标签： Oceania

In a move that has sparked diplomatic friction between the two Western Hemisphere nations, the United States formally added two of Brazil’s most powerful criminal factions—Comando Vermelho (Red Command, commonly known as CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (First Capital Command, PCC)—to its official list of designated terrorist organizations on Thursday, a step Brazilian authorities have openly rejected.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio released an official statement defending the decision, arguing that the two syndicates rank among the most violent criminal enterprises operating in Brazil. Rubio emphasized that the groups’ sprawling illicit networks and influence do not stop at Brazil’s national borders, but stretch across the broader Latin American region and reach directly into U.S. territory. According to Rubio, CV and PCC collectively count thousands of members across their ranks, and have repeatedly planned and carried out violent, deadly attacks targeting Brazilian law enforcement officers, government officials, and innocent civilian bystanders.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has openly pushed back against the U.S. designation, which carries significant legal ramifications for any entities or individuals connected to the groups under U.S. law. The designation has also become a flashpoint in Brazil’s upcoming presidential election: former president and conservative frontrunner Flavio Bolsonaro, Lula’s main challenger in the October vote, has publicly backed the U.S. move. Earlier this week, Bolsonaro held a high-profile meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump during his visit to the U.S.

The terrorist designation of transnational criminal gangs marks a continuation of a policy the Trump administration implemented immediately after taking office in January 2025. That same year, the administration applied the same terrorist label to two of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels, the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel. From the Trump administration’s perspective, the terrorist classification unlocks new legal authority to expand a range of countermeasures against the groups—from enhanced law enforcement operations and expanded intelligence sharing to full counterinsurgency-style actions—targeting the syndicates, their leadership, and their global assets and financial interests.

The U.S. designation comes on the heels of a major security crackdown by Brazilian forces against CV back in October 2025. That large-scale raid left at least 119 people dead, making it the deadliest law enforcement operation against organized crime in Brazil’s modern history. Deadly small-scale clashes between security forces and criminal factions are a regular occurrence in the country’s most violence-plagued regions.

Since the late summer of 2025, the U.S. has also launched dozens of airstrikes targeting maritime vessels originating from Latin America that U.S. officials claim are tied to designated terrorist organizations and used for drug trafficking operations. The global debate over this policy of labeling South American and Latin American criminal groups as terrorists has split along ideological lines: center-left governments in countries like Brazil and Mexico have been vocal critics of the policy, while right-leaning administrations in Ecuador and Honduras have publicly expressed support for the designations.

Brazil is set to hold its presidential election in October 2025, with recent public opinion polling showing incumbent Lula holding a narrow lead over Bolsonaro. As of yet, Lula has not secured enough support to avoid a second-round runoff vote, leaving the race tight as both candidates lean into transnational crime policy as a key campaign issue.

In a landmark terrorism verdict that closed a chapter on one of 2024’s most high-profile terror plots, an Austrian court has sentenced a 21-year-old Austrian national to 15 years in prison for organizing a planned jihadist attack against Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour stop in Vienna. The foiled conspiracy forced the pop superstar to cancel three sold-out Vienna shows last summer, leaving millions of fans disappointed and sparking global security concerns.

The defendant, Beran A., pleaded guilty to most charges, including membership in the Islamic State (IS) terror group and plotting the attack, but denied allegations that he acted as an accomplice to attempted murder. A co-defendant, 21-year-old Arda K., received a 12-year prison sentence following the guilty verdict. Both verdicts remain open to appeal, and each defendant issued a public apology to the court during closing statements.

Court proceedings laid bare the detailed planning behind the plot. In his testimony last month during the trial held in Wiener Neustadt, outside of Vienna, Beran A. acknowledged he had become radicalized and believed he was obligated to carry out a jihadist attack, but added he was afraid to die. He told the jury he selected the packed Ernst Happel Stadium, which was set to host Swift’s shows, as his target after identifying it as a high-impact, crowded venue. Beran A. also confirmed he obtained bomb-making instructions from an IS high-ranking operative, sought weapons guidance through encrypted chat groups, and attempted unsuccessfully to build an explosive device.

Prosecutors allege Beran A., Arda K., and a third accomplice, Austrian national Hasan E., built a highly dangerous IS-aligned terror cell that planned multiple attacks, mostly targeting locations outside of Austria. Hasan E. is currently detained in Saudi Arabia, where he faces charges for a 2024 stabbing attack in Mecca that wounded a security official and four other bystanders. Prosecutors argue Beran A. encouraged Hasan E. to carry out the Mecca stabbing through constant, intensive contact, and had actively promoted IS propaganda and aligned himself publicly with the terror network starting in 2023, making him a core member of the cell.

Beran A.’s defense team pushed back against the prosecution’s claims, arguing there was no concrete evidence linking their client to the Mecca stabbing incitement, and emphasized that Beran A. was neither a leader nor an ideological mastermind of the group. Prosecutors countered that the verdict offered a critical opportunity to send an unmistakeable message that terror plotting and association with violent extremist groups would not be tolerated, and that all perpetrators would face full accountability for their actions.

The plot against Swift’s tour was ultimately foiled through a joint counterterrorism effort that included critical intelligence support from U.S. intelligence agencies. Beran A. was arrested just one day before the first scheduled Vienna concert, and had remained in detention leading up to the trial. Following the announcement of the concert cancellations last summer, Swift shared her reaction on social media, writing that the nature of the disrupted plot left her with a profound new sense of fear, as well as heavy guilt for the disappointment suffered by the thousands of fans who had arranged travel and accommodation to attend the shows.

This is not the only conviction tied to the conspiracy. Last year, a Berlin court found a 16-year-old Syrian teenager guilty of participating in the attack planning, handing down an 18-month suspended juvenile sentence. As the verdict was read out in the Austrian court on Thursday, Beran A. displayed visible emotion: he looked around the courtroom repeatedly, sniffled loudly, and his hands and leg shook noticeably as he waited for the sentence to be announced.

Just days after the most intense exchange of fire between the United States and Iran since an April truce took effect, negotiators from both sides have reached a preliminary framework for a 60-day extension of the ceasefire, multiple anonymous U.S. sources confirmed to Agence France-Presse on Thursday. The deal, which also paves the way for formal negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, still requires final sign-off from U.S. President Donald Trump to move forward.

The breakthrough comes amid heightened tensions that have put wider diplomatic efforts to end the three-month conflict to the test. The war began in late February when U.S. and Israeli forces launched joint strikes on Iranian targets, and the April truce had largely held until this week’s flare-up.

On Wednesday, the U.S. carried out airstrikes on the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it had targeted the U.S. airbase that launched the attack, though it did not specify the base’s location. Kuwait, which hosts U.S. military personnel on its territory, said its air defense systems intercepted incoming projectiles, drawing the U.S. ally directly into the clash. Kuwait’s foreign ministry quickly condemned what it called “criminal Iranian attacks” on its territory, labeling the incident a dangerous escalation.

U.S. Central Command denounced Iran’s response as an “egregious violation” of the existing ceasefire. Separately, Iranian state media reported Thursday that Iranian forces had opened fire on four commercial ships that attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz without authorization. Iran has blocked all commercial traffic through the strategic waterway, a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies, since the start of the war. U.S. forces confirmed they intercepted five attack drones in and around the strait, and disabled a sixth drone before it could launch from a ground control station near Bandar Abbas.

For its part, Iran has pushed back against U.S. accusations of truce violations. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran would “take all necessary measures to defend its national sovereignty,” and called the U.S. airstrikes themselves a clear breach of the truce. A senior U.S. official countered that American actions were “measured” and carried out with the goal of preserving the existing ceasefire agreement. The IRGC issued a fresh threat Thursday, promising a “firm response” if the U.S. carries out any new attacks against Iranian territory.

Beyond the immediate ceasefire extension, a core sticking point in the proposed deal is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The closure has disrupted global oil and gas supplies, roiling international energy markets. On Thursday, oil prices rose sharply following news of the fresh clashes, erasing most of the gains from the previous day’s drop driven by growing optimism over a potential diplomatic breakthrough.

The Trump administration has taken a hard line on any arrangement that would keep the strait restricted. When asked about a proposal that would let Oman and Iran jointly manage transit through the waterway, Trump issued an explicit threat to the U.S. ally, saying “No, the strait is going to be open to everybody. It’s international waters and Oman will behave just like everybody else or we’ll have to blow them up.” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed the threat, saying the U.S. would “aggressively target” Oman if it moved forward with plans to implement a tolling system for ships transiting the strait. Oman, which previously mediated U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva before the war broke out, has already come under attack from Tehran. Pakistan has since taken over the lead mediation role in ongoing peace efforts. Baqaei called the U.S. threats against Oman “a worrying sign of the normalisation of anarchy and intimidation in international relations.”

The conflict also remains unresolved in neighboring Lebanon, where a separate ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah has failed to stop escalating violence. Iran has insisted that any comprehensive deal to end the wider war must include a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon. On Thursday, the Israeli military carried out a targeted strike in southern Beirut, a known Hezbollah stronghold, hitting a residential apartment. Lebanese authorities reported that 14 people, including three children and one soldier, were killed in Israeli attacks across southern Lebanon on Thursday. A day earlier, Israel declared most of southern Lebanon a combat zone and ordered all civilian residents to evacuate. As of Wednesday, Lebanon’s health ministry reported that 3,269 people have been killed since fighting escalated in the country. On the Israeli side, one soldier was killed in a Hezbollah drone attack near the Lebanese border Wednesday, bringing the total Israeli death toll to 23 troops and one civilian contractor since the fighting began.

For ordinary Iranians, uncertainty over the future remains a constant, even amid hopes for a ceasefire deal. “I feel like nothing is certain yet,” said Amir, a 27-year-old software developer based in Tehran. “The daily question is: Will there be missile strikes tonight?”

A chilling morning rush-hour stabbing at Switzerland’s Winterthur main railway station left three people injured on Thursday, with regional officials quickly classifying the assault as a confirmed terrorist act. The 31-year-old attacker, identified as Swiss-Turkish national Nesip Dedeler, was taken into custody by police within five minutes of the first emergency call, bringing a swift end to the incident that sparked widespread panic among commuters.

Witnesses recount the attacker shouting the phrase “Allahu akbar” as he launched his stabbing spree in the busy transit hub, located just 25 kilometers northeast of Zurich in Switzerland’s sixth-largest city. Officials confirmed the attacker had a well-documented history of psychological instability, alongside previous connections to extremist ideology. More than a decade ago, Dedeler faced formal charges for violating Swiss laws banning the spread of Islamic State propaganda. Just two days before the attack, he had been admitted to a local psychiatric hospital after showing up at a nearby police station speaking incoherently. However, psychiatric staff cleared him for discharge on Wednesday, assessing he posed no threat to himself or the public – an assessment now confirmed to be fatally incorrect. “Why that decision was made is beyond our knowledge, but the assessment was obviously wrong,” stated Mario Fehr, the security chief for the canton of Zurich, during an immediate press briefing.

Fehr made an explicit public designation of the incident as a terrorist attack, a position echoed by regional police commander Marius Weyermann. Weyermann told reporters that “it was clear from the scene that the motive for this act must be sought in the realm of radicalisation and extremism.”

First responders received the initial emergency call at 8:28 a.m. local time (06:28 GMT), and officers had apprehended Dedeler by 8:33 a.m. All three of the attacker’s victims were men: aged 28, 43, and 52. The oldest victim suffered life-threatening stab wounds to the thigh and required urgent emergency surgery, while the 28-year-old sustained a leg wound and the 43-year-old was stabbed in the neck. Both younger victims have already been released from hospital, Weyermann confirmed.

Mobile phone footage and witness accounts captured the chaotic scene that unfolded as commuters scattered for safety. The attacker, captured in distant footage wearing a black T-shirt and shorts, ran past a group of young schoolchildren on a group trip without stopping, adding to the shock of the incident. 65-year-old taxi driver Turhan Muslu, one of the first witnesses to the attack, told local Swiss daily Blick that he saw Dedeler rush down a station ramp and attempt to stab a commuter, who fought back aggressively until station security officers arrived to subdue the attacker. “It all happened so fast. If those security guards hadn’t arrived so quickly, I don’t know what would have happened,” Muslu said. Another anonymous witness told the outlet that the attacker shouted “Allahu akbar” five or six times in a visibly agitated state, sending children and bystanders fleeing across the main road in panic. “I still have goosebumps,” the witness added.

Random targeted attacks on civilian passersby remain extremely rare in Switzerland, a fact that has amplified public shock across the small Alpine nation. Local residents and workers in Winterthur expressed widespread dismay at the violence that upended a routine Thursday morning. “This is not OK. We want peace,” Basharat Iqbal, a taxi driver who arrived at the station shortly after the attack, told AFP. “I was shocked.”