Rwandan genocide leader living in exclusive New York enclave arrested for alleged immigration violations
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(NEW YORK) — An alleged leader of violence during the Rwandan genocide in 1994 has been living in an exclusive enclave on Long Island, where he was arrested Thursday and accused of concealing his role in horrific violence and human rights violations by making false statements in his applications for a visa, green card and for U.S. citizenship, according to the Justice Department.
Faustin Nsabumukunzi is charged with visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud for allegedly lying on his application for a green card and for U.S. citizenship.
Nsabumukunzi was arrested at his home in Bridgehampton and was scheduled to appear later Thursday in Central Islip federal court.
“As alleged, Nsabumukunzi repeatedly lied to conceal his involvement in the horrific Rwandan genocide while seeking to become a lawful permanent resident and citizen of the United States,” said United States Attorney John Durham. “For over two decades, he got away with those lies and lived in the United States with an undeserved clean slate, a luxury that his victims will never have, but thanks to the tenacious efforts of our investigators and prosecutors, the defendant finally will be held accountable for his brutal actions.”
According to officials, Nsabumukunzi served as a local leader with the title of “Sector Councilor” in Rwanda in 1994 when the genocide began. Between April 1994 and July 1994, members of the majority Hutu population persecuted the minority Tutsis, committing acts of violence, including murder, rape and sexual violence. During the three-month genocide, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus died.
According to the indictment, Nsabumukunzi used his leadership position as Sector Councilor to oversee the violence and killings of Tutsis in his local sector of Kibirizi and directed groups of armed Hutus to kill Tutsis. He set up roadblocks during the genocide to detain and kill Tutsis and participated in killings and violence, according to court documents.
Nsabumukunzi allegedly ordered a group of armed Hutus to locations where Tutsis were sheltering, and the Hutus killed them. Nsabumukunzi also allegedly facilitated the rape of Tutsi women by verbally encouraging Hutu men to do so. According to court filings, Nsabumukunzi has been convicted of genocide in absentia by a Rwandan court.
The suspect applied for refugee resettlement in the United States in August 2003 and then applied for and received a green card in November 2007. He later applied for naturalization in 2009 and 2015. Nsabumukunzi allegedly lied to United States immigration officials to gain admission to the United States as a refugee, by falsely denying in the applications under penalty of perjury that he ever engaged in genocide, federal prosecutors said.
He allegedly repeated those lies in his subsequent applications for a green card and for naturalization. Nsabumukunzi has lived and worked in the United States since 2003.
If convicted, Nsabumukunzi faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.
(LONDON) — An earthquake with a 7.7 magnitude has rocked Southeast Asia on Friday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
USGS is reporting the epicenter of the quake was in Mandalay, Myanmar, but at least three people were killed and 68 others were injured when a building that was under construction collapsed in Bangkok as the earthquake struck the region on Friday, according to Thailand’s National Institute of Emergency Medicine (NIEM), which said there was an unknown number of people still trapped in the rubble.
The extent of the damage in Mandalay — the second largest city in Myanmar — is largely unknown this morning due to it being under very tight state control. However, it is thought that the damage could be extensive since this earthquake is stronger than many other historic quakes — including the Northridge earthquake that affected the Los Angeles area of California on Jan. 17, 1994, which is remembered as one of the most destructive and deadly in California history. Bangkok is approximately 600 miles away from Mandalay and suffered notable damage as well as collapsed buildings.
NIEM said there were approximately 320 construction workers on site when the building in Bangkok collapsed at 70 people are currently missing, according to a statement published on social media. Approximately 20 workers are still trapped in the elevator shaft with the number of deaths expected to climb, NIEM continued.
Alarms reportedly went off in buildings across the Thai capital city when the earthquake hit around 1:30 p.m., according to the Associated Press.
“We were under the main Sukhumvit railway station and we thought a train had crashed on the initial tremor,” a British citizen who is in the Thai capital on a business trip and wished to remain anonymous told ABC News. “But then as it continued, people started to run outside and the hotels were evacuated to the streets.”
The Royal Thai Police said they are helping to evacuate people from buildings across the city into safe areas, according to a statement published on social media.
A video obtained by ABC News from a WeWork office in Bangkok shows water pouring from a rooftop swimming pool as people ran across the office towards the exits.
Two of Bangkok’s main public transportation systems, the BTS — an elevated train line — and the MRT, which is mostly underground, have stopped service as authorities respond to the earthquake aftermath, Thai police said.
Meanwhile, Myanmar’s ruling junta has declared a state of emergency in six regions — Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, northeastern Shan State, Nay Pyi Taw and Bago – after the earthquake struck the country, followed by a series of aftershocks.
Myanmar is mired in years long civil war, and Mandalay is one of the major cities than the junta still controls.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Morgan Winsor, Joe Simonetti, Karson Yiu and Helena Skinner contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — A fire at an electrical substation near London’s Heathrow Airport has closed one of the world’s busiest airports.
Heathrow Airport said the fire at the substation, which supplies power to the airport, has caused a “significant power outage” and the airport is expected to be closed until 11:59 p.m. local time on Friday night.
In total, 70 firefighters and 10 fire trucks responded to the blaze in west London when the London Fire Brigade brigade was first called at 11:23 p.m. local time. The fire was out more than seven hours later at 06:28 a.m. Friday morning.
“This was a very visible and significant incident, and our firefighters worked tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible,” Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said. “Thanks to their efforts and coordinated multi-agency response, we successfully contained the fire and prevented further spread. “We will maintain a presence at the scene throughout the day, assisting the National Grid as they assess the site.”
Firefighters safely evacuated 29 people from neighboring properties and, as a precaution, a 200-meter cordon was established with around 150 people evacuated.
“Due to the significant smoke, we strongly advise local residents to keep their windows and doors closed, as some smoke will remain for a number of hours today. Scientific advisors will also be on-site this morning to conduct further assessments and monitor the air quality,” Goulbourne continued. “Our Control Officers handled more than 200 emergency calls, providing guidance and reassurance to the public. As the morning progresses, disruption is expected to continue, and we urge people to avoid the area whenever possible.”
Counter-terror police were on the scene at the Hayes substation, London’s Met Police confirmed to ABC News, but they cautioned it’s only because they could get the investigation done faster.
“We are working with the London Fire Brigade to establish the cause of the fire which remains under investigation. While there is currently no indication of foul play we retain an open mind at this time,” Met Police said in a statement. “Given the location of the sub-station and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command is now leading enquiries.”
British Airways, which has a hub at Heathrow Airport, said it is advising travelers not to go to the airport and that they are working to notify passengers of their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, inbound flights to Heathrow are being redirected to other U.K. airports, officials said.
“Due to a power outage in the London Heathrow area, London Heathrow Airport is currently closed,” British Airways said. “As a result, customers due to travel from Heathrow on Friday are advised not to travel to the airport until further notice. This will clearly have a significant impact on our operation and our customers and we’re working as quickly as possible to update them on their travel options for the next 24 hours and beyond.”
The fire has caused a power outage affecting a large numbers of homes and businesses and led to some evacuations, the fire brigade said. Firefighters led 29 people to safety from neighboring properties and, as a precaution, established a cordon around the area and evacuated about 150 people.
“This is a highly visible and significant incident, and our firefighters are working tirelessly in challenging conditions to bring the fire under control as swiftly as possible,” Pat Goulbourne, assistant commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, said in a statement shortly before 2 a.m. local time.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, the fire brigade said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LONDON) — If Hamas doesn’t return Israeli hostages by Saturday afternoon, “the ceasefire will be terminated,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday in a statement following a meeting with his security cabinet.
“The decision that I passed unanimously in the cabinet is this: If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday afternoon — the ceasefire will be terminated, and the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated,” Netanyahu said.
His statement comes after President Donald Trump warned that “all hell is going to break out” unless Hamas releases all remaining hostages from Gaza by Saturday, following the group’s announcement it would delay the latest planned release after accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that it would be “appropriate” to abandon the ceasefire unless all hostages are freed. “I would say, cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” he said.
The president dismissed the “drips and drabs” process set out in the January deal that slated small groups of hostages for release during the three-phase ceasefire, in exchange for Israel freeing Palestinian prisoners and withdrawing its forces from parts of Gaza.
“I would say Saturday at 12, we want them all back,” Trump said. “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it. But from myself, Saturday at 12 o’clock, and if they’re not, they’re not here, all hell is going to break out.”
In response, senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said Trump “must remember there is an agreement that must be respected,” in a statement cited by Reuters. “The language of ‘threats’ has no value and only complicates matters,” Zuhri added.
The president also warned that those hostages still being held in Gaza may not be in good physical condition.
“Who knows? Are they alive? Are they not alive? But I saw the condition when I saw the condition of the last ones that came out,” Trump said. “They’re not going to be alive right now, based on what I saw over the last two days, they’re not going to be alive for long.”
Trump suggested Hamas had released the healthiest captives first. “They’ve got more to send out, and they probably feel that they can’t do that, because it’s not going to make them look very good,” he said.
On Tuesday, it was announced that the oldest hostage taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack — Shlomo Mantzur, 86 — had been killed that day. Mansour’s death was announced by the Kibutz Kissufim where he lived and was later confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces.
Trump’s latest assertion followed Hamas’ Monday announcement that it would delay the next scheduled release of hostages, planned for Saturday.
In a statement, Hamas said the postponement was intended as a “warning message” to Israel, which it said had repeatedly violated the terms of the January ceasefire deal.
Hamas accused Israel of preventing the return of displaced Gazans to the north of the strip, blocking the planned influx of humanitarian aid and continuing to kill “many” Palestinians despite the pause in fighting.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the IDF to prepare at the “highest level of alert” in response to Hamas’ announcement.
Following the meeting of his security cabinet on Tuesday, Netanyahu instructed the IDF to “reinforce forces in and around the Gaza Strip and to prepare for any scenario” if Hamas does not release “the Israeli hostages this coming Saturday,” an Israeli official told ABC News.
The meeting lasted about four hours and was “thorough and in-depth,” the official said.
All the cabinet members expressed support for Trump’s statement that Israeli hostages should be released by Saturday at noon and for his “revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza,” the official added.
There have so far been five rounds of exchanges between Hamas and Israel since the conflict began. Thirty-three Israeli hostages are expected to be released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement due to last six weeks. The agreement was reached on Jan. 15.
The ceasefire turbulence comes as Trump continues to promote his controversial plan to permanently relocate Gaza’s population — around 2 million people — to other regional nations.
The president said during a taped Fox News interview — parts of which were released on Monday — that Gazans resettled outside of the strip would not be allowed to return to the territory, which he has said will be “a real estate development for the future.”
Pressed on his remarks in the Oval Office on Monday, the president did not repeat his assertion that Palestinians would not be given the right to return, but continued to insist that Gazans would not want to live in the devastated territory.
“We’ve spoken to a lot of Palestinians,” Trump said. “They would love to leave Gaza if they could find a place to be. And I’ve spoken to various leaders of various countries in the not so distant area from where we’re talking about the Gaza Strip, and I think they were very positive about providing land.”
“What we need is land, and if we could build a nice place for people to live safely, everybody in Gaza would do it,” Trump said. “You’re going to see that they all want to leave,” he claimed.
The president has found little foreign backing for his plan, with key regional partners like Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia all rejecting the proposal. Trump has suggested that those countries should help resettle Gazans on their territory.
Jordan has served as a humanitarian lifeline for civilians in Gaza throughout the Israel-Hamas conflict and already hosts millions of registered Palestinian refugees.
The president told reporters on Monday he could “conceivably” withhold billions of dollars in aid to Egypt and Jordan to coerce them into agreeing to host Palestinians displaced from Gaza.
The president will host Jordanian King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday. “I do think he’ll take, and I think other countries will take also,” Trump said of Abdullah when asked if he would accept ejected Palestinians. “They have good hearts, I think they’ll take,” he added.
Hamas has rejected Trump’s Gaza plan as “absurd.” In a statement, the group said the president’s comments “reflect a profound ignorance about Palestine and the region. Gaza is not a piece of real estate to be bought and sold; it is an inseparable part of our occupied Palestinian land.”
Nearly 400,000 people have already returned to the north since the beginning of the ceasefire, according to Gazan authorities. Palestinians interviewed by ABC News said they yearn to rebuild Gaza for themselves, the only place they say they have or will ever call home.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, framed Trump’s proposal as “a totally different vision, a much better one for the state of Israel.”
Netanyahu — who met with Trump at the White House last week — described the plan as “revolutionary, creative — and we’re discussing it. He is very determined to carry it out. It opens up many opportunities for us.”
ABC News’ Sarah Kolinovsky, Will Gretsky and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
