Month: January 2026

A woman was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer during a federal immigration operation in south Minneapolis on Wednesday, prompting sharp disputes between federal officials, local leaders, and witnesses, as well as renewed protests over immigration enforcement in the city. As investigations continue, the city urged residents to avoid the area near East 34th Street and Portland Avenue, warning that the heavy federal presence and ongoing protests have made the situation volatile.

The incident unfolded amid a major expansion of federal immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that an ICE agent fired the fatal shots during what it described as a targeted enforcement action near East 34th Street and Portland Avenue. Federal officials said agents became surrounded while carrying out their duties in severe winter conditions.

According to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, officers’ vehicles became immobilized in the snow as agents attempted to leave the area. She said the woman who was killed used her car against officers, claiming she “weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them.” McLaughlin said the agent responded with “defensive shots” and later characterized the woman as part of a group of “violent rioters.” The officer involved has not been identified.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed that account during a press briefing in Texas, describing the shooting as an “act of domestic terrorism. What had happened was our ICE officers were out in enforcement action, they got stuck in the snow because of the adverse weather that is in Minneapolis. They were attempting to push out their vehicle, and a woman attacked them and those surrounding them and attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle.”

Local officials and Democratic leaders strongly rejected the federal version of events. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey confirmed the woman was 37 years old and demanded ICE withdraw from the city, calling the shooting “an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed.” Frey also said, “The presence of federal immigration enforcement agents is causing chaos in our city,” adding, “We stand rock solid with our immigrant and refugee communities.”  Frey pushed back on DHS’s narrative: “They are already trying to spin this as an action of self defense,” Frey said, referring to ICE. “Having seen the video of myself, I want to tell everybody directly that is b—s—  “They are ripping families apart, sowing chaos in the streets and, in this case, quite literally killing people. Frey had a message for federal immigration agents in the city: “To ICE, get the f— out of Minneapolis,” the mayor said. “We do not want you here.”

According to accounts given to local station WCCO, neighbors used whistles to alert residents to ICE activity around 9:30 a.m. Witnesses said several federal agents surrounded a Honda Pilot and one agent attempted to open the driver’s door. The vehicle reportedly shifted into reverse and then drive before three gunshots were heard. The SUV continued another 20 to 30 feet before striking a light pole or another vehicle. Video obtained by KARE 11 showed a burgundy SUV with an apparent bullet hole in the windshield and damage consistent with a crash. Witnesses said paramedics attempted CPR after the woman was pulled from the vehicle, but she later died at the scene. Federal officials said several ICE officers were injured but are expected to recover fully, without detailing the nature of those injuries.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz blasted DHS during a news conference for saying they knew the motives of the dead woman without doing an investigation, adding that he had issued a so-called warning order to state officials to prepare to deploy Minnesota National Guard troops.  Walz said: “We have someone dead, in their care, for no reason whatsoever. We’ve been warning for weeks that the Trump administration’s dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety, that someone was going to get hurt. Just yesterday, I said exactly that. What we’re seeing is the consequences of governance designed to generate fear, headlines and conflict. It’s governing by reality TV, and today that recklessness cost [someone] their life. I have a simple message: We don’t need any further help from the federal government. To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem: You’ve done enough.”

President Trump said after seeing video of the fatal shooting that the agency’s officer was acting “in self defense.” The President wrote on Truth Social: “I have just viewed the clip of the event which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is a horrible thing to watch. The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense. Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital. The situation is being studied, in its entirety, but the reason these incidents are happening is because the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis. They are just trying to do the job of MAKING AMERICA SAFE. We need to stand by and protect our Law Enforcement Officers from this Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate!”

Editorial credit: Copyright Lawrey / Shutterstock.com

U.S. forces seized two oil tankers tied to Venezuela on Wednesday — one in the North Atlantic and another in the Caribbean — escalating Washington’s global effort to enforce sanctions and block what officials describe as illicit oil shipments connected to Venezuela’s shadow fleet.

One of the vessels, the Russian-flagged Marinera, formerly known as the M/V Bella 1, was taken into custody in the North Atlantic after weeks of pursuit. U.S. European Command said the tanker was seized under a federal court warrant for violating U.S. sanctions and transporting Iranian oil.  “The vessel was seized in the North Atlantic pursuant to a warrant issued by a U.S. federal court after being tracked by USCGC Munro,” the agency said.  U.S. officials said the Marinera had a history of transporting Venezuelan crude and had been under U.S. sanctions since mid-2024 for involvement in prohibited oil trading. The vessel was last tracked earlier this month near the waters off Scotland, after briefly activating its transponder. Officials said Russia sent two naval ships and a submarine to escort the Marinera, which was between Iceland and Britain, heading northeast.

At nearly the same time, U.S. Southern Command announced, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the seizure of a second tanker, the M/T Sophia, which it described as “a stateless, sanctioned dark fleet motor tanker.” In a post on X, the agency said the U.S. Coast Guard was escorting the vessel to the United States for “final disposal,” and no American personnel were injured. SOUTHCOM accused the M/T Sophia, of carrying out “illicit activities” in international waters in the Caribbean Sea.

Russia condemned the operation, accusing Washington of breaching international law. Russia’s Transport Ministry said the Marinera had been granted temporary authorization to sail under the Russian flag in late December and claimed U.S. forces boarded the vessel in international waters. The Foreign Ministry said it was monitoring the situation closely and demanded the humane treatment and “prompt return” of Russian citizens aboard. Senior lawmakers accused the U.S. of acting unlawfully, with some describing the seizure as piracy.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the boardings were conducted just hours apart and praised the Coast Guard’s actions, describing them as “two safe, effective boardings within hours of each other.” She said the Marinera had attempted to avoid capture by changing its identity at sea, adding that the Coast Guard crew pursued the ship “across the high seas and through treacherous storms.”

The seizures come amid President Donald Trump’s renewed push to enforce what he has described as a global blockade of sanctioned Venezuelan oil. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the effort remains “in FULL EFFECT — anywhere in the world,” adding that “The United States continues to enforce the blockade against all dark fleet vessels illegally transporting Venezuelan oil to finance illicit activity, stealing from the Venezuelan people. Only legitimate and lawful energy commerce—as determined by the U.S.—will be permitted.” Trump has also said Venezuela would eventually hand over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States.

The United Kingdom confirmed it provided support to the interception, including aerial surveillance and pre-planned operational assistance. British officials said intelligence assessments linked the vessel to illegal activity tied to organized crime and extremist financing.

The actions follow last month’s seizure of two other oil tankers near Venezuela and come days after U.S. forces captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who faces U.S. charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine trafficking. The developments have fueled uncertainty over Venezuela’s leadership, with Trump claiming the U.S. is now “in charge” of the country, while Venezuelan officials insist the government remains firmly in control.

Editorial credit: Michael Dechev / Shutterstock.com