Latest news with #gangs
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Who is behind Tren de Aragua?
Tren de Aragua was a little-known gang in Venezuela – until recently. US President Donald Trump's focus on the group has thrust it into the spotlight, as hundreds of Venezuelans have been deported from the United States.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
A Desperate Haiti Turns to Erik Prince, Trump Ally, in Fight Against Gangs
Erik Prince, a private military contractor and prominent supporter of President Trump, is working with Haiti's government to conduct lethal operations against gangs that are terrorizing the nation and threatening to take over its capital. Mr. Prince, the founder of Blackwater Worldwide, signed a contract to take on the criminal groups that have been killing civilians and seizing control of vast areas of territory, according to senior Haitian and American government officials and several other security experts familiar with Mr. Prince's work in Haiti. Haiti's government has hired American contractors, including Mr. Prince, in recent months to work on a secret task force to deploy drones meant to kill gang members, security experts said. Mr. Prince's team has been operating the drones since March, but the authorities have yet to announce the death or capture of a single high-value target. Security experts said Mr. Prince has also been scouting Haitian American military veterans to hire to send to Port-au-Prince and is expected to send up to 150 mercenaries to Haiti over the summer. He recently shipped a large cache of weapons to the country, two experts said. The Haitian government is awaiting the arrival of arms shipments and more personnel to step up its fight against the gangs. American officials said they were aware of Mr. Prince's work with Haiti's government. But the full terms of the Haitian government's arrangement with Mr. Prince, including how much it is paying him, are unknown. This article is based on interviews with a dozen people who follow Haiti closely. All but one spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive security matters publicly. The State Department, which has provided millions of dollars in funding to equip and train Haiti's National Police, said it is not paying Mr. Prince or his company for any work in Haiti. Mr. Prince declined to comment for this article. Blackwater no longer exists, but Mr. Prince owns other private military entities. The involvement of civilian contractors like Mr. Prince, a Trump donor who has a long and checkered history in the private security industry, marks a pivotal moment in Haiti. Its crisis has deepened since its last president was assassinated in 2021, and the government now appears willing to take desperate measures to secure control. Armed groups escalated the violence last year by uniting and taking over prisons, burning down police stations and attacking hospitals. About 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes and hundreds of thousands are living in shelters. Gangs have captured so much territory in recent months that U.N. officials have warned that the capital is in danger of falling under complete criminal control. The situation is dire enough that officials and civilians alike say they are eager for any overseas help, particularly after a $600 million international police mission started by the Biden administration and largely staffed by Kenyan police officers failed to receive adequate international personnel and money. With Haiti's undermanned and underequipped police force struggling to contain the gangs, the government is turning to private military contractors equipped with high-powered weapons, helicopters and sophisticated surveillance and attack drones to take on the well-armed gangs. At least one other American security company is working in Haiti, though details of its role are secret. Since drone attacks targeting gangs started in March, they have killed more than 200 people, according to Pierre Esperance, who runs a leading human rights organization in Port-au-Prince. After the U.S. occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq ended, security firms like those owned by Mr. Prince started seeing big streams of revenues dry up. Private military contractors are looking for new opportunities, and they see possibilities in Latin America. Before presidential elections in Ecuador this year, Mr. Prince toured the country with local police and promised to help security forces. The country has faced a wave of violence unleashed by gangs. Ecuadorean officials denied that they had signed any security deal with Mr. Prince. A person close to Mr. Prince said he hopes to expand the scope of his work in Haiti to include help with customs, transport, revenue collection and other government services that need to be restored for the country to stabilize. Rampant government corruption is a key reason Haiti's finances are in shambles. The Haitian prime minister's office and a presidential council, which was formed to run the country until presidential elections can be held, did not respond to several requests for comment. Mr. Prince, whose sister Betsy DeVos was Secretary of Education during Mr. Trump's first term, donated more than $250,000 to help elect Mr. Trump in 2016, according to campaign finance records. He was often cited as an informal 'adviser' to Mr. Trump's first transition to office, a description he denied. Days before Mr. Trump took office in 2017, the United Arab Emirates organized a meeting between Mr. Prince and a Russian close to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as part of an effort to set up a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and the incoming president, a meeting that later came under scrutiny. The House Intelligence Committee made a criminal referral to the Justice Department about Mr. Prince, saying he lied about the circumstances of the meeting, but no charges were ever filed. Mr. Prince has a decades-long history of military interventions overseas, some of which ended badly. Blackwater faced legal problems over its work for the U.S. military in places like Iraq, including an episode in 2007 in which its employees killed 17 civilians in Baghdad. (President Trump pardoned four Blackwater guards in 2020.) In 2011, Mr. Prince helped recruit and train an army of Colombian mercenaries for the United Arab Emirates to use in conflicts around the Middle East. In 2017, he proposed a plan to use contractors to take over Afghanistan. In 2020, The New York Times revealed that he had recruited former spies to help conservative activists infiltrate liberal groups in the United States. A year later, the United Nations accused him of violating an arms embargo in Libya, which he denied. 'My name has become click bait for people who like to weave conspiracy theories together,' Mr. Prince said in a 2021 interview with The Times. 'And if they throw my name in, it always attracts attention. And it's pretty damn sickening.' Haiti's experience with private military contractors goes back decades. When U.S. forces returned former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power in 1994 after he was ousted in a bloody military coup, he was accompanied by a private security team from the San Francisco-based Steele Foundation. In recent years, military contractors in Haiti have had a more tainted record. Colombian mercenaries hired by an American security firm were accused of taking part in the 2021 assassination of the last elected president, Jovenel Moïse. Rod Joseph, a Haitian American U.S. Army veteran who owns a Florida-based security officer training company, said he had been in talks with Mr. Prince to help supply personnel for his contract since late last year. Mr. Joseph, who trained Haitian police on the use of surveillance drones, said Mr. Prince gave him the impression that his plans were under the auspices of the U.S. government but then shifted to be directly under the purview of the Haitian government. He said Mr. Prince told him that he planned to send private soldiers from El Salvador to Haiti along with three helicopters to engage in attacks against the gangs. Mr. Joseph said he was uncomfortable with the idea of contractors working directly with the Haitian government, without any American oversight. 'We should be very worried, because if he's from the U.S. government, at least he can have the semblance of having to answer to Congress,' he said. 'If it's him, his contract, he doesn't owe anybody an explanation.' 'It's just another payday,' he added. Mr. Prince texted him a few days ago, Mr. Joseph said, seeking a list of Haitian American veterans to send to Haiti, but he declined to provide names unless Mr. Prince could provide more precise details of their mission and would allow Mr. Joseph to lead them. U.S. military contractors doing defense work overseas are required to obtain a license from the State Department, but those licenses are not public record. Mr. Prince has been trying to expand his portfolio and has traveled overseas in search of new business, said Sean McFate, a professor at the National Defense University and author of 'The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order.' Mr. Prince is viewed skeptically by other members of the private military industry, Mr. McFate said, because of his showy nature and the negative publicity he generates for a security industry that prides itself on a 'sense of professionalism.' 'It's always worth noting where Prince is going, because it's sort of a barometer of where he thinks Trump world might end up, and he wants to make a buck from it,' Mr. McFate said. But experts stress that Haitians are desperate for solutions — regardless of where they come from. 'The doors are open. All possibilities must be on the table,' Haiti's Minister of Economy and Finance, Alfred Métellus, told Le Nouvelliste, a Haitian newspaper, last month. 'We are looking for all Haitians, all foreigners who have expertise in this field and who want to support us, want to support the police and the army to unblock the situation.' Mr. Joseph said he worried that outsourcing the work of fighting gangs to private military contractors would not do anything to improve the skills of the Haitian police and military. 'When you do it this way, it's trouble,' he said. 'Every time you parachute knowledge in and parachute out, the locals will always be in need of that knowledge. If you don't have knowledge of security, you will just have a bunch of dead people.'
Sky News
4 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Met Police urge public to protect their phones from fraudsters - as victim shares experience
Police are urging the public to take steps to protect their devices and finances. The Metropolitan Police said its officers have responded to a number of cases of organised gangs gaining access to victims' mobile banking and financial apps. In some cases, the gangs have cleared their victims' accounts and taken out loans. The Met said there would be increased patrols in hotspot areas, with a recent two-week crackdown on this type of offending having resulted in 292 arrests across London. Kush Chaudary had his phone stolen by a group of men outside a bar in the Soho area of the city on 9 September 2023. The group started speaking to Mr Chaudary and waited for him to unlock his phone before they took it from him. "With my phone unlocked, they targeted anything they could gain immediate access to including my bank and crypto accounts," he said. 'Exposed and vulnerable' Within minutes, the gang had changed his passcode, transferred £5,000 from his crypto wallet and stole several thousands more from his bank accounts. They also took out fraudulent loans of £22,000 and spent around £8,000 on designer clothes and electrical products using Apple Pay. "Seeing that unfold in front of my eyes was difficult. This was hard-earned savings I had that was being spent by strangers and I felt very exposed and vulnerable as I didn't know when it would stop," Mr Chaudary added. The gang behind Mr Chaudary's theft was convicted and jailed after a Met investigation. Its members stole a total of £225,000 in central London between December 2022 and November 2023. Jacob Raki, 23, was jailed for 33 months for six counts of handling stolen goods, two counts of attempted fraud and one count of robbery; Joseph Serry-Kamal, 19, was jailed for 24 months for one count of robbery; and Herman Solomon, 33, was jailed for 31 weeks for handling stolen goods and fraud. Smon Tecle, 27, received a suspended sentence for one count of theft and two counts of fraud. The Met Police are urging people to follow three steps to protect their phones - to turn on "stolen device" or "anti-theft" features on their mobile, use strong separate passwords, and watch out for people looking over them when using their phone. Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto said the Met had "stepped up its work to prevent and tackle phone theft in London". "By intensifying our efforts we are catching more perpetrators, but we know it's still a serious problem and I encourage everyone to take these simple steps which could help prevent significant financial loss and fraud," she added.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
The mafia-like turf wars of Iron Age Britain: Game of Thrones-style barons carried out 'gangland executions' of rival tribes leading to mass slaughter, new research reveals
Mafia-like gangs roamed the countryside executing rival tribes in bloody turf wars in Iron Age Britain, new research has revealed. For almost a century, historians have blamed the invading Romans for mass slaughter events involving native tribes at hill forts across the west country. But radiocarbon dating of human remains dug up in 1936 at one of Europe's biggest hill forts has revealed the victims were actually killed 100 years before the Romans arrived. And far from a bloodthirsty invading army carrying out atrocities as they swept their way across the land, 'localised gangland infighting' was behind the brutal slayings. Rival groups fought one another for control over territory. The evidence shows the victims were killed by 'lethal weapon injuries' in very public displays as a warning to others not to fall out of line, experts say. Dr Miles Russell, principal academic in prehistoric and Roman archaeology at Bournemouth University, has spent several years researching the burial site at Maiden Castle near Dorchester, where the remains of more than 50 people were found 90 years ago. He said: 'We can now say quite categorically that these individuals died a long time before the Romans arrived and over a long period of time, not in single battle for a hill fort. 'The deaths were a series of gangland-syle executions. 'People were dragged up there and put to death as a way of one group exerting control over another. 'These were Mafia-like families. Game of Throne-like barons with one dynasty wiping out another to control trade links and protection rackets for power. 'What we are seeing is he people who lost out being executed. 'Most of them had cranial trauma with no sign of defensive wounds. They were repeatedly struck with a sword to the head with the skulls smashed to oblivion. 'You are talking overkill, not a single death blow. These were gangland executions carried out in a very prominent and obvious way as a warning to others.' The research shows the executions took place over a long period of time between the late first century BC and the early first century AD. The Romans didn't arrive in Dorset until 43AD. The 'war-cemetery' at Maiden Castle is one of Britain's most famous archaeological discoveries. In 1936 dig director Sir Mortimer Wheeler suggested the deaths were the result of a 'furious but ultimately futile defence of the hillfort against an all-conquering Roman legion.' This account was accepted as fact, becoming an iconic event in popular narratives of Britain's 'Island Story'. Dr Russell said: 'Since the 1930s, the story of Britons fighting Romans at one of the largest hillforts in the country has become a fixture in historical literature. 'The tale of innocent men and women of the local Durotriges tribe being slaughtered by Rome is powerful and poignant. It features in countless articles, books and TV documentaries. 'It has become a defining moment in British history, marking the sudden and violent end of the Iron Age.' 'The trouble is it doesn't appear to have actually happened. 'The archaeological evidence points to it being a case of Britons killing Britons and the dead being buried in a long-abandoned fortification. 'The Roman army committed many atrocities, but this does not appear to be one of them. 'After they landed in Essex they invading Romans fought organised armies of kings or queens in defensive positions. 'But as they moved further west the people and communities they encountered were more scattered and was very difficult for them to dictate to people that they were under their control. 'By this stage the Romans were more about exploiting territory and getting money out of it. In the Mendips it was extracting lead, in the Weald in Sussex it was iron and in Dorset in was farming.' The work at Maiden Castle also brings into question how other archaeological cemeteries across the south west have been interpreted.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Australian state plans to ban the sale of machetes following violent gang fight
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian state government is banning the sale of machetes after a violent gang fight in a suburban shopping mall injured a young man. Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan announced Monday the ban on the sale of large knives would take effect Wednesday after machete-wielding gang members clashed at a Melbourne mall on Sunday afternoon. A 20-year-old man was seriously injured in the fight that involved eight combatants armed with machetes, a police statement said. Four suspects had been arrested and charged by Monday. 'I will introduce as many laws (as needed) to get these dangerous knives off the streets,' Allan told reporters. 'We will be bringing in place a ban on the sale of machetes here in Victoria and this ban will be in place from midday on Wednesday. Under consumer powers, using these powers, Victoria will be banning machetes from being sold anywhere in the state,' she added. Victoria only Australian state planning to ban machetes Victoria is the only Australian state or territory that plans to ban machetes, broadly defined as a cutting edge knife with a blade exceeding 20 centimeters (almost 8 inches) long. Kitchen knives are not included in the ban. Possession of a machete will be banned with few exceptions in Victoria, Australia's second-most populous state, from Sept. 1. The ban on the sale of machetes was to have taken effect on that date. A three-month amnesty will give people time to dispose of their machetes at police stations and secure bins without penalty. Possession of a machete in Victoria would be punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of more than 47,000 Australian dollars ($30,700). England and Wales banned possession of machetes and some other knives in September last year. Australia has some of the world's toughest gun laws Australia has some of the toughest gun laws in the world, and gun crimes are relatively rare. But knife crimes are becoming more common. New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, and Queensland and South Australia states ban the sale of knives to children. Machetes are currently controlled weapons that are allowed to be carried for legitimate purposes. Around 40 police officers responded to the fight between rival gangs in Melbourne. The two alleged primary offenders, boys aged 15 and 16, were arrested at the scene and charged with using a controlled weapon and other offenses. The boys were held in custody to appear in a children's court at a later date. Two men, aged 18 and 20, were arrested Monday and charged in relation to the violence. They were released on bail for a court appearance in July. All four were known gang members, police said.
