NewzIntel.com

Category: Natural Disasters

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: ‘A litany of human suffering’ in Myanmar, warns UN rights chief

    Source: United Nations 2-b

    Human Rights

    Myanmar is mired in one of the world’s worst human rights crises, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Friday, describing conditions there as “a litany of human suffering.”

    Addressing the Human Rights Council on Friday, he detailed the devastating toll of the ongoing conflict and economic collapse on civilians – many of whom have been displaced by the fighting.

    Earlier in the day the Council discussed the deteriorating situation in South Sudan, having heard a report from rights investigators serving on the Commission on Human Rights in the country.

    “Conflict, displacement and economic collapse have combined to cause pain and misery across Myanmar and civilians are paying a terrible price,” Mr. Türk said.

    The number killed in violence last year was the highest since the military coup in 2021. Over 1,800 civilians were killed in 2024, many in indiscriminate airstrikes and artillery shelling, with attacks on schools, places of worship and healthcare facilities having become routine.

    Mr. Türk condemned the military’s brutal tactics, including beheadings, burnings, mutilations, and the use of human shields. He also noted that nearly 2,000 people have died in custody since the coup, most due to summary executions and torture.

    Deepening humanitarian crisis

    Fighting between the junta forces and opposition armed groups has fuelled a humanitarian catastrophe, with more than 3.5 million people displaced and 15 million facing hunger – two million of whom are at risk of famine.

    In Rakhine state, clashes between the military and the Arakan Army have intensified, with thousands of civilians killed and Rohingya communities caught in the crossfire.  

    Tens of thousands of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in 2024, despite border restrictions. More than 8,000 fled by sea – an 80 per cent increase over 2023 – but at least 650 people, nearly half of them children, perished on the dangerous journey.

    Economic collapse

    Myanmar’s economic collapse has fuelled corruption and crime, with one global tracker ranking it the world’s biggest nexus of organized crime. It remains the top producer of opium and a major manufacturer of synthetic drugs.

    Furthermore, scam centres in eastern Myanmar have become notorious for human trafficking, where victims are coerced into cybercrime and subjected to torture, sexual violence, and forced labour.

    Military conscription

    Mr. Türk also condemned the junta’s activation of military conscription laws, which have led to arbitrary arrests and forced recruitment, particularly targeting young men and women. Fear of conscription has driven many to flee the country, exposing them to trafficking and exploitation.

    “Given the humanitarian, political and economic impacts fuelling instability across the region, the international community must do more,” Mr. Türk underscored.

    He reiterated his call for an arms embargo, coupled with targeted sanctions – including on jet fuel and dual-use goods – to better protect the people of Myanmar.

    He also stressed the need for accountability, citing efforts at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hold Myanmar’s military leaders accountable for atrocities.

    © WFP/Eulalia Berlanga

    Displaced South Sudanese people arrive at a camp in Upper Nile State. (file)

    South Sudan: Leaders failing their own people

    The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan presented its latest report to the Human Rights Council earlier in Geneva, detailing widespread violations, including extrajudicial killings, forced recruitment of children and systematic sexual violence.

    Despite South Sudan winning independence over a decade ago and repeated commitments to peace during years of civil war, the Commission found that the same patterns of abuses persist, often implicating high-ranking officials.

    “It is unconscionable that so many years after its independence, political leaders continue their violent contestations across the country and are abjectly failing the people of South Sudan,” said Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission.

    Extreme ethnic violence

    The report described the situation in Tambura, where armed forces and militias inflicted extreme violence along ethnic lines in 2024, reigniting tensions from the 2021 conflict.

    Political elites at both local and national levels have actively fuelled this violence while remaining in power despite past crimes.

    The Commission also raised alarms over the “Green Book” law introduced in Warrap State in 2024, which authorizes extrajudicial executions for suspected cattle raiding and communal violence.

    Address corruption

    South Sudan’s leaders agreed in September 2024 to extend the transitional political arrangements by two years, citing funding constraints.

    The Commission’s report noted that the government generated $3.5 billion in revenue between September 2022 and August 2024, while essential institutions – such as courts, schools, and hospitals – remain underfunded and civil servants go unpaid.

    “Financing essential services and rule of law institutions requires an end to the corruption. The theft of national wealth robs citizens of justice, education, and healthcare,” said Commissioner Carlos Castresana Fernández.

    “Without addressing this systemic looting, no peace agreement will ever translate into meaningful change,” he added.

    The Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan is an independent body mandated by the UN Human Rights Council. First established in March 2016, it has been renewed annually since. Its three Commissioners are not UN staff, they are not paid for their work and serve in an independent capacity.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: First Responders – Waipoua River fire update #7

    Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

    The Waipoua River fire is now 91 hectares. We have been able to more accurately measure the perimeter, which now stands at 5.8 kms.
    Incident Controller Phil Larcombe said this morning, “we are hoping to further strengthen the fire containment lines and push back in on the fire area over the course of today.”
    96 firefighters, three aircraft and heavy machinery are keeping the fire contained.
    “The conditions today are favourable with light easterly winds, and the fire is being driven by fuel and the topography of the area. It is very dry here, and no rain is expected.
    “Whānau evacuated from their homes are not yet able to return but we are working hard to get them back as soon as it is safe.”
    Parts of Te Tai Tokerau Northland are in a prohibited fire zone from today until further notice. This means no outdoor fires can be lit and all fire permits are revoked. People should go to Checkitsalright.nz to check fire season in their area and for advice and guidance on lighting fires outside.
    “The fire at Waipoua River is a good example of how quickly a fire can get out of control, and the impacts it can have on the land and on people.”
    Unless there are significant changes during the day, the next update will be around 5 pm.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Are unions really shifting toward Conservatives? Here’s a closer look at their Ontario election endorsements

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Steven Tufts, Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, York University, Canada

    Ontario Premier Doug Ford has secured a third consecutive majority government for the Progressive Conservative Party.

    Despite attacks on public sector unions through laws deemed unconstitutional and extensive privatization plans, Ford managed to increase endorsements from labour unions during his campaign.

    Police and firefighter unions endorsed the Ontario PCs and Ford continued to build support in private sector unions. The Carpenters’ Regional Council, UNITE HERE! Local 75 representing hotel workers and some Unifor Local groups endorsed the party for the first time. Ford centred this union support in much of his media campaign material.

    Conservatives now claim we are in the middle of a “movement” of workers away from the New Democratic Party, which has historically been seen as the party of labour, toward both federal and provincial conservative parties.

    Former Conservative Party of Canada leader Erin O’Toole reached out to workers in the last federal election and current Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, continues to do so.

    However, the actual extent of union support for Ford must be put into context. There is no evidence to suggest a major political re-alignment of unions with conservative parties. At the same time, the ability of Ford’s brand of populism to engage with a strategic transactionalism in some unions is a serious challenge to labour movement solidarity.

    The truth behind union support

    While researchers have observed a shifting relationship between unions and the NDP, it varies greatly by sector and region. Although some affiliates endorsed Ford, the Ontario Federation of Labour, representing 54 unions, publicly supported the NDP.

    Local autonomy is part of a democratic labour movement, and many of the endorsements for Ford came from union locals, not the entirety of a union’s membership.

    Some unions have policies of not endorsing any party, while others allow endorsements by union locals of individual candidates. More importantly, even if unions decide to endorse a candidate or party, individual members vote for whoever they want. Union members continue to vote in complex and contradictory ways, and they can be swayed by populist politicians as much as any other voter.

    Right-wing populism presents a challenge to unions whose members are not isolated from populist politics. Ford’s brand of populism has proven effective in attracting and dividing organized labour, especially public versus private sector union members. He uses populist rhetoric to challenge public sector unions while making more moderate overatures to non-union and private sector workers.

    This pivoting populism has proven effective. Promises of a “buck-a-beer” and allowing liquor into corner stores appeals to workers while potentially reducing unionized jobs at LCBO outlets and government revenue for health care and education.

    Ford has also demonstrated the ability to shift his populist message when needed. He quickly positioned himself as a leading voice against tariffs proposed by United States President Donald Trump. He successfully engaged a nationalist economic populism defending workers, specifically in Ontario’s manufacturing sector.

    Despite being caught saying he was “100 per cent” happy with Trump’s victory, he pivoted to a message that muzzled, at least temporarily, the racist, anti-immigrant, anti-transgender and anti-climate change sentiments of Trumpian populism.

    Ford’s folksy rhetoric was flexible enough to maintain his appeal. Union leaders representing workers supportive of Ford, especially in the private sector, either felt pressure to reflect their members politics or were supportive themselves. As a result, some unions were more open to being transactional with the Ontario PCs than in the past.

    Transactional approach to politics

    In their recent book Shifting Gears, labour experts Stephanie Ross and Larry Savage document Unifor’s shift toward a more transactional approach when dealing with political parties. They argue the union abandoned its traditional party-union alliance with the NDP for more pragmatic relationships with those in power.

    Transactional politics are increasingly practised by many unions, and Ford has used it to his advantage. Private sector unions in the building trades and hospitality industries that endorsed Ford have secured millions in training funds from the government.

    For example, on Jan. 25, the Carpenter’s Regional Council announced it received $14 million from Ontario’s Skills Development Fund to train 1,500 workers. Less than a month later, the Ontario PCs announced it received the council’s endorsement.

    Ford’s transactional relationships with unions are not without growing pains. Several unions that supported the Ontario PCs in the 2022 election condemned Bill 28, which would have removed the right to strike for 55,000 educational workers. After thousands walked off the job in response, the government withdrew the bill.

    Here, we see a broader form of transactional politics in play. If Ford wanted to maintain even minimal union support, he had to recognize basic rights for unionized workers.

    The current levels of union support for the Ontario PCs may have an exaggerated significance. After all, the Conservatives only slightly increased their popular vote and lost three seats, dropping to 80 from 83. Similarly, the NDP remains the official opposition, but had their seat count and popular vote diminished, while the Liberals increased both.

    The future of labour

    Shifting union support for political parties can have an impact, as unions have people and resources that can be allocated to campaigns. But there are limits to the union support conservative parties can build.

    First, much of this support is driven by right-wing populism, which can fade over time. The traditional conservative business community can reinstate neoliberal policies that restricts unions and their power.

    Second, transactional politics that use taxpayer money are expensive for governments. After all, not every union can be awarded a new training centre.

    Perhaps the most significant implications are for the future of the labour movement itself. The politics between unions that collaborate with right-wing populists and those who are attacked by them remain divisive as labour leaders have publicly debated the issue. At what point will the fissures erupt and threaten overall solidarity?

    It may be time for the labour movement to go on the offensive against support for right-wing populists among their own memberships — the unions giving endorsements in exchange for resources and the bare minimum, in terms of union recognition.

    At this juncture, this will be a struggle. Union political education has always been a challenge, and it’s more difficult in the era of right-wing legacy and social media. Any attempt by central labour bodies, such as the Ontario Federation of Labour, to sanction or expel affiliates who support right-wing parties would have high political costs.

    But accommodating, rather than confronting, right-wing populist sentiments among workers and maintaining inter-union solidarity may eventually lead to the movement and political realignment conservatives are hoping for.

    Steven Tufts receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He also sits on the board of an organisation that has recevied past funding from the Ontario Skills Development Fund mentioned in the article.

    – ref. Are unions really shifting toward Conservatives? Here’s a closer look at their Ontario election endorsements – https://theconversation.com/are-unions-really-shifting-toward-conservatives-heres-a-closer-look-at-their-ontario-election-endorsements-250988

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Support Pours in for President Trump, VP Vance’s America First Strength

    US Senate News:

    Source: The White House
    Today, President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance made clear to the world that the United States will not be taken advantage of — a sentiment echoed by the cabinet and members of Congress from across the country.
    Secretary of State Marco Rubio: “Thank you @POTUS for standing up for America in a way that no President has ever had the courage to do before. Thank you for putting America First. America is with you!”
    Sen. Lindsey Graham: “I’ve never been more proud of President Trump for showing the American people — and the world — you don’t trifle with this man … He wanted to get a ceasefire. He wants to end the war and Zelenskyy felt like he needed to bait Trump in the Oval Office.”
    Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem: “I am so proud of our Commander-in-Chief. Thank you President @RealDonaldTrump and @VP for standing up for America. We will not tolerate the political games and disrespect of America. America is back.”
    Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: “Amen, Mr. President.”
    Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent: “Thank you, President Trump, for standing up for the American people and our nation on the global stage.”
    Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum: “Thank you @POTUS for standing strong for America while working to end the killing abroad.”
    Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins: “American leadership is back — in the Oval Office — and on the world stage. FEARLESS. BOLD. RELENTLESS. We will save America.”
    Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy: “Thank you @POTUS for standing up for the United States. The American people will not stand for disrespect of our President, Oval Office, or our generous taxpayers. Peace is only accomplished through strength and our allies need to understand that.”
    Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner: “President Trump is standing up for forgotten Americans, not endless foreign wars. Biden’s legacy — increased homelessness, record high interest rates, all-time highs to buy a house, and Americans footing the bill. That ended January 20th. The American people are behind @POTUS.”
    Sen. Jim Banks: “Thank you President Trump for standing up for America!”
    Sen. Marsha Blackburn: “Thank you President Trump and VP Vance or standing up for America.”
    Sen. Bill Hagerty: “The United States of America will no longer be taken for granted. The contrast between the last four years and now could not be more clear. Thank you, Mr. President.”
    Sen. Josh Hawley: “Remember: the U.S. Senate has repeatedly and for years voted BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars to Ukraine with no strings attached and with no true oversight. It’s time for some ACCOUNTABILITY.”
    Sen. Jim Justice: “Glad to have a @POTUS and @VP in charge that absolutely put America FIRST.”
    Sen. Mike Lee: “Thank you for standing up for OUR COUNTRY and putting America first, President Trump and Vice President Vance!”
    Sen. Bernie Moreno: “Finally we have a President who will speak the TRUTH and stand up against Washington’s endless wars. American taxpayers have been funding this war, it’s time to stop the killing and stop risking World War 3!”
    Sen. Markwayne Mullin: “Under this President— the greatest, freest, and most generous nation on Earth is putting America First. I’d encourage anyone who has a problem with that to reevaluate their priorities.”
    Sen. Rick Scott: “Thank you President Trump for standing up for America.”
    Sen. Eric Schmitt: “It’s about time we have leaders who say what the American people are really thinking and prioritize the core national interests of America. The American taxpayer is tapped out, and President Trump and VP Vance are spot on.”
    Sen. Tommy Tuberville: “Thank you Mr. President and Vice President Vance for putting America first”
    Majority Leader Steve Scalise: “President Trump is fighting for PEACE around the world and is putting America First as our best negotiator—he’s the only one to get Russia to the table to consider a serious and lasting peace agreement with Ukraine.”
    Chairwoman Lisa McClain: “President Trump inherited this war. He has said from the beginning he wants to bring peace. @POTUS is a strong leader, and I know his negotiations will bring a deal together.”
    Rep. Andy Biggs: “Gone are the days of foreign leaders walking all over us and snubbing their noses at America’s generosity. There’s a new President and Vice President in town. World leaders would be wise to humble themselves.”
    Rep. Tim Burchett: “Job well done by @realDonaldTrump and our VP @JDVance. Give respect to get respect.”
    Rep. Mike Collins: “Thank God we finally have a @POTUS who is willing to put America FIRST. Blessed are the peacemakers.”
    Rep. Eli Crane: “America First. Thank you, President Trump and Vice President Vance.”
    Rep. Dan Crenshaw: “If you are the leader of a country in a dire situation with no path to peace without American support, do not come into the Oval Office and argue with the President of the United States in public. Just a word of advice.”
    Rep. Andrew Clyde: “President Trump and Vice President Vance are standing up for the AMERICAN PEOPLE. Our great country will NOT be taken advantage of or disrespected.”
    Rep. Byron Donalds: “This is what putting the AMERICAN PEOPLE FIRST looks like. Thank you @realdonaldtrump and @JDVance for standing up for our nation.”
    Rep. Brandon Gill: “America First in action. Thank you, @realdonaldtrump and @JDVance, for prioritizing our people and for promoting peace!”
    Rep. Lance Gooden: “President @realdonaldtrump and Vice President @JDVance will never allow the United States to be disrespected or taken advantage of. America First, always!”
    Rep. Paul Gosar: “Thank you, Mr. President and Vice President. The days of the USA getting pushed around are clearly over.”
    Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: “President Trump and Vice President Vance will put America First every single time. Putting Zelensky in his place while he disrespects the U.S. in the Oval Office is exactly what American leadership should look like. This is what We The People want to see!”
    Rep. Pat Harrigan: “America’s priorities come first. @POTUS and @VP made it clear—Ukraine’s interests are not America’s interests. We’ve spent hundreds of billions with no accountability, no clear objectives, and no plan for peace. It’s time to put America first and end this war.”
    Rep. Mark Harris: “Thank you, President Trump and Vice President Vance, for boldly defending America’s interests. This is PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH”
    Rep. Diana Harshbarger: “The act displayed by Zelenskyy in the Oval Office was nothing short of a massive show of disrespect for the Trump Administration and the American people. Despite this, President Trump and Vice President Vance are holding the line and trying to end this conflict peacefully. God bless them both.”
    Rep. Wesley Hunt: “You do NOT blame the people fighting to save your country! America leads—no more excuses!”
    Rep. Nancy Mace: “Peace through strength live from the Oval”
    Rep. Thomas Massie: “Is this the end of Zelensky’s presidency? He hitched his wagon to Biden and the deep state. They lost and now he doesn’t seem to be playing his cards well.”
    Rep. Brian Mast: “American won’t be taken advantage of and America won’t be taken for granted. Thank you, President Trump and Vice President Vance for standing up for America.”
    Rep. Addison McDowell: “AMERICA AND THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER ALWAYS COME FIRST”
    Rep. Mary Miller: “What has happened in Ukraine is a travesty. Joe Biden threw “gas on the fire.” Ukraine lost an entire generation, and Americans hundreds of billions in tax dollars. We thank God for giving us strong leadership. Thank you @POTUS and @VP for putting America’s interests first, and working to end this terrible war.”
    Rep. Riley Moore: “It is amazing to have a President and VP who put America First! Thank you President Trump and VP Vance for fighting for our country and our people!”
    Rep. Troy Nehls: “President Trump and Vice President Vance are standing up for the American people. This is America First leadership on display. Thank you POTUS and VP!”
    Rep. Ralph Norman: “THIS is strong leadership that is ensuring we put the American people FIRST. Thank you @realDonaldTrump and @JDVance for standing up for our nation.”
    Rep. Andy Ogles: “This is what it looks like to stand up for America.”
    Rep. Mike Rulli: “You don’t have the cards!”
    Rep. Keith Self: “TOUGH and FAIR. The world is witnessing American leadership back in the White House. Thank you President Trump and Vice President Vance.”
    Rep. Victoria Spartz: “Zelensky is doing a serious disservice to the Ukrainian people insulting the American President and the American people – just to appease Europeans and increase his low polling in Ukraine after he failed miserably to defend his country. This is not a theater act but a real war!”
    Rep. Greg Steube: “Ridiculous grandstanding by Zelensky in the Oval Office. The United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars to defend Ukraine. And this is the thanks the American people get?  It’s time to end this war.”
    Rep. Marlin Stutzman: “TRUMP IS THE GREATEST NEGOTIATOR AMERICA HAS EVER HAD! AMERICA IS BEING MADE GREAT BEFORE OUR VERY EYES!”
    Rep. Andy Weber: “America FIRST. Strong, unapologetic leadership on the world stage is BACK!”
    Rep. Joe Wilson: “I agree with President Trump that Ukrainian soldiers have been unbelievably brave! Critical Minerals Deal a major step forward toward ending the war responsibly. More sanctions on Russia & arms for Ukraine create maximum leverage for FULL land swap Art of the Deal!”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Collingwood Corner — Cumberland County District RCMP appeals for information as investigation continues

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Cumberland County District RCMP is appealing to the public for information in regards to a snowmobile crash as it continues its investigation.

    On February 21, at approximately 10:20 p.m., RCMP, fire services and EHS responded to a report of a snowmobile crash on Wyvern Rd: RCMP investigates fatality following snowmobile crash | Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

    The investigation into all aspects of the incident is continuing, and investigators are appealing to the public for information pertaining to the hours leading up to, and including, the time of the snowmobile crash.

    Anyone with information who has not yet spoken with police is asked to contact Cumberland County District RCMP at 902-667-3859. To remain anonymous, call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or use the P3 Tips app.

    Our thoughts continue to be with the victim’s loved ones at this difficult time.

    File #: 2025-234808

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office announces 4 defendants charged with violating immigration crimes

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio announced today new immigration charges in four cases in the District.

    Task force agents arrested Alberto Caiceros-Cruz, 40, after observing him leave his residence in Columbus and drive a vehicle with no registration displayed. Caiceros-Cruz is a Mexican national and was most recently removed from the United States in 2022.

    On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Columbus indicted an El Salvadoran national with illegally reentering the United States after being convicted of sex offenses and a Honduran national with illegally possessing firearms.

    Carlos Gonzales-Hernandez, 55, was detained in January 2025 following a traffic stop in Madison County. He was then transferred into ICE custody. The defendant had been removed from the United States following a local prison sentence for sex offenses. Gonzales-Hernandez was previously convicted in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas of three counts of gross sexual imposition and received a prison sentence of six years.

    Elmer Edison Rodriguez-Guzman, 46, was in a vehicle that was stopped in Cambridge, Ohio, in July 2024 due to no taillights. Law enforcement officials discovered items including a handgun, a double-barrel shotgun and ammunition. Rodriguez-Guzman was arrested in Guernsey County and then transferred into federal custody.

    On Thursday, a federal grand jury in Columbus indicted Pedro Marquez, 34, who is also known as Peter Marquez, Pedro Ravas Rivas, Alex Rivas Vasquez and Alex Vasquez Rivas. In 2011, Marquez was convicted of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy and illegally reentering the United States and was sentenced to federal prison. Marquez had conspired with others in the Eastern District of Oklahoma to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Marquez transported, delivered and distributed the drugs on behalf of the conspiracy. He was removed from the United States again in 2016 following his term of imprisonment. Law enforcement found and arrested Marquez in Bloomingburg, Ohio, on Feb. 13.

    Illegally reentering the United States is a federal crime punishable by up to two years in prison. If the offender has a prior felony conviction (or multiple prior misdemeanor convictions of certain types), the penalty is increased to 10 years in prison, and if the offender has been previously convicted of an aggravated felony, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.

    Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and Robert Lynch, Field Office Director, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office; announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Tyler J. Aagard, Sheila G. Lafferty and David J. Twombly are representing the United States in these cases.

    Indictments and criminal complaints merely contain allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

    These cases are being prosecuted as part of the Southern District of Ohio Immigration Enforcement Task Force, which dedicates agents, attorneys and other staff to investigating and prosecuting immigration violations.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Elon Musk is firing thousands of workers – why this could be the biggest jobs cut in US history

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Thomas Gift, Associate Professor and Director of the Centre on US Politics, UCL

    Elon Musk is wielding a chainsaw against US government departments, potentially culling tens of thousands of jobs, as part of a huge plan to shrink the government and slash federal spending.

    This large-scale purge of public servants, coordinated through Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), may end up creating one of the biggest employment cuts in US history. Tech company IBM laid off 60,000 people in 1993, and about 25,000 workers (some outside the US) lost their jobs when Lehman Brothers bank went bust in 2008, but this swathe of job losses could outstrip them both, with numbers predicted to hit around 300,000.

    On Friday February 21, Musk sent a “productivity email” to all federal employees demanding that they summarise the work they’d done in the past week. President Donald Trump hailed Musk’s ultimatum as “ingenious” and echoed that failure to comply would mean that employees would be “semi-fired or fired”.

    By the Monday, chaos reigned in Washington. The bedlam left career civil servants unsure of how, or even whether, to reply, marking the latest flashpoint in a tumultuous last month created by Doge and aimed at trimming the federal workforce. Adding insult to injury, Musk later admitted the email was a ruse to test whether federal workers “had a pulse”. A follow-up email is rumoured to be coming this weekend.

    On X, Musk doubled down, posting an image of the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants looking at a “Got Done Last Week” list that included: “Cried about Trump, Cried about Elon, Cried about Trump and Elon some more.” Days earlier, at the annual gathering of the US right wing, the Conservative Political Action Conference, Musk brandished a chainsaw and screamed “Chainsaw!” to show the uproarious Maga crowd how he intended to eviscerate the federal bureaucracy.

    Political payback?

    Doge’s proposed job cuts are vast and deep. So far, much of Musk’s ire has been directed at the US Agency for International Development (USAid), where 4,700 employees have already been put on leave – with 1,600 of those positions terminated.

    It’s perhaps no surprise that Doge started with this soft target. Although the US spends only about 1% of federal money on development aid, polls consistently show that Americans, especially Republicans, think Washington overspends on foreign assistance.

    The cuts also come amid rising speculation that these firings could be part of a political retaliation by the White House. Influential adviser Stephen Miller claimed, without showing evidence, that 98% of workers at USAid “either donated to Kamala Harris or another leftwing candidate”.

    The Trump administration has also forced out dozens of officials across the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency charged with investigating attempts at foreign interference in US elections.

    Yet it’s not just these institutions where federal jobs are under threat. From the Department of Education to the National Parks Service, Musk is revving up his chainsaw.

    Even the Pentagon, traditionally a “third rail” for Republican presidents when it comes to spending reductions, is feeling the squeeze. The US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, has promised to slash military spending by 8% over the next five years from its US$850 billion (£674 billion) annual budget. While US service members in uniform are currently exempt from job losses, many expect civilian workers, especially those in their probationary period, to be shown the door soon.

    There are many thousands of federal jobs across the US.

    Washington DC, which voted for former vice-president Harris over Trump by a margin of 92.5% to 6.6%, is home to the largest number of government jobs: about 2.2 million civilians. However, federal workers are spread across the US. That includes red states where Trump won in 2024. For example, there are more than 129,000 federal jobs in Texas, more than 94,000 in Florida, and more than 79,000 in Georgia.

    For Trump, this complicates the Doge agenda to make a dent in America’s US$36 trillion (£28.6 trillion) debt through mass job terminations. While many Maga supporters cheered campaign pledges to eliminate government “waste, fraud and abuse”, many now confront the stark reality of job losses in their communities (or even their own jobs).

    Trump has promised to get spending by the national government under control, but without addressing reform of essential services – such as Medicare and social security – it’s unclear how he can achieve this goal.

    Backlash and legal battles

    Public opinion towards Musk breaks sharply along partisan lines. According to recent polling by YouGov, 42% of Americans have a positive view of Musk (52% unfavourable), including 79% of Republicans but just 10% of Democrats. The same percentage, 42%, think favourably of Doge, with similar partisan divides. But the number of Americans who rate Musk positively has been dropping in the past few weeks, although he is seen as increasingly influential.

    Contributing to negativity, Musk’s rollout of Doge to oversee cuts to the federal labour force hasn’t come without major flubs. For example, he recently fired (before un-firing) workers at the National Nuclear Security Administration, tasked with overseeing the country’s nuclear weapons stockpiles.

    Even some Trump loyalists are pushing back. After Musk’s “document work or resign” email was blasted to the FBI, newly minted director Kash Patel sent his own message telling employees not to respond, declaring: “The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes.”

    On X, Harvard political scientist Maya Sen called the reaction “probably a good development for the rule of law”, adding: “Musk got a head start but separate & distinct interests of new political appointees over their own workforces will clash more and more w/Musk.”

    The Trump administration now faces mounting legal challenges to Doge’s agenda. An amended lawsuit filed by a cadre of unions, including the nation’s largest federation of unions, AFL-CIO, alleged that mass firings of probationary workers is illegal, and that only federal agencies have control over human resources decisions.

    Beyond legal chokepoints, Musk confronts increasing scepticism – even within Doge itself. On Tuesday February 25, 21 employees from Doge resigned, saying they would not use their professional skills to “dismantle critical public services”.

    Even among some Republican lawmakers, there’s worry about the breakneck speed of firings. Republican representative Jeff Van Drew, for example, said that “we have to be really careful that we’re cutting things that don’t hurt everyday people”. Some have criticised Musk’s flippant attitude toward longstanding public servants. Others think Musk is taking a hatchet to a problem that requires a scalpel.

    Whether a hatchet, a scalpel or a chainsaw, Musk’s slash-and-burn approach carries risks. By the 2026 midterms (when 35 of the 100 Senate seats will be up for election), the picture of Musk gleefully slicing government jobs could be less a symbol of efficiency, more a symbol of Trump-era hubris.

    Thomas Gift does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Elon Musk is firing thousands of workers – why this could be the biggest jobs cut in US history – https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-is-firing-thousands-of-workers-why-this-could-be-the-biggest-jobs-cut-in-us-history-250854

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Disaster Recovery Center Opens in Perry County

    Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency 2

    RANKFORT, Ky — A Disaster Recovery Center will open in Perry County today, Feb. 28, in areas affected by the February floods. 
    Disaster Recovery Centers, operated by the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management and FEMA, offer in-person support to survivors in declared counties as the result of severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides and mudslides from Feb. 14, 2025, and continuing.   
    PERRY COUNTY
    Hazard Community College, 1 Old Community College Dr, Hazard, Ky 41701
    Disaster Recovery Centers operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday and 1 – 7 p.m. on Sundays, unless otherwise noted. 
    FEMA representatives can explain available assistance programs, how to apply to FEMA, and help connect 
    survivors with resources for their recovery needs. The deadline to apply for federal assistance is April 25, 2025.
    Other centers are open in the following locations:
    PIKE COUNTY
    Pike Public Library, 126 Lee Ave, Pikeville, Ky 41501
    Belfry Public Library, 24371 US-119 North, Belfry, Ky 41514
    Additional Disaster Recovery Centers will open across the Commonwealth disaster area in the coming days. 
    In addition to FEMA personnel, representatives from the Kentucky Office of Unemployment Insurance, the Kentucky Department of Insurance and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will be available at the recovery centers to assist survivors.
    You do not need to visit a center to apply with FEMA.
    If you are unable to visit the center, there are other ways to apply: you can apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-3362, or by using the FEMA mobile app. If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA the number for that service.
    When you apply, you will need to provide:

    A current phone number where you can be contacted.
    Your address at the time of the disaster and the address where you are now staying.
    Your Social Security Number.
    A general list of damage and losses.
    Banking information if you choose direct deposit.
    If insured, the policy number or the agent and/or the company name.

    For an accessible video on how to apply for FEMA assistance, go to youtube.com/watch?v=WZGpWI2RCNw.
    For more information about Kentucky flooding recovery, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4860. Follow the FEMA Region 4 X account at x.com/femaregion4.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI NGOs: Israel/OPT: Civilian hostages and Palestinian detainees must not be treated as ‘political pawns’

    Source: Amnesty International –

    Negotiations over the second phase of the ceasefire set to begin

    Release of civilian hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians must be immediate and not hinge on ceasefire negotiations

    ‘The release of both civilian hostages and Palestinians arbitrarily detained – especially those held without charges or trial – should not be a matter of negotiation; it is a matter of international law’ – Erika Guevara Rosas

    Responding to the first phase of the hostage-prisoner swap deal drawing to a close, Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, said:

    “Israeli and foreign hostages and Palestinian detainees must not be treated as political pawns in a despicable power struggle over the next phase of the ceasefire deal. Only a durable ceasefire, including unhindered humanitarian assistance for Gaza, will end suffering for all.

    “The release of both civilian hostages and Palestinians arbitrarily detained – especially those held without charges or trial – should not be a matter of negotiation; it is a matter of international law. Hostage taking is a war crime. There can be no justification for abducting anyone to use as a hostage, nor for the prolonged, arbitrary detention of individuals to serve as bargaining chips.

    “Outrages to personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, are prohibited by international humanitarian law. Yet we have witnessed hostages being paraded in public as trophies of war or coerced to participate in propaganda videos. Hamas and other armed groups must immediately put an end to these degrading spectacles and ensure all hostages and human remains are treated with respect and dignity.

    “Continuing to arbitrarily hold thousands of Palestinians without any legal grounds is cruel, unjustified and blatantly unlawful. Israeli authorities must stop using arbitrary detention and refrain from holding the bodies of deceased Palestinians as bargaining chips. Until the detainees are released, Israel must allow international monitors access to detention facilities. All individuals in custody must be protected from torture and provided with adequate food, water and medical treatment, as well as access to their families and lawyers.

    “Israel and Hamas must release all unlawfully held individuals – immediately – regardless of the outcome of political negotiations over phase two of the ceasefire.”

    Civilian hostages

    At least 250 individuals, alive and dead, were taken hostage in southern Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023. An Israeli forensic examination of the bodies of at least six deceased hostages retrieved in August 2024 indicates they were shot dead at close range shortly before their retrieval suggesting they were killed by their captors.

    At least 59 hostages, the vast majority of them Israelis, remain in captivity in Gaza, of whom at least 24 are believed to be alive. Hamas has also withheld the bodies of two Israeli soldiers since 2014. One of those bodies was recovered by Israeli forces during a military operation in January 2025.

    Israeli media reports indicate some released hostages described being held in tunnels while in chains, deprived of food and with very limited exposure to daylight. They also reported being subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.

    Hamas has publicly paraded hostages and forced them to participate in humiliating public handover ceremonies in front of crowds. In one incident, the coffins of deceased Israeli hostages, including two children, were displayed publicly in front of a poster depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire. 

    Palestinian detainees

    Over 4,000 Palestinians are held without charge or trial either under administrative detention or based on the Unlawful Combatants’ Law, which violates international law. 

    The release of Palestinian detainees and Israeli hostages in recent weeks has raised grave concerns over inhumane treatment in custody and dire conditions of detention for both hostages in Gaza and detainees in Israel.

    Palestinian detainees released during the ceasefire deal have also emerged from detention looking gaunt and bearing signs of torture and other ill-treatment. Amnesty has previously documented how detainees have been subjected to enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention and widespread torture in custody including through beatings, starvation and other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment. At least 60 Palestinian detainees have died while in Israeli custody since 7 October 2023.

    Israeli authorities also forced Palestinians to undergo degrading and humiliating treatment during their release, including forcing them to wear shirts with a Star of David logo and the slogan “we will not forget or forgive”.

    In one case in September 2024, Israeli forces also sent containers including the remains of at least 88 unidentified Palestinians to Gaza, who were then buried in a mass grave. The bodies of at least 600 Palestinians continue to be held by Israeli forces as bargaining chips under a long-standing illegal Israeli practice that predates October 2023.

    MIL OSI NGO –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Delhi: how weather patterns and faraway mountains made this the world’s most polluted megacity

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ankit Bhandekar, Research Student — Atmosphere, Oceans and Climate, University of Reading

    Delhi is perhaps the most polluted of the world’s megacities. Every winter, the city’s 30 million residents breathe air so toxic that visibility drops to mere metres. If you stand on top of one of Delhi’s monuments you can barely make out buildings across the street as the thick, acrid smog burns your eyes and scratches your throat.

    But conditions can and do change rapidly. January 2025 offered a dramatic demonstration of how weather patterns can rapidly transform the city’s air quality.

    On January 5, favourable winds improved air quality enough to lift some restrictions. Yet by January 15, as winds calmed and temperatures dropped, pollution levels soared dramatically, forcing the city to implement its maximum “severe +” interventions. These include banning trucks from entering the city, restricting private vehicles and moving schools to online classes.

    Delhi didn’t suddenly have more cars, factories, power plants or construction sites from one week to the next. Those things are consistent sources of pollution. There are some events that add to air pollution in the shorter term, such as fireworks during Diwali, or the mass burning of unwanted crop debris (known as stubble), both of which take place in October or November.

    But that wasn’t what happened in January. Instead, the sudden reversal revealed how weather, not just emissions, dictates Delhi’s ability to breathe. Understanding this will be crucial if the city is to clean up its air.

    A meteorological prison

    Delhi is one of many large cities found in a flat and hugely fertile region spanning the Indian subcontinent to the south of the Himalayas. It’s known as the Indo-Gangetic plains, as it contains the floodplains of the Indus and Ganges-Brahmaputra rivers and their tributaries. More than a billion people live in this part of the world.

    Delhi specifically is also bordered by another mountain range to its south, the Aravallis. While modest compared to the Himalayas, these mountains contribute to the city sitting in a natural bowl-like area, which makes it harder for pollution to disperse.

    This geographical positioning means its location naturally collects airborne pollutants from surrounding agricultural areas. Even if Delhi somehow produced zero emissions, the region would still be likely to experience air quality problems during winter.

    In winter, Delhi experiences “temperature inversions” where warmer air sits above colder air like a lid on a pot. This phenomenon occurs naturally in the region but is intensified by the city’s heat-trapping urban landscape. Normally, temperature decreases with height, allowing air to mix vertically, since warm air rises. Under inversion conditions, this pattern reverses and pollutants are trapped near the ground.

    The height up to which pollutants can disperse, known as the “mixing height”, also dramatically reduces in winter. While summer allows mixing up to an altitude of about one kilometre, winter can compress this to just a few hundred meters, concentrating pollutants in a much smaller volume of air.

    Meanwhile the Himalayas block air from flowing northward, forcing pollution to travel the entire stretch of northern India before finding an exit over the Bay of Bengal. In cities, urban structures further complicate this by creating “surface roughness”, a frictional effect that slows pollution dispersion.

    Seasonal factors

    There are also seasonal factors that make pollution accumulate or disperse more at certain times of year.

    Satellite map showing smoky skies over northern India in November 2022 (Delhi is the small unlabelled region between Haryana and Uttar Pradesh). The red images show fires started by farmers to clear away unwanted crop residue. This ‘stubble burning’ is a big source of pollution downwind in Delhi.
    Nasa

    Delhi’s summer monsoon season runs from July to September, providing natural cleansing through rainfall. During post-monsoon months (October-November), rainfall is minimal. At the same time, wind speeds decrease, limiting ventilation. These conditions compress the atmospheric boundary layer — the lowest part of atmosphere influenced by Earth’s surface — trapping pollutants near ground level.

    Throughout winter (December-February), cooler surface temperatures intensify temperature inversions. This creates lots of fog, which combines with pollutants in the atmosphere to form Delhi’s characteristic smog. The reduced mixing height during this period severely restricts vertical dispersal of pollutants.

    In pre-monsoon months (March-May), strong westerly winds can blow additional dust from the Thar Desert and agricultural regions toward Delhi. However, higher temperatures increase vertical mixing, improving overall dispersion despite this additional dust.

    Season-specific approach

    India’s technological interventions, including smog towers and anti-smog guns,have shown limited effectiveness in addressing the causes of pollution. Even more ambitious proposals such as using cloud seeding to induce precipitation aren’t very practical. Cloud seeding is expensive, can only cover a limited area, and needs very specific meteorological conditions.

    An anti-smog gun in Delhi sprays water to suppress dust and reduce air pollution.
    PradeepGaurs / shutterstock

    To manage its air quality, Delhi needs a season-specific approach that anticipates weather patterns and pulses in emissions. Getting ahead of the smog could involve a few different things.

    Preventive planning would mean implementing stricter emission controls before the cold, still winter days when fog is likely, rather than reacting after pollution has already accumulated.

    It would involve solutions that span the whole of the Indo-Gangetic plains, rather than focusing just on Delhi (or indeed any other individual urban centre). After all, many of India’s most polluted cities share the same weather conditions, and the long-range transport of pollution can play a huge role.

    A season-specific approach would mean some fixed seasonal policies would instead adapt to forecast meteorological conditions. For instance, construction restrictions (building dust is a big source of air pollution) might be tightened when inversions are predicted, even on seemingly clear days.

    Finally, by combining meteorological and air quality monitoring, authorities could provide targeted warnings and interventions days before visible pollution accumulates.

    Understanding these natural constraints isn’t just an academic exercise – it’s essential for developing effective policies that can protect millions of residents year-round. As climate change potentially alters these meteorological patterns, the need for scientifically informed policy becomes even more critical.

    Ankit Bhandekar receives funding from Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

    Laura Wilcox receives funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Norwegian Research Council, and Horizon Europe.

    – ref. Delhi: how weather patterns and faraway mountains made this the world’s most polluted megacity – https://theconversation.com/delhi-how-weather-patterns-and-faraway-mountains-made-this-the-worlds-most-polluted-megacity-249894

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Continuing Defense of Georgia Consumers, Senator Reverend Warnock Questions Nominee to Lead CFPB

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock – Georgia

    Continuing Defense of Georgia Consumers, Senator Reverend Warnock Questions Nominee to Lead CFPB

    Senator Reverend Warnock questioned Jonathan McKernan, the Trump Administration’s nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

    In partnership with Senator Reverend Warnock, the CFPB addressed 266,560 complaints from Georgians, including 20,168 from servicemembers in the state

    The hearing followed the recent news of the dissolution of CFPB, one of multiple federal agencies gutted by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

    Senator Reverend Warnock is a member of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, which he chaired last Congress, and which oversees the CFPB

    Senator Reverend Warnock during the hearing: “You’ve [Jonathan McKernan] raised your hand to run the agency. I think you ought to know whether you think it’s a good thing to get rid of”

    Watch Senator Reverend Warnock at Thursday’s hearing HERE

    Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), a member and former chair of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, which oversees the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), questioned Jonathan McKernan and William Pulte, the Trump Administration’s nominees to lead the CFPB and the Federal Housing Finance Agency, respectively.

    Last Congress, Senator Warnock worked extensively with the CFPB to return funds and protect Georgians from future financial hardship, helping to address 266,560 complaints from Georgians, including 20,168 from servicemembers in the state. Additionally, Senator Warnock spearheaded several efforts to return dollars to hardworking Americans, including: remove medical debt from credit reports, rule ending an overdraft loophole, highlighting harmful practices in the private student lending market, safeguard Americans from ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ debts, and much more.

    During Senator Warnock’s line of questioning for Mr. McKernan, he highlighted the recent news of the dissolution of CFPB, one of many federal agencies gutted by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and if Mr. McKernan shared President Trump’s disturbing view that the agency is “a very important thing to get rid of.”

    “President Trump has said the CFPB is, quote, ‘A very important thing to get rid of.’ Yes or no. Do you agree with the President on that point?” asked Senator Warnock.

    “Senator, I think our elected officials decide normative questions like that,” said Mr. McKernan.

    “You’ve raised your hand to run the agency. I think you ought to know whether you think it’s a good thing to get rid of,” said Senator Warnock.

    The nomination hearing followed a special hearing earlier in the week that was organized by Ranking Member of the Banking Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and aimed to highlight the repercussions of dismantling the CFPB.

    Watch the Senator’s full remarks and line of questioning HERE. 

    See below transcript of the key exchange between Senator Warnock and CFPB Director nominee Jonathan McKernan:

    Senator Reverend Warnock (SRW): “Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – the CFPB – in the wake of the financial crisis, during which Americans saw Wall Street bankers get bailed out, while millions of working folks lost their jobs, their homes, their retirements, their life savings. That’s the situation out of which the CFPB emerged.” 

    “Mr. McKernan, thank you. I enjoyed our meeting yesterday. Good to meet you. And I want to follow up on our discussion about the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the CFPB, the agency you’ve been nominated to run. President Trump has said the CFPB is, quote, ‘A very important thing to get rid of.’ Yes or no. Do you agree with the President on that point?”

    Jonathan McKernan (JM): “Senator as I’ve said, the CFPB is a product of statute. That is a question for our elected official. It’s…”

    SRW: “Yes or no question, do you agree that it’s a very good thing to get rid of?”

    JM: “Senator, I think our elected officials decide normative questions like that.” 

    SRW: “You’ve raised your hand to run the agency. I think you ought to know whether you think it’s a good thing to get rid of.”

    JM: “Well, I will say this. I certainly think that consumer protection is a very good thing, it’s a critical thing. A federal consumer protection role is a very important thing. That’s a lesson I learned from my experience in the 2008 financial crisis. We need to have a regulatory system that works for everyday Americans, and that includes consumer protection.” 

    SRW: “I’ll take that as you agree with the President, that we don’t necessarily need the CFPB. We need consumer protection, but not the CFPB. Is that your answer?”

    JM: “We need, we need to have a strong consumer protection function.”

    SRW: “President Trump and Elon Musk have basically gotten rid of the CFPB, which is why the question is so urgent, and the bureau has seen dozens of key employees fired. They’ve been told not to engage in its core supervisory or examination duties required by the law, and has even had its physical headquarters closed and locked.”

    “I think that’s a pretty clear message. If someone closes down the office that you’ve been nominated to run.”

    “With the CFPB effectively eliminated. How on earth do you plan to lead a shell agency that’s been completely gutted?”

    JM: “Senator, I’m not aware of the situation both this the staffing and resources at the CFPB. Well, what I will point to is just what the administration has said in its filings, and some of the litigation ongoing here, and they have said that we are going to have a CFPB that is streamlined and efficient. And quoting, I think, from the brief here, it says, ‘A predicate of that is there will be a CFPB’ again, though this is a question for our elected officials, my job is to follow the law and execute on my mandate.”

    SRW: “In the last three months alone, the CFPB has received more than 80,000 complaints from Georgians, with the Bureau currently seeking resolution to more than 40,000 of those complaints with the CFPB shuttered by President Trump and Elon Musk, what’s your plan to ensure that the bureau resolves those 40,000 pending complaints from my constituents in Georgia?”

    JM: “Senator like I said, the consumer complaint function is a statutorily required function that’s in 1021c and so my mandate, if I’m confirmed, is to fulfill faithfully, fully that statutory mandate.”

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Fatal traffic accident in Tseung Kwan O

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident happened in Tseung Kwan O yesterday afternoon (February 28), in which a man died.

         At 6.10pm, a medium goods vehicle (MGV) driven by a 58-year-old man, a motorcycle driven by a 50-year-old man and a bus driven by a 62-year-old man were travelling along Wan Po Road southbound. When approaching the junction of Wan Po Road and Chun Yat Street, the MGV driver and the motorcyclist slowed down and stopped their vehicles due to traffic condition. The bus suspectedly failed to brake in time and rammed into the motorcycle.

         The motorcyclist was trapped between the MGV and the bus and rescued by firemen. Sustaining serious head injury, the motorcyclist was rushed to Tseung Kwan O Hospital in unconscious state and was certified dead at 8.52pm.

         The bus driver was sent to Tseung Kwan O Hospital in conscious state. He was then arrested for dangerous driving causing death and is being detained for enquiries.

         Investigation by the Special Investigation Team 1 of Traffic, Kowloon East is under way.

         Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information to offer is urged to contact the investigating officers on 3661 0264.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: California Department of Justice Releases Report on Officer-Involved Shooting of Victor Marquez

    Source: US State of California

    Friday, February 28, 2025

    Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

    OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta, pursuant to Assembly Bill 1506 (AB 1506), today released a report on Victor Marquez’s death from an officer-involved shooting in an unincorporated area of Tulare County, near Exeter, California, on December 17, 2022. The incident involved officers from the Woodlake Police Department (WPD). The report is part of the California Department of Justice’s (DOJ) ongoing efforts to provide transparency and accountability in law enforcement practices. The report provides a detailed analysis of the incident and outlines DOJ’s findings. After a thorough investigation, DOJ concluded that criminal charges were not appropriate in this case. 
     
    “We recognize the considerable challenges and difficulties faced by all those impacted, including Mr. Marquez’s family, the law enforcement agencies involved, and the community as a whole,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The California Department of Justice aims to partner with law enforcement to build a just and equitable legal environment, ensuring that the rule of law is upheld, and justice is accessible to everyone.”
     
    On December 17, 2022, at approximately 10:50 AM, WPD police officers heard over radio dispatch that the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office was trying to locate a domestic violence suspect, later identified as Mr. Marquez, who was armed with a nine-millimeter firearm. At approximately 11:30 AM, a WPD officer located Mr. Marquez’s vehicle, a high-speed pursuit of Mr. Marquez ensued, and other law enforcement officers joined the pursuit. The pursuit ended when Mr. Marquez’s vehicle collided with two other vehicles and came to a stop. Officers approached Mr. Marquez’s vehicle while issuing commands, such as, “Show me your hands,” and “Don’t do this!” The officers would later describe Mr. Marquez as holding what they believed to be a firearm in a small black bag and raising it at officers. At which point two WPD officers discharged their duty weapons and Mr. Marquez was fatally shot. After the shooting, the officers discovered that Mr. Marquez’s right hand, which was hidden inside the small black bag, was not holding a firearm, and that there were no firearms in the vehicle. 
     
    Under AB 1506, which requires DOJ to investigate all incidents of officer-involved shootings resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian in the state, DOJ conducted a thorough investigation into this incident and concluded that there is insufficient evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officers did not act in lawful defense of themselves or others. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution of the officers. As such, no further action will be taken in this case. 
     
    As part of its investigation, DOJ has identified five policy recommendations related to this incident. The first recommendation is that WPD revise its policy on body-worn camera footage, to state that the officer “shall” activate their body worn cameras, rather than state that officers “should” activate them. Currently, WPD policy states that officers “should” activate the camera in specified situations. 
     
    The second recommendation is that WPD consider installing digital in-car video systems in its patrol units. In-car video systems work to enhance accountability and transparency to establish a higher level of trust between law enforcement officers and their community. In-car video systems ensure officers are always recording when needed.
     
    The third recommendation is that WPD ensure that its officers are equipped with a variety of less lethal options, in addition to TASERS, such as 40mm launchers and pepper spray. If WPD has already issued these less lethal weapons to its officers, DOJ recommends that WPD amend its policies to require that officers have these less lethal options with them while on patrol.
     
    The fourth recommendation is that WPD amend its vehicle pursuit policy, to simplify the criteria for determining when to engage in and terminate a vehicle pursuit. “If police departments eliminate the factor-based cognitive analysis requiring patrol officers to decide whether to initiate or sustain a pursuit and, instead, implement simple clear-cut rules of engagement for police vehicle pursuits, this may eliminate many dangerous high-speed chases and some high-speed crashes.”
     
    The fifth recommendation is that WPD amend its current policy on de-escalation to make the language clear. Government Code section 7286, subdivision (b)(1), requires that each law enforcement agency maintain a policy that includes a requirement that officers utilize de-escalation techniques, crisis intervention tactics, and other alternatives to force, when feasible. WPD should further review its other processes, procedures, and training related to de-escalation to ensure those too are consistent with existing law.
     
    A copy of the report can be found here.
     

    # # #

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Recruitment of seasonal firefighters and crackdown – E-002751/2024(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    Acknowledging the important role of firefighters and civil protection services, the Commission respectfully notes that EU law does not require making all seasonal firefighters permanent.

    In particular, the requirement to prevent abuse of fixed-term contracts under the framework Agreement on fixed-term work[1] applies only to ‘successive’ contracts. A contract initiated after a significant lapse of time is not considered successive[2]. Consequently, the employment relationships of seasonal firefighters do not count as abusive.

    The report on Strengthening Europe’s civilian and military preparedness by former Finnish President Niinistö, Special Adviser to the President of the Commission, tackles the topic of comprehensive preparedness, building on a whole-of-government, whole-of-society and all-hazards approach, including also climate-related disasters such as wildfires.

    Noting that prevention and preparedness help mitigating the effects of natural disasters, the report emphasises the key role of firefighters and civil protection services.

    The EU has a supporting competence in civil protection, complementing national prevention and preparedness efforts where a joint approach is more effective than separate actions, and encouraging cooperation under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism[3] to improve the effectiveness of prevention, preparedness, and response efforts against disasters. The functioning and deployment of firefighting services remain the competence of Member States.

    Concerning the clashes between seasonal firefighters and police, the Commission deplores violence but cannot comment on the specific incident.

    It recalls the importance of freedom of peaceful assembly, as guaranteed under the Greek Constitution.

    • [1] Annexed to Council Directive 1999/70/EC of 28 June 1999 concerning the framework agreement on fixed-term work concluded by ETUC, UNICE and CEEP (OJ L 175, 10.7.1999, p. 43 ), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/1999/70/oj/eng
    • [2] Case C-362/13, Fiamingo, par. 71.
    • [3] https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/eu-civil-protection-mechanism_en

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Newton Man Charged with Federal Firearm Offense

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – A Newton man has been charged in federal court in Boston with illegally possessing a firearm and ammunition.

    James Welch, 29, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Welch will appear in federal court at a later date.

    According to the charging documents, on Feb. 28, 2025, during a search of Newton’s residence, two firearms—a pistol and a rifle— and ammunition were recovered. Welch is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to multiple prior felony convictions.

    The charge of possessing ammunition after being convicted of a felony provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of a $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

    United States Attorney Leah Foley and James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. The Newton Police Department provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric L. Hawkins of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

    The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Relief Still Available to West Virginia Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by July Drought  

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    ATLANTA -The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in West Virginia of the March 31, 2025, deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by the drought beginning July 16, 2024. 

    The disaster declaration covers the counties of Barbour, Berkeley, Grant, Greenbrier, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Mineral, Morgan, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Tucker, Upshur and Webster in West Virginia, as well as the counties of Allegany, Garrett and Washington in Maryland, and Augusta, Bath, Clarke, Frederick, Highland, Loudoun, Rockingham and Shenandoah in Virginia. 

    Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs that suffered financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.  

    EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster.  

    “SBA loans help eligible small businesses and private nonprofits cover operating expenses after a disaster, which is crucial for their recovery,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “These loans not only help business owners get back on their feet but also play a key role in sustaining local economies in the aftermath of a disaster.”  

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition. 

    To apply online visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. 

    Submit completed loan applications to SBA no later than March 31, 2025. 

    ### 

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration 

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Relief Still Available to Florida Businesses Hit by June Storms

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Florida of the April 1, 2025, deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by the severe storms and flooding occurring on June 11-14, 2024. 

    This disaster declaration covers the counties of Broward, Collier, Hendry, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach. 

    Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs that suffered financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises. 

    EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster. 

    “SBA loans help eligible small businesses cover operating expenses after a disaster, which is crucial for their recovery,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “These loans not only help business owners get back on their feet but also play a key role in sustaining local economies in the aftermath of a disaster.” 

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition. 

    To apply online visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. 

    The deadline to return economic injury applications is April 1, 2025. 

    ### 

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration 

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Relief Still Available to Michigan Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by April Drought

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    ATLANTA -The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Michigan of the March 31 deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by the drought that began on April 25, 2024. 

    The disaster declaration covers the counties of Allegan, Barry, Bay, Calhoun, Clare, Clinton, Eaton, Gladwin, Gratiot, Ionia, Isabella, Kalamazoo, Kent, Midland, Montcalm and Saginaw. 

    Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs that suffered financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.  

    EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. 

    “SBA loans help eligible small businesses and private nonprofits cover operating expenses after a disaster, which is crucial for their recovery,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “These loans not only help business owners get back on their feet but also play a key role in sustaining local economies in the aftermath of a disaster.”  

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amount terms based on each applicant’s financial condition. 

    For more information and to apply online visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. 

    Submit completed loan applications to SBA no later than March 31, 2025. 

    ### 

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration 

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Relief Still Available to Virginia Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by July Drought

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Virginia of the March 31, 2025, deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by the drought beginning on July 16, 2024. 

    The disaster declaration covers the counties of Albemarle, Augusta, Bath, Buckingham, Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax County, Fauquier, Fluvanna, Frederick, Greene, Harrisonburg, Highland, Loudoun, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, Orange, Page, Prince Wiliam, Rappahannock, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah, Stafford, Staunton, Warren, Waynesboro and Winchester in Virginia, as well as Frederick, Montgomery and Washington counties in Maryland, and Berkeley, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Morgan, Pendleton and Pocahontas in West Virginia. 

    Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs that suffered financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises. 

    EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster. 

    “SBA loans help eligible small businesses and private nonprofits cover operating expenses after a disaster, which is crucial for their recovery,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “These loans not only help business owners get back on their feet but also play a key role in sustaining local economies in the aftermath of a disaster.”  

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and  terms based on each applicant’s financial condition. 

    To apply online visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. 

    The deadline to return economic injury applications is March 31, 2025. 

    ### 

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration 

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Upstate Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug Trafficking, Money Laundering, and Firearms Offenses

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Rashaad Green, 31, of Union, and Shaquille Barber, 30, of Moore, have been sentenced to 15 years and seven years in federal prison for trafficking in marijuana, money laundering, and possession of firearms in connection with drug trafficking.

    Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that from approximately 2020 to 2024 Green and Barber regularly flew to California and other western states obtaining pounds of marijuana for distribution in South Carolina. Green and Barber engaged in money exchanges at their respective financial institutions using cash from drug proceeds. Green and Barber’s financial records showed hundreds of thousands of dollars flowing through the associated accounts. During this time, Green and Barber were also found to have possessed firearms in connection with the marijuana trafficking.

    United States District Judge Donald C. Coggins sentenced Green to 180 months imprisonment, to be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. The court further ordered the forfeiture of jewelry, firearms, and cash and imposed a forfeiture judgment of $500,000 against Green.

    United States District Judge Donald C. Coggins sentenced Barber to 84 months imprisonment, to be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. The court further ordered the forfeiture of jewelry, a Rolex watch, a 2019 Audi Q8, a firearm, and cash and imposed a forfeiture judgment of $250,000 against Barber.

    This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, and Union County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Fisher Sherard is prosecuting the case.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Rafael Caro Quintero “Narco of Narcos” and Murderer of DEA Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, Former Leader of the Juarez Cartel, Expelled to the United States

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Both Defendants Face Mandatory Life Imprisonment, and Could Face the Death Penalty, if Convicted

    Rafael Caro Quintero (Caro Quintero) and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes (Carrillo Fuentes), both citizens of Mexico, were arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn today for crimes committed as leaders of Mexican drug cartels, which were responsible for significant drug trafficking into the United States and acts of extreme violence—including, with respect to Caro Quintero, the 1985 kidnapping, torture, and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena—over a period of decades.  Caro Quintero was arraigned on a third superseding indictment charging him with four counts: one count of leading a Continuing Criminal Enterprise, which includes ten violations, including a murder conspiracy; two counts of international narcotics distribution conspiracy; and one count of unlawful use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.  Carrillo Fuentes was arraigned on a superseding indictment charging him with seven counts: one count of leading a Continuing Criminal Enterprise, which includes six violations, including a murder conspiracy; four counts of cocaine distribution conspiracy; one count of unlawful use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking; and one count of money laundering conspiracy. Both Caro Quintero and Carrillo Fuentes were arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy after being expelled from Mexico to the Eastern District of New York.  

    John J. Durham, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Frank A Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division, and Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations New York (HSI) announced the arraignments.

    “For decades, Rafael Caro Quintero and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes have flooded the United States and other countries with drugs, violence, and mayhem, killing so many in their quest for power and control, including in RCQ’s case the brutal torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Camarena,” stated United States Attorney Durham.  “Today the next step in the American legal proceedings against these two cartel leaders—Caro Quintero, the “Narco of Narcos,” and Carrillo Fuentes, the head of the Juarez Cartel—are finally underway, and we are one step closer to justice being served.  My Office continues to be steadfastly focused on the vital work of protecting people of this district, and of all of those in the United States, from the destruction that cartels wreak on our communities.”

    “Today marks a day which will be remembered in the history of the DEA. For nearly four decades, the men and women of the DEA have pursued Rafael Caro Quintero, the man responsible for the kidnapping, torture, and death of fallen DEA Special Agent Kiki Camarena, and the leader of one the most notorious and violent drug cartels. Today, Rafael Caro Quintero will finally face the consequences for the crimes he committed” stated DEA New York Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino. “No matter how long it takes, or where you hide, the DEA remains patient and committed in our global pursuit to targeting those individuals who have brought violence and destruction to our communities. The DEA will make sure justice is delivered.”

    “Make no mistake: the world is undoubtedly a safer place with these men in custody in the United States. Carrillo-Fuentes and Rafael Caro Quintero are merciless terrorists who used fear as a tactic to intimidate their rivals and the public. ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents and personnel with our El Dorado Task Force have dedicated years to investigating the alleged crimes and bloodshed at the hands of these defendants,” said ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso.

    Rafael Caro Quintero

    Caro Quintero was first indicted in the Eastern District of New York in 2015, and a third superseding indictment was returned against him in 2018. As alleged in the indictment and other public filings, Caro Quintero’s involvement in drug trafficking and violence is extensive, ruthless, and notorious.  Known as the “Narco of Narcos,” Caro Quintero started cultivating marijuana as a teenager in Mexico in the 1960s and developed transportation and distribution networks and routes that enabled him to move that marijuana into the United States.  Caro Quintero also manufactured and trafficked heroin and methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States.  Caro Quintero then joined with Colombian cocaine manufacturers to use his networks and routes to traffic cocaine from South America, through Central America and Mexico, into the United States.  By the 1970s, Caro Quintero’s organization became known as the Guadalajara Cartel, which ultimately joined the syndicate known as the “Sinaloa Cartel” (or Mexican “Federation”), the largest drug trafficking organization in the world.

    In 1985, Caro Quintero ordered the kidnapping, torture, and murder of DEA Special Agent Camarena.  Caro Quintero believed Camarena was responsible for leading the Mexican government to seize Caro Quintero’s largest ranch in Chihuahua, Rancho Buffalo.  Caro Quintero’s men abducted Camarena and took him to a location where he was tortured and interrogated for approximately two days, after which Caro Quintero and his men killed Camarena.

    Later in 1985, Caro Quintero went to prison in Mexico. Nevertheless, from 1985 to 2013, while in prison, Caro Quintero continued operating his drug trafficking organization (the “Caro Quintero DTO”), using family members and associates on the outside to assist him.  The Caro Quintero DTO trafficked large quantities of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin into the United States.  After his release from prison in 2013, Caro Quintero went into hiding and continued running the Caro Quintero DTO from various locations in the mountains of Sinaloa.  The Sinaloa Cartel provided Caro Quintero with protection during this time.   

    Caro Quintero and the members and associates of his organization carried firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking activities, including pistols and AK-47s.  Caro Quintero himself carried a Colt .38 Super pistol with a diamond encrusted handle and “R-1” written in gold.

    Vincente Carrillo Fuentes

    Carrillo Fuentes was first indicted in the Eastern District of New York in 2009, with superseding charges filed in 2019.  As alleged in the indictment and other public filings, Carrillo Fuentes and his brother, Amado Carrillo Fuentes, led the infamous Juarez Cartel for more than two decades.  Under the leadership of Carrillo Fuentes, the Juarez Cartel dominated and controlled drug trafficking through the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez corridor and used its control of the Texas-Mexico border to deliver multi-ton shipments of cocaine throughout the United States, including to locations in New York, Texas, California, and Illinois.

    Until approximately 2004, Carrillo Fuentes and the Juarez Cartel were aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the largest transnational criminal organizations in the world.  The two organizations worked collectively, partnering in drug shipments and sharing infrastructure as they trafficked tons of cocaine into the United States.  Throughout this partnership, Carrillo Fuentes and his associates corrupted public officials and taxed other drug-trafficking organizations as they asserted their control over the all-important El Paso-Ciudad Juarez corridor.  When this partnership finally splintered—and Carrillo Fuentes and the Juarez Cartel split from the Sinaloa Cartel and realigned with the rival drug traffickers such as the Zetas—Mexico was plunged into a decade of war and bloodshed.  Carrillo Fuentes was at the center of this chaos, initially as the commander of the Juarez Cartel’s sicarios (the Spanish term for contract killers) and soldiers, and then later as the leader of the entire Juarez Cartel.

    * * * * *

    The government’s cases against Caro Quintero and Carrillo Fuentes are part of the operations of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF).  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    The charges in the indictments are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  Both defendants face mandatory life sentences and, if convicted, could face the death penalty.

    The government’s cases against Caro Quintero and Carrillo Fuentes are being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Saritha Komatireddy, Francisco J. Navarro, Erin Reid, and Andrew Wang are in charge of the prosecution of Caro Quintero, and Assistant United States Attorneys Erik D. Paulsen and Miranda Gonzalez are in charge of the prosecution of Carrillo Fuentes.  Asset forfeiture matters for both cases are being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Brendan King.  Paralegal Specialists Melissa Bennett and Huda Abouchaer provided assistance on both cases.  

    The Defendants:

    RAFAEL CARO QUINTERO
    Age: 72
    Sonora, Mexico

    E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 15-CR-208 (FB)

    VICENTE CARRILLO FUENTES
    Age:  62
    Sinaloa, Mexico

    E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 09-CR-522 (JMA)

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Cayce Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison on Drug Trafficking Charge

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kayla Martin, 34, of Cayce, was sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking.

    Evidence presented to the court showed that Martin and Michael Tart were arrested in April 2022 after Richland County Sheriff’s Department and Lexington County Sheriff’s Department investigators seized over a kilogram of methamphetamine and a firearm from a vehicle Tart was driving on I-77 North in Richland County. Martin had previously arranged for Tart to pick up the methamphetamine from her home. A subsequent search of Martin’s home uncovered a .380 pistol along with drug residue and other drug paraphernalia. At the time, Martin was a convicted felon and on supervised release from a 2020 federal conviction for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Martin’s conviction for the April 2022 incident was a violation of her supervised release. Martin also faces charges with the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office in another drug-related incident in 2020. Tart has pleaded guilty for his part in this incident and is awaiting sentencing.

    United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Martin to 123 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, to be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Department of Homeland Security, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, and the Rock Hill Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher D. Taylor and William K. Witherspoon are prosecuting the case.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Virginia Lawmakers Rip President Trump’s Plans to Dissolve or Privatize the Postal Service

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine and U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott, Gerry Connolly, Don Beyer, Jennifer McClellan, Suhas Subramanyam and Eugene Vindman (all D-VA) urged President Trump to halt any proposal that would alter the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) without congressional consultation and approval. 
    “We write to express our great concern regarding reports that you intend to dissolve the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) bipartisan Board of Governors and move the independent agency under the control of the Department of Commerce. The Postal Service plays a crucial role in keeping our communities, especially in our rural areas, connected to each other and to the wider world. From delivering prescription medications and household goods, to election ballots, paychecks, and critical bills, USPS continues to be an essential part of Americans’ everyday lives. However, press reports indicate you are planning to upend over 50 years of Congressionally-mandated independence at USPS with no clear strategy for continuing essential mail delivery services or achieving financial sustainability,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to President Trump. “We urge you to cease the advancement of any proposal that would alter the USPS without congressional consultation and approval.”
    Since Congress passed the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, USPS has operated as an independent agency run by a bipartisan Board of Governors who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. However, press reports have recently suggested that President Trump intends to sign an executive order to dissolve the Board and move the independent agency under the control of Secretary Howard Lutnick at the Department of Commerce. Last Friday, the president confirmed these reports when he said he was considering a “form of a merger” for the Postal Service. The letter rejects this vague and unconstitutional plan.
    Wrote the lawmakers, “Throughout our nation’s history, the Postal Service has been an integral function of the U.S. government, particularly in rural areas. While 63% of post offices in rural areas do not generate enough revenue to cover their costs, Congress continues to ensure changes do not disadvantage rural areas because all Americans deserve the same mail delivery service regardless of where they live. Given your reported interest in privatizing the Postal Service, the universal service obligation that binds the Postal Service to deliver to all Americans could be scrapped for a plan that risks cutting off rural delivery and worsening service for all.”
    The letter also references Virginia’s mail delivery issues, raising concerns that the president’s plans could upend recent improvements in mail service.
    “Virginians are unfortunately familiar with the impacts of mail delivery falling short in the Commonwealth. In late 2023, USPS chose Richmond, Virginia as the first location to implement sweeping reforms under the ‘Delivering for America’ plan, including opening the Richmond Regional Processing and Distribution Center (RPDC). Shortly after, Virginia’s on-time service performance became the worst in the country. Last year, we met with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on three occasions to push USPS to do everything in its power to improve mail service in Virginia. Throughout the year, we saw steady improvements in USPS’s mail service as we continued to press for increased transparency, greater engagement with the public, and a higher standard of service,” they wrote.
    Continued the members, “While some communities in Virginia still experience service performance issues, we were pleased to see a USPS Inspector General report in January 2025 that found USPS had stabilized service at the Richmond RPDC, achieved most of the expected savings for fiscal year 2024, and returned statewide mail service to match nationwide averages. We fear such a significant upheaval of USPS’s governing structure and operations, as has been reported in the press, could reverse the improvement in mail service we have seen across Virginia.”
    Lastly, the Virginia lawmakers noted dismantling or privatizing the Postal Service would jeopardize its critical facilitation of the nation’s vote by mail system. 
    “We are also disturbed by the notion that a USPS merger with the Department of Commerce will insert an intense partisan agenda into the distribution of millions of mail-in ballots as we approach election season. In the 2024 election, USPS processed 99.22 million ballots, with 99.88% of ballots delivered from voters to election officials within seven days and only one day on average to deliver ballots from voters to election officials. With over 2.3 million Virginians voting absentee in the 2024 general election, it is imperative that no changes are made to USPS that would undermine its ability to facilitate free and fair elections,” they wrote.
    Concluded the lawmakers, “Any effort to ignore federal law and fire all members of the USPS’s Board of Governors – Republicans and Democrats who have been appointed by presidents and confirmed by the U.S. Senate – and move this independent agency under your control, will be met with fierce opposition. Furthermore, we request that you provide a full accounting of any changes that is being explored to alter USPS service, leadership, and personnel.”
    A copy of the letter is available here.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: MULTIMEDIA RELEASE: Coast Guard, Port of Virginia Maritime Incident Response Team conclude search and rescue forum in Hampton

    Source: United States Coast Guard

    02/28/2025 01:53 PM EST

    The SAR Forum is an annual event which requires strong coordination across multiple agencies conducting training for a unified, rapid and effective response to emergencies that may impact maritime commerce, public safety, and coastal communities. Through collaborative exercises and events—similar to the SAR Forum—with local law enforcement, fire departments, and emergency services the Coast Guard enhances its ability to prevent, prepare for, and response to maritime emergencies.

    For more information follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Children already dying in Sudan’s stricken Zamzam camp: WFP

    Source: United Nations 2

    Humanitarian Aid

    UN humanitarians on Friday warned again that thousands of families could starve in the coming weeks inside the Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur.

    The UN World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed that it has had to pause the distribution of life saving food and nutrition assistance, due to escalating violence.

    WFP spokesperson Leni Kinzli said the UN agency’s partners in the camp had no choice but to evacuate their staff to safety.

    “The recent violence in Zamzam has also left the central market destroyed…residents of the camp, which is around half a million people, are even further away from accessing food and essential food.

    Government troops have been battling their former allies turned adversaries, the Rapid Support Forces militia, for nearly two years. The RSF now controls virtually all of Darfur but has been laying siege to the city of El Fasher for months, close to ZamZam.

    RSF Militia stormed the camp on 11 February triggering several days of clashes with army troops and allied forces, according to news reports.

    Deadly consequences

    “People, particularly children, are already dying of hunger in Zamzam. And the fact that we are forced to suspend operations will make that even worse,” she added.

    WFP and partners provided 60,000 people with food vouchers before heavy shelling forced the UN agency to pause aid operations in Zamzam.

    The food vouchers allow families to purchase essential food supplies such as cereals, pulses, oil and salt, directly from local markets which are stocked by the private sector.

    “As WFP, we’ve been trying every possible way to get vital aid into the hands of people whose lives hang in the balance,” Ms. Kinzli said. She explained that the UN agency is “continuously having to overcome barriers and obstacles” caused by the ongoing violence and insecurity.

    Illustrating the need to find alternative ways of providing support to communities who are cut off by conflict such as in Zamzam, WFP has launched an online self-registration aid platform which is now active and provides cash-based assistance in remote Sudanese locations.

    “We have done it in other parts of Sudan, like Khartoum, and we have received an overwhelming response from communities,” Ms. Kinzli said. “It does work well despite the patchy communications networks.”

    Once registered, recipients can expect to receive digital transfers via a mobile money app which provides them with critical assistance until conditions permit the safe passage of humanitarian personnel and convoys, the WFP officer explained.

    Aid delivery must resume

    “We must resume the delivery of life-saving aid in and around Zamzam safely, quickly and at scale,” she insisted. For that the fighting must stop, and humanitarian organizations must be granted security guarantees.”

    In 2024, two out of every three people in famine or risk of famine areas in Sudan received WFP assistance. But this is not enough, humanitarians warn.

    “Regular, monthly deliveries to starving communities are the only way to push back the famine in Sudan,” WFP said, warning that access to famine and famine-risk areas is “sporadic and inconsistent”.

    Today, two million people in 27 locations across Sudan are now experiencing famine or on the brink of it.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Digby — Digby RCMP assisting in fatal structure fire investigation

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    Digby RCMP is assisting in the investigation of a fire that occurred at an apartment in Digby.

    On February 28 at approximately 8:00 a.m., Digby RCMP, fire services, and EHS responded to a report of a fire on Birch St., at a home known to contain several apartments. Police officers on scene assisted in evacuating the building. Multiple occupants were able to leave the building safely.

    When the fire was extinguished, police learned that firefighters located one person deceased at the scene. The fire is under investigation and investigators will remain on scene to continue to gather information and evidence.

    The investigation is being assisted by the Office of the Fire Marshal and the Nova Scotia Medical Examiner Service.

    Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the deceased at this difficult time.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Transient Man Sentenced to Life Plus 10 Years After Murder Conviction

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    TULSA, Okla. – A transient man was found guilty in October 2024 of First Degree Murder in Indian Country, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Brandishing and Discharging a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in Indian Country.

    Today, U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Cameron Lynn, 34, to life imprisonment for first-degree murder, plus 120 months for discharging a weapon during a crime of violence. Lynn’s remaining counts of assault were sentenced concurrently as 120 months for each count.

    “Cameron Lynn maliciously took the life of Alcides Monroig and assaulted another,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “This life sentence, plus an additional ten years, will ensure Lynn is no longer a danger to anyone in the Northern District. This sentence would not be possible without the hard work of the detectives, agents, and prosecutors.”

    According to evidence presented at trial, on February 24, 2024, Tulsa Police officers were dispatched around midnight to a call where someone was shot. The caller was in a heavily wooded area near railroad tracks, flagged down officers and led them to the encampment. Officers found two victims in their tents that were shot. Medical personnel arrived on the scene and rendered aid to both victims. One victim was shot in the abdomen and transported to a local hospital. The other victim, Alcides Monroig, died at the scene.

    The caller and surviving victim told officers that they were asleep when Lynn approached their encampment. They explained that Lynn started going through their belongings, stating he was trying to find his stuff. They told officers they shined a flashlight, trying to see Lynn, and asked him to leave. Lynn refused and shot several times at both tents before fleeing.

    Several witnesses testified that they saw Lynn heading towards the encampment. After they heard several shots fired, Lynn ran toward the witnesses, telling them that they needed to leave the area and that he shot in self-defense.

    Lynn is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The Tulsa Police Department and FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Elmore and Stephen Flynn prosecuted.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about PSN, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Senator Schatz, Ranking Member Shaheen Demand Answers from Secretary Rubio on USAID and State Department Program Terminations

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz

    WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs, sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding decisions this week to fire or place on leave virtually all USAID staff, and to terminate more than 90 percent of USAID awards and more than 60 percent of State Department awards. The Senators also requested that Secretary Rubio appear for hearings on Congress on these actions and their implications for U.S. national security. 

    “We are writing with grave concern regarding your decisions this week to fire or place on leave virtually all USAID staff, and to terminate more than 90 percent of USAID awards and more than 60 percent of State Department awards, including hundreds of millions of dollars for programs you exempted as critical to our interest or lifesaving,” wrote the senators. “These actions are in contravention of the law, costly, inefficient, and will harm U.S. national security.” 

    “The lack of compliance with the law, and the lack of communication and transparency, is unprecedented and not representative of the collaboration you professed, and we expected, when we confirmed you as Secretary of State,” continued the senators.  

    “As a former member of both Committees, you are keenly aware that Congress’ Constitutional oversight and appropriations mandates require regular engagement with Executive Branch Departments and Agencies about activities and expenditures,” concluded the senators. “We ask that you provide responses to our time-sensitive correspondence and set expectations with State Department and USAID staff about timely and regular engagement with Congress in response to the inquiries from our committees. Lastly, we request that you appear for hearings before our Committees on these actions and their implications for U.S. national security.” 

    Full text of the letter can be found here.  

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SBA Relief Still Available to Maryland Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by July Drought

    Source: United States Small Business Administration

    ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is reminding eligible small businesses and private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in Maryland of the March 31, 2025, deadline to apply for low interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses caused by the drought beginning on July 16, 2024. 

    The disaster declaration covers the counties of Allegany, Garrett and Washington in Maryland, as well as Bedford, Fulton and Somerset in Pennsylvania, and Hampshire, Mineral and Morgan in  
    West Virginia. 

    Under this declaration, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs that suffered financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.  

    EIDLs are available for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster. 

    “SBA loans help eligible small businesses and private nonprofits cover operating expenses after a disaster, which is crucial for their recovery,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “These loans not only help business owners get back on their feet but also play a key role in sustaining local economies in the aftermath of a disaster.”  

    The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates as low as 4% for small businesses and 3.25% for PNPs, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition. 

    To apply online visit sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. 

    The deadline to return economic injury applications is March 31, 2025. 

    ### 

    About the U.S. Small Business Administration 

    The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Jamaican National Indicted For Unlawfully Possessing A Firearm

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces the return of an indictment charging Romario Whyte (28, Brooksville) with possession of a firearm by an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States. If convicted, Whyte faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. 

    According to court documents, Whyte accompanied an individual who was under investigation for straw purchasing of firearms to a gun store. After the individual purchased a firearm, Whyte and the individual drove to Whyte’s apartment. Whyte was observed by law enforcement making several trips from the car to his apartment carrying various bags. A search of the apartment revealed the same firearm that had been purchased at the gun store.

    Whyte was determined to be a citizen of Jamaica and illegally or unlawfully in the United States at the time he was in possession of the firearm.

    An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

    This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brooke M. Padgett.       

    MIL Security OSI –