil’s participation would have a tremendous impact. The cartels would lose one of their most significant safe havens and operational hubs in the hemisphere. A unified front stretching from the U.S.-Mexico border down to the Southern Cone would squeeze transnational syndicates from every direction. It would close the geographical and jurisdictional gaps they have exploited for generations.
The human cost of cartel operations is staggering. Hundreds of thousands of American lives have been lost to cartel-linked fentanyl overdoses, while communities across Latin America have been destabilized by extreme violence and corruption.
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The Shield of the Americas represents a profound modernization of our approach to international justice. By recognizing these cartels for the global terror threats they are, strangling their finances and uniting the hemisphere's law enforcement and military resources, we are finally fighting the battle on equal footing.
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If more nations commit to this alliance, we will not just be managing the cartel problem; we will be systematically dismantling it. The cartels have operated globally for decades. It is long past time the law did the same.
O Partido Comunista Chinês (PCC) prometeu hoje intensificar o combate às regras informais que favorecem a corrupção e enfraquecem a disciplina interna, no âmbito de uma nova ofensiva para reforçar o controlo sobre os seus dirigentes.
Numa conferência de imprensa dedicada às conclusões do quinto plenário do Comité Central, encerrado na quinta-feira, altos responsáveis do partido sublinharam que a corrupção continua a representar uma ameaça grave, apesar da campanha lançada pelo Presidente chinês, Xi Jinping, há quase 14 anos.
A reunião, que decorreu durante quatro dias, terminou com a aprovação de uma resolução sobre o reforço da governação interna e da disciplina partidária, que identifica expressamente as chamadas “regras não escritas” como um dos principais obstáculos ao funcionamento das instituições.
“Durante algum tempo, certas regras não escritas existiram, em diferentes graus, dentro e fora do partido, prejudicando a autoridade e a aplicação das normas e da disciplina partidárias”, afirmou Xie Chuntao, vice-presidente executivo da Escola Central do Partido, em conferência de imprensa.
Segundo o responsável, estas práticas suscitaram fortes críticas entre os quadros partidários e a população.
Xie explicou que a resolução prevê reforçar a transparência nos assuntos do partido e do Governo, melhorar a formação dos dirigentes e corrigir práticas informais que permitem contornar as regras oficiais.
O documento procura ainda estabelecer mecanismos institucionais que impeçam a utilização de relações pessoais e redes de influência para obter promoções ou benefícios políticos.
Num artigo publicado este mês na revista de teoria política Qiushi, Xi Jinping alertou para os riscos associados à prevalência destas práticas.
“Quando as regras formais não são firmemente respeitadas, as regras não escritas proliferam inevitavelmente; quando estas prevalecem, as regras formais tornam-se meras decorações”, escreveu o líder chinês.
Xi advertiu que este ambiente permite a intermediários políticos e burlões recorrerem a contactos pessoais para progredir dentro do partido, defendendo maior transparência, fiscalização e responsabilização dos dirigentes.
O diretor do Gabinete Central de Investigação de Políticas do PCC, Tang Fangyu, afirmou que a resolução constitui o principal resultado do plenário e que a sua elaboração foi diretamente supervisionada por Xi Jinping.
Segundo Tang, o processo incluiu consultas a autoridades locais e departamentos governamentais, estudos sobre questões prioritárias e a recolha de mais de mil propostas de alteração.
A resolução reafirma a estratégia de manter uma pressão permanente sobre os dirigentes, visando criar condições para que estes “não ousem, não possam e não queiram” envolver-se em práticas de corrupção.
Huang Jianfa, vice-ministro do Departamento de Organização do Comité Central, explicou que o documento reforça também os critérios de seleção e avaliação dos quadros.
O partido deverá “afastar resolutamente aqueles que são desleais, que dizem uma coisa e fazem outra e que abusam do poder para obter benefícios pessoais”, afirmou.
Huang acrescentou que a fiscalização deverá ser acompanhada de mecanismos de incentivo e proteção dos funcionários que assumam responsabilidades e demonstrem iniciativa.
Zhang Fuhai, alto responsável da Comissão Central de Inspeção e Disciplina, anunciou o reforço da supervisão dos comités partidários, das estruturas locais e da coordenação entre os diferentes organismos de fiscalização.
Desde a chegada de Xi Jinping ao poder, em 2012, as autoridades chinesas abriram cerca de 8,1 milhões de processos disciplinares e puniram 7,92 milhões de pessoas, incluindo 963 altos responsáveis, segundo dados oficiais divulgados hoje.
As sanções abrangem diferentes infrações disciplinares e não correspondem necessariamente a condenações judiciais por corrupção.
O plenário ratificou ainda medidas disciplinares contra 34 membros efetivos ou suplentes do Comité Central, incluindo 18 dirigentes civis e 16 militares, um número sem precedentes nas reuniões plenárias recentes.
A reunião ficou igualmente marcada por uma participação invulgarmente reduzida: apenas 162 dos 205 membros efetivos do Comité Central estiveram presentes, o equivalente a 79% do total.
Ryan Dinnage – who accompanied Reform UK leader on walkabouts before local elections – was later jailed, raising questions about vetting failure
One of Nigel Farage’s security team who accompanied him on the local election campaign trail this year was facing a rape charge and was later jailed for eight years, raising questions about a failure of vetting.
Ryan Dinnage spent time protecting Farage in April and May, but in June was convicted of having raped a woman while she slept in a caravan at the Royal Windsor horse show.
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© Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian
© Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian
© Photograph: Sean Smith/The Guardian
A man dressed as a zombie allegedly stabbed two people at an Austin, Texas coffee shop Wednesday night before speeding away in a pickup truck and crashing into an unoccupied vehicle.
The Austin Police Department (APD) identified the suspect as Shankar Temple Grace, 20, who was arrested after a search.
The incident unfolded shortly before a local comedy show was scheduled to begin at The Buzz Mill, a coffee shop and bar.
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Officials said police responded to reports of a "disturbance hot shot" inside the business, a classification for a rapidly escalating altercation involving an immediate threat to life or serious physical harm.
First responders found one victim with life-threatening injuries and another with non-life-threatening injuries, APD said.
Both victims were rushed to a hospital. They were last reported in stable condition, according to authorities.
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After the stabbing, the suspect fled in a pickup truck, speeding away before striking an unoccupied autonomous vehicle, KEYE reported.
Officers launched a search and eventually located him on a walking trail roughly 3 miles from the scene, police said.
The suspect was wearing a Halloween costume at the time of the attack, APD said.
A witness told police the man was dressed as a zombie with his face covered in makeup, according to KEYE.
People at the establishment also told police the man had caused a disturbance at the bar before Wednesday night's stabbing, the outlet reported.
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Grace was booked into the Travis County Jail and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.
A United passenger who forced a Newark-bound flight to return to Las Vegas over his "hijacking threat" has blamed the incident on alcohol, telling authorities his remarks were drunken banter.
The post United Passenger Who Forced Newark-Bound Flight to Return to Vegas over ‘Hijacking Threat’ Blames Alcohol appeared first on Breitbart.
Halima Salman, 27, was convicted on Tuesday of joining the Islamic State and receiving military training in Syria, marking the first public conviction of a woman for joining ISIS by an American court. She now faces up to 10 years in prison.
The post U.S. Convicts First Woman Accused of Joining Islamic State appeared first on Breitbart.
A hacker going by the name "Department of Peace" has published personal data belonging to more than 40,000 U.S. Department of Homeland Security employees, exposing ICE agents, cybersecurity staff and senior officials to potential harassment and violence.
The post Hacker Leaks Data of 40,000+ Homeland Security Employees Including ICE Agents appeared first on Breitbart.
A lull in the weekly parade of teachers across the U.S. being busted for sexual relationships with their students ended this week with a Minnesota teacher being hit with a jail sentence for meetups with a student and another educator in Kentucky banned from ever teaching again after pleading guilty to sexting with a pupil.
The post Teachers in Kentucky and Minnesota Arrested for Alleged Sexual Misconduct with Students appeared first on Breitbart.
Knifeman on a days-long stabbing rampage had a look of "the greatest delight on his face" as he attacked train passengers, court told.
The post ‘Terror on an Unimaginable Scale’: Court Hears Railway Staff Tried to Fight Off Knifeman With Frying Pan appeared first on Breitbart.
A husband is accused of fatally stabbing a man he allegedly found in bed with his wife and two children at their home in California.
The post California DA: Husband Charged in Fatal Stabbing of Man He Found in Bed with His Wife and Children appeared first on Breitbart.
A dual U.S.-Salvadoran citizen from California accused of murdering a woman in front of their toddler son before abandoning the child near her remains has been extradited to El Salvador to face charges, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.
Michael Alejandro Castillo Murga, 27, of Beaumont, California, was handed over to Salvadoran authorities Wednesday to face charges of aggravated femicide and imperfect homicide in the 2019 killing.
The extradition marks the first time the U.S. has surrendered an American citizen to face prosecution for crimes committed in El Salvador, according to the DOJ.
Castillo Murga holds dual U.S. and Salvadoran citizenship.
Salvadoran authorities allege Castillo Murga picked up Melvi Fernanda Nájera Quezada, 23, and their son from her mother's home Jan. 31, 2019, supposedly to begin living together as a family.
Investigators allege he instead killed Nájera Quezada and abandoned their child near her body, which was discovered near a highway the next day.
An autopsy determined she died from severe bleeding caused by cuts to her neck and other wounds inflicted with a plastic knife, according to the DOJ.
Farmworkers discovered the boy, who was younger than 2, several days later in a rugged area near where his mother's body was found. He was severely dehydrated and starving with cuts on his face, insect bites and signs of abuse, authorities said.
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Investigators linked Castillo Murga to the killing through cellphone location data and witness accounts. Authorities also said he sent his girlfriend a photograph showing bloodstains on his face and neck.
Prosecutors also accused Castillo Murga's grandmother and a lawyer of helping conceal evidence. According to the DOJ, the pair arranged for two people to clean blood from the interior and exterior of Castillo Murga's vehicle using water, car shampoo and vinegar, but they were unable to remove all the blood.
Castillo Murga escaped to Guatemala around Feb. 2, 2019, with assistance from his grandmother and lawyer before eventually entering the U.S., according to prosecutors.
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U.S. Marshals arrested him in October 2024 in response to an extradition request from El Salvador.
Castillo Murga challenged his extradition in federal court, but a judge rejected his petition in November 2025 and denied a subsequent request to halt the transfer in September 2026.
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The secretary of state ultimately authorized his surrender, and U.S. Marshals transported him into Salvadoran custody Wednesday to face prosecution.
Three of New York’s top elected officials appeared surprised Thursday when pressed about a House Judiciary Committee report alleging local prosecutors intentionally downgraded charges against noncitizens to protect them from deportation.
During a Manhattan press conference, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez faced questions regarding claims that city prosecutors altered or reduced charges to help noncitizens avoid convictions that would trigger removal.
"Did any of you order prosecutors to downgrade gun charges to keep illegal immigrants in the U. S., per the Judiciary Committee report?" a reporter asked.
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Katz threw her hands up and shrugged in response, the New York Post reported.
"Our answer couldn’t help it," Katz said, before a speaker redirected the room, asking for "any other on-topic questions" and moving the news conference along.
"We charge any defendant with an illegal firearm with the highest possible charge under the law," a spokesperson for Katz's office told Fox News Digital.
The news conference exchange followed the release of a 22-page congressional report detailing widespread practices across New York City prosecutors' offices.
According to the document, Katz's office employs an "Immigration Specialist" to help negotiate "immigration-safe" plea deals and reduce past convictions.
The report also cited a 2022 memorandum from Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg allegedly instructing prosecutors to seek dispositions that avoid deportation consequences for all misdemeanors and non-carceral felonies.
In addition, the report states that the office of Bronx DA Darcel Clark trains prosecutors in "Immigration-Conscious Plea Bargaining." That includes offering non-deportable offenses, avoiding aggravated felony charges and using hypothetical or "legally impossible" charges, such as "attempted reckless assault," which lack legal intent requirements.
Prosecutors were also allegedly instructed to omit critical details from official conviction records, such as gun involvement, domestic relationships or the age of minor victims, to prevent federal immigration authorities from using them as grounds for removal.
After the news conference, a spokesperson for Katz reached out to the Post to deny that leniency is ever shown in weapons cases.
"We charge any defendant with an illegal firearm with the highest possible charge under the law," the spokesperson said.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the other four New York city district attorneys' offices for comment.
The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division is investigating mysterious freezer and refrigerator malfunctions that spoiled food at military bases across the U.S. amid concerns the outages may have been caused by a cyberattack.
Army CID’s Cyber Field Office is working with the Defense Commissary Agency and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service to determine what caused the refrigeration failures at military commissaries in August, an Army CID spokesperson confirmed to Fox News.
Investigators are also working with French law enforcement to understand a series of refrigeration outages in Europe as authorities examine whether the incidents could be connected.
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The story was first reported by Reuters.
In late August, at least six commissaries, on-base stores where military personnel buy food, suddenly experienced refrigeration malfunctions.
Fort Huachuca in Arizona said in an Aug. 26 Facebook post that its refrigeration units "went into defrost mode" overnight.
"ALL freezers went into defrost mode – ALL frozen food has spoiled," the base said.
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Other affected facilities include F. E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island, Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, Travis Air Force Base Commissary in California and Fort Irwin in California.
In at least one case, refrigeration units were set to higher temperatures overnight rather than simply turning off, Reuters reported.
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Several weeks ago, a cyberattack targeted hundreds of French supermarkets, with hackers manipulating refrigerators to reach temperatures of 122 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature spike spoiled large quantities of food and sparked fires across Europe.
The Paris prosecutor's office confirmed the cyberattack, describing it as a "large-scale" assault that affected several major food retailers across the country.
Fox News Digital's Robert McGreevy contributed to this report.
A Sullivan County judge heard oral arguments Thursday to determine whether New York Attorney General Letitia James should be removed as special prosecutor in the reopened criminal investigation into an alleged gang rape at Cornell University.
The proceeding ended without an immediate ruling from Judge James Farrell.
The hearing stems from a challenge filed by defense attorney Andrew Miltenberg, who represents Gillio Lopes, one of the men accused in the case.
Lopes is one of seven former Chi Phi fraternity brothers who are accused in a lawsuit of drugging and raping a female Cornell student at their fraternity house in October 2024.
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Defense counsel argued that social media comments posted by James prior to her official appointment as "special prosecutor" demonstrate a pre-existing bias and a presumption of guilt that undermines the prosecution's neutrality.
"What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable," James had posted on social media. "I’m holding her in my heart and in my prayers. To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you."
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Arguing before the court, Miltenberg pointed to those public declarations of support as proof of a pre-determined bias.
"Whether it affects all or just one, either the court determines the statements made by AG James take her out of contention to be neutral party reviewing case or not," Miltenberg argued, calling the initial public statements an "original sin" for the case.
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In a statement sent to Fox News on Thursday, a spokesperson for James' office said, "As indicated in our motion before the court, these claims are without merit. The Office of the Attorney General remains committed to conducting an investigation guided only by the facts, the evidence, and the law."
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Representing the state, Assistant Attorney General Kaitlin Vigars defended Gov. Kathy Hochul's appointment of James and pushed back against the disqualification effort, emphasizing that public statements alone do not meet the legal threshold for removal.
Vigars argued that to warrant disqualification, there needs to be a showing of actual prejudice rather than speculative claims of bias.
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Farrell peppered Vigars with questions about the circumstances leading up to James’ appointment, including if Hochul was aware of James’ social media comment, if James and Hochul were standing together when the governor made remarks about the "brave young woman," if that runs afoul of professional conduct, and if the purpose of appointing the AG was to avoid bias.
Farrell also raised broader procedural concerns during the arguments, noting the potential for conflicting legal rulings if challenges proceed piecemeal across jurisdictions.
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"If multiple judges come down with decisions that’s chaos," Farrell said from the bench, "and the court should not fashion chaos."
Hochul appointed James as special prosecutor on Oct. 1 after stepping in to bypass the local Tompkins County district attorney, who had previously declined to bring charges.
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With no decision rendered at the conclusion of Thursday's arguments, the judge is expected to issue a formal written ruling in the coming days on whether James will remain as special prosecutor or if the investigation must be reassigned.
Hochul later said on Thursday that all sexual offense complaints at Cornell University are now being referred to New York State Police, rather than Cornell University Police, unless otherwise requested by that individual.
"Every student deserves to feel safe on their campus," she said in a statement, in part. "And when someone reports sexual assault, they deserve to be heard, treated with compassion, and know their allegations will be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated by law enforcement trained to support survivors.
"What Jane Doe described is horrifying. Survivors should be able to trust the institutions responsible for protecting them. We cannot afford to let them down."
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