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“It is necessary to conduct this operation unilaterally and without notifying Venezuelan officials,” reads the 15-page 2018 memo expanding “Operation Money Badger,” an investigation that authorities say targeted dozens of people, including Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Within weeks, senior DEA officials plotted to deploy at least three undercover informants to surreptitiously record top officials suspected of converting Venezuela into a narco state. And “to limit or mitigate the exposure of the unilateral activities,” the document advised DEA officials to protect their informants and curtail in-person meetings with targets. I think they figured they had nothing to lose.”RELEASED BY ACCIDENTThe Operation Money Badger memo was never intended to be made public. The DEA memo authorized three informants to secretly record undercover meetings with the targets.

Persons: –, ”, Nicolás Maduro, Maduro’s, Alex Saab, Wes Tabor, “ We’re, Maduro, “, Biden, ” Maduro, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Joe Biden, ” —, Evan Criddle, William & Mary, there’s, Mike Vigil, Manny Recio, John Costanzo Jr, Costanzo, ” Michael Nadler, Washington –, launderer, Jose Vielma, Hugo Chávez, Vielma’s, Luis Motta, Vielma, Motta, Motta’s, Zach Margulis, Hugo Carvajal, Jennifer Farrar Organizations: MIAMI, The Associated Press, U.S . Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, Justice, AP, CIA, State, Justice Department, U.S, Attorney’s, Democratic, Supreme, William &, Saab, Miami Field Division’s, IRS Locations: Venezuela, United States, U.S, America, Venezuelan, Miami, Manhattan, Russia, China, OPEC, Mexico, Virginia, “, Colombian, New York, Houston, Washington, Investigative@ap.org

MIAMI (AP) — It was a plan the United States knew from the start would arguably violate international law. Here are some of the takeaways from the AP's exclusive report on the secret memo:Photos You Should See View All 45 ImagesWHAT DOES THE MEMO REVEAL? The 15-page memo spells out a secret DEA plan directing confidential informants to record Venezuelan officials suspected of converting the South American country into a narco state. “It is necessary to conduct this operation unilaterally and without notifying Venezuelan officials,” officials wrote in the memo. None of the indictments of Venezuelan officials before or after the 2018 memo made any mention of U.S. spying.

Persons: Nicolás Maduro, ”, Wes Tabor, Jose Vielma, Hugo Chávez, ” Michael Nadler, Maduro’s, Alex Saab, Maduro, “, Biden, Evan Criddle, William & Mary Organizations: MIAMI, Associated Press, U.S . Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, IRS, U.S, Attorney’s, Justice Department, CIA, Supreme, William & Locations: United States, Venezuela, U.S, Manhattan, Miami, VENEZUELA, Latin America, Virginia, Investigative@ap.org

☆ Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg 'needs to do the right thing' in child sex targeting fight: New Mexico AG
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

New Mexico's attorney general slammed Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday for failing to protect children from sexual predators on Facebook and Instagram. Torrez sued Meta and Zuckerberg in December, alleging that Facebook and Instagram were "prime locations" for predators who engaged in sexual abuse, solicitation and trafficking. "By their own reckoning, nearly 100,000 children a day receive sexually explicit material or are targeted for sexual harassment" on social media, Torrez said. The attorney general said Zuckerberg "absolutely" was directly warned about the threat to children on those hugely popular social media sites. "Meta executives have known for years that their platforms were a breeding ground for pedophiles, for predators," Torrez told CNBC on Wednesday.

Persons: General Raúl Torrez, Mark Zuckerberg, Raul Torrez, CNBC's Eamon Javers, Zuckerberg, Torrez, Meta Organizations: New, Meta, Facebook, U.S . Capitol, Committee, CNBC, AG Locations: New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli forces opened fire inside the wards of the Ibn Sina Hospital in the town of Jenin. Most were killed in confrontations with Israeli forces during arrest raids or violent protests. The Israeli military says it has arrested nearly 3,000 Palestinians in the West Bank over the past four months. The military said Tuesday that forces killed Mohammed Jalamneh, 27, who it said was planning an imminent attack. Hospital spokesperson Tawfiq al-Shobaki said there was no exchange of fire and the three were killed by Israeli forces in a targeted killing.

Persons: Ibn, Mohammed Jalamneh, Basel, Mohammed Ghazawi, Jalamneh, Tawfiq, Shobaki, ”, Basel Ghazawi, Israel, Osama Hamdan, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, ___ Lidman Organizations: West Bank, —, Palestinian Health Ministry, Ibn Sina, Muslim, Israel, Health Ministry, Hamas, United Nations, Basel, hemiplegia, Palestinian Authority, Gaza, Atlantic Council, Palestinian Locations: JENIN, West, Gaza, Jenin, Israel, Jerusalem, Egypt, Qatar, United States, Beirut, Washington, Gaza City, israel

☆ West Bank hospital raid: Undercover Israeli troops kill three militants, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Abeer Salman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Jerusalem CNN —Israeli special forces, dressed as civilians and medical staff, infiltrated the Ibn Sina hospital in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday and killed three Palestinian men, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials. Hamas said the men were Jenin Brigades fighters, an umbrella group of armed Palestinian factions in the West Bank city. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they were terrorists linked to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and an Israeli government minister praised the operation. The disguised special forces “infiltrated the hospital individually, headed to the third floor, and assassinated the young men,” Palestinian state news agency WAFA reported, citing sources from inside the hospital. International law provides general and special protection for civilian sites, including hospitals,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Persons: Ibn Sina, “, WAFA, Mohammed Jalamneh, “ Mohammed Al, Mohammed’s, Raneen Sawafta, Reuters Israel’s, Itamar Ben Gvir, ” Ben Gvir, Ibn, Mohammed, Basil Ayman Al, ”, Basil Al, Ghazawi Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, West, Jenin Brigades, West Bank, Israel Defense Forces, Islamic, Sina, Basel Al, Reuters, National, IDF, Al, Brigades, Ibn Sina, Palestinian Ministry, Health, UN, Assembly Locations: Jerusalem, West Bank, Jenin, ”, hijabs

☆ Hamas Studies Ceasefire Proposal After Deadly Israeli Hospital Raid in West Bank
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

By Raneen SawaftaWEST BANK/GAZA/DOHA (Reuters) -Hamas said on Tuesday it would study a new ceasefire proposal in the war with Israel in Gaza, hours after Israeli commandos killed three Palestinian militants in a raid on a hospital in the occupied West Bank. The raid underscored the risk of the Gaza war spreading to other fronts, while Israeli forces fought new battles with Hamas fighters in the Palestinian enclave. The Israeli undercover squad broke into the hospital, headed to the third floor and killed them using silenced pistols, hospital sources said. Since then, 26,751 Palestinians have been killed and 65,636 wounded by Israeli actions in Gaza, the Gaza health ministry said. TANKS IN ACTIONIsrael mounted a new push in northern Gaza after earlier reporting successes against Palestinian militants there.

Persons: Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh, William Burns, Qatar's, Islamic Jihad, Ibn Sina, Mohammad, Najy Nazzal, Mai Alkaila, Mohammed Jalamneh, Israel, Christian Lindmeier, Alkaila, Al Shifa, Khan Younis, Crescent, Ari Rabinovitch, Daniel Williams, Nidal Al Mughrabi, Ali Sawafta, Emma Farge, Angus MacSwan, Timothy Heritage, Gareth Jones Organizations: BANK, Reuters, West Bank, CIA, Islamic, Hamas, Basel Al, Palestinian Health, United Nations, World Health Organization, WHO, Nasser, Health, Palestinian, Residents, Deir Al, Al, Amal Locations: GAZA, DOHA, Israel, Gaza, Paris, Cairo, Ibn Sina, Jenin, Basel, Geneva, Beach, Al, Israeli, Kuwaiti, Gaza City, Deir, Jerusalem, Doha, Ramallah, Clauda, Dubai

Opening statements are scheduled in Brooklyn federal court for the murder trial of Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington, who prosecutors say killed the 37-year-old Jay over a drug deal in 2002. Run-DMC espoused an anti-drug stance in lyrics and PSAs, but prosecutors allege Jay became involved in trafficking cocaine in the mid 1990s. Prior to his murder, they say he had acquired 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of the drug, which Washington, Jordan and others were going to distribute in Maryland. Prosecutors say witnesses have now identified both Washington, 59, and Jordan, 40, as the assailants. They say Jordan, then 18, was at his pregnant girlfriend’s home at the time of the murder and witnesses can place him there.

Persons: Jay, Karl Jordan Jr, Ronald Washington, Jason Mizell, Joe “, ” Simmons, Darryl “, ” McDaniels, Tricky ”, Jordan, ” Organizations: New York City Locations: New, Brooklyn, Queens, Washington, Jordan, Maryland, Jamaica, , Washington

Now Jay’s case is the first of those killings to go to trial. Opening statements are set for Monday in the federal murder trial of Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington, who were arrested in 2020. Jay, born Jason Mizell, formed Run-DMC in the early 1980s with Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and Joseph Simmons, known as DJ Run and Rev. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesThey were the first rappers with gold and platinum albums and a Rolling Stone cover. He considered Jay to be family, since the DJ grew up across the street from Jordan's father, his defense wrote.

Persons: Jay, Karl Jordan Jr, Ronald Washington, “, ”, Seth DuCharme, gunning, Jason Mizell, Darryl “, ” McDaniels, Joseph Simmons, Aerosmith, ” Jay, people's, Tricky, Tupac Shakur, Prosecutors, Washington, Jordan, wasn't, Susan Kellman, Jay —, Judge LaShann DeArcy, Jordan's, Mark DeMarco, Jordan “ Organizations: Brooklyn U.S, Adidas, MTV, Roll Hall of Fame, Police, Prosecutors, DJ, Playboy, Authorities, New York Daily News Locations: Washington, Jordan, Hollis, Queens, York, Angeles, Shakur’s, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, indicting Washington, Maryland, Jordan's

☆ Government warns funeral homes to stop misleading bereaved customers about pricing
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The FTC conducted an undercover phone sweep of more than 250 funeral homes, placing calls to obtain pricing information. For 38 calls, the agency said the funeral homes either refused to answer questions about pricing or gave inconsistent information about identical services. Funeral homes have to follow the FTC’s “Funeral Rule,” which provides bereaved consumers rights during the process and holds the business to strict requirements. One of the caveats is that funeral homes must give customers a general price list, and customers have the right to choose which services they want. Funeral homes that don’t comply could pay up to $51,744 per violation.

Persons: ” Lesley Fair Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, National, FTC’s, Consumer Protection Locations: New York, That’s, Laredo , Texas, Philadelphia

☆ China, in Comic Strip, Warns of 'Overseas' Threats to Its Rare Earths
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Liz LeeBEIJING (Reuters) - China's chief intelligence agency posted on social media a comic strip featuring foreign-looking characters secretly extracting rare earths, in a story portraying the country's strategic metals under threat from covetous "overseas organisations". No foreign government or agencies were named in the comic strip, and the ministry did not specify any measures to counter foreign "interest" in China's rare earths. It also banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets, in addition a ban on technology to extract and separate rare earths. The restrictions have fanned fears that the supply of rare earths might ignite tensions with the West, particularly the United States, which accuses China of using economic coercion to influence other countries. The newspaper said the United States, Japan and the European Union, among others, have for a long time "coveted China's rare earth mineral resources".

Persons: Liz Lee BEIJING, Li Baiyang, Liz Lee, Miral Fahmy Organizations: State Security, United, Mining, Times, European Union, Global Times, Nanjing University Locations: China, United States, Beijing, U.S, Japan

"When you see the news of a Wall Street employee or any highly paid professional dying this way, it obviously wakes you up." Wall Street is all about relationships, which often means spending big money to show people a good time. "That's been the Wall Street playbook for many, many years, and I don't think it has changed." On the other side of the coin is Wall Street, where a history of drug use can haunt working professionals for years. AdvertisementLaird thinks Wall Street firms could learn a thing or two from other industries when it comes to their response to addiction.

Persons: Rudy Giuliani, It's, Joe, I'm, Anna Lembke, Streeters, biohacking, Wall, couldn't, Rudolph Giuliani, Getty John Battaglia, Spear, Goldman Sachs, " Battaglia, Goldman, Adderall, Jaime Blaustein, Blaustein, Sylvia Brafman, Zyn, who's, JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE Denise Shull, hasn't, Shull, —, Artur Widak, they've, Ray Donovan, AGNES BUN, Battaglia, Ross Peet, Betty, Lembke, Leonardo DiCaprio, Paramount Pictures Trey Laird, Laird, Trey, That's, Peet Organizations: Business, New York Times, Wall, psychedelics, Stanford, Addiction, Mental Health Services Administration, Bettmann, Leeds, Kellogg, Sylvia Brafman Mental Health, BI, Citadel, Getty, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Credit Suisse, Traders, Bank of America, New, Betty Ford Foundation, Street, Paramount Pictures, Needham & Co, Treatment, Industry Locations: Manhattan, New York, Brussels, Silicon Valley, California, Arlington , Virginia, New York City, Bank, New Canaan , Connecticut

☆ Men are turning to OnlyFans for emotional connection amid a loneliness epidemic
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Marta Biino | Madeline Berg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

"They can go to Pornhub and get naked people and sexual videos," Rae Richmond, another content creator, said. And when he chats with Farrah, an OnlyFans creator, things rarely get sexual. Some think the OnlyFans relationships help, while others think they can make people lonelier. LiensueGenuine connection can be an unintended consequence for creators, tooDespite the transactional nature of OnlyFans relationships, a real sense of companionship can develop on both ends. Sweetheart said she hadn't been on any dates since she began creating OnlyFans content over three years ago.

Persons: Cherie DeVille, Simon, DeVille, he'd, I'd, who's, they'd, Rae Richmond, Walter's, Farrah, Walter, OnlyFans, Robert Weiss, Albert L, Ortega, Amber, Aston Martin, Keily Blair, sexting, she'd, Amber Sweetheart OnlyFans, Jade Nicole, Jade, she's, Jade Nicole Jade Nicole Mark, Liensue, Sue, Elaina St James, Tom, St James, haven't, Weiss, Ronald Levant —, Katherine Frank, Levant, Marie Lippmann, you've, I've, hadn't, She's, Candice Organizations: Google, Business, NFL, Gallup, Pew, Getty, University of Akron, Strip Club, California State University, Chico Locations: Italy, OnlyFans, New York

☆ A guide to the most important characters in Sarah J. Maas' 'Crescent City' series
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Samantha Grindell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

The "Crescent City" series has a massive cast of characters that can be hard to keep track of. On January 30, Sarah J. Maas will release "House of Flame and Shadow," the third book in her best-selling "Crescent City" series. "Crescent City" has a huge cast of characters, most of which are magical creatures referred to as Vanir. To help prepare you for the third book, Business Insider created a guide to some of the most important characters in the "Crescent City" universe. AdvertisementThe rest of this article contains major spoilers for the "Crescent City" and "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series.

Persons: Sarah J, Maas, —, Bryce Quinlan, Hunt Athalar, Ruhn Danaan, Bryce, Ember Quinlan, Randall Silago, Einar Danaan, Einar, Prince, Ruhn, Danika Fendyr, Orion, Hunt, Bryce's, Danika, Sofie Renast, Baxian Argos, Baxian, Asteri, Connor Holstrom, Bryce ., Archangel Micah, Connor, Luna's Horn, Micah, Declan Emmet, Tristan Flynn, Declan, Flynn, Fury, Juniper, Holstrom, Tharion, Sofie Renast's, Emile, Sabine Fendyr, Ithan, Sabine, Lidia Cervos, Hypaxia Enador, Enador, Celestina, Crescent, Lidia, Sandriel, Pollux Antonius, It's, Hel, Aidas, they're, Rigelus, Bryce doesn't, Feyre Archeron, Nesta, Amren, Cassian, Rhysand, Teller, Gwydion Organizations: Service, Business, 33rd Legion, Alpha, Bloomsbury, of, Sirius, Court, Wings Locations: Lunathion, Crescent, Bloomsbury, Midgard, Crescent City, Valbara, Hel, Ruhn, Nesta

☆ Police arrest pro-Palestine protestors for 'locking on' plot to shut down the London Stock Exchange
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of London Stock Exchange Group Plc in the office atrium in the City of London, UK, on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. London police on Sunday arrested six pro-Palestine activists for alleged plans to lock themselves to the doors of the London Stock Exchange to attempt to disrupt trading amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The six Palestine Action protestors, all in their 20s or early 30s, planned to stage a week of protests, starting Monday morning. The activists intended to start their week of protests on Monday morning by chaining their necks to the doors of the London Stock Exchange to prevent anyone from entering, according to the Express' report published Sunday. They also planned to spray fire extinguishers and shoot fake bank notes painted red out of "money guns" around the stock exchange, according to the Express report.

Persons: Sian Thomas Organizations: London Stock Exchange Group, City of, London, Sunday, Palestine, London Stock Exchange, Daily Express, Express, Metropolitan Police, Israel Defense Force, Hamas, London's Metropolitan Police Force Locations: City, City of London, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, London

☆ Walmart Spark shoppers can remove their tips up to 24 hours after delivery. Drivers say that contributes to a problem of 'tip baiting.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Alex Bitter | Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

When he works for Walmart's Spark Driver delivery app, it happens a few times a week, he told Business Insider. They traced the problem to a Spark policy giving customers up to 24 hours to reduce or take back their tips. DoorDash's app lets customers only increase a tip or add one — lowering a tip requires calling customer service, a company spokesperson told BI. AdvertisementDrivers can wind up making far less than they expected once the 24 hours is up, a Georgia Spark driver told BI. A Spark driver there told BI his area had too many drivers and that tip baiting wasn't a significant problem.

Persons: —, Dara Khosrowshahi, Spark, Yeji Jesse Lee, it's, Uber, they've, Brock Dickens, they'd, I've Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Walmart, Drivers, BI, Detroit Locations: Indiana, San Francisco, New York City, DoorDash, Carolina, Georgia, Oregon

☆ Facebook and Instagram content enabled child sexual abuse, trafficking: New Mexico lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-06 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Facebook and Instagram created "prime locations" for sexual predators that enabled child sexual abuse, solicitation, and trafficking, New Mexico's attorney general alleged in a civil suit filed Wednesday against Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The suit was brought after an "undercover investigation" allegedly revealed myriad instances of sexually explicit content being served to minors, child sexual coercion, or the sale of child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, New Mexico attorney general Raúl Torrez said in a press release. The suit alleges that "certain child exploitative content" is ten times "more prevalent" on Facebook and Instagram as compared to pornography site PornHub and adult content platform OnlyFans, according to the release. "Child exploitation is a horrific crime and online predators are determined criminals," Meta said in a statement to CNBC. The lawsuit argues that Meta's algorithms allegedly promote sex and exploitation content to users and that Facebook and Instagram lack "effective" age verification.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Chuck Schumer, Instagram, Raúl Torrez, Meta, Zuckerberg, Mr, Torres Organizations: Facebook, Intelligence, Senate, U.S, Capitol, Washington , D.C, Meta, CNBC, National Center for Locations: Washington ,, New Mexico, Mexico

On Nov. 18, China’s Ministry of Public Security announced that authorities in northern Myanmar had handed over some 31,000 suspects. The Kokang Self-Administered Zone and the Wa Self-Administered Division both share a border with China and are heavily influenced by their bigger neighbor. The Ming family are not the only powerful Kokang families caught up in the drive. Wa police handed 194 Chinese nationals to Chinese authorities on Nov. 28, according to Wa's state media, Voice of Wa State. Others say that China is showing it won't tolerate the scams anymore, regardless of how powerful are the people behind them.

Persons: ”, Lu Jiantang, Jason Tower, Ming, Hu Xijin, ” Hu, Wei Qingtao, they’ll, ” Wei, Liu Zhengqi, Ming Xuechang, Kokang, Yin Masan, MNDAA, cyberscammers, Richard Horsey, “, Bai Suocheng, Li Kyar Wen, It’s, Wanqing Chen Organizations: China’s Ministry of Public Security, U.S . Congress, United States Institute of Peace, Communist Party, China’s Communist Party, CCTV, Global Times, of Public Security, Fully, Wa Construction Ministry, Wa Communist Party, Brotherhood Alliance, Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, National Liberation Army, International Crisis Locations: BANGKOK, China, Myanmar, “, Wa, Kokang, Yunnan, Wa State, Shan, Arakan, cyberscams, Beijing

☆ Former U.S. ambassador spied for Cuba for decades, Justice Department says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces that Victor Manuel Rocha, the former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, has been charged with acting illegally as a foreign agent for the government of Cuba, Dec. 4, 2023. Prosecutors say Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, spent more than 40 years spying for Cuba while he rose through the State Department, where he was U.S. ambassador to Bolivia during the Clinton administration. Rocha's case is "one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent," Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday at a press conference. "To further that role, Rocha obtained and maintained employment in the United States government in positions that provided him: (1) access to nonpublic information, including classified information; and (2) the ability to affect United States foreign policy," wrote prosecutors. I have – have created the legend of a right-wing person," Rocha allegedly said, referring to the Cuban intelligence services.

Persons: General Merrick Garland, Victor Manuel Rocha, Clinton, Merrick Garland, Rocha, Rocha's Organizations: State Department, United, Southern, Southern District of, Foreign Government, DOJ, Undercover, Cuban Locations: Bolivia, Cuba, American, Miami, U.S, United States, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, Republic of Cuba, States, Cuban

Federal prosecutors said on Monday that a retired State Department official worked for decades as a secret agent for Cuba, and told an undercover F.B.I. agent that the United States was “the enemy.”In a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Miami, the prosecutors said that the diplomat, Manuel Rocha, had secretly aided Cuba’s “clandestine intelligence-gathering mission against the United States” since 1981 as he rose undetected through the ranks of the diplomatic corps and the National Security Council. Mr. Rocha, 73, appeared to have met with handlers from Cuba’s premier spy agency as recently as 2017, prosecutors said, and boasted that his 40 years of spying on behalf of the communist government in Havana had “strengthened the revolution immensely.”For more than two decades, Mr. Rocha handled matters related to Latin America in a series of roles at the State Department under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, including a stint as ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002. More recently, Mr. Rocha, a native of Colombia who grew up in New York, served as an adviser to the U.S. military command responsible for Cuba.

Persons: Manuel Rocha, Cuba’s, . Rocha, “, Rocha, Bill Clinton, George W, Bush Organizations: State Department, United, National Security Locations: Cuba, United States, Miami, Havana, America, Bolivia, Colombia, New York

☆ US charges ex-ambassador with spying for Cuba over decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Rocha, 73, was arrested and is expected to appear before a federal judge in Miami on Monday. Bolivian President Hugo Banzer shakes hands with Victor Manuel Rocha, the then U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, during a ceremony in the Goverment Palace in La Paz, August 3, 2000. File photo DM/JP/HB Acquire Licensing RightsRocha worked for the State Department from 1981 to 2002, the Justice Department said. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters he was unable to provide details on an ongoing law enforcement matter.

Persons: Victor Manuel Rocha, Merrick Garland, Rocha, Hugo Banzer, Matthew Miller, Miller, Andrew Goudsward, Katharine Jackson, Ismail Shakil, Simon Lewis, Rami Ayyub, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Justice, Justice Department, Cuban, United, Bolivian, HB, State Department, White, National Security Council, . military's Southern Command, Washington, Directorate of Intelligence, Thomson Locations: United States, Bolivia, Cuba, Miami, Goverment, La Paz, Florida, U.S

☆ An ex-US ambassador charged with being a longtime secret agent for Cuba bragged about it to undercover FBI officer, feds allege
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An ex-US diplomat has been federally charged over allegations he worked as a secret agent for Cuba. Feds allege that Rocha even bragged about his work for Cuba as "more than a grand slam." AdvertisementAttorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that Rocha's arrest "exposes one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent." "Those who have the privilege of serving in the government of the United States are given an enormous amount of trust by the public we serve," said Garland. We did more than they thought," Rocha told the undercover fed, the court documents allege.

Persons: Victor Rocha, Rocha, —, Merrick Garland, Garland, Fidel Castro Organizations: Feds, Service, United, Department of Justice, State Department, National Security Council, Justice Department, Cuban, Directorate, Intelligence, Department of State, US Southern Command Locations: Cuba, United States, Bolivia, Miami , Florida, Colombia, Republic of Cuba

Hours after a Sikh community leader was assassinated by two masked men in the parking lot of his temple in Canada, a senior Indian security officer sent a drug trafficker he knew a video of the blood-covered victim slumped over in his truck. An hour later, he followed that up with the New York address of another Sikh activist he wanted killed. The trafficker got right on it, according to U.S. prosecutors. He passed on the video and other messages to a purported hit man who had already accepted a $15,000 advance payment for the contract killing on U.S. soil, and suggested there could be more such work. “We have so many targets,” he told the hired gun, who he didn’t know was really an undercover U.S. law-enforcement officer.

Persons: “, ” Locations: Canada, Indian, York, U.S

The official told Gupta - who the prosecutors described as an Indian national involved in drugs and weapons trafficking - about a "target" in New York. The official wanted Gupta to orchestrate the target's murder, in exchange for getting criminal charges against him in India dropped. While prosecutors have not identified the alleged victim, a senior administration official told Reuters it was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York-based lawyer who leads a separatist group called Sikhs for Justice. U.S. prosecutors did not name the Indian official, who they described as a government employee responsible for intelligence and security matters. "We are all counting on you," Gupta told the purported hitman in a video call on June 12.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Pannun, Narendra Modi's, Gupta's, Jake Sullivan, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Nijjar, Modi, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Luc Cohen, Krishn Kaushik, Trevor Hunnicut, Heather Timmons Organizations: U.S . Department of Justice, Indian, Reuters, Justice, Administration, Manhattan, National Security, U.S, White, Canadian, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, DELHI, Indian, New York, India, India's Gujarat, United States, Washington, New Delhi, Vancouver, Prague, Delhi

U.S. officials, after learning about the plot in late July, demanded that India investigate, a senior administration official said. High-level meetings and pledges of closer cooperation have continued, with Biden's secretaries of state and defense visiting Delhi this month. A senior U.S. administration official called the assassination plot a "serious matter" and said Washington expects India to stop such activities, even as the Biden administration pursues "an ambitious agenda to expand our cooperation" with India. Biden has made a priority of nurturing ties with India, hoping to counter China’s ambitions in Asia while drawing India away from Russia as the U.S. seeks to isolate Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. "Both the U.S. and India realize that they need each other, perhaps the U.S. a bit more than India."

Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, Nikhil Gupta, Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Biden, Modi, Lisa Curtis, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canada’s, Happymon Jacob, Richard Rossow, Ashley Tellis, David Brunnstrom, Simon Lewis, Krishn Kaushik, Jonathan Landay, Trevor Hunnicutt, Don Durfee, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Eisenhower, White, REUTERS, Rights, Federal, New, New York City, Indian, White House, CIA, Washington, South, National Security Council, Canada, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Washington's Center, Strategic, International Studies, Biden Administration, Carnegie Endowment, International, U.S, Thomson Locations: United States, India, Washington , U.S, U.S, China, Manhattan, New York, New Delhi, Delhi, The U.S, Central Asia, Asia, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, York, Canada, Vancouver suburb, Gujarat

On a rainy night in June, President Biden toasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India during a state dinner at the White House, celebrating “two great friends, and two great powers” — a gesture of flattery for a leader he has enlisted to help the United States check China’s ambition and counter Russia’s aggression. According to the White House, the president had no idea that a significant test to that relationship was unfolding, even during the state visit. On June 22, as Mr. Biden pulled out all of the diplomatic stops to bring Mr. Modi closer, a senior official in the Indian government was offering the “go ahead” approving the murder-for-hire plot surrounding a Sikh American on U.S. soil, according to a Justice Department indictment filed in a federal court in New York Wednesday. There was one flaw: The hit man turned out to be an undercover law enforcement officer, prosecutors said, and the plot was foiled. The suspect, an Indian national accused of trying to arrange the killing, was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30, eight days after the state dinner.

Persons: Biden, Narendra Modi, ”, Modi Organizations: India, White Locations: United States, American, New York, Czech Republic

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