The 13-year-old daughter of actor Chad Lowe died by suicide, according to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner.

Emergency responders were called to the family’s home at 12:10 a.m. Tuesday. The girl was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 1:14 a.m., according to the Medical Examiner.

Medical Examiner records indicate that her remains could be released to her parents.

The Lowe family announced Fiona’s death in a statement Tuesday, saying they were devastated by the loss of “a loving young girl who was smart, creative and loved to dance.”

“She was adored by her sisters and she was deeply loved by her parents,” the family said. “In fact, she was the light of our lives.”

The family encouraged anyone experiencing a mental health crisis to contact a suicide prevention service for support.

“Her passing is devastating for our entire family and we ask for prayers and privacy at this time,” the family said.

“If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988,” the statement continued.

The Medical Examiner’s report said Fiona’s remains were ready to be released to her family.

Lowe, who was previously married to actress Hilary Swank, 52, shares Fiona with Painter. The couple’s other daughters are Mabel, 17, and Nixie, 10.

The Daily Mail has contacted Lowe’s representatives for comment.

The Medical Examiner’s account appears to differ from information previously provided by law enforcement sources to TMZ, which reported that Fiona died at the family home Tuesday. Those sources said authorities had been called to the residence at 12:10 a.m.

According to Page Six, parents at Fiona’s school received an email from the principal Tuesday informing them that a student had died. The message did not identify the student.

The school expressed condolences to the student’s family and said counselors were available for students and staff seeking emotional support during the difficult period.

Lowe’s Instagram account is full of heartwarming photos of his three daughters. The doting father last paid tribute to Fiona in November to mark her birthday, sharing a photo of her beaming in cowboy boots.

‘Celebrating Fiona officially becoming a teen today!!’ the Emmy winner wrote. ‘Keep dancing through life FiBear! Love you soooo much!!’

The actor also shared a photo of all three of his daughters in February last year, showing them visiting the ruins of their childhood home in Los Angeles, following the devastating Palisades fire.

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The girls were seen with their arms around each other as they looked on at the ruins.

‘Almost a month after we evacuated our girls finally got to go back to see what’s left of their home,’ he wrote in the caption.

‘The way they’ve handled this whole devastating experience is nothing short of remarkable. I am in awe of their spirit and resilience. Helping them navigate these tough times is my sole purpose. Being their dad is my life’s greatest joy and privilege.’

In January, the actor wrote about the ‘despair’ he felt after losing his home in the fires.

‘One year ago today, our lives got turned upside down by a completely preventable catastrophe. It’s hard not to let the anger, despair, and frustration overwhelm. Losing everything I ever owned and the home we raised our family in is still deeply painful to this day,’ he shared on Instagram.

‘However, this terrible experience has been a powerful reminder of this simple truth – we can’t always control what happens to us in this life but we can control how we respond. And I have been so incredibly proud of how my wife Kim and our daughters have strived to make the absolute best of this extraordinarily difficult circumstance. I am in awe of their resilience.’

He added, ‘Also, we are buoyed by the outpouring of support, assistance, and well wishes from so many people in our lives. The way people have responded has given us great comfort, hope and strength to rebuild our lives. Thank you one and all!’

‘We will continue to honor those who lost their lives in these fires, and to attempt to lift up all of our neighbors whose grief we share.’

In October 2024, he also shared an adorable family photo with his wife and all three girls in a corn maze. 

‘Lost in the maze! Our favorite time of year!’ he wrote.

Lowe reflected on being a ‘girl dad’ on the Still Here Hollywood podcast in August 2024.

‘Having daughters is such an incredible privilege,’ he shared.

‘It takes what I’ve known intellectually about women and all of equality and the glass ceiling that’s there, and how it’s a misogynistic world in a lot of ways… And it’s put it in my heart, because I have three daughters. And so I look at the world, really, from their perspective.’

The proud dad also raved about taking his three girls to Taylor Swift’s concert in 2023, sharing sweet snaps on Instagram and writing, ‘It’s official, I’m a certified Swiftie Dad! I totally get it now! What an awesome night!’ 

Lowe has been married to Painter since 2010, following his previous marriage to Swank from 1997 to 2007. 

He and Painter welcomed their first daughter, Mabel, in 2009. Mabel was followed by Fiona, who was born in November 2012. Their third daughter, Nixie, was born in 2016. 

Lowe won an Emmy Award in 1993 for his supporting role on the comedy-drama series Life Goes On, on which he starred as a man living with HIV.

He has also appeared on shows including Melrose Place, ER, 24, Pretty Little Liars and Now and Again.

If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org 

Eleven unidentified Flock surveillance cameras were found operating in a Florida county without permits or publicly disclosed owners, prompting questions about who is monitoring residents and controlling the data collected, according to a report.

The discovery came in St. Lucie County after officials began removing Flock’s controversial high-tech cameras, which are used to scan traffic and track vehicles, The Washington Post reported.

Officials had believed that 52 cameras were active throughout the county. But an inspection revealed 14 additional devices operating without permits.

The sheriff’s office acknowledged that three of those cameras belonged to the agency. The remaining 11 were left without identified owners, leaving residents uncertain about who installed them or had access to the sensitive information they gathered.

“I’m not happy about it unless I know who it is,” 70-year-old resident Todd Richter told the newspaper. “And I don’t.”

It remains unclear why the sheriff’s office did not obtain permits for its cameras.

County officials told The Washington Post that notices were attached to the unidentified devices. Depending on when each notice was posted, owners were given until between Oct. 16 and Oct. 20 to remove the equipment.

If no one comes forward to claim the cameras, county employees intend to cover their lenses with plastic bags.

A Flock spokesperson told the newspaper that the company frequently manages permitting “where required,” but said regulations differ by jurisdiction and permits are not needed in every location.

Flock said it had contacted St. Lucie County officials and was “happy to work with them directly to review the cameras in question and address any discrepancies,” according to an email from the company.

County officials have not said whether they plan to accept Flock’s offer.

Ty Grant, 28, lives only a few hundred feet from one of the Flock cameras in Fort Pierce.

Grant became alarmed after the newspaper told him that officials did not know who had installed the device near his home.

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“That makes me feel very unsafe,” Grant said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has directed the state Department of Transportation to revoke permits for automated license-plate recognition systems, including Flock products, following widespread privacy concerns.

Flock’s AI-powered cameras and similar surveillance systems have been deployed across the country, including throughout the tristate area.

In Nassau County, New York, drivers encounter a Flock Safety camera about every 9.5 miles, placing local residents among the most heavily monitored motorists in the country, according to The Washington Post’s analysis of independent data.

More than 330 Flock Safety cameras have been mapped across Nassau’s roughly 3,200 miles of roadway. The figures place the suburban county among the 100 U.S. counties with the highest camera density, according to DeFlock, an activist organization that tracks Flock’s expansion.

That means Nassau drivers rank among the top 3% of the most closely monitored motorists in the United States.

In Connecticut, more than a half-dozen communities — including Vernon, Bridgeport, Danbury, Shelton, Stratford, North Haven and New Haven — have signed agreements with BusPatrol to install license-plate-reading cameras on school buses. The systems are designed to identify drivers who pass buses while their red warning lights are flashing.

Company technicians log the violations and hand the footage over to local cops.

Unlike Flock’s round-the-clock surveillance net, BusPatrol’s cameras don’t constantly monitor the roads.

Figures in major corporations and the federal government have warned the public about the proliferation of Flock cameras, noting that oversaturated surveillance can degrade public privacy. 

On Fox News’ “Saturday in America” Pentagon AI police director Mark Beall warned that Flock cameras and other similar tools could turn communities into a “China-like surveillance state.”

“We have to be careful that we don’t go too far to the other direction and create a China-like surveillance state, which is literally what AI capabilities will ultimately enable and are enabling right now,” Beall said.

Flock and representatives for St. Lucie County and its sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for clarification or comment. 

CHICAGO (WLS) — A federal judge has opened a fact-finding inquiry into alleged prosecutorial misconduct in the failed case against the so-called Broadview Six, a step that could ultimately result in criminal contempt proceedings.

The defendants and their attorneys appeared Thursday at the Dirksen Federal Building as the spotlight shifted from the collapsed prosecution to the conduct of the government lawyers who filed the charges.

“They dragged these six people behind me who did nothing wrong through the mud for over a year, and now the tables have turned,” said Chris Parente, an attorney representing one of the defendants.

The inquiry is centered on U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros and the work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. U.S. District Judge April Perry launched the review after finding what she called apparent prosecutorial wrongdoing while examining unredacted transcripts from the grand jury proceedings.

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Parente said he believes Perry will conduct a thorough examination of what happened.

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Hezbollah received weapons valued at approximately $157 million in 2024, with Iran supplying most of them at no cost, according to a new report by the Israeli nonprofit Center for Research of Terror Financing (CENTEF).

Titled “Hezbollah Financial Statements,” the study drew on open-source intelligence and established estimates of the group’s military assets, the Jerusalem Post reported.

CENTEF estimated that Hezbollah spent about $28 million purchasing weapons. Those acquisitions were primarily small arms, ammunition, drone parts, dual-use equipment and supplies obtained through the group’s international procurement networks.

Iran, by contrast, provided an estimated $129 million in weapons as an in-kind grant, according to the report. The shipments included rockets, missiles, drones, anti-tank guided missiles, air-defense systems, ammunition, launchers, naval equipment and assets linked to improvised explosive devices.

The analysis said Hezbollah acquired 4,000 short-range Katyusha rockets, 400 Falaq-1 and Falaq-2 rockets, and 120 Burkan rockets during 2024. Each short-range rocket is estimated to cost about $300, while a Burkan rocket is valued at roughly $400.

Hezbollah also obtained more advanced systems, including Iran’s Fajr rocket series and heavy rockets of Syrian origin. The Fajr-3 is a 240mm artillery rocket fitted with a 45-kilogram warhead. The Fajr-5 is a 333mm rocket, while the Fajr-5C variant features GPS guidance, according to the Post.

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CENTEF placed the cost of those rockets between $2,000 and $10,000 and estimated that Hezbollah acquired 600 of them in 2024.

Anti-tank guided missiles account for a significant share of Hezbollah’s arsenal. The report identified the Russian-made Kornet and Iran’s reverse-engineered Dehlavieh as the group’s main ATGM systems. A Kornet round costs approximately $26,000, while a Dehlavieh is estimated at $12,000 to $15,000, according to the Post.

Hezbollah has used a substantial portion of its weapons stockpile in attacks against Israel over the past year, while Israeli military operations have severely weakened the group’s leadership.

IDF Lt. Col. (Res.) Sarit Zehavi, founder and president of the Israel-based Alma Research and Education Center, said earlier this month that Israeli forces had destroyed 90% of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile arsenal.

“Today Hezbollah is holding between 10,000 to 15,000 rockets, which is much less than what it used to have. Most of the array of sophisticated missiles, accurate missiles and long-range missiles was either eliminated or neutralized,” Zehavi said.

The execution was expected to take about 30 minutes.

Instead, Christa Pike was supposed to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than two centuries.

Yet 11 hours after her scheduled execution, the woman dubbed a “Satanic killer” was still alive, lying on the gurney and snoring loudly after surviving two doses of lethal injection that were intended to be fatal.

The ordeal descended into a frightening and surreal scene. At different points, Pike sang, cackled and thrashed as officials struggled to complete the execution.

As of Thursday night, the 50-year-old remained hospitalized in critical condition, according to her lawyers. They said she endured at least seven needle attempts, including one that bent as staff tried to deliver the drugs.

The failed execution is the latest extraordinary development in the case of a woman who, at 18, tortured and murdered fellow Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer, 19, more than three decades ago.

The 1995 killing became associated with the country’s “Satanic Panic.” In January of that year, Pike lured Slemmer to a secluded part of the University of Tennessee campus. Alongside her boyfriend and another friend, she tortured Slemmer for up to an hour, stabbing her more than 100 times with a box cutter before killing her with a piece of asphalt.

Slemmer’s body was discovered the following day. She was nude from the waist up, with a Satanic pentagram carved into her flesh and part of her crushed skull missing. Pike had reportedly taken the piece as a gruesome souvenir.

Pike received a death sentence the following year. After 31 years of delays, her execution was finally scheduled for Wednesday.

Then, in a dramatic reversal, the execution failed.

As officials face growing questions about what went wrong and what will happen next, disturbing details have emerged from inside the death chamber in what has been described as one of the most botched executions in US history.

WVLT anchor and senior reporter William Puckett, one of the few witnesses to see the failed execution firsthand, has provided a minute-by-minute account from inside Nashville’s Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Puckett said Pike appeared nonchalant in her final statement. She did not apologize to Slemmer’s family and instead directed a remark at her “haters.”

He described an unsettling spectacle in which Pike cheerfully sang about love and released what he called a “joyous cackle and laugh” as barbiturates—drugs that depress brain activity to the point of death—were administered.

The scene grew even stranger after the second dose failed, when Pike began snoring “like an old man,” according to Puckett.

A symbolic rock was placed beside the observation window twice to indicate that Pike had died. On both occasions, it had to be taken away.

Puckett said members of the media were escorted into the viewing chamber at 6:41 p.m. CT.

The execution had initially been set for 10 a.m., but an appeals court granted an 11th-hour stay that morning. The US Supreme Court later overturned the stay, allowing the execution to proceed.

The chaos of the morning foreshadowed what was to come.

In the viewing room sat seven media witnesses, five Tennessee Department of Correction officers and Pike’s lawyers.

In another viewing room, not visible to the media, sat Slemmer’s family members including her mother May Martinez and stepdad Raul Martinez, who had traveled from Florida to see their daughter’s killer take her last breath with the help of $3,000 donated through GoFundMe.

None of Pike’s own family attended. Her sister later described Pike’s survival as an ‘act of God.’

The curtains obscuring the view to the death chamber finally opened at 7.27pm, revealing Pike lying strapped down onto the gurney.

To Puckett, she appeared calm and unfazed by what was about to unfold.

Lying on her back, she stared at the ceiling as she gave what should have been her final statement.

In it, she offered no apology to Slemmer’s family and showed no remorse for her actions, Puckett said.

Instead, she took what appeared to be ‘a veiled shot’ at ‘the people who have hated on’ her.

‘I even love the people who have hated on me. They’re the ones who need love the most,’ she said.

‘I’m going to leave this world the way I’ve spent most of my life – in love. I’m good now. I’m at peace. I’m ready to be free. I’m going to celebrate my freedom. This is a good day.’

Puckett added that despite her lawyers challenging the execution and petitioning for it to be called off, ‘She very much seemed like somebody who was happy that it had gotten to this point.’

Then the executioners began administering the lethal injection, which should have killed her within minutes.

Instead, at 7.33pm, she began to speak again.

‘A vein in my arm feels like it is about to burst,’ she said. One minute later, she said: ‘One spot is really throbbing.’

A single tear rolled down her cheek. Whether she was crying or simply had watery eyes was unclear. Still, she did not seem in distress but rather seemed to be calmly describing something she had noticed, according to Puckett.

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At 7.37pm, she then took four deep breath and broke into song.

Her high-pitched voice echoed off the walls and glass separating the killer from the spectators sitting in the viewing chambers.

‘Be kind and gentle to yourself and may you be at peace,’ she said repeatedly, reciting the lyrics of a traditional Buddhist meditation.

Pike had moved away from the Satanic symbolism and occult interests associated with her 1995 crime, turning instead to Buddhism during her imprisonment.

While singing, a clearly lucid Pike looked around the room – first at the warden, then at the media viewing chamber and then finally to the chamber where her victim’s family members sat watching.

To those watching, Pike seemed as though she was addressing the words of love and peace to them.

‘It felt like she was looking at us for a moment, knowing that we were back there, almost like she was saying a prayer for us,’ Puckett said.

She was also constantly moving her feet as ‘though she was paddling’ – so much so that a prison officer had to replace the blanket over her.

To Puckett, they didn’t appear to be involuntary spasms but deliberate movements as though she was in control of her body.

At one point, Pike then let out what sounded like ‘a joyous laugh and chuckle.’

At 7.41pm, a rock was placed by Tennessee Department of Corrections staff in sight of the viewing chamber – a signal used to tell witnesses that the drug had been fully administered.

Pike’s eyes closed – but she was not dead.

At 7.44pm, Pike spoke again to her spiritual advisor but it was too quiet to be picked up by the microphone.

The curtain dropped at 7.46pm – typically a sign that the execution is complete and the inmate is dead.

But, behind it, Pike began to snore.

It was a ‘loud, deep in the back of the sinus cavity snore’ like an old man sleeping, Puckett described.

‘It was like she was getting the best sleep of her life.’

Three minutes later at 7.49pm, the curtain rose again.

The rock was gone and Pike’s spiritual adviser, who had entered the viewing room after the curtain first dropped, was summoned back into the chamber, while executioners administered a second dose.

Between 7.51pm and 7.56pm, Pike continued to snore heavily.

The rock was then placed back at 8.01pm, indicating that the second dose was complete.

Four minutes later, Pike’s body moved ‘pretty abruptly,’ and she gave a ‘significant gasp for air.’

The curtain then immediately came down a second time at 8.05pm – blocking the viewing chamber from seeing what happened next.

But the snoring did not stop.

For almost 50 minutes, the media could hear it continuing to come from Pike.

A commotion could also be heard in the death chamber, with doors opening and closing, people moving about and inaudible voices.

Inside the viewing chamber, the confusion and chaos was palpable as Pike’s lawyers went in and out of the room.

By the time the microphone was cut and the media was escorted from the viewing chamber at 8.53pm, Pike was still snoring consistently – a clear sign, to those listening, that she was still alive and breathing.

To Puckett, who had never witnessed an execution before, one of the things that stood out to him was that Pike never visibly appeared to be in distress.

‘There seemed no sadness in the way she reacted,’ he said.

Pike was rushed by ambulance to hospital where she received life-saving measures. As of Thursday afternoon, her lawyers confirmed she remained alive in critical condition.

And as news of the failed execution spread, both families began to react.

To Pike’s sister Alicia Wills, he survival is a matter of God’s will.

‘People have their opinions of my sister, Christa Gail Pike, but the truth is not being told,’ she wrote in a post on social media. ‘I don’t have the mental capacity to tell the story now, but if God wanted her dead, she would be.’

But for the family of Pike’s victim Colleen Slemmer, the botched execution is continuing to prolong their fight for justice – and their daughter’s ability to rest in peace.

‘Unfortunately Colleen’s soul cannot rest until this monster succumbs to the 2 doses of Pentobarbital that she was given,’ Slemmer’s stepfather Raul Martinez wrote on social media. ‘This b**ch will haunt Colleen’s heavenly journey until she’s been wiped off the face of the earth.’

Two brothers from Louisiana have been charged with terrorism-related offenses after allegedly helping channel money to Hamas through online campaigns presented as humanitarian relief for Gaza. The investigation was aided by the New York Police Department.

Federal indictments unsealed recently allege that Abdel Adhami and his brother, Omar Adhami, were arrested in Louisiana last month after collecting donations online and directing funds to Saleem Alzaq. Prosecutors identify Alzaq as a Hamas member who frequently shares the group’s propaganda on social media.

According to the allegations, Abdel transferred more than $83,000 to Hamas between 2023 and 2026, while Omar allegedly sent approximately $6,000.

The fundraising effort solicited contributions from donors worldwide, including people in the United States, while publicly claiming the money would be used to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza residents, according to a complaint against Alzaq.

Prosecutors say the operation had generated at least $1.7 million since 2020.

“Although these campaigns were publicly promoted as efforts to raise humanitarian aid, Alzaq actually used proceeds from them to support Hamas,” the complaint alleges.

The alleged scheme began to come into focus in November 2025, when Alzaq unknowingly contacted an undercover NYPD detective using the name “Hussain” on Snapchat.

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A month later, Alzaq instructed the undercover officer to contact Abdel about arranging future transfers.

“Call him, reach an agreement and determine the best way to transfer and send the funds. This young man sends money to me every month,” the complaint quotes Alzaq as saying.

Court documents do not indicate whether the undercover detective ultimately sent any money to Abdel.

Both Abdel and Omar Adhami are charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and committing wire fraud.

Alzaq faces separate conspiracy charges involving material support for a foreign terrorist organization, violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, money laundering and defrauding the United States.

“The NYPD’s counterterrorism work knows no borders,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement following the arrests.

Tisch said the department’s intelligence analysts uncovered the international financial network and helped build a case alleging that more than $2 million was directed to Hamas.

“This is the kind of extraordinary counterterrorism work the NYPD carries out every day to disrupt threats before they reach New Yorkers,” she said, thanking law enforcement partners for helping dismantle the alleged network.

Bolivia’s worsening security situation is becoming one of the first major real-world tests of President Donald Trump’s Shield of the Americas, the country’s defense minister told News Media. Security forces are moving into strategic areas as President Rodrigo Paz’s government prepares for the possibility of renewed unrest.

“I believe this is one of the first real tests of whether Shield of the Americas can move from declarations to concrete results,” Bolivian Defense Minister Ernesto Justiniano said in an exclusive interview with News Media.

Justiniano emphasized, however, that Bolivia is not claiming a coup attempt is currently in progress. “I am not saying today that we have proven evidence of a specific operation currently underway to overthrow the President,” he said. “What we do have are very serious precedents and warning signs that justify preventive action.”

Trump introduced Shield of the Americas at a March summit in Florida, bringing Western Hemisphere governments together to expand economic and security cooperation, including efforts to counter transnational crime.

Justiniano spoke as Paz’s government works to prevent a repeat of more than 50 days of road blockades earlier this year. The disruptions caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine while intensifying Bolivia’s economic crisis. On Sept. 17, the country’s Assembly approved a 90-day extension of the state of emergency, citing continued risks of renewed blockades. Some opposition lawmakers and social groups opposed the measure, saying it did not address the unrest’s underlying causes. Reuters

A U.S. official told News Media that “the United States is unwavering in its commitment to support Bolivia’s democracy and the Paz Administration as it rebuilds the country after 20 years of failed socialist policies. The Trump Administration will continue to stand with Bolivia as it works toward stability, security, and a better future for all Bolivians.”

“The threat is serious enough for us to take preventive measures, but I do not want to portray a government that is under siege or weak,” Justiniano said. “There is one fundamental difference: Bolivia learned… We do not confuse legitimate social discontent with a threat to democracy. People may agree or disagree with our economic policies. They can march, protest and challenge the government. That is democracy. What is not democratic is trying to impose a decision through violence, indefinite blockades or threats against the constitutional order.”

The defense minister confirmed that police and military personnel have already been deployed across Bolivia as a precaution.

“There is a preventive deployment in different parts of the country, particularly along strategic routes, access points to major cities and locations considered sensitive for freedom of movement, supply lines and the protection of critical infrastructure,” Justiniano said.

He declined to disclose the precise locations, troop levels or movements of military units, explaining that the deployment would be adjusted as the risk level changed.

The latest developments came only days after Trump met with Shield of the Americas leaders on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 22. The White House has characterized the initiative as a Western Hemisphere alliance centered on economic and national security. The White House

A State Department spokesperson told News Media that “the United States values its close partnership with Bolivia, a Shield of the Americas participant, to advance economic growth and solve the security challenges posed by corruption and transnational crime.”

“President Paz survived 53 days of blockades and violent attempts to undermine his presidency,” the spokesperson said. “As the country’s elected leader, we support his administration’s ongoing work to repair Bolivia’s economy after more than 20 years of corrupt mismanagement by Evo Morales’s Movement towards Socialism (MAS) party.”

The State Department said visa restrictions announced Sept. 28 were aimed at Bolivian nationals whom Washington accused of undermining “the security and governance progress President Paz and his administration are achieving.” The department said the measures “reinforce, not undercut, our cooperation.”

According to the Associated Press, the Trump administration revoked the visas of 27 officials, former officials and relatives from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Those affected included Bolivian Prosecutor General Roger Mariaca, whom the State Department accused of corruption and facilitating narcotrafficking. Mariaca has denied the allegations.

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Justiniano said Bolivia has formally asked the United States to provide the information supporting its action.

“The case of Bolivia’s Prosecutor General, Roger Mariaca, is particularly serious because the U.S. government has publicly made specific allegations involving corruption and the facilitation of drug trafficking,” he said.

But the defense minister cautioned against drawing a direct connection between those affected by the visa restrictions and the current unrest. “It would be irresponsible for me to automatically state that everyone affected by those measures is connected to the current mobilizations,” Justiniano said. “We do not have public evidence that would justify that generalization.”

Asked what assistance Washington is providing in response to the current threat, Justiniano declined to say whether the U.S. was supplying operational intelligence or other direct assistance.

“What I can say is that Bolivia wants to deepen this cooperation,” he said.

Justiniano said Bolivia is seeking closer cooperation with the United States on information sharing, financial intelligence, counter-narcotics, organized crime, border security, extraditions, training and institutional strengthening.

That push was already evident last week, when Bolivian Minister of the Presidency Fernando Aramayo told News Media on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that the Paz government views its struggle against organized crime as part of a wider regional challenge.

“We recognize the legitimacy of protests and demonstrations that demand responses from the government,” Aramayo said. “What we are attacking right now is all the attacks against our democracy that have been financed by narco-traffic money and organized international crime.”

Aramayo said the government had received support from Washington. “The White House has supported us and other countries in this fight against these dark forces,” he said, adding that Bolivia was “very proud of being part of this mechanism like the Shield of Americas.”

Asked whether state actors were also involved in fueling the unrest, Aramayo said corruption and organized crime had become deeply embedded during the previous two decades, claiming that institutions, social and political leaders and private-sector actors had become entangled with transnational criminal organizations.

Justiniano stressed that the military deployments are not intended to suppress peaceful demonstrations and said police retain primary responsibility for public order.

“We are preparing for a risk, not declaring that a coup is underway,” he said.

The distinction goes to the heart of the challenge confronting Shield of the Americas: how a regional initiative built in part to combat cartels and transnational organized crime operates when a member government says those networks are intersecting with domestic political unrest.

News Media’s David Unsworth contributed to this article.