News of the World
Yesterday, 04:14 AM
(This post was last modified: Yesterday, 05:07 AM by kyonides.
Edit Reason: Niño Guerrero Killed in Venezuela
)
MIDDLE EAST
Quote:WASHINGTON — We have a deal.
President Trump canceled impending US strikes and a purported plan to storm Iran’s Kharg Island Thursday, telling The Post that an agreement between Washington and Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin nuclear negotiations was “all wrapped up.”
“Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” he said on Truth Social.
“Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others.”
Trump’s announcement came after The Post reported Iran had submitted a final draft of a prospective agreement to Qatari mediators Wednesday night.
“It’s pretty much all wrapped up,” the president told The Post in a brief phone call.
Details of the new agreement were few, but Trump indicated that the US would lift its nearly two-month-old blockade of Iranian ports once the deal is signed — something Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said would only happen if Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz.
“Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized,” Trump said on Truth Social, adding that an in-person signing ceremony would happen at a “time and place … to be announced shortly.”
A US source familiar with mediation efforts described the agreement as “all-inclusive,” and similar to earlier iterations of the memorandum of understanding passed between the US and Iran.
The main hangup, according to the source, was “sequencing,” referring to the order in which the terms of the arrangement would be fulfilled.
Those terms have included reopening the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the US blockade of Iranian ports, releasing frozen Iranian funds and Iran’s willingness to discuss a plan to destroy, degrade or transfer its stockpile of enriched uranium and vow to never seek a nuclear weapon.
While Iran has repeatedly demanded economic incentives before it would sign an MOU, Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week told Congress that lifting sanctions would only be considered in exchange for real nuclear concessions.
Quote:US forces have disabled a third oil tanker this week attempting to break through the American blockade on Iranian ports, military officials said Thursday.
An aircraft carrier was deployed at around 11:20 p.m. Wednesday to intercept the Guinea-Bissau-flagged M/T Jalveer, which was accused of trying to transport Iranian oil through the Gulf of Oman, US Central Command said.
“A US aircraft fired two Hellfire missiles into the ship’s engine room after the crew repeatedly failed to comply with directions from US forces,” CENTCOM wrote on X.
Video of the strike shows the first Hellfire missile hitting the ship’s engine room from the side, with the second rocket hitting the vessel head-on.
About 20 Indian seafarers were rescued from the ship following the attack, according to India’s foreign ministry.
The overnight assault took place after US forces conducted similar interceptions earlier this week on the Palau-flagged vessels M/T Marivex and M/T Settebello.
The strike on the Settebello on Tuesday also forced about two dozen Indian seafarers to jump overboard, with Oman’s military launching a rescue operation in the waters.
Three crew members, however, were found dead on Wednesday, marking the first merchant sailors to be killed since the US began its blockade on Iranian ports on April 13.
India has summoned Jason Meeks, the deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in New Delhi, to protest the deadly strike and earlier attacks this week.
Quote:The Trump administration is preparing to deport a group of Iranian asylum-seekers and other migrants to the Central African Republic (CAR) under a newly established third-country agreement, according to reports.
The first flight under the arrangement could depart as early as Thursday and is expected to carry roughly 20 people.
According to a Reuters report, the flight includes people from Syria, Afghanistan and a Turkish national.
The administration has increasingly relied on these third-country deportation agreements as a lawful mechanism to remove migrants who cannot legally be sent back to their native countries.
Federal authorities previously struck a similar removal deal with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The CAR is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan and South Sudan to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo to the south, and Cameroon to the west.
Since gaining independence from France in 1960, the CAR has seen decades of political instability including six coups and weak state authority with armed insurgencies fuelimh violence and risk of mass atrocities against civilians.
President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, re-elected to a third term in December’s election, has relied on Russia for security assistance while also showing interest in partnering with Western countries to develop the country’s critical minerals sector.
Under the new US deal, hundreds of migrants could ultimately be sent to there which has triggered pushback from immigration defense lawyers.
Among those scheduled for the upcoming flight are two Iranian women who arrived in the US in November 2024 and secured “withholding of removal” from a US immigration judge.
According to their attorney, Emily Trostle, the two women face a risk of torture and persecution if forcibly returned to Iran. One of them is a baptized convert; the other is a democracy activist, Trostle said.
Quote:President Trump is set to meet with Middle East leaders next week as he travels to France for the annual G7 forum – where Iran will be a major topic.
The president is expected to head to Evian, the town on Lake Geneva known for its natural mineral water springs, for the Group of Seven gathering, which includes the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Trump is expected to land Monday afternoon, local time, and hold a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron before a leaders’ dinner.
He has also been scheduled for separate meetings Tuesday with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi; and UAE’s Emir Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
On Wednesday, Trump will meet one-on-one with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and then Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The White House reached out to Saudi Arabia about a bilateral meeting, but the schedule didn’t work out, a senior administration official said Saturday during a briefing call with reporters.
Notably absent from the schedule is a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has expressed repeated frustration that talks to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have taken a backseat since the US and Israel have been locked in a months-long war with Iran.
Though the G7 leaders will meet with Zelensky as a group on Tuesday, Trump is not scheduled to sit down with the Ukrainian leader.
Last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted negotiations with Ukraine and Russia were effectively on pause, saying “if someone else would like to handle it, they should,” when asked whether Europe should take over mediation.
The update on the president’s schedule came as news emerged of a potential peace deal between Iran and the United States, which Pakistani officials claimed could be signed within 24 hours.
“There’s a lot that the G7 countries have said that they can do once that deal goes forward. Iran is going to open up the Strait of Hormuz, that’s a requirement to be open with no toll. As they do that, we will lift our blockade,” a senior administration official said.
The official noted France and the UK said they could put together a coalition to demine the strait.
Quote:Mexican authorities found a decomposing body in the trunk of a car near where the Iranian men’s national team is training for the World Cup in Tijuana.
Police found a black bag containing a body that showed “signs of violence” in the back of a gray Toyota SUV with California plates.
The car was parked for days in a supermarket parking lot across from Caliente Stadium, where the Iranian team is preparing for several World Cup games in the United States.
Residents had complained about a pungent smell emanating from the car, which is believed to have been there since Wednesday. No details about the person found have been released.
A patrol unit discovered the body, the Tijuana prosecutor’s office said.
“Upon inspecting the vehicle, they found a person wrapped in a black bag in the trunk, showing signs of violence,” a spokesman said.
The car had damage to its rear and had a rear license plate holder for a Toyota dealership in Tijuana, located on the border with California.
Officials in white body suits were seen taking samples from the car’s exterior and later examined the corpse.
Tijuana is known for its high murder rate, which one of the highest in the world.
Quote:Iran booby-trapped the tunnels leading to its highly enriched uranium stockpile in recent weeks — in an apparent bid to stop the US from raiding its key nuclear site, a bombshell new report revealed.
The Islamic Republic planted explosive mines at tunnel entrances and deliberately collapsed passageways to its nuclear cache in the city of Isfahan, south of Tehran, five sources familiar with US intelligence told CNN.
The news comes after President Trump was reportedly considering sending in US troops to seize the nuclear material in late March.
The risky ground raid was ultimately scrapped, but may have given Tehran the incentive to conceal its nuclear assets, two of the sources said.
An estimated 440 pounds of 60% enriched uranium — which is only a short technical step from a nuclear weapon — is stored in the tunnel complex, the only major nuclear site that appears to have survived largely intact after the 12-day war with Israel in June 2025, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
That amount represents more than half of the Iranian regime’s total stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the IAEA said.
Iran also reportedly intentionally sealed some of its tunnels at Isfahan to block access to nuclear materials over the last few weeks.
A proposed peace deal to effectively end the war between the US and Iran, which is expected to be signed this weekend, requires Tehran to turn over its enriched uranium so it can be destroyed on site and transported out of the country.
But the new barriers mean the tunnels will need to be excavated and de-mined, complicating the removal of delicate uranium even for the Iranians, several of the sources said.
It also allows Tehran to mask the extent of its compliance with the agreement.
Quote:The war between Israel and Hezbollah continues to rage as President Trump and Iran inch closer to signing a historic peace deal.
The Israel Defense Forces said they struck over 70 Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon and killed several terrorists Saturday.
Over 20 Lebanese towns were given evacuation notices before Israeli forces pounded Hezbollah infrastructure and rocket launchers in Southern Lebanon.
A soldier fighting for the Lebanese Armed Forces — the official state military of Lebanon and not affiliated with the Iranian terror proxy Hezbollah — was seriously wounded by an Israeli drone attack, the IDF claimed.
Israeli forces continue to scan a massive Hezbollah tunnel system near the strategically significant Medieval era Beaufort Castle — which the IDF seized May 31 — and killed several Hezbollah terrorists attempting to emerge from the tunnels earlier in the week.
Trump announced that a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and curtail the country’s nuclear weapons program will be forged Sunday in a statement on Truth Social.
“The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL,” Trump posted.
Israeli leaders are fretting over the potential deal, fearing it will leave their security concerns unaddressed as they claim they’ve been shut out from the negotiating process.
“No one is happy with this. We understand that it is not good for us and that it harms Israeli interests. What is troubling is that Israel cannot influence it. Its voice is not being heard,” a senior Israeli official told Ynet.
The deal, a Memorandum of Understanding with the Islamic Republic, would call for a 60-day cease-fire as the two sides hash out remaining issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear program.
Quote:The United States and Iran are scheduled to sign a peace deal Sunday that forbids Tehran from possessing nukes, President Trump said.
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route, would be “open to all” once the pact is finalized, Trump said Saturday on his Truth Social.
“The Deal is scheduled to get signed tomorrow, and immediately after it is signed, the Hormuz Strait is OPEN TO ALL,” Trump wrote.
He called the agreement a “WALL TO NO NUCLEAR WEAPON” for the Iranians, although some key matters, including how Tehran’s highly enriched uranium is disposed of, will be temporarily tabled.
“In fact, they no longer want a Nuclear Weapon, nor will they have one, either through purchase, development, or any other form of procurement,” the president said.
The memorandum of understanding, once signed, will kick off nuclear discussions between the US and Iran.
Trump’s north star — stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons — is nominally achieved in the text of the agreement itself, as the president said Tehran agreed in the document to never develop or buy a nuclear warhead.
He acknowledged Saturday that the Iranian regime’s highly enriched uranium would be dealt with later – and once again dangled the threat of force if Tehran refuses to ink the deal.
“At the appropriate time, when all is calm, we will go in and get the Nuclear Dust, buried deep under the powerful sunken granite mountains, thanks to our beautiful B-2 Bombers and their brilliant pilots, and downblend and destroy it, whether in Iran, or the United States,” Trump said.
The news comes after Trump said Vice President JD Vance might sign the deal on behalf of the US, and there were rumors the veep might fly to Europe for G7 meetings set to begin in Evian, France.
The White House and Vance’s office didn’t respond to The Post’s request for comment. The Iranians denied that any deal is imminent.
I gotta say I don't believe him. The IRGC cannot be trusted, not even for a split second.
UKRAINE WAR
Quote:A senior Russian military colonel has been killed in a car explosion in Moscow.
Damir Davydov, the Kremlin’s top artillery chief, died when a bomb planted under a BMW exploded as he drove near his Balashikha home around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to local media reports.
Surveillance footage shared by Russian media appeared to show the car igniting in a fireball and careening into a parked vehicle.
Bystanders then rushed to drag Davydov from the blazing wreckage, but he later died from his injuries, Telegram channel Mash reported.
The explosive device, planted under the driver’s seat and detonated remotely, had a yield equivalent to 300 to 400 grams of TNT, according to Russian Telegram channel 112.
The Kremlin confirmed Wednesday that an explosion had taken place and said President Vladimir Putin had been briefed, but offered no further details.
Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also refused to confirm or discuss the victim’s identity.
“An explosion took place, but the details, as you understand, are not subject to disclosure in connection with the investigation that is underway,” Peskov said.
“Of course, this is a matter for our special services.”
The blast happened less than a mile from the site where Yaroslav Moskalik, a senior Russian military official, was killed in a car bombing in April 2025, independent outlet Astra reported.
Russian investigators have reportedly launched a criminal case into the deadly blast.
The latest attack marks another strike against high-profile Russian figures since Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago.
Quote:KYIV, June 12 — Ukraine is seeking an additional $20 billion in military funding from its allies to cement what it sees as its current battlefield advantage over Russia, a Ukrainian defense source said on Friday.
The request will be made next Thursday at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an alliance of more than 50 countries also known as the Ramstein group that provide financial and military aid for Kyiv.
Russia’s advances have slowed this year — effectively grinding to a halt last month — as Ukrainian mid-range drone strikes have harmed its supplies and logistics for the front line.
Long-range drone strikes are meanwhile inflicting pain on Russia’s energy sector.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian military commanders have said the dynamics on the battlefield have given them a window this year to bring Russia to the negotiating table on more favorable terms.
Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, told Reuters that his strategic aim was to force Russia to pull its troops back from the frontline by destroying their supply lines and logistics with escalating drone attacks.
To achieve that, he said, Ukraine needed money.
“The production capabilities, the quality of drones and the number of crews operating in Ukraine are enough to inflict devastating blows on the Russian economy, clog their logistics and kill personnel,” Brovdi said.
Zelenskiy said last month that he wanted to press ahead before the onset of winter with peace talks with Russia, which have stalled in recent months, to capitalize on the improvement in Kyiv’s strategic position.
However, Putin said last week that Russian forces were still advancing every day and he saw no need for such talks.
He said there was no risk to Russia’s economy, though he acknowledged Ukrainian strikes were causing harm.
Ukraine’s plan to request additional funds was first reported by Politico.
Quote:WASHINGTON — Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released declassified information Friday on US taxpayer funding of more than 120 biological labs in 30 plus foreign countries — with the outgoing spy chief blasting Biden administration officials for having “lied” about their existence.
“Despite the obvious potential for catastrophic global impact research on dangerous pathogens in biolabs can have, politicians, so-called health professionals like Dr. Fauci, and entities within the Biden administration’s national security team lied to the American people about the existence of U.S.-funded and supported biolabs, and threatened those who attempted to expose the truth,” Gabbard said.
“ODNI will continue to work closely with partners across the government to identify where these labs are, what pathogens they contain to end dangerous Gain-of-Function research that threatens the health and wellbeing of the American people and people around the world,” she added.
The Post first reported on the findings last month, noting that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had sought transparency as part of an effort to eliminate possibly dangerous experiments with pathogens that have the potential to explode into pandemics.
Experts have disputed that the Biden administration covered up the existence of the labs or that their work poses a threat to the US.
The investigation was conducted pursuant to President Trump’s executive order on so-called “gain-of-function” research, which can make viruses and other pathogens more transmissible.
“Many of these U.S. government-funded biolabs are currently or have previously engaged in research using hazardous and highly contagious pathogens, in some cases to include dangerous Gain-of-Function research, with very little visibility or oversight,” ODNI said in its press release.
Around one-third of the biolabs cited in the declassified documents are located in Ukraine, putting them at risk of “compromise” due to their having held risky pathogens and being vulnerable amid Russia’s war.
Pathogens with the potential to biological weapons had been stored in some of the labs since the Soviet era, with the US working in tandem with Ukrainian scientists to contain any risks.
The pathogens included “Anthrax, tularemia, tuberculosis, Swine Fever, New Castles Disease, MERS, SARS, Marburg, Ebola, Lassa, the Plague, Rickettsia” and others, per the files.
Four of the labs had a total cost to taxpayers of more than $9 million, the records show.
The Defense Department’s Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, which oversaw the work, has long studied pathogens to prevent future outbreaks and enhance US biosecurity.
Russians accused some of the Ukrainian research done in partnership with the US of having been at the level of biological weapons work, the files stated.
“I am really confused as to why the DNI released something giving new life to a misleading narrative the entire intel community has known for decades to be a Russian trope and that the Trump administration worked hard to crush in its first term,” said Josh Segal, an expert on biological weapons who has served with American arms control delegations.
“Their labs are not now and were never secret, and do zero questionable work,” added Segal, who was also an expert on the UN special commission on Iraq’s bioweapons tech evaluation group.
“Cooperation with the US started as a highly publicized effort to convert former Soviet research facilities that may have been connected to the USSR’s covert BW program and involved Russian participation until a decade ago,” he added.
Quote:A Ukrainian woman was allegedly kept as a sex slave by a Russian soldier who raped her for more than a year — before she finally managed to escape and identify her alleged captor, according to reports.
The nightmare began for the woman — identified by the Times of London only as Sofia — when she was snatched from her home in a Village near Kharkiv shortly after Russian invaded the country in February 2022.
Sofia, just 21 at the time, claimed she rejected repeated advances from Russian soldier Vyacheslav Dubenko while he and his comrades occupied the village.
But the situation spiraled out of control when he showed up at her house armed and flanked by two soldiers and said, “Do you want your family to be dead?”
Dubenko, now 32, then allegedly took Sofia to a nearby building and raped her.
She was allegedly assaulted several more times, and when her family reported it to the occupiers’ commanding officer he reportedly dismissed it, saying “The young will be young,” and did nothing to stop it.
Things escalated again in June when Dubenko allegedly convinced a pair of fellow soldiers to kidnap Sofia, taking her across the border in to the Russian city of Belogrod and locking her in a “boarded up” apartment, the Times of London reported.
“The balcony had metal bars,” said Anna Ponomarenko, a top war crime investigator for Kharkiv police.
“Everything was boarded up. The doors were locked with both keys and padlocks,” she told the Times. “He took away her phone. He left her food, that’s it. It was sex slavery.”
Quote:Strongman Vladimir Putin was forced to halt his annual Russia Day showcase in Moscow’s Red Square for the first time in 23 years Friday, after a Ukrainian attack battered key energy targets and sparked massive fires on Russian soil.
Kyiv launched drone strikes overnight into Friday on critical Russian energy and transportation points, including the Armiansk Bridge, which connects occupied Crimea with the motherland.
The bombing of the bridge “completely paralysed” a key logistical route and destroyed about 50 vehicles carrying fuel and ammunition, according to Ukraine’s 1st Separate Assault Regiment Da Vinci.
Other targets included a petrochemical plant in Samara, an oil refinery in Tatarstan and a surface-to-air missile system in the Kursk region near the Ukrainian border.
In addition, Ukrainian drones slammed the Bryansk border region killing two people and wounding 10 others, according to Acting Regional Gov. Yegor Kovalchuk.
Moscow’s centerpiece Russia Day concert was hastily moved to the Mossovet Cultural Centre in the eastern part of the city, following the airstrikes. Historically celebrated in Red Square, it marked the first time the holiday events will take place outside of the square since 2003.
The concert, titled “In the Unity of the Peoples Lies the Strength of Russia,” was scheduled for 9:30 p.m. local time, but most of the entertainment bailed — including prominent Russian singer Shaman — or were nixed from the performance.
Planned festivities in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan, Tolyyatti and Samara were also cancelled, while restrictions were imposed on several local airports.
The holiday represents the creation of the modern Russian state, the presidency and the beginning of the collapse of the USSR.
Nizhnekamsk Mayor Radmir Belyaev said celebrations were scrapped to “ensure safety.”
Quote:Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Ukraine couldn’t stop his military — even as Kyiv’s special forces struck deep inside the motherland igniting massive fires at a major oil terminal Saturday.
Putin insisted Kyiv, who’s been using longer-range drones to batter military and energy infrastructure deep in the heart of Russia in recent months, was turning to “terrorist methods.”
“The enemy is unable to contain this onslaught and is openly resorting to terrorist methods,” Putin said, speaking at a meeting televised live from the Kremlin Saturday.
“Our troops maintain a strategic advantage, confidently advancing, and no amount of shelling or drone strikes will change this situation,” he claimed.
The strongman’s spin came hours after Kyiv hit the Tamanneftegaz oil and gas terminal, a major export hub on the Black Sea, in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region.
“It is petrodollars that turn into missiles, drones, and ammunition that the enemy uses to attack our cities,” Ukraine’s Security Service said on Telegram, claiming responsibility for the attack.
Tamanneftegaz is the largest oil and gas shipment terminal in the South of Russia, with an export capacity of roughly 400,000 barrels a day.
Ukrainian drones struck five fuel storage tanks and two oil-loading facilities at the terminal, sparking fires that spread to trucks and warehouse, the security service said.
Nearly 100 Russian firefighters responded to the blaze, local authorities said.
Meanwhile, a member of Putin’s own ruling communist party warned Russia was on the verge of collapse as he demanded the dictator to put an end to Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
“The time of illusions is over. … If the situation persists, social unrest and chaos will become more likely. The West will inevitably exploit this to destroy the remnants of Russian statehood,” Russian Member of Parliament Vyacheslav Markhayev said, according to The Telegraph.
WORLD CUP
Quote:A local Mexican trade group leader was caught on video making a racist, slanted-eye gesture at a South Korean influencer during a World Cup match in Jalisco, Mexico — and will be removed from office after the clip went viral, The Post has learned.
Yoon Su-jin — who has nearly 9 million combined followers on TikTok and YouTube — was filming herself celebrating South Korea’s opening World Cup victory against Czechia Thursday when College of Topographic and Geomatic Engineers of Jalisco President Ulises Bernal made the gesture behind her.
While being recorded, Bernal, a government trade group leader who was decked out in the Mexican national team’s away jersey, began making several hand signs while he laughed in the background of Yoon’s shot. He then made the racist gesture, chuckled and leaned back into his seat as a stunned Yoon stared at her camera, the clip showed.
“I came all the way to Mexico for the World Cup, but … am I being too sensitive?” Yoon, who goes by Incocat_t, wrote in Korean.
“POV: You traveled across the world for the World Cup… and experienced racism.”
A spokesperson for the government trade association, which trains and licenses engineers, told The Post: “We are deeply saddened by what is happening regarding this incident.”
When asked if Bernal would face any punishment, they said “the Honor and Justice Committee is meeting this same day” and that Bernal would be “removed from office.”
Yoon’s social media followers showered her with love and support.
“That’s rude, that’s not right! I apologize, not all Mexicans are like that,” one person commented.
“Just as there are people all over the world with something wrong with their brains, that guy is no exception,” an online looker said. “Let it go and enjoy everything else.”
However, there were some followers as insensitive as Bernal.
“A few years ago, no one took offense at that gesture,” one person claimed. “Today, people are so thin-skinned that they call anything racism.”
Quote:Police in Peru took World Cup fever to another level, disguising themselves as FIFA 2026 mascots to stage a dramatic drug raid in Lima.
Video posted on the police force’s official TikTok account showed officers dressed as Clutch the Bald Eagle, the US mascot, and Maple the Moose, Canada’s mascot, smashing through a gate with a battering ram Wednesday before arresting a man in a white T-shirt.
The footage also showed officers recovering packets of white powder and a firearm.
The video was captioned: “World Cup Mode: Operation ends with the fall of ‘Pichichi,'” the nickname of the small-time drug dealer and a reference to the trophy awarded to the top scorer in the Spanish league.
Col. Carlos Fredy Alcántara Obregón, head of the police’s Green Squad, said officers learned their target was a football fanatic swept up in World Cup excitement.
“So we proceeded to disguise my Green Squad personnel as World Cup mascots in order to approach him without arousing suspicion and make the arrest,” he said.
The unusual tactic worked — and it wasn’t even Peru’s first costumed bust.
On Valentine’s Day 2025, an officer dressed as a capybara carrying a turtle-shaped backpack helped make an arrest in another Lima drug investigation.
Other officers have also previously disguised themselves as Marvel superheroes, according to ESPN.
Peru failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, finishing ninth among the 10 CONMEBOL teams, but its police force may already be a contender for tournament mascot of the year.
VENEZUELA
Quote:The leader of Tren de Aragua was killed in a “swift and lethal” joint military action by the US and Venezuela, a blow to the notorious transnational gang that’s been allowed to “rape, maim, and murder American citizens with total impunity,” President Trump announced.
The strike happened earlier this week alongside Venezuelan security forces targeting a compound housing Tren founder and leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday.
“At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Niño Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren De Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump’s post included a dramatic video showing a projectile hitting a building in a remote area of Venezuela, followed by a massive, fiery explosion.
The attack was “retribution,” Trump said, for the violent crimes perpetrated by Tren de Argua, which he described as a “foreign army” that was allowed to “rape, maim, and murder American Citizens with total impunity” under former President Joe Biden.
“Early in my Administration, I delivered on my promise to designate Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, deport thousands of evil criminals, and wage war against the Cartels, who have long been waging war against our Citizens, while weak leaders left America helpless and defensive,” Trump continued.
The president said the airstrike was “coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well.”
“As a result, Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will find these vicious murderers and drug lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong,” Trump concluded.
Taking out Guerrero marks a new level of cooperation between Venezuela and the United States.
US military officials stressed the joint action with the former US rival in statements after Trump shared video of the “swift and lethal” strike that took out Guerrero.
“We extend our gratitude to the Venezuelan security forces for their support to the successful joint operation against a Tren de Aragua compound that resulted in the death of the narco-terrorist organization’s leader,” said Gen. Francis L. Donovan, head of US Southern Command.
“Guerrero was a wanted fugitive charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with ordering, directing, and facilitating acts of terrorism and violence in the United States.”
The strike could have far-reaching consequences for an organization that has spread its tentacles to include a presence in Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, with reports other narcos on the run could also be in jeopardy.
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ," 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
![[Image: SP1-Scripter.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Scripter.png)
![[Image: SP1-Writer.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Writer.png)
![[Image: SP1-Poet.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-Poet.png)
![[Image: SP1-PixelArtist.png]](https://www.save-point.org/images/userbars/SP1-PixelArtist.png)
![[Image: SP1-Reporter.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/GmxWbHyL/SP1-Reporter.png)
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
Maranatha!
The Internet might be either your friend or enemy. It just depends on whether or not she has a bad hair day.
My Original Stories (available in English and Spanish)
List of Compiled Binary Executables I have published...
HiddenChest & Roole
Give me a free copy of your completed game if you include at least 3 of my scripts!
Just some scripts I've already published on the board...
KyoGemBoost XP VX & ACE, RandomEnkounters XP, KSkillShop XP, Kolloseum States XP, KEvents XP, KScenario XP & Gosu, KyoPrizeShop XP Mangostan, Kuests XP, KyoDiscounts XP VX, ACE & MV, KChest XP VX & ACE 2016, KTelePort XP, KSkillMax XP & VX & ACE, Gem Roulette XP VX & VX Ace, KRespawnPoint XP, VX & VX Ace, GiveAway XP VX & ACE, Klearance XP VX & ACE, KUnits XP VX, ACE & Gosu 2017, KLevel XP, KRumors XP & ACE, KMonsterPals XP VX & ACE, KStatsRefill XP VX & ACE, KLotto XP VX & ACE, KItemDesc XP & VX, KPocket XP & VX, OpenChest XP VX & ACE
