//The Wire//2300Z January 21, 2026//
//ROUTINE//
//BLUF: UNITED STATES SEIZES ANOTHER OIL TANKER IN CARIBBEAN. ICE BEGINS SURGE OPERATIONS IN MAINE. DHS-INVOLVED SHOOTING REPORTED IN CALIFORNIA.//
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-International Events-
Caribbean: Yesterday afternoon US SOUTHCOM announced the seizure of the tanker *SAGITTA*, continuing the operation to seize sanctioned vessels throughout the region.
Analyst Comment: This vessel had been on the sanctions list for a while, and regularly smuggled oil from Venezuela to Russia. This is the seventh oil tanker seized so far during this campaign.
-HomeFront-
California: This morning a DHS-involved shooting was reported in Los Angeles, in the vicinity of 126th Street and Mona Boulevard in Willowbrook. DHS agents were attempting to detain an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, who was wanted for violent crimes as well as human trafficking. During the operation to arrest him, he attacked agents, resulting in at least one officer discharging his weapon. Nobody was hit during the engagement, however the agent who engaged the suspect suffered unspecified wounds during the incident.
USA: Around the nation, yesterday's national walkout campaign took place largely without much incident or impact. Several small demonstrations were noted in a few major cities, but nothing major. Several larger demonstrations and walk out campaigns are scheduled for later this week, and a general nationwide labor strike is planned for Friday. Separately, the National March for Life is scheduled to take place in Washington D.C. on Friday, which is usually a fairly large event every year. Counter-protesters usually always make a presence, and since this year's demonstration coincides with a labor strike, it's possible that bigger crowds might turn out on all sides.
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Analyst Comments: In Maine, tensions are rising on a few different fronts. Following the recent scandals involving Somali fraud in Minneapolis, similar investigations have been underway throughout the state, which have uncovered fraud on an industrial scale in Lewiston. Over the past few weeks, more indictments and instances of fraud have come to light, which has brought increased scrutiny to smaller cities (such as Lewiston) where fraud appears to be running rampant.
Separately, on the immigration front, ICE has begun surge operations throughout the state. ICE agents have already been carrying out immigration law enforcement operations in the state for some time, however due to the national spotlight being placed on Minneapolis, activists groups in Maine are eager to combat ICE in their state as well.
Continuing the trend of the past few months, several hotlines have been established by NGOs, which specifically aid and abet illegals in evading capture in Maine. For context, the website of just one of these organizations, the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition, lists total of 112 different organizations and other NGOs that are in their network, which provide resources to illegals evading immigration law.
To put this number in perspective, Maine only has about 30 hospitals throughout the state, so there are approximately three times more immigration support facilities than there are medical facilities in the entire state. And on top of that, this is just one network and their partners; there are dozens more like this. They even have a handy link analysis chart already built on their own website, which shows the links between the dozens of agencies all fighting to interfere with immigration enforcement operations. This points not only to the significance of the funding and organization of all of this, but also how substantial of an effort is being undertaken to evade the enforcement of immigration law.
Analyst: S2A1
Research: https://publish.obsidian.md/s2underground
Disclaimer: No LLMs were
