FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, August 31, 2018

FBI Arrests Amalia Compound Residents On Federal Firearms And Conspiracy Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – The FBI has arrested five residents of a compound in Amalia, in Taos County, N.M. (Amalia Compound), on a federal criminal complaint charging them with violating the federal firearms and conspiracy laws. The arrests were announced by U.S. Attorney John C. Anderson and Special Agent in Charge James C. Langenberg of the FBI’s Albuquerque Division.

The defendants, Jany Leveille, 35, a Haitian national illegally present in the United States, Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, Hujrah Wahhaj, 37, Subhanah Wahhaj, 35, and Lucas Morton, 40, are charged in a criminal complaint that was filed earlier today in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. The criminal complaint charges Jany Leveille with being an alien unlawfully in possession of firearms and ammunition in the District of New Mexico from Nov. 2017 through Aug. 2018. The criminal complaint charges the other four defendants with aiding and abetting Leveille in committing the offense, and with conspiring with Leveille to commit the offense.

According to the criminal complaint, on Aug. 3, 2018, law enforcement officers of the Taos County Sheriff’s Office executed search warrants at the Amalia Compound, where the five defendants were residing, and allegedly seized at least eleven firearms and a large quantity of ammunition. The complaint alleges that the firearms were transported from Georgia and/or Alabama to New Mexico in Leveille’s vehicle.

The FBI arrested the defendants without incident in Taos, N.M., this afternoon with the assistance of the Taos County Sheriff’s Office. The defendants will make their initial appearances in federal court in Albuquerque on September 4, 2018.

If convicted of the charge against her, Leveille faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years of imprisonment and deportation upon completion of her sentence. If convicted of aiding and abetting Leveille, Leveille’s co-defendants each face a statutory maximum penalty of ten years of imprisonment. If convicted on the conspiracy charge, the five defendants each face a statutory penalty of five years of imprisonment. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.

The Albuquerque Division of the FBI investigated the case, with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Taos County Sheriff’s Office, and the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney George C. Kraehe is prosecuting the case.

U.S. Attorney John C. Anderson and FBI Special Agent in Charge James C. Langenberg thanked the Taos County Sheriff’s Office and 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for supporting the federal investigation.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/fbi-arrests-amalia-compound-residents-federal-firearms-and-conspiracy-charges

`Five Eyes´ countries agree to boost intelligence-sharing

Britain and four key security partners are to boost intelligence-sharing on known or suspected terrorists.

The “Five Eyes” countries have signed a “statement of intent” to enhance the exchange of information held on critical watchlists.

Following talks between senior ministers, the alliance also called on the technology industry to do more to tackle illegal content online and highlighted the danger of security services being left in the dark by advanced encryption.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid and counterparts from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA thrashed out a string of commitments during the two-day summit on Australia’s Gold Coast.

An official communique published after the meeting said globalised terrorist networks and violent extremists “pose a real and unabating threat to our communities”.

Home Secretary @sajidjavid discussed how to tackle shared national security challenges with international allies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA at the annual Five Country Ministerial summit: https://t.co/KLf4OlfbKo pic.twitter.com/J5L78j2Fas

— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) August 29, 2018

The ministers noted that ongoing efforts to dismantle terrorist groups in the Middle East have created new risks, as foreign fighters return to their countries of origin or move to other regions.

“We committed to the expanded sharing of information about known or suspected terrorists between our national security and border protection agencies, reiterating that the detection of international movements of terrorists and their associates relies on the rapid sharing of information between partners,” the document said.

“We reaffirmed that alerts and intelligence relating to the movement of known and suspected terrorists will be shared between all five partners quickly and effectively.”

It is understood a new working group has been proposed to spearhead the drive.

The Five Eyes partnership is seen as crucial to the UK’s efforts to counter the terrorist threat, which is seen as unprecedented after five attacks last year.

Productive day with Five Eyes allies committing to improving counter-terrorism co-operation & information sharing. Security relationship between UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand & USA vital in fight against global terror pic.twitter.com/s7GYV9UdxT

— Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) August 28, 2018

At the end of June, Britain’s security agencies were running more than 650 “live” investigations across all forms of terrorism.

MI5 and the counter-terror policing network have around 3,000 active “subjects of interest”, plus a wider pool of more than 20,000 individuals who have previously featured in inquiries.

The expansion of information-sharing with international partners follows a domestic measure announced earlier this year that will see intelligence circulated more widely in an attempt to stop suspects before attack plots can crystallise.

The Five Eyes ministers also warned that the “anonymous” and “instantaneous” nature of the online environment has magnified threats including terrorism and child sexual abuse.

Calling on the digital industry to take more responsibility for material on their platforms and applications, they said: “Just as the internet provides many benefits, it also provides opportunities for people to carry out crimes and spread illicit content.”

The communique stressed that the countries have “no interest” in weakening encryption mechanisms.

But it said: “The inability of intelligence and law enforcement agencies to lawfully access encrypted data and communications poses challenges to law enforcement agencies’ efforts to protect our communities.”

A separate “statement of principles” encouraged communication service providers to voluntarily establish “lawful access solutions”.

It added: “Should governments continue to encounter impediments to lawful access to information necessary to aid the protection of the citizens of our countries, we may pursue technological, enforcement, legislative or other measures to achieve lawful access solutions.”

Amid the heightened threat, focus has fallen on end-to-end encryption, which means messages and communications are encoded so only the sending and receiving devices can read them.

More:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-6111321/Five-Eyes-countries-agree-boost-intelligence-sharing.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490

>>2827378

Trump to visit Israel, Saudi Arabia, Vatican in first foreign trip

By Jordan Fabian - 05/04/17 11:07 AM EDT

President Trump announced Thursday he will visit Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Vatican during his first foreign trip as president later this month.

Trump and his aides said the decision to visit the centers of three of the world’s major faiths is meant to rally allies and partners in the fight against shared security threats in the Middle East.

Those stops will come before previously scheduled appearances at a NATO summit in Brussels on May 25 and a meeting of the Group of Seven major industrialized countries in Sicily on May 26-27.

The president said he will begin his trip in Saudi Arabia, where he will convene a “historic gathering” of “leaders from all across the Muslim world” to form a new push to combat terrorism and Islamic radicalism and confront Iran.

“We will begin to construct a new foundation of cooperation and support with our Muslim allies to combat extremism, and terrorism and violence and to embrace a more just and hopeful future for Muslims in their countries,” he said at the White House.

The stakes are always high for presidents during their first trips abroad, but Trump will face added pressure as a leader who has never before held elected office.

Trump faces the challenge of bolstering partnerships that he questioned during the 2016 campaign.

The president recently backed off his criticism that the NATO alliance is “obsolete,” comments that rattled traditional U.S. allies.

Some Arab allies were put off by Trump’s ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries, which was blocked by the courts, as well as his inflammatory comments about Islam.

Trump will get an audience in Rome with Pope Francis, who has offered veiled criticism of the president's stances on immigration and refugees.

Now, Trump is seeking their cooperation to accomplish his agenda overseas.

Speaking to reporters to preview the trip, a senior administration official said Trump is seeking to demonstrate that “that America first is fully compatible with American leadership in the world.”

“What this trip will also do is it will reverse what had been a trend of America’s disengagement from the world and some of its biggest problems," the official added, saying that that stance "has aided and abetted those who were really fomenting violence and perpetuating human suffering across the Middle East."

Another official said it was symbolically important for Trump to begin his trip in Saudi Arabia because “people have tried to portray the president in a certain way.”

“I think what he wants to do is solve the same problem that leaders in the Islamic world want to do,” he said.

The gathering in Saudi Arabia will also include leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as other nations.

Trump’s visit to Israel is a chance to show progress on his pledge to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

More:

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/331911-trump-to-visit-israel-saudi-arabia-vatican-in-first-foreign-trip