My Threatcon Column: Iranian Cyber Thieves Indicted

 Counterterrorism magazine ran my Threatcon column on their website.

 You can read the column below:

 I recall former CIA officer Gary Berntsen, whom I interviewed for the Journal some years ago, speaking about the Iranians. Berntsen tangled with the Iranians over a good number of years, and he compared their tactics, tradecraft and brutal rule to the Nazis.

So, after 47 years of Iran killing Americans, directly and indirectly, I was pleased to see President Trump, along with the Israelis, take military action against Iran. The devasting American-Israeli military attacks have set back and perhaps eliminated Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons. The idea of the Iranian fanatical clerics and military hard-liners armed with a nuclear bomb is unsettling.

In addition to financing and arming terrorist proxy groups in the Middle East, providing IEDs to cripple and murder American soldiers, and other violent actions, the Iranians have also used computer hackers to steal academic data/      

On August 18^th, The U.S. Justice Department announced that 17 Iranians were charged with conducting a massive cyber threat theft campaign on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other Iranian entities.    

According to the Justice Department, a 14-count superseding indictment was unsealed charging 17 members of the Mabna Institute, an Iran-based company that, since at least 2013, has conducted a coordinated campaign of cyber intrusions into computer systems for 144 U.S.-based universities, 178 foreign universities, at least 42 U.S.-based private sector companies, at least 11 foreign private sector companies, at least five U.S. federal and state government agencies, and at least two non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

“The Mabna Institute stole more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property from these universities, as well as the email accounts of employees at the private sector companies, government agencies, and NGOs. The defendants conducted many of these intrusions on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), one of several entities within the government of Iran responsible for gathering intelligence, as well as other Iranian government and university clients. Nine of the 17 defendants charged in the S2 indictment were previously charged in a 7-count indictment announced in March 2018,” the Justice Department stated.

“The superseding indictment alleges that, at the behest of entities including the IRGC, these defendants hacked into universities and other research institutions worldwide, including the United States, stealing at least 31 terabytes of information and intellectual property of untold value,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The National Security Division is committed to protecting the United States from such predators and will pursue those who perpetrate such crimes for as long as it takes to bring them to justice.”

U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald added, “Today’s charges, which include eight additional defendants, reveal the broader network allegedly behind a sweeping, state-sponsored campaign to steal research and intellectual property from American universities, businesses, and government institutions. More than eight years after making the original indictment public, these charges make clear that the passage of time will not deter us from identifying and pursuing those who target the United States from abroad. Cyber operations have become a central instrument of national power, and attacks on American and allied institutions carry direct consequences for our security and economic strength. This office and our partners will continue to protect American innovation and pursue accountability for the individuals behind these attacks.”

Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division also weighed in. “These defendants allegedly built and profited from a sprawling hacking-for-hire operation that targeted the intellectual property of American and allied universities, companies, and government agencies for the benefit of the Iranian government. Today’s charges make clear to cyber adversaries everywhere: the FBI’s memory is long, and time will not blunt our resolve to pursue justice. The FBI will continue working with law enforcement and private sector partners to identify malicious cyber actors, disrupt their operations, and impose real cost on them, wherever they operate.”

Paul Davis’s Threatcon column covers crime, espionage and terrorism.  

My Threatcon Column: Homemade Bomb Throwers Plead Not Guilty

Counterterrorism magazine posted my online Threatcon column on the homemade bomb throwers in New York City pleading not guilty. 

You can read the column via the link below or the following text:

IACSP - ThreatCon Articles

On April 15^th, Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, pleaded not guilty to charges that they attempted to detonate two explosive devices in the vicinity of Gracie Mansion, the official residence of the New York City mayor in Manhattan, and that they were acting in support of ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

The plea was surprising to me, considering that there are clear videos of the two men hurling the homemade bombs at anti-Islam protestors outside the mayor’s home, and there are also videos of the two bomb throwers being tackled and arrested by NYPD officers afterwards.  

Back on March 10^th, the Department of Justice announced the charges against Balat and Kayumi.

“This was an alleged ISIS-inspired act of terrorism that could have killed American citizens,” said then-Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation—our law enforcement officers will remain vigilant, as they were when these devices were brought to a protest.”

Then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche added, “These men allegedly sought to inflict mass casualties in service to ISIS with the hope of exceeding the carnage of the Boston Marathon bombing, We are tremendously grateful to the brave law enforcement officers who ran into harm’s way to apprehend these individuals and disarm the explosives before anyone was harmed. Thanks to the quick investigative work by federal law enforcement, this Department of Justice will prosecute these men who pledged allegiance to a foreign terrorist organization to the fullest extent.”

FBI Director Kash Patel also weighed in, “The defendants allegedly support ISIS and tried to follow the path of that deadly group by attempting to detonate explosive devices in a crowd. The FBI and our partners have no tolerance for terrorist organizations or those inspired by them to engage in attacks. We are committed to stopping acts of violence and will hold accountable those who seek to harm our citizens. I want to commend the brave NYPD officers who took action to prevent injuries or loss of life on the streets of New York.”

As alleged in the Complaint, On or about March 7, 2026, a protest called “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City, Stop New York City Public Muslim Prayer” and a counter-protest called “Run Nazis Out of New York City” were held outside of Gracie Mansion. 

“At approximately 12:15 p.m., Balat ignited and threw an explosive device, Device 1, toward the area where the protesters were gathered. Immediately after throwing Device-1, Balat ran to another location down the block and received a second explosive device (Device-2) from Kayumi. After apparently igniting Device-2, Balat dropped Device-2 near where several NYPD officers were standing, ran away from the NYPD officers, and jumped over a barricade. He was tackled and arrested by NYPD officers shortly thereafter, as was Kayumi,” the Complaint noted.

“Following his arrest, while en route to the NYPD precinct, Balat stated to NYPD officers: “this isn’t a religion that just stands when people talk about the blessed name of the prophet . . . We take action! We take action!”; and “if I didn’t do it someone else will come and do it.” Then, after arriving at the NYPD precinct, Balat requested a piece of paper and, after being given a paper and pen, wrote the following: “All praise is due to Allah lord of all worlds! I pledge my allegiance to the Islamic State. Die in your rage yu [sic] kuffar! Emir B.” “Kuffar” is an Arabic term that refers to “non-believers” or “infidels,” and “Die in your rage” is a slogan used by ISIS.”

Law enforcement officers later asked Balat if he was familiar with the Boston Marathon bombing, and if that was what Balat had hoped to accomplish. Balat responded: “No, even bigger.  It was only three deaths.”

After Kayumi was arrested, and as he was being placed inside an NYPD vehicle to be transported from the scene to an NYPD precinct, an individual from the surrounding crowd yelled to Kayumi and asked why Kayumi had done this.  Kayumi responded, “ISIS.” Then, at the NYPD precinct, in response to a question from law enforcement about whether he was affiliated with ISIS, Kayumi indicated that he was. He further stated, in substance and part, that: (i) he has watched ISIS propaganda on his phone; (ii) his actions that day were partly inspired by ISIS; (iii) he did not feel comfortable holding the Devices earlier that day; and (iv) he would not feel comfortable if the Devices were in the interrogation room with him.

After Balat and Kayumi were arrested and the Devices were secured, an FBI Special Agent Bomb Technician (SABT) conducted a preliminary examination of the Devices and determined that they were each approximately the size of a mason jar; that they each had an attached fuse; and that they each had nuts and bolts attached to the exterior, surrounded by duct tape. A preliminary analysis of Device-1, the device that Balat threw into the crowd of protesters, showed that it contained TATP, a highly volatile explosive that is colloquially known as the “Mother of Satan” and extremely sensitive to impact, friction, and heat. TATP has been used in multiple terrorist attacks over the last decade.

The Justice Department stated that on or about March 8, 2026, law enforcement officers located a parked vehicle registered to a family member of Balat a few blocks from Gracie Mansion. From inside the vehicle, law enforcement officers recovered a coiled green material consistent in appearance with hobby fuse, an empty metal can of the same approximate dimensions and appearance as the can recovered from inside Device-1, and a notebook containing handwritten notes. One page of the notebook contains the note “TATP explosive”; another page contains a list of chemical ingredients, including “hydrogen peroxide,” “sulfuric acid,” and “acetone”; and a third page contains a list of components and quantities, such as “aluminum can x6,” and “a box of bolts ect [sic] 2x.”

Balat, 18, of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and Kayumi, 19, of Newtown, Pennsylvania, are charged with attempted provision of material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; use of a weapon of mass destruction, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; transportation of explosive materials, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; interstate transportation and receipt of explosives, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; and unlawful possession of destructive devices, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Their next court date is June 16.

Paul Davis’ Threatcon column covers crime, espionage and terrorism.

My Threatcon Column: Afghan National Sentenced To 15 Years in Prison For Plotting Election Day Terror

Counterterrorism magazine’s website posted my latest Threatcon column.

You can read the column below: 

Threatcon Column

Afghan National Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

for Plotting Election Day Terror

By Paul Davis

A reader emailed me a while back and criticized me for “creating alarm about Islamic terrorism when in fact domestic terrorism by white, right-wing criminals was the true threat to America.”

I replied that yes, domestic terrorism by home-grown criminals is certainly a concern, and I’ve addressed that concern here and elsewhere. But I also stated that radical Islamic terrorism remains a serious threat to our country.

A case in point is Abdullah Haji Zada, 19, who on November 20^th was sentenced to serve the statutory maximum of 15 years in federal prison for knowingly receiving, attempting to receive, and conspiring to receive a firearm and ammunition to be used to commit a federal crime of terrorism.

According to court documents, Zada, a native and citizen of Afghanistan and U.S. lawful permanent resident, and a co-conspirator received two AK-47-style rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition, knowing that the firearms and ammunition would be used in connection with a terrorist attack on Election Day in November 2024, on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization. Zada was arrested with his co-conspirator, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 28, also a citizen of Afghanistan, in October 2024.

"Zada was welcomed into the United States and provided with all the opportunities available to residents of our Nation, yet he chose to embrace terrorism and plot an ISIS-inspired attack on Election Day,” said John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, announced the sentence.

 “Today’s sentence, and Zada’s eventual removal from the United States, reflect the seriousness of his betrayal and our commitment to using every tool at our disposal to detect and disrupt such plots.”

Donald Holstead, the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, added, “With today’s sentencing, Zada will pay the price for participating in a plot last year to conduct an ISIS-inspired Election Day terrorist attack,

 “Detecting and preventing acts of terrorism against the American people is an essential part of the FBI’s mission. We will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities.”

Doug Goodwater, the FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge, also weighed in, “By hatching a violent plot against the United States on behalf of ISIS, the defendant and his co-conspirator shamefully turned their backs on the country that provided them safety and refuge,

“I’m extremely proud of the swift and coordinated action taken by the Oklahoma City Joint Terrorism Task Force as soon as this disturbing plan was uncovered. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will never relent in our fight against terrorism, and in protecting the American people from those who wish them harm.”

According to the Justice Department, Zada, who was 17 at the time of his arrest, entered his guilty plea as an adult on April 17, 2025. As part of the plea agreement, Zada stipulated to the entry of a judicial order of removal from the United States to Afghanistan following his term of incarceration. Zada acknowledged that the order of removal would terminate his lawful permanent resident status. Zada also waived his right to appeal the conviction except in limited circumstances or seek any form of appeal or relief from his removal and deportation, including but not limited to, seeking asylum.

The Justice Department noted that Zada’s co-conspirator, Tawhedi, pleaded guilty on June 13, 2025, to two terrorism-related offenses: conspiring and attempting to provide material support and resources to ISIS, a designated terrorist organization, and receiving, attempting to receive, and conspiring to receive firearms and ammunition in furtherance of a federal crime of terrorism. At sentencing, Tawhedi faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison for the material support charge and up to 15 years in prison for the firearms charge. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Upon completion of any sentence, Zada and Tawhedi will be permanently removed from the United States and barred from reentry under stipulated judicial orders of removal to Afghanistan.

Foreign radical Islamic terrorists and domestic terrorists are both bad guys, and we need to be security-conscious about both groups.   

Paul Davis’ Threatcon column covers crime, espionage and terrorism. 

My Threatcon Column: A New War On Terrorism: Making War On Drug Cartels

Counterterrorism magazine’s website ran my latest Threatcon column. 

You can read my column via the link below link or the text below:

IACSP - ThreatCon Articles

New War On Terrorism: Making War On Drug Cartels  

 

By Paul Davis

 

There is a new war on terrorism. The new war runs parallel to the efforts to stop terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS.  

This past January, President Trump signed an executive order Monday stating that the United States would designate the Mexican drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations like Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and Salvador’s Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) as foreign terrorist organizations.

“The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs,” the order read.

President Trump has also put pressure on Mexico to crack down on the cartels and cooperate more fully with the U.S. in bringing to justice the cartel leaders.

Thanks to that pressure, on August 12^th, the United States announced that it had taken into custody 26 fugitives from Mexico. According to the Justice Department, the 26 faced a range of federal and state criminal charges from around the country, including charges relating to drug-trafficking, hostage-taking, kidnapping, illegal use of firearms, human smuggling, money laundering, the murder of a sheriffs’ deputy, and other crimes.

Among the fugitives taken into U.S. custody were leaders and managers of dangerous drug cartels, such as those designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, including the Sinaloa Cartel, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), and Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas). These fugitives are collectively alleged to have imported into the United States tonnage quantities of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin.

“Today is the latest example of the Trump administration's historic efforts to dismantle cartels and foreign terrorist organizations,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “These 26 men have all played a role in bringing violence and drugs to American shores -- under this Department of Justice, they will face severe consequences for their crimes against this country. We are grateful to Mexico’s National Security team for their collaboration in this matter.”  

Included in the transfer were the following fugitives:

• Abigael Gonzalez Valencia (seen in the above photo) - also known as “Cuini” – is one of the leaders of Los Cuinis, a major Mexican drug cartel responsible for trafficking multiple tons of cocaine from South America, through Mexico, into the United States.
• Kevin Gil Acosta and Martin Zazueta Perez – According to court documents, Gil Acosta and Zazueta Perez are leaders of the security apparatus for the Chapitos, a powerful faction of the Sinaloa Cartel that engages in prolific fentanyl trafficking. Both men have led sicarios armed with military-style weapons – such as AK-47s, M-16s, AR-15s, and grenade launchers – in attacks on Mexican government and military officials. Gil Acosta leads sicarios tasked with protecting fentanyl labs and distribution routes while Zazueta Perez provides personal security for a leader of the Chapitos.
• Abdul Karim Conteh, a national of Sierra Leone, allegedly led a human smuggling organization that smuggled thousands of migrants to the United States through Mexico. These smuggled migrants originated from countries around the world, including Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Somalia, Cameroon, Senegal, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Egypt, and others. The migrants paid smuggling fees, often tens of thousands of dollars. Conteh allegedly oversaw the migrants’ unlawful entry into the United States by various surreptitious and unlawful means, including the use of ladders and tunnels.
• Leobardo Garcia Corrales is believed to be an important figure in the Sinaloa Cartel who has trafficked kilogram quantities of fentanyl into the United States, sometimes in exchange for military-grade weapons such as AK-47s, grenades, and submachine guns. He claims to be close friends and associates with Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, aka “El Chapo.”
• Luis Raul Castro Valenzuela, also known as “Chacho,” a member of the Sinaloa Cartel, has been charged with kidnapping and holding hostage a U.S. citizen.
• Juan Carlos Felix Gastelum also known as “El Chavo Félix,” a major Sinaloa Cartel cell leader and son-in-law to former Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, is alleged  to be a principal operator of the Sinaloa Cartel’s clandestine methamphetamine manufacturing laboratories located in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Sinaloa and Durango, Mexico involved in the manufacturing and distribution of large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico into the United States.
• Roberto Salazar is wanted in connection with the murder of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Juan Escalante, who was killed in 2008 when he was leaving his home during the early morning hours.
• Pablo Edwin Huerta Nuno, also known as “Flaquito,” is a violent Tijuana Plaza boss who has operated with impunity during the last 15 years. Huerta-Nuno is alleged to have supplied thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine to distributors and cells located throughout San Diego and Los Angeles. And in return, millions of dollars in narcotics proceeds were delivered to him and his organization via shipments of bulk cash from San Diego into Tijuana.

And the new war on terrorism is not exclusive to Mexico. On September 2^nd, a U.S. naval strike on a high-speed drug cartel boat in the Caribbean killed 11 drug traffickers from Venezuela and destroyed the drug-carrying vessel.

 

Secretary Of War Pete Hegseth said in a TV interview that the mission sent a signal to criminal gangs like the Venezuela based Tren de Aragua that the U.S. is prepared to take them on.

 

“President Trump is willing to go on the offense in ways that others have not been,” Mr. Hegseth said. “You’re poisoning our people, we’ve got incredible assets, and they are gathering in the region.”

 

Although he would not go into detail, Hegseth said, “We knew exactly who was in the boat. We knew exactly what they were doing, and we knew exactly who they represented, and that was Tren de Aragua,” Hegseth said.

 

On September 3^rd, a Joint Statement on Security Cooperation between the United States and Mexico was issued:

The Governments of Mexico and the United States reaffirm our security cooperation, which is based on the principles of reciprocity, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, shared and differentiated responsibility, as well as mutual trust. The aim is to work together to dismantle transnational organized crime through enhanced cooperation between our respective national security and law enforcement institutions, and judicial authorities. Additionally, we are working to address the illegal movement of people across the border. This cooperation through specific and immediate actions will strengthen the security along our shared border, halt the trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, and stop arms trafficking. 

The two governments have established a high-level implementation group to meet regularly and follow-up on mutual commitments and actions taken within their own countries, including measures to counter the cartels, strengthen border security, and eliminate clandestine border tunnels, address illicit financial flows, enhance collaboration to prevent fuel theft, increase inspections, investigations, and prosecutions to stop the flow of drugs and arms. 

Our close coordination has allowed us to secure the border, reduce fentanyl trafficking, and advance intelligence sharing, all within our respective legal frameworks. The two governments further intend to strengthen collaboration in public health and coordinate campaigns to prevent the abuse of illicit substances and opioids. 

Both governments reaffirm their determination to cooperate, protect our citizens, and make our communities safer. 

Paul Davis’ Threatcon column covers crime, espionage and terrorism.

My Threatcon Column: Iran Pounded

Counterterrorism magazine posted my latest online Threatcon column. 

You can read the column below: 

Iran Pounded 

By Paul Davis

I was pleased to see that President Trump encouraged and supported Israel’s air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. I also applaud President Trump’s bold and decisive order to send in the U.S. B-2 bombers with their bunker-busting bombs.   

Trump described the strikes as a "spectacular military success." 

"A short time ago, the U.S. military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan," President Trump said. "Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity, and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. 

"For 40 years, Iran has been saying, ‘Death to America. Death to Israel.’ They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs," President Trump continued. "That was their specialty. We lost over a thousand people, and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate in particular."

We’ve pounded the Iranians before. In 1988, an Iranian mine nearly sank an American warship, and then-President Reagan ordered the U.S. Navy to respond. On 18 April 1988, the U.S. Navy launched “Operation Praying Mantis” against Iranian targets in the Arabian Gulf in retaliation for the mining of the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) four days earlier. The Iranian mine blew a large hole in the ship’s hull. Ten Sailors from the Samuel B. Roberts were injured severely. The ship’s captain, Commander Paul X. Rinn, was also injured. The ship might have sunk, but the well-trained crew’s damage control effort kept the Samuel B. Roberts ship afloat. 

The U.S. response was swift and fierce. “Operation Praying Mantis,” the largest of five major U.S. Navy surface actions since World War II, was the first time that the U.S. Navy exchanged surface-to-surface missile fire with an enemy. The action resulted in the largest warship sunk by the U.S. Navy since WWII. In just one day, the U.S. Navy destroyed two Iranian surveillance platforms, sank two of their ships, and severely damaged another ship.”

 

Iran was later pounded again on January 3, 2020 in the form of a drone attack that President Trump ordered against Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. President Trump accused the notorious terrorist-supporting general, whose hands were dripping wet with American blood, of plotting imminent and sinister attacks against America.

 

As a writer, I’ve interviewed many intelligence and military officers about the threat from Iran. I especially recall speaking to Gary Berntsen a good while back. Berntsen, a former CIA officer and author of Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA’s Key Field Commander, predicted that the U.S. would eventually pound Iran. As a CIA operations officer and station chief, he often went up against the Iranians. He said it was like fighting the Nazis.

“What we call terrorism they call curriculum,” he said. “The Iranians assume that the United States won’t act even though they have provoked us by killing many of our people in Iraq and elsewhere. We are heading towards confrontation with Iran. When you look at some of the statements and some of the things they're doing, it looks like they're going out of their way to provoke Israel even more than the United States.”

 

Bernsten said the Iranians have a theocracy form of government, which they believe is divinely guided. He explained that they have a different framework from which they operate, and for the Iranians, it's not if you win or lose, it's that you show up to fight.

“I just think war is inevitable with Iran. Its either the United States or Israel against Iran. One of us, or both of us, against them,” Bernsten predicted correctly.

And if the Iranians and/or their proxies follow through on their threats of retaliation with acts of terrorism, what should President Trump do?

Pound the Iranians again. 

Paul Davis Threatcon column covers crime, espionage and terrorism.

My Threatcon Column: A Spy For Love

 My Threatcon column appeared on Counterterrorism magazine’s website. 

You can read the column via the link below or the text below:

IACSP - ThreatCon Articles

Before I became a full-time writer, I was a Defense Department civilian employee performing security work at the Defense Personnel Support Center in South Philadelphia.

Known locally as the “Quartermaster,” as the compound was an U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps (supply) depot in World War I, the center was the second largest Defense Department procurement command. (I covered the multi-million-dollar bribery and procurement fraud case at the Quartermaster in the Journal in 2021).

As the administrative officer of a Defense Department tenant command at the Quartermaster that oversaw defense contractors in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, I was responsible for all security programs from physical security to personnel security. I briefed new DOD personnel on security matters, and I debriefed personnel who were leaving the command. I also performed counterintelligence, counterterrorism, travel security, cyber security, and other security briefings and seminars to the military and civilian members of the command. And I served as an investigating officer involving security violations, other security issues and crimes.

Originally trained and experienced in security work while serving as an enlisted teenage sailor aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk during the Vietnam War, I became a Defense Department employee after leaving the Navy. Over the years, I attended a good number of Defense Department, FBI, CIA, NSA and DIA briefings on various security issues and threats, including the “Insider Threat.”

Although Defense Department security people were concerned rightly with foreign adversaries gaining classified information, the insider threat was also a major cause of concern. The insider threat came from trusted, cleared employees who choose to reveal classified information to a foreign adversary. To the best of my knowledge, our command did not have a trusted employee who gave away classified information, although one of the contractors we oversaw employed a man who was convicted of spying for the Communist Chinese.   

I recall an FBI special agent telling me about the motivation of people who betray their country. He mentioned “MICE,” an acronym for “Money, Ideology, Compromise, and Ego,” the primary motives of a spy and traitor.

One also becomes a spy for love.

A case in point is a former Air Force civilian employee of the U.S. Air Force assigned to the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) at Offutt Air Force Base who pleaded guilty on July 10^th to conspiring to transmit classified information relating to the national defense on a foreign online dating platform beginning in or around February 2022 until in or around April 2022.

“The defendant, an employee of the United States Air Force with access to some of our Nation’s most closely held secrets, shared classified information with someone claiming to be a foreigner on an online dating platform,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The Department of Justice stands ready to hold accountable those who violate their obligation to protect sensitive national security information entrusted to them.”

Lesley A. Woods, The U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska, added, “Access to classified information comes with great responsibility. David Slater failed in his duty to protect this information by willingly sharing National Defense Information with an unknown online personality despite having years of military experience that should have caused him to be suspicious of that person’s motives.” 

Eugene Kowel, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Omaha Field Office,  noted, “Mr. Slater betrayed an oath he made to safeguard our nation's intelligence. Leveraging his access to sensitive information, Mr. Slater chose to transmit material that put our country at risk. The FBI is extremely thankful for the work of our partners in this case. We will continue to partner together to defend the homeland by aggressively investigating and apprehending criminals and adversaries who pose a threat to our nation's security.”

According to court documents, David Franklin Slater, 64, of Nebraska, after retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Army, worked in a classified space at USSTRATCOM and held a Top-Secret security clearance from in or around August 2021 until in or around April 2022. Slater pleaded guilty to willfully, improperly, and unlawfully conspiring to transmit National Defense Information classified as “SECRET,” which he had reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation, on a foreign online dating platform to a person not authorized to receive such information.

“Slater attended USSTRATCOM briefings regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine that were classified up to TOP SECRET//SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTED INFORMATION (TS//SCI). Slater then conspired to transmit classified National Defense Information that he learned from those briefings via the foreign online dating website’s messaging platform to his co-conspirator, who claimed to be a female living in Ukraine on the foreign dating website,” the Justice Department stated. “The co-conspirator regularly asked Slater to provide her with sensitive, non-public, closely held, and classified National Defense Information and called Slater in their messages her “secret informant love” and her “secret agent.” In furtherance of that conspiracy, Slater did, in fact, transmit classified National Defense Information to her, including regarding military targets and Russian military capabilities relating to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

The charge of conspiracy to transmit national defense information provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Slater is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 8. A federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Omaha Field Office and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations are investigating this case.

When that FBI special agent told me about the “MICE,” acronym for “Money, Ideology, Compromise, and Ego,” I suggested to the FBI agent that they ought to come up with an acronym for “RAT.”

Paul Davis’ Threatcon column covers crime, espionage and terrorism.        

My Threatcon Column: Another Terrorism Plot Against A U.S. Military Base

My latest Threatcon column was posted on Counterterrorism magazine’s website.

You can read the column via the link below or the text below:

IACSP - ThreatCon Articles

In the latest issue of the Journal, I covered the terrorist plot against the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois. Xuanyu Harry Pang, a former U.S, Navy sailor, planned the attack purportedly on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

You can read the piece via the below link:

Paul Davis On Crime: Raven Pleads Guilty: My Counterterrorism Magazine Piece On The Former Navy Sailor Who Planned An Attack On The Great Lakes Naval Station

Pang pleaded guilty to conspiring to and attempting to willfully injure and destroy national defense material, national defense premises, and national defense utilities, with the intent to injure, interfere with, and obstruct the national defense of the United States.

The story was of particular interest to me as I attended “Boot Camp” at the Great Lakes Naval Recruit Training Center in 1970.

I spent more than 37 years living and working on military bases. Beginning with my selling Philadelphia newspapers as a teenager at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in the mid-1960s, I went on to serve as a young, enlisted sailor on a variety of bases both overseas and in America. I later served on military bases as a Defense Department civilian employee. 

Performing security work as the administrative officer of a Defense Department command on the compound of the Defense Personnel Support Center in South Philadelphia, locally known as the “Quartermaster,” and later at the Naval Support Activity in Northeast Philadelphia, I helped plan and execute security policies and procedures to protect the property and personnel on the military bases. 

So, I was concerned when it was reported that yet another man was arrested for planning a terrorist attack on a military base in Michigan. 

Last month the Justice Department announced that Ammar Abdulmajid-Mohamed Said (seen in the above photo), 19, a former member of the Michigan Army National Guard, was arrested  after he attempted to carry out a plan to conduct a mass-shooting at a U.S. military base in Warren, Michigan on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a foreign terrorist organization.

Said is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and distributing information related to a destructive device.

“This defendant is charged with planning a deadly attack on a U.S. military base here at home for ISIS,” said Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of law enforcement, we foiled the attack before lives were lost. We will not hesitate to bring the full force of the Department to find and prosecute those who seek to harm our men and women in the military and to protect all Americans.”

U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. for the Eastern District of Michigan added, “ISIS is a brutal terrorist organization which seeks to kill Americans. Helping ISIS or any other terrorist organization prepare or carry out acts of violence is not only a reprehensible crime – it is a threat to our entire nation and way of life. Our office will not tolerate such crimes or threats, and we will use the full weight of the law against anyone who engages in terrorism.”

Assistant Director Donald M. Holstead of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division noted, “The defendant allegedly tried to carry out an attack on a military facility in support of ISIS, which was disrupted thanks to the good work of the FBI and our partners. The FBI is steadfast in our commitment to detect and stop terrorist plans aimed at the American homeland or at U.S. interests overseas.”

According to the Justice Department, Said informed two undercover law enforcement officers of a plan he had devised and formulated to conduct a mass-shooting at the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armaments Command (TACOM) facility at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Michigan.

“In April 2025, the two undercover officers indicated they intended to carry out Said’s plan at the direction of ISIS. In response, Said provided material assistance to the attack plan, including providing armor-piercing ammunition and magazines for the attack, flying his drone over TACOM to conduct operational reconnaissance, training the undercover employees on firearms and the construction of Molotov cocktails for use during the attack, and planning numerous details of the attack including how to enter TACOM and which building to target,” the Justice Department stated.

“On May 13^th, the scheduled day of the attack, Said was arrested after he traveled to an area near TACOM and launched his drone in support of the attack plan,” the Justice Department stated. “He will make his initial court appearance today in the Eastern District of Michigan. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will be asking the court to hold Said in pretrial detention because of his danger to the community and the risk that he will flee.”  

Based on the charges, Said faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count if convicted.

“The arrest of this former soldier is a sobering reminder of the importance of our counterintelligence efforts to identify and disrupt those who would seek to harm our nation,” said Brigadier General Rhett R. Cox, the commanding general of Army Counterintelligence Command. “I commend the tireless work of our special agents and FBI partners who worked together to investigate and apprehend this individual. We will continue to collaborate with our partners to prevent similar incidents in the future. We urge all soldiers to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to their chain of command, as the safety and security of our Army and our nation depends on our collective efforts to prevent insider threats.”

Paul Davis’ Threatcon column covers crime, espionage and terrorism.

My Threatcon Column: Trump Versus Foreign Terrorist Drug Cartel Organizations

Counterterrorism magazine posted my online Threatcon column on President Trump designating drug cartels and transnational gangs as foreign terrorist organizations. 

You can read the column via the link below or the text below:

IACSP - ThreatCon Articles

I recently had lunch with a retired Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent. He spoke of how the influx of dangerous narcotics into the United States is a national security issue. He said drug overdoses kill far more Americans than terrorist attacks.

“The drugs come in from the Mexican cartels and are offered to drug addicts here in Philadelphia and across the country,” the former DEA agent said. “The plant-based drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, are bad enough, but now we see the synthetic, chemically based drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, which are often deadly.”

The former DEA agent said the DEA holds the Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco drug cartels mostly responsible for the influx of the deadly drugs. He also said that he believes that President Trump designating drug cartels and transnational gangs as foreign terrorist organization is a step in the right direction.

On January 20^th, Trump issued the below Executive Order: 

DESIGNATING CARTELS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS AND SPECIALLY DESIGNATED GLOBAL TERRORISTS

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA),50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Purpose.  This order creates a process by which certain international cartels (the Cartels) and other organizations will be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, consistent with section 219 of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1189), or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, consistent with IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702) and Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001 (Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism), as amended.

(a)  International cartels constitute a national-security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime, with activities encompassing:

(i)    convergence between themselves and a range of extra-hemispheric actors, from designated foreign-terror organizations to antagonistic foreign governments;

(ii)   complex adaptive systems, characteristic of entities engaged in insurgency and asymmetric warfare; and

(iii)  infiltration into foreign governments across the Western Hemisphere.

The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs.

The Cartels functionally control, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape, and brute force nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border of the United States.  In certain portions of Mexico, they function as quasi-governmental entities, controlling nearly all aspects of society.  The Cartels’ activities threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.  Their activities, proximity to, and incursions into the physical territory of the United States pose an unacceptable national security risk to the United States.

(b)  Other transnational organizations, such as Tren de Aragua (TdA) and La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) pose similar threats to the United States.  Their campaigns of violence and terror in the United States and internationally are extraordinarily violent, vicious, and similarly threaten the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.

(c)  The Cartels and other transnational organizations, such as TdA and MS-13, operate both within and outside the United States.  They present an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.  I hereby declare a national emergency, under IEEPA, to deal with those threats.

Sec. 2.  Policy.  It is the policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States through their extraterritorial command-and-control structures, thereby protecting the American people and the territorial integrity of the United States.

Sec. 3.  Implementation.  (a)  Within 14 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State shall take all appropriate action, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, to make a recommendation regarding the designation of any cartel or other organization described in section 1 of this order as a Foreign Terrorist Organization consistent with 8 U.S.C. 1189 and/or a Specially Designated Global Terrorist consistent with 50 U.S.C. 1702 and Executive Order 13224.

(b)  Within 14 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take all appropriate action, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to make operational preparations regarding the implementation of any decision I make to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, 50 U.S.C. 21 et seq., in relation to the existence of any qualifying invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States by a qualifying actor, and to prepare such facilities as necessary to expedite the removal of those who may be designated under this order.

Sec. 4.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. 

My friend, the former DEA special agent, also approves of President Trump’s other actions, such as using American spy aircraft to target Mexican drug cartels.

According to reports in the press, U.S. Navy P-8s equipped with new and improved radar and a high-altitude U-2 are spying on the drug traffickers, much like they have been used to spy on our nation’s adversaries, such as Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.   

Trump also ended the “Catch and Release” policy, and deployed thousands of military people to support the Border Patrol. He also negotiated with Mexico leading our southern neighbor to deploy 10,000 soldiers to patrol their side of the southern border.

The cartels have responded by firing on Border Patrol agents in Texas, and the cartels ordering attacks on US Border agents with kamikaze drones.

It has been reported that President Trump is also considering of sending U.S. special operations troops into Mexico to confront the violent drug trafficking organizations.

When asked by a reporter about the special operations idea, President Trump replied, “Could happen. Stranger things have happened.”

Paul Davis’ Threatcon column covers crime, espionage and terrorism. 

Note: You can read my other Threatcon columns via the link below:

Paul Davis On Crime: My Counterterrorism Magazine Online 'Threatcon' Columns

Mexican Drug Kingpin ‘Narco of Narcos’ Faces Judge Wearing Cuffs Of DEA Agent He Tortured, Killed In 1985

The New York Post offers a piece on Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, the man convicted of murdering DEA Special Agent Kiki Camarena.

A Mexican drug kingpin who was depicted in Netflix’s gritty crime drama “Narcos” was hauled into Brooklyn court Friday — wearing the handcuffs that belonged to the DEA agent he was convicted of kidnapping, torturing and murdering in 1985.

Rafael Caro Quintero, a founding member of the Guadalajara cartel, pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges in federal court in front of a packed room of more than 100 Drug Enforcement Administration agents and other members of law enforcement.

The white-haired Quintero, 72, who wore tan pants and a blue and orange shirt, was brought into the courtroom with his hands cuffed behind his back and answered questions in Spanish.

A source confirmed to The Post that the cuffs he wore belonged to DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, whose kidnapping, torture and murder Caro Quintero was convicted for.

You can read the rest of the piece via the link below:

 Mexican drug kingpin 'Narco of Narcos' faces judge in cuffs of DEA agent he killed in 1985

You can also read my Threatcon column on the drug lord via the link below:

Paul Davis On Crime: Justice For Kiki: My Threatcon Column On the Capture Of Mexican Drug Lord Caro-Quintero