Alleged Peruvian gang leader arrested by ICE in upstate New York
(NEW YORK) — A leader of a Peruvian gang who is wanted for 23 murders in Peru was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Thursday, according to the agency.
Gianfrano Torres-Navarro was arrested in Endicott, New York, during a “targeted operation,” according to a source familiar with the operation.
Torres-Navarro is the alleged leader of “Los Killers,” a gang in Peru, according to local authorities.
“Gianfranco Torres-Navarro poses a significant threat to our communities, and we won’t allow New York to be a safe haven for dangerous noncitizens,” said Enforcement and Removal Operations Buffalo Field Office Director Thomas P. Brophy. “Well done by our ERO Buffalo officers who brought this individual into custody.”
Torres-Navarro, 38, entered into the U.S. on May 16, near Roma, Texas, and a month ago authorities were notified he was wanted in Peru for murders.
He is currently being held in Batavia, New York, in a federal detention center.
There was no attorney listed for Torres-Navarro at the time of publication.
(BEIRUT, Lebanon) — Two people are dead and 20 others were injured after Israel launched a strike on Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, on Tuesday that targeted a senior Hezbollah commander as tensions along Israel’s northern border continue to escalate.
The strike hit a residential building in Haret Hreik, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.
Fouad Shukr, also known as Al-Hajj Mohsen, was targeted in the strike, according to three security sources familiar with the operation. Shukr is a senior adviser on military affairs to Hasan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Hezbollah. He also had a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture, via the U.S. government.
The IDF claimed that Shukr was killed in the strike.
“The IDF targeted in Beirut the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and killed many Israeli civilians,” the Israel Defense Forces told ABC News in a statement.
“Hezbollah crossed the red line,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on social media.
Israel struck Dahiya, a district in Beirut’s southern suburbs that is a stronghold of militant group Hezbollah.
Twelve people, including children playing soccer, were killed in a strike on the Golan Heights over the weekend. Hezbollah denied responsibility, but both the U.S. and Israel have said the missile used in the attack came from a Hezbollah-controlled location.
“This attack was conducted by Lebanese Hezbollah,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement Sunday. “It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control. It should be universally condemned.”
In recent days, Hezbollah has said that any strike in Beirut would be met with a strong response of their own.
Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the area struck was meters away from one of the largest hospitals in Lebanon and said they reserve the right to respond to Israel’s attack.
“This criminal act that occurred tonight is a link in a series of aggressive operations that are claiming civilians in a clear and frank violation of International law and international humanitarian law, which is something we put in place for the international community, which must bear its responsibilities and press with all force to oblige Israel to stop its aggression and threats and implement international resolutions,” Mikati said Tuesday.
The U.S. was given advanced notice ahead of Israel’s strike in Beirut, according to a U.S. official familiar with matter. The message was communicated via security channels and limited operational detail was shared, the official said.
It’s still unclear whether the strike successfully eliminated its target, and assessments are ongoing, according to the U.S. official.
U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Pate said earlier that the U.S. has been in “continuous discussions with Israeli and Lebanese counterparts” since the weekend.
“The United States is going to continue to support efforts to reach a diplomatic solution along the blue line,” Pate said.
“Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad, and it’s unwavering, especially as it defends itself against Iran backed threats, including threats from Hezbollah,” Pate told reporters.
ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — In one of the largest exchanges of drone attacks since the Russia-Ukraine war began, dozens were shot down in Russia and Ukraine in overnight assaults, officials in both countries said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said Wednesday they shot down more than 50 Ukrainian long-range drones over various regions, including nearly a dozen around Moscow.
The drones over Moscow were shot down Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, local time, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin.
Unverified videos published online showed explosions in the sky over Russia. Sobyanin said some of the drones were destroyed in the region surrounding Moscow, brought down by the city’s layered air defense.
Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the attack in Russia.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces shot down 50 Shahed drones and subdued 16 others in a prolonged attack — the longest drone assault since the start of the full-scale — officials in Ukraine said.
Ten drones were shot down around Kyiv, according to Maj. Gen. Anatoliy Barhylevych, the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces. The drone assault lasted for 16 hours, from 10 p.m. Tuesday till 2 p.m. Wednesday local time, he said.
Russian authorities have not yet commented on the attack in Ukraine.
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv warned in an alert Wednesday to American citizens in Ukraine that “during the next several days and through the weekend there is an increased risk of both nighttime and daytime Russian drone and missile attacks.”
The alert said the threat was tied to Ukraine’s upcoming Independence Day and did not suggest it was connected to any Ukrainian military activities inside Russian territory.
(LONDON and ROME) — Five bodies have been recovered from the superyacht that sunk off the Sicilian coast, ABC News has confirmed, with the final missing passenger’s body also now located inside the vessel.
The fifth body had been brought to shore as of early Thursday morning. Two bodies were brought ashore on Wednesday morning, according to the Italian coast guard, while two other bodies were recovered later on Wednesday.
The body of the final missing passenger — believed to be the 18-year-old daughter of the yacht’s owner, British tech tycoon Mike Lynch — has now also been located inside the yacht, though has not yet been brought to shore.
Mike Lynch’s body is believed to have been among those already recovered from the yacht, though the identities of the dead have not been officially confirmed.
Rescue teams are facing a “very hard” operation to find those still missing after the superyacht sunk on Monday, a spokesperson for the onsite fire brigade teams told ABC News.
Luca Cari said on Wednesday that the rescue operation for the people missing from the U.K.-flagged Bayesian was ongoing. The vessel was lost early on Monday in stormy weather around half a mile from the fishing village of Porticello, close to the city of Palermo.
Fifteen people were rescued alive in the immediate aftermath while one body was previously recovered.
“For us, it remains a rescue operation,” Cari told ABC News Wednesday morning, prior to the recovery of the five bodies, when asked if emergency services were transitioning to a recovery operation.
Asked if there was any hope that the missing may be surviving thanks to air pockets inside the sunk vessel, Cari responded: “One can never exclude anything but it seems rather improbable.”
Cari said that 12 of the 18 divers leading rescue efforts on Wednesday are specialized divers who have extensive experience working inside caves.
Divers have been operating inside the yacht for two days, he added.
“But the job is very hard because there are large obstacles and [we] have to work in very narrow spaces,” he said.
“It’s a long process and we can only operate in short spells,” Cari added.
Divers have to be rotated constantly, with each only able to stay underwater for around 12 minutes, he said.
Two Americans — Christopher and Neda Morvillo — were among the missing, ABC News confirmed on Tuesday.
Christopher Morvillo is a partner at law firm Clifford Chance and represented Lynch in his recent fraud case brought by Hewlett Packard. He is a former assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Anne Elizabeth Judith Bloomer are also among the six missing passengers.