Transgender Unfairness in Sport Competition ... University of Pennsylvania

"The University will not -- on the basis of sex -- exclude female students from participation in, deny female students the benefits of, or subject female students to discrimination  under, any athletic programs." 

"In addition, in providing to female student-athletes intimate facilities such as locker rooms and bathrooms in connection with Penn Athletics, such facilities shall be strictly separated on the basis of sex and comparably provided to each sex."

University of Pennsylvania reversal statement 

 

"We expect to continue to engage with OCR [U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights], to vigorously defending our position." March 2025

"[The University was only following the rules in effect at that time, but is now prepared to] apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect." June 2025

Penn President Larry Jameson 

University of Pennsylvania transgender swimmer Lia Thomas speaks to her coach after winning the 500 meter freestyle during an NCAA college swimming meet with Harvard on January 22, 2022.

Josh Reynolds/AP

 

The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights is investigating a school in Denver where a female restroom was converted to an all-gender restroom in an institution where boys have the privilege of exclusive use of a male restroom. Academia was able to practise such 'gender-affirming' absurdities under the previous Biden-led Democratic government, but now that Donald Trump sits in the White House his pledge to crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion politics and make use of Title IX (prevention of sex discrimination in education) in supporting women's rights is in effect.

 

Penn university had been advised by the Education Department of a threat levied against it, to withhold $175 million in federal funds until such time as the university complied with the law. Leading the university to change its mind over contesting the OCR ruling and comply with two executive orders from Trump. 1) Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal government which decries "efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex", which deprives women "of their dignity safety and well-being".

 

2) Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports: "it shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women's sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth." The civil rights case has thus been settled through the university apologizing to female athletes who were 'disadvantaged' by controversial transgender athlete Lia Thomas whom the university permitted to compete against female swimmers. Furthermore the university committed to restoring individual records and titles to female athletes who lost to Thomas.

 

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas competes in the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in 2022.  Rich von Biberstein / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images file

 

Males will no longer be allowed to compete in female athletic programs, with the university prepared to adopt a 'biology-based' definition of male and female. The University of Pennsylvania celebrated its transgender credentials when it allowed Thomas to compete against female athletes. He originally gained a pathetic ranking of 554th in the 200 men's freestyle in the 2018-19 season competing as a male among other males. When he transitioned to female his utter lack of distinguishing himself as a competitive athlete underwent a gratifying transition when he became one of the top-ranked female swimmers in that event. And no one blinked an eye?

 

At the 2022 National Collegiate Athletic Association championships Thomas finished fifth in the women's 200 freestyle and eighth in the women's 100 freestyle. Complaints did emerge over the transgender athlete's competing against women, as well as his use of female locker rooms. The transitioned male-to-female athlete is now, however, refused competitive events against biological women, a change in orientation honouring the law so that the university is now assured of having its funding restored. 

 

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas will not be allowed to compete in the Olympics. (Source: AP Photos, DCC Gray News)

 

Court Martials? in Recognition of Insubordinate Dishonourable Conduct

Court Martials? in Recognition of Insubordinate Dishonourable Conduct

"I can share that I am disgusted by the content of some of the posts published on this group."

"Posting such content runs counter to our values and ethics. I have reinforced with the chain of command the importance of our military disciplinary and administrative processes in addressing reported misconducts."

"[The Blue Hackle Mafia Facebook group features] abhorrent racist, misogynistic, homophobic and antisemitic comments and images."

"I have ordered that any serving Canadian Army members currently on this social media group immediately cease their participation."

"Further, I have issued direction to the Canadian Army chain of command to reinforce that this type of behaviour is unacceptable, and any member who engages in inappropriate behaviour should expect to face administrative and/or disciplinary consequences." 

Canadian Army commander Lt.-Gen. Michael Wright

The Canadian Armed Forces has been mired over the last decade in charges of sexual assault, harassment, racism and  homophobia. Now comes more recent news of a group known as the Blue Hackle Mafia comprised of soldiers from the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (a reserve unit operating out of the Cartier Square Drill Hall) operating a private Facebook account where photos are posted of themselves in uniform exposing their genitals and expressing antisemitic, misogynistic, homophobic and racist comments. 

 

The Canadian Army is investigating a Facebook group operated by soldiers of an Ottawa military unit. Photo by Facebook/Blue Hackle Mafia

 

The Facebook page has been in operation for the past 14 years, and boasts around 200 participants. Some images show male soldiers in uniform exposing their genitals, others posing naked with Canadian Forces weapons or simulating sex acts with one another while in uniform. Some photographs were taken at military installations. Derogatory sexual comments were posted of former prime minister Justin Trudeau. Discussions took place among the men relating to raping grandmothers. This bespeaks a calibre of individuals whose values and morals bring infamy to the Canadian Forces. 

 

But then, why should enlisted men be of superior intelligence, and moral uprightness when their leaders appear to lack these virtues? Take for example, the instances of the very top soldiers in the Canadian military and revelations of their personal code of conduct that were displayed in full shameful measure several years ago. Aside from the humiliation visited upon them by such disclosures in the public arena, none among them appear to have suffered punishment commensurate with their dishonourable acts...  And it appears that the military attracts more numbers than might be imagined of personnel who bring shame to civilized society. 

"Since early February 2021, 13 senior Canadian military officers — current and former — have been sidelined, investigated or forced into retirement from some of the most powerful and prestigious posts in the defence establishment."

"Experts say they can't think of another military anywhere else in the world that has seen so many senior leaders swept up in scandal at the same time."

"Some senior leaders are facing allegations of sexual misconduct and are under military police investigation. Two people have been charged criminally in connection to the claims. Some have launched public campaigns to fight for their jobs back." 

"In other cases, military leaders have been placed on leave over their own handling of sexual misconduct files that triggered public backlash and division in the ranks."

"The investigations often came to light publicly only after journalists started asking questions of the Department of National Defence (DND)."

"DND says military police do not "proactively disclose the existence of ongoing investigations" because it could jeopardize the integrity of those investigations. Investigations are confirmed publicly on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the investigation, privacy rights and the public's right to know, the department said."

CBC News -- October 3, 2023 

Former chief of the defence staff and retired general Jonathan Vance (left), his successor as chief of the defence staff Admiral Art McDonald (middle), and Vice-Admiral Haydn Edmundson, the military's former commander in charge of military human resources (right). (CBC)

 

Retired general Jonathan Vance — Canada's former top military commander —  conceded as part of the guilty plea that he had a longtime sexual relationship with Maj. Kellie Brennan which continued while he was chief of defence staff. Vance also conceded that he has a child with Brennan.

Vance's successor as chief of the defence staff, Admiral Art McDonald, was terminated from his position in Nov. 2021, after almost nine months on leave with pay in connection with sexual misconduct allegations.

Former lieutenant-general (now retired) Christopher Coates — Canada's former top commander at NORAD — was investigated by military police for several months over an alleged extramarital affair.

It was alleged that Coates had an affair with an American civilian while he was second-in-command at NORAD headquarters in Colorado. The Canadian Armed Forces considers relationships within the chain of the command to be off-limits. 

 

Military personnel in one posting discuss getting together for drinks at an Ottawa bar: "All welcome (except the Jews of course)." Screen shots of some postings were provided by an investigative reporter, David Pugliese, at the Ottawa Citizen newspaper to Lt.-Gen. Michael Wright who confirmed that an investigation into the social media group has been underway since December. The investigation, still ongoing, could not be elaborated upon, according to Lt.-Gen. Wright. Perhaps not astonishingly, some of those depicted in the images are of the unit's officers.

 

The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa serve as the official regiment of the city of Ottawa, tasked, as required, to provide ceremonial guards of honour for visiting dignitaries and for national ceremonies and events. The scandals in the Canadian Forces of sexual misconduct and activities bringing shame to the Canadian military gave way to reports and enquiries conducted by Supreme Court justices. The public shame and controversy prompted the military to pledge to work to resolve the issue, particularly after a number of elite military officers faced charges or court proceedings for sexual misconduct or assault. 

 

Despite which in the interim when news reports of sexual abuse in the military died down after the initial scandal-driven investigation and reports, the leadership of the Canadian Forces appeared to feel that sexual misconduct scandals could be laid to rest; the public eye no longer upon them and news media reporting decreased. Legal cases have ended, some senior officers magnanimously found not guilty.  

 

The Canadian Army is investigating a Facebook group operated by soldiers of an Ottawa military unit. Photo by Facebook/Blue Hackle Mafia

 

 

 

 

A Proud Tradition : Defunct

"During the Second World War, Canadians defended the east and the west coasts and fought in a series of long and difficult campaigns around the world—on land, at sea and in the air—to defeat the German, Italian and Japanese forces."  

"More than 1.1 million Canadian men and women served in the armed forces. The home front was largely directed to winning the war."

"In 1939, Germany invaded Poland. This started more than six years of bitter fighting in the Second World War, which finally ended in 1945. More than one million Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in uniform, both here at home and around the world. Over 45,000 of our brave men and women in uniform gave their lives and another 55,000 were wounded before Germany was defeated in May 1945 and Japan in August of the same year."  

"Canada contributed significantly to the Allied victory. Revelations of the Nazi atrocities and the Holocaust shocked the world. The war also led to the decolonization of empires, the creation of the United Nations, and what became known as the “Cold War” between the United States and the Soviet Union, and their respective allies.Canada was fundamentally transformed by the war. More than a million veterans came home and would help lead Canada into its very prosperous second half of the twentieth century."

Veterans Affairs Canada 

Second World War -- 1939 -1945

 

"There is a risk that DND/CAF [Department of National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces] will not have the right military personnel, in the right numbers, with the right competencies at the right place, and the right time." 

"[In the Canadian air force and army it will take until 2032 for fleets to be] at least70 percent [functional. In the Royal Canadian Navy the 2032 target is] at  least 60 percent. For the navy, while awaiting a] future fleet [of new destroyers, the first vessels are scheduled for completion in] early 2030."

"The degradation in materiel readiness of the aging platforms within the existing fleet will present a significant challenge to maintaining ... operational readiness."

"There are insufficient trainers, equipment, training facilities and other supports to meet training targets effectively."

"In an increasingly dangerous world, where demand for the CAF is increasing, our readiness is decreasing."

Department of National Defence internal report 

Members of the Canadian Army Royal 22nd Regiment from Valcartier, Que. take part in an exercise in Metchosin, B.C.  An internal Department of Defence document says just over half of the Canadian Armed Forces is in a state to respond to a crisis call from NATO allies. (Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press)

At the very time when the current federal government in Canada plans to triple defence spending, given NATO's latest demands of its member nations in operational military readiness as a group facing a hostile new world order, the Canadian military is revealing that the organization is overwhelmed and dysfunctional to the extent that it will not be capable of meeting even current duties for at least another seven years. 

A year ago the Department of National Defence estimated it would have 90 percent of its forces by March 31, 2025, "ready for operations in accordance with established targets". That was then, this is now, when a new internal report estimates the forces will be incapable of meeting the benchmark until the more "realistic and achievable" date of 2032.The delay is partially caused by a sudden influx of new defence spending. The report points out it will take time to manage the "significant improvements" finally on order by Ottawa.

The Defence Department details in its report the burden it is under as a result of shortages in personnel, degraded equipment, and a chronic inability to obtain new kit. Equipment shortages are the most apparent issue with over half of the aircraft, ships and army vehicles effectively out of commission in the military. Annual statistics on what percentage of the Canadian Armed Forces' various vehicle fleets are considered to meet "training, readiness and operational requirements" are maintained. 

The statistics reflect that in the navy, air force and army, the figures are all at historic lows of 45.75 percent. 48.9 percent and 49 percent operational respectively.  For the time being, the navy remains largely dependent on a fleet of aging frigates described as "rapidly becoming combat inefficient." The dismal picture of operationality highlighted for the Canadian Military comes at a time when funding and recruitment -- two of its most chronic shortcomings -- have recently seen some relief.

Leaked internal documents obtained by CBC News paint an alarming picture of Canada's military readiness, including warnings about personnel challenges and 'unserviceable' equipment. CBCNews

Spending for the military was recently promised at two percent of GDP, a previously-stated NATO goal for all of its members, only to be overtaken by the new NATO military spending guidelines at five percent of GDP, which the current Liberal government has agreed to. The Canadian military will receive $62.7 billion, rather than the previous budgeted support of $53.4 billion. 

The Canadian Armed Forces announced earlier this year it was on track to meet its 2025 recruitment goal of 6,490 new members to be enrolled following three consecutive years of losing more members than were being gained by the military. Early results, however, indicate that new recruits have overwhelmed the capacity of the military to handle them. Up to one-tenth of new recruits, it was revealed months earlier, were leaving after waiting up to 200 days for training to commence.

The new departmental report notes as well that the Department of National Defence is stretched by both a demand to "address deteriorating global security", while yet increasingly being deployed for domestic disaster relief. The Canadian Armed Forces saw itself deployed to perform relief for a natural disaster just once, in 2010. By contrast, in 2023, they were called on no fewer than eight times to perform natural disaster-outcome relief. Making it clear that their role to respond to such emergencies rendered it incapable of responding, due to low manpower, to fulfill their international and national military assigned tasks. 

"It means that Canada's falling further down the rank of allies. It means that the gap is growing between our international commitments and our capacity."

"It impacts our credibility at NATO for sure, but it impacts our security interests, too. It's in our security interest to be a credible contributor to NATO." 

"[The presentation] should set off alarm bells."

Kerry Buck, career diplomat, Canada's former ambassador to NATO

 

A Canadian soldier fires his machine gun during NATO Exercise Steele Crescendo, which took place outside of Riga, Latvia, in 2020. (NATO)

Ukraine's Dire War Production Requirements

Funeral of Ukrainian F-15 pilot in Kyiv, July 3, 2025    AP Photo

 

"[Patriot systems are] critically necessary [for Ukraine, but U.S.-made HIMARS precision-guided missiles, also paused, are in less urgent need as other countries produce similar assets]."

"Other countries that have these [Patriot] systems can only transfer them with U.S. approval. The real question now is how far the United States is willing to to go in its reluctance to support Ukraine."

"There are enough missiles out there."

"This is war -- and in war, steady deliveries are always crucial."

Senior (name withheld) Ukrainian official 

 

"We can’t let Putin prevail now. President Trump knows that too and it’s why he’s been advocating for peace."

"Now is the time to show Putin we mean business. And that starts with ensuring Ukraine has the weapons Congress authorized to pressure Putin to the negotiating table."

Rep. Michael McCaul, R- Texas

 

"We can’t give weapons to everybody all around the world."

"Part of our job is to give the president a framework that he can use to evaluate how many munitions we have where we’re sending them."

"And that review process is happening right now and is ongoing."

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell  

Getty Images 

 

Russia's larger military is in the process of a concerted movement on parts of the 1,000-kilometre front line in its conflict with Ukraine. It is also intensifying long-range drone and missile attacks, hammering Ukrainian cities. And it is at this critical time that Ukraine has been apprised by indirect means that the weapons it has been waiting for from the U.S., which during the three-1/2 year war have been supplied fulsomely, are now in pause mode. Ukraine's largest military backer since February 24, 2022 now sees the Trump administration disengaging even as there is no foreseeable end to the conflict, despite fruitless peace talks.

 

President Trump held a "frank and constructive" talk with his Russian counterpart Thursday morning, which resolved nothing. President Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, explained that Mr. Trump had emphasized his urging for a swift  end to the fighting. Vladimir Putin's response was to voice Moscow's preparedness in pursuing talks with Kyiv, while emphasizing that Moscow seeks to achieve its goals to remove the "root causes" of the conflict. "Russia will not back down from these goals", repeated Ushakov.

 

Concerns are at their height in Kyiv relating to the military support allies are able and willing to supply and how expeditiously, as Ukraine races to build on its own domestic defence industry. Patriot air defence missiles are the  high-tech U.S. weapons seen to be irreplaceable, required to protect against Russia's ballistic missile attacks, costing a cool $4 million each. It is that vital system included in the delivery pause, leaving many of Ukraine's cities including its capital, increasingly vulnerable.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has had to cope with, among other challenges, fraught relations with the American president, leading him to turn increasingly to his European partners for greater assistance for his country's plans in arms manufacturing. Lacking the production levels, military stockpiles or the technology to pick up the slack left by the U.S. pause, European supporters can do just so much, while Zelenskyy recruits their help for ambitious joint investment projects. Even while the situation feeds into NATO's new U.S.-imposed higher member-state commitments to spending on defense.

 

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy met up last month on the sidelines of NATO summit in the Netherlands.  (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)

 

The Ukrainian parliament is preparing to vote this month on draft legislation to aid Ukrainian defence manufacturers scale up and modernize military weaponry production. Included is new facilities to be built at home and abroad, announced by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. A month earlier President Zelenskyy announced that major investments will go to production of drones and artillery shells. "The volume of support this year is the largest since the start of the full-scale war", he commented of foreign countries' commitments.

 

Also included in the pause aside from Patriot missiles, are the AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missile and shorter range Stinger missiles -- while Ukrainian cities will in all likelihood see more Russian missiles pierce their air defences.  There does not appear to be a shortage of ammunition for Ukrainian troops at present, despite that during the war there were times of such shortages, unlike the situation with Russian troops, amply supplied with ammunition. 

 

The problem facing the Ukrainian military is its lack of soldiers. Its desperate manpower shortage has forced the army to turn to drones in compensation. As such, analysts claim the front is not in danger of a collapse. 

 

 

 

Spiting The Holocaust

"The recent act affecting the National Holocaust monument was deplorable and is counter to the values we seek to uphold in our community. We extend our deepest sympathies to members of our community impacted by this disgraceful act."

"The City can confirm that the individual implicated in this act was on leave at the time of the incident and is no longer employed by the City."

"As the matter is the subject of a police investigation and is before the courts, the City will provide no further comment." 

Ottawa interim city solicitor Stuart Huxley

 

"That person is no longer an employee at the City of Ottawa."

"The National Holocaust Monument is a sacred place in our city, an important place in our city."

"And I know that members of the Jewish community were very distraught and disturbed to see it vandalized."

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe  

The City of Ottawa has fired one of its lawyers after he was charged earlier this month with vandalizing the National Holocaust Monument. He was on leave at the time of the incident.       CBC News

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) has charged a 46-year-old Ottawa man, following an investigation of the June 9, 2025, vandalism of the National Holocaust Monument, located at 1918 Chaudière Crossing in Ottawa.

The monument was defaced with red paint.  The man has been charged with: 

• Mischief to a War Memorial
• Mischief exceeding $5000
• Harassment by threatening Conduct

The man is scheduled to appear in court on June 28, 2025. 

The Hate and Bias Crime Unit is leading the investigation and urges anyone with information to contact their tip line at 613-236-1222, extension 5625.

The OPS treats incidents of this nature seriously and recognizes their profound impact on the community.

We encourage anyone who witnesses or experiences such incidents to report them to police. Reporting hate-motivated incidents is an important step in stopping cycles of hatred.

Ottawa Police Service notice June 27, 2025 

The Holocaust Memorial in Ottawa was vandalized on June 09, 2025. Photo: Jean Levac/Postmedia

 

The man who was employed with the City of Ottawa as a city solicitor and who was arrested for a despicable hate crime of defacing the Ottawa Holocaust memorial was identified at Iain Aspenlieder. On his arrest he was placed in prison awaiting trial. He was charged by police with mischief to a war monument. The charge of harassment levied against the 46-year-old was related to threatening conduct on his part, with respect to the incident.

 

Set to appear in court on July 2nd for a bail hearing decision, that hearing took place as scheduled, and the decision was to not grant bail for the offence. The Holocaust memorial was officially opened in 2017 to commemorate the annihilation of six million of Europe's Jewish population from Nazi-occupied parts of Europe during World War Two, when Nazi Germany under its Führer Adolf Hitler embarked on the Final Solution to solving the problem of Jews sullying Europe with their non-Aryan presence. 

 

Matters did not unfold smoothly with the official opening of the monument. Although the dedication was to the extermination of six million European Jews sacrificed to the monumental antisemitism prevalent during the Third Reich, the plaque dedicated to the memory of those Jews somehow failed to mention the word 'Jew' at all. It was instead inscribed to the memory of the men, women and children whose lives were lost in the Holocaust. A typical oversight reflecting a polite version of  antisemitic sentiment courtesy of the Liberal government of the day in Canada.

 

Fittingly, not only was this man denied bail for his act of diminishing the mass extermination of Jews during an unspeakably inhumane era in human relations when the plight of Europe's Jews -- although the West became aware of the grotesque lethality of state-organized wholesale murder -- failed to move countries around the globe to act to challenge Germany, and to rescue the lives of Jews marked for death, at a time when rescue was possible before the machinery of death came to a halt with the end of the war.

 

Tellingly enough, his motivation stemmed from another mass atrocity whose intent was similar to that of the Holocaust; another 'final solution' scheduled to repeat the original on a smaller, but no less-shocking scale in its savagery, when a Palestinian death-cult swarmed into Israel and thousands of terrorists set out to pillage, rape, mutilate and murder as many Jews as their numbers and weaponry could accommodate to their purpose. A mini-Holocaust, if you like. And this man, Iain Aspenlieder, approving the mission, turned the event inside-out to portray Israel as the aggressor and the terrorists as the victims.

 

Undated photo of Iain Aspenlieder, 46, of Ottawa. He was charged after a man was arrested June 27, 2025 in connection with what Jewish leaders consider was anti-Israel vandalism on Canada's National Holocaust Monument. (Flickr)

 

 This man trained as a lawyer does the profession no favours. And the professional body he depends upon to practise -- the Law Society of Ontario -- decided to suspend him administratively. Such a suspension relates to a lawyer suspended for administrative reasons, no longer lawfully practicing law or providing legal services. His shameful act distinguished him as an individual incapable of recognizing right from wrong, and of exercising intelligent reasoning to reach a sound conclusion.

 

Having been refused bail, his next step would be to retain a lawyer to represent him in court during a trial. And until that trial takes place, he is destined to remain incarcerated for his decision to criminally deface a memorial dedicated to the memory of millions of men, women and children deemed by a barbaric decision to be unfit to live. The very same barbarity that launched the attack of October 7, 2023 from Gaza to Israel, an attack whose sadistic ferocious cruelty did its utmost to emulate the Final Solution of World War Two.

 

People gather at the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa on June 15 for a vigil held one week after the memorial was vandalized. (Benjamin Andrews/CBC)

The Fragility of Human Rights in Iran

"[Iranian authorities are attempting to suppress public discontent over the] humiliating blow [inflicted by Israel, which showed the Islamic Republic was] unable to control its airspace and protect civilians."

"Now, to maintain control and prevent its opponents inside the country from organizing and mobilizing forces, Iran's leaders are turning to [inspiring] fear."

"If unchecked, the violence that targets Iranians today will target others outside Iran's borders." 

Roya Boroumand, executive director, NGO Abdorrahman Boroumand Center 

 

"A widespread wave of repression and mass arrests has unfolded across the country."

"Kurdish cities have borne a disproportionate share of these crackdowns."

"[Detainees have included a] significant number of women and teenage girls."

 Norway-based Hengaw rights group

 

"After the ceasefire with Israel, the Islamic Republic needs more repression to cover up military failures, prevent protests, and ensure its continued survival."

"Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of prisoners might be at risk of executions [in the coming weeks]."

Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam, director, Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization  

Khamenei says Iran has delivered a 'harsh blow' to US in 1st comments since bombing. Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei struck a defiant tone on Thursday as he congratulated Iran for “its victory over the American regime.” Still from video ABC News

 

Hundreds of people in Iran have been arrested by Iranian authorities, and dozens executed following the 12-day war with Israel. Activists are accusing the Islamic Republic of terrorizing its population in an effort to compensate for the aura of failure that the conflict revealed. While Iranian campaigners against the repressive regime have been detained on the street or in their homes, prisoners have been transferred to unknown locations, executions have been expedited, and minority groups have been targeted.

 

The regime in its fury is incapable of venting its rage against Israel or the United States for the humiliating international position it finds itself in now, but nothing at all prevents it from wreaking its vengeance against those within the country whom the regime is convinced were traitors, willing to aid foreign interlopers detested by the regime, to invade their airspace, giving them intelligence relating to the whereabouts of key regime figures, military hierarchy, and nuclear scientists critical to the work of enriching uranium to weapons-grade, all of whom were successfully targeted for assassination.

 

So far, six men have been publicly hanged, charged with spying for Israel and dozens more hanged on other charges. Over 1,000 Iranians were arrested following the conflict, charged with involvement in the war through aiding Iran's enemies, according to Iran Human Rights, based in Norway. Freedom of speech activists were arrested, interrogated and released. Criticism aimed at the revolutionary leaders were launched inside the country over failure to prevent the aerial attacks by Israel and the United States. 

 

An Iranian woman walks past a banner showing head of the Revolutionary Guard’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, who was killed in Israeli strike, at Enqelab-e-Eslami (Islamic Revolution) street in downtown Tehran, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

 

Iranian leaders are apoplectic with fury over the targeting top officials, military officers and nuclear scientists, with intelligence that could only be gained by Israel's successful intelligence penetration of Iran. A realization that has prompted a major hunt for spies. According to Iran's judiciary chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the trial and punishment of anyone arrested on suspicion of collaborating with Israel "should be carried out and announced very quickly". So quickly, evidently, that the formality of trials is an unnecessary time-waste. 

 

Three unidentified Europeans, two of whom have been accused of spying for Israel, have also been arrested. And according to the Hengaw rights group which focuses on Kurdish-populated areas of western and north-western Iran, 300 people of Kurdish ethnicity were also arrested in the crackdown. "A widespread wave of repression and mass arrests has unfolded across the country." 

 

Iran's  remaining Jewish community is comprised of an estimated 10,000 people, recognized as an official minority by the Islamic Republic. From within that community so far, 35 members were summoned for questioning, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists New Agency.

 

Vehicles drive along a main road with Tehran’s Milad Tower in the background on June 24, 2025. (Atta Kenare/AFP)

 

Increasingly Threatening Drone Weaponization by Non-State Actors

"Drones serve multiple functions, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, as well as command and control in clashes between cartels, against Mexican state forces, or even against self-defense groups."

"They have also been used for aerial bombings, direct attacks, and propaganda or psychological warfare operations."

Robert Bunker, co-founder, Small Wars Journal 

 

"Even before Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, unmanned aerial systems [UASes] and other advanced technologies were being employed by criminals, terrorists, and other non-state actors in Latin America in increasingly innovative and problematic ways."

Evan Ellis, author, “Latin America’s Drone Problem”, professor, U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute

"The adoption of drones by TCOs [transnational criminal organizations] is the latest example of how powerful criminal networks often borrow from military and insurgent tactics to challenge the state."

"Mexico, for instance, has seen the rise of so-called narcotanques, monstruos [monsters], or, more technically, Improvised Armored Fighting Vehicles—up-armored civilian trucks and cars sporting heavy weaponry and often used to spearhead cartel assaults."

"In the case of drones however, TCOs may find even more uses for cheap commercial UASes than the conventional soldiers on both sides of the war in Ukraine."

CSIS/Center for Strategic & International Studies 

Drones Fuel Criminal Arms Race in Latin America   insightcrime.org

 

There has been a revolution on battlefields in the past several years, with drones increasingly being used as unmanned vehicles of attack and destruction, a much less expensive alternative to flying warplanes and risking the loss of pilots when they're struck. Remotely controlled drones have proven indispensable in combat zones for their versatility, nimbleness, cost expendibility and ease of use. Ukraine's manufacture of technologically advanced drones has proven to be a brilliant combat success able to penetrate deep into Russian territory, wreaking havoc and demoralizing the Russian population. 

 

The battlefields in Ukraine have proven to be a military test case for the use of drones, in the country's response to the unequal combat challenge it faces through the assault of a much larger force than its own. Ukraine has managed against considerable odds, to hold its own, even while Russian troops are slowly and incrementally making inroads in capturing and annexing more Ukrainian territory as time goes by. Drone technology has given Ukraine the advantage of greater flexibility and surprise, to set Moscow back on its invasion heels, through sheer plucky counteroffense strategies. 

 

As with any innovations in military technology, all the more so when the new designs and purposes of an unmanned vehicle that can be adapted for a variety of purposes, it could never be confined to military use. Low production cost and greater market visibility made drones appealing to entrepreneurs in a variety of uses, from commercial delivery vehicles to monitoring traffic, to aerial photographic purposes, as well as appealing to amateur flight enthusiasts viewing the technology as yet another entertaining hobby.

 

And then there is the criminal class of entrepreneurs which can always find such technologies useful for a variety of purposes; sneaking drugs or arms over prison walls at their prisoner recreation sites, delivering drugs from one area of a country to another by powerful drug cartels. And the use of militarized drones to target rival gangs, and perhaps most troubling of all, manipulating drones equipped with weaponry to target police drug squads or the military.

 

Latin America appears to have taken wholeheartedly to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to make their activities even more effectively efficient; for guerrilla insurgencies and drug cartels alike. In this part of the world drone use has devolved in the past year for use in drug warfare; testing ground use has surged in frequency, lethality and sophistication, becoming a growing threat to public safety, sovereign nationality and stability of entire regions. 

 

A report authored by Professor Evan Ellis with the U.S. army War College titled "Latin America's Drone Problem" warns of the destabilization and danger presented by drone use.

 

Photo: MARCOS PIN/AFP via Getty Images

 

The use of drones readily available commercially at preferential cost, have been used to spy on authorities on border crossings, for smuggling cellphones into prisons and to deliver crude explosives to high-value targets. Their use for drug trafficking, transporting narcotics from Mexico across to the United States is not particularly new. But what is different, according to the report, is the increase in weaponization of the technology. 

 

Several months ago, a Colombian soldier was targeted in Catatumbo by a drone launched by the ELN guerrilla group. This was in response to a military operation where 80 people were killed and at least 50,000 were displaced. In Mexico, about the same time, a drone just missed assassinating General Jorge Alejandro Gutierrez in Chihuahua, during an ambush. 

 

A drone loaded with 40 pounds of explosives in Ecuador slammed into the roof of the country's maximum-security prison, La Roca, where plans were afoot to damage the prison to enable a mass prisoner escape to take place. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration identified over 150 drones used in cross-border criminal activity between 2012 and 2014. Ten years on, the numbers have increased substantially. The situation has led some Latin American governments to invest in drone detection and counter-drone technologies.

 

Countering the threat remains fragmented and underfunded, however with procurement delays, weak co-ordination between agencies and above all, limited access to cutting-edge tools which have left many countries' authorities desperate to successfully counter increasingly tech-savvy criminal adversaries.  

 

Soldiers patrol near the hamlet Plaza Vieja in the Michoacan state of Mexico. The Mexican army acknowledged for the first time on August 2, 2024, that some of its soldiers have been killed by drug cartel bomb-dropping drones in the western state of Michoacan, without providing fatality numbers. AP