Fox News Latest Headlines
Top Iranian general threatens to 'cut off' Trump's hand over potential military strikes
One of Iran’s most senior officials issued a direct threat against President Donald Trump Thursday while warning that U.S. military action would provoke retaliation against American forces across the Middle East, according to Iranian media reports.
The remarks came as well-placed sources confirmed to Fox News Digital at least one American aircraft carrier was being repositioned toward the Middle East amid rising tensions with Tehran.
Senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general Mohsen Rezaei, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, reportedly made his threat during a public address.
"Trump has said his hand is on the trigger. We will cut off his hand and his finger," Rezaei said, according to Iran International.
TOP IRANIAN OFFICIAL DOWNPLAYS DEATH TOLL, BLAMES 'ISRAELI PLOT' AS US CONSIDERS STRIKES
The outlet also said that Rezaei maintained that Iran would abandon any notion of a ceasefire if attacked.
"If we move forward, there will be no talk of a ceasefire anymore," he said. "You do not pay attention to the restraint and strategic patience we have shown. Stop right now. Step back, otherwise none of your bases in the region will be safe," Rezaei added.
The threat surfaced as at least one U.S. aircraft carrier could be moving toward the Middle East, according to sources.
Officials have not disclosed whether it is the USS Abraham Lincoln, currently operating in the South China Sea, or one of two carriers that departed Norfolk and San Diego earlier this week.
Military sources said transit to the region could take at least a week, with additional U.S. air, land and sea assets expected to follow to provide Trump with military options should he order strikes against Iran.
SOME US MILITARY PERSONNEL TOLD TO LEAVE MIDDLE EAST BASES, US OFFICIAL CONFIRMS
Rezaei is one of Iran’s most powerful military figures. He served as commander-in-chief of the IRGC from 1980 to 1997 and is currently vice president for economic affairs, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for Economic Coordination and a senior figure in the Principlist Resistance Front of Islamic Iran.
In 2006, Argentine authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Rezaei in connection with the 1994 AMIA Jewish community center bombing in Buenos Aires. He was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in January 2020 under Executive Order 13876 for advancing Iran’s destabilizing objectives.
During his tenure, the IRGC expanded repression at home and supported terrorist proxy groups abroad, including Hezbollah.
US OPENS NEW AIR DEFENSE OPERATIONS CELL AT QATAR BASE THAT IRAN TARGETED IN RETALIATORY ATTACK
Meanwhile, unrest inside Iran continued into its nineteenth day. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 2,677 arrests have been recorded with 1,693 additional cases under investigation.
Another agency also reported expanded communication blackouts, including the shutdown of landlines in some areas.
"They are continuing as before, but not at the pace before the slaughter of thousands and the arrests," Ali Safavi of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) told Fox News Digital, claiming as many as 50,000 detainees.
"There is still a total shutdown of the internet. Security forces are raiding residential areas and going to people’s rooftops. They started destroying satellite dishes," Safavi said before describing clashes continuing through Wednesday night into Thursday in Tehran and Kermanshah, including gunfire.
NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi also urged the international community to act immediately to secure the release of detainees and demanded an urgent international fact-finding mission to Iran’s prisons.
State Department lists major sporting events in addition to World Cup, Olympics exempt from Trump's visa ban
The Trump administration has revealed various "major sporting events" in addition to the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in which athletes and coaches will be exempt from a broad visa ban on nearly 40 countries, allowing them to travel to the U.S. to compete.
In a cable sent Wednesday to all U.S. embassies and consulates, the State Department said athletes, coaches and support staff for the World Cup, the Olympics and events endorsed or run by a lengthy list of collegiate and professional sporting leagues and associations would be excluded from the full and partial travel bans subject to citizens of 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority.
But foreign spectators, media and corporate sponsors who wish to attend the events would still be impacted by the ban unless they qualify for another exemption.
TRUMP TOUTS 2026 WORLD CUP DRAW SUCCESS, CLAIMS MASSIVE VIEWERSHIP
"Only a small subset of travelers for the World Cup, Olympics and Paralympics, and other major sporting events will qualify for the exception," the message said.
The federal government has issued several immigration and travel bans as well as other visa restrictions as part of President Donald Trump's efforts to curb immigration, although the administration still wants athletes, coaches and fans to be able to attend major sporting events in the U.S.
Trump's proclamation last month banning the issuance of visas to the 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority had included an exception for athletes and staff competing in some sporting events such as the World Cup and the Olympics, and a decision on the other sporting events that would be covered would be made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
WORLD CUP FANS BANNED FROM US TRAVEL MAY BE UNABLE TO ROOT FOR TEAMS IN PERSON
The events covered, according to the cable, include all competitions and qualifying events for the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games and Parapan American Games; events hosted, sanctioned or recognized by a U.S. National Governing Body; all competitions and qualifying events for the Special Olympics; and official events and competitions hosted or endorsed by FIFA or its confederations.
Official events and competitions hosted by the International Military Sports Council, the International University Sports Federation and the National Collegiate Athletic Association as well as those hosted or endorsed by U.S. professional sports leagues such as the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and Little League, National Hockey League, Professional Women’s Hockey League, NASCAR, Formula 1, the Professional Golf Association, Ladies Professional Golf Association, LIV Golf, Major League Rugby, Major League Soccer, World Wrestling Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship and All Elite Wrestling are also covered under the exemption.
Other events and leagues could be added to the list in the future, the cable said.
Under the new visa restrictions, a full travel ban covers citizens of Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and individuals holding Palestinian Authority–issued passports.
A partial ban applies to citizens of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Togo, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
MARTIN GURRI: Let's look at all the global benefits Trump reaped by grabbing Maduro
A certain class of analysts was purported to be scandalized by the American night raid on Venezuela that snatched away strongman Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
China has been given a green light to invade Taiwan. Russia is finally free to trespass on… I don’t know, maybe Ukraine?
Even by today’s declining standards, that line of analysis is pathetically shallow.
Neither Xi Jinping nor Vladimir Putin look to the U.S. for permission. The opposite is closer to the truth: They wish to make trouble and undermine the hegemonic power.
Russia assaulted Ukraine and China conducted naval exercises in Taiwanese territorial waters, all without filling out the White House’s "Permission to Invade" form.
What will be the lesson, for Xi and Putin, of the Great Venezuela Raid?
I would think it’s this: that Trump will run enormous risks to protect American interests.
TALARICO, AUCHINCLOSS: TRUMP’S BLOOD FOR OIL STRATEGY IS AS RECKLESS AS IT IS ILLEGAL
I leave it to the intelligent reader to reflect on whether this will encourage or discourage rash adventures.
Trump has no wish to carve the world like an apple into spheres of influence, in which China, Russia and the U.S. can plunder smaller nations at will.
His meddling in conflicts in Africa and Asia is proof of that — and anyone who has observed Trump for longer than half a minute will know he doesn’t set boundaries on his actions.
In reality, Trump’s style in geopolitical gamesmanship is without precedent, at least in my experience.
TRUMP SIGNALS LONG ROAD AHEAD IN VENEZUELA IN HIS BOLDEST INTERVENTIONIST MOVE YET
In any given theater, he looks for the tactical strike that will utterly alter the strategic landscape to our country’s advantage.
After allowing the Israelis to plow and seed the field in Iran, Trump harvested a strategic victory by dropping bunker-busting bombs on the regime’s nuclear facilities. From that moment, events in the Middle East tilted in our direction — and the negative consequences for Iran continue to multiply as I write this.
In the same manner, the extraction of Maduro from his Venezuelan fortress has had a domino effect favorable to the U.S., not just in Latin America but around the world.
Let me count the ways.
Here the dice are still rolling, and the final effects of the raid won’t be known for months, possibly years. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio chose to retain the Maduro people in power over the Venezuelan democratic opposition — a gamble on stability against the possibility of chaos and violence.
It could backfire, but the signs so far look encouraging.
The new Venezuelan president, Delcy Rodriguez, who happened to be Maduro’s vice president, has been sweet-talking the Trump administration. She may have played a part in the overthrow of her former boss.
LIZ PEEK: TRUMP IS PUTTING AMERICA FIRST BY BACKING IRAN INTO A CORNER
American officials are in Caracas, setting up shop. The Cubans, Russians and Chinese would seem to be out in the cold. Political prisoners are being released.
Most importantly from a strategic perspective, the Venezuelan oil industry is about to be resurrected with help from U.S. companies — and Venezuelan oil will soon flood global markets.
Its once-vaunted military and intelligence personnel protected Maduro. In a humiliating blow to the country’s prestige, they were wiped out without much of a fight.
Cuba imports all of its energy but lacks the foreign currency to keep the lights burning. Venezuelan oil, offered on a bartered basis, made up 60 percent of fuel imports.
That’s now gone with the wind. Whatever still functions in the Cuban economy is about to disintegrate into darkness and silence.
President Trump said that the post-Castro regime is "ready to fall." He also threatened, in his inimitable all-caps fashion, "THERE WILL BE NO MORE OIL OR MONEY GOING TO CUBA – ZERO!"
Nothing is certain.
But if the Cuban military, who already run the country, believe that their equipment will grind to a stop within weeks, they may decide to do away with their Communist Party intermediaries and cut a deal with Yankee imperialism.
The region was already trending rightwards — Maduro’s fall will only accelerate this tendency. Conservative governments applauded American intervention, something unheard-of in Latin America.
Radical leftist governments, on the other hand, are in a panic.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, once a leader of the Marxist M-19 guerrillas, made worried noises about his own fate. He got a reassuring call from the president and will visit the White House in February.
LAWMAKER WHO FLED COMMUNISM DRAFTS SPECIAL RESOLUTION HONORING TRUMP AFTER MADURO OUSTER
Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega, normally addicted to repression, decided to release political prisoners in imitation of Delcy Rodriguez.
He also canceled an anniversary celebration — just in case the U.S. military were looking to pick off more unfriendly Latin American presidents.
One condition Trump placed on Rodriguez is that Venezuela end its alliance with China and Russia. Eager to survive, Rodriguez appears willing to do so.
If that is the case, Maduro’s departure will represent a strategic disaster for Xi — the loss not only of its most useful ally in the region but of access to 800,000 barrels of cheap oil per day, along with the total loss of what has been called China’s "$100 billion gamble" on Venezuela.
In addition, Maduro’s lair was ringed with Chinese military technology, including air defense systems. They were neutralized with remarkable ease.
When Xi calculates the cost of invading Taiwan, he must now add the fact that the Chinese mainland itself appears vulnerable to attack from the air.
Venezuela had become a playground for Iran and its terrorist proxies like Hezbollah. No more.
As the Islamic regime battles to survive a fierce street revolt, Trump has condemned the slaughter of civilians and told protesters "help is on the way."
The fate of Nicolás Maduro thus weighs heavily on the ayatollahs’ minds.
The anti-regime protesters also see the parallel with Venezuela and have cheered the president on. Video can be found of a young man, somewhere in Iran, solemnly changing a street sign to "President Trump Street."’
Venezuela demonstrated — once again — the absolute irrelevance of the Old World in times of crisis.
European governments couldn’t help or hinder the U.S., before or after the attack. They merely muttered from the sidelines.
Mostly they complained about U.S. violation of international law — but then overcame their scruples long enough to inquire about the payment of Venezuelan debt to European energy companies.
WAS TRUMP’S MADURO OPERATION ILLEGAL? WHAT INTERNATIONAL LAW HAS TO SAY
In 10 years of repetitive squabbles, the Europeans have yet to figure out how to live in Donald Trump’s world. They have yet to admit that their static "rules-based order" has been swept away by a tempest of change of which Trump is simply the avatar, not the cause.
It would be unfortunate if Europe’s limpness in the geopolitical arena emboldened the president to swallow Greenland whole.
On this country will fall the most complex set of consequences.
Even more than China, Russia enjoyed a formal "strategic partnership" with Maduro, explicitly aimed at the U.S.
Venezuela purchased billions of dollars’ worth of Russian military equipment, aircraft and weaponry. Russia propped up Maduro on the world stage and endorsed his blatantly manipulated elections.
SOCIALISM COST ME MY COUNTRY. TRUMP ARRESTING MADURO MIGHT HELP US GET IT BACK
Putin and Maduro stood shoulder to shoulder in Moscow as recently as May 2025.
All of that ended literally overnight. Yet, curiously, the Russians reacted to the fiasco by saying little and doing nothing.
What’s going on?
There is, with Russia, a bigger picture to consider.
The country is stuck deep in the bog of the Ukraine war and has limited room to maneuver elsewhere. Western sanctions have driven Putin to a position of complete dependence on China.
The strategic intent of Trump and his people, I believe, is to sever that link.
They want Russia to be a competitor rather than a satellite of China. That would explain the sustained effort to broker the end to a war that otherwise has distracted and diminished an antagonistic power.
Because Russia is a major exporter of oil and natural gas, its economy rises and falls with the global price of those commodities.
Trump has clearly seized on this. He has hardened the sanctions on the purchase of Russian fuel, even as he works overtime to bring down the cost of energy.
The ouster of Maduro evidently plays into this scheme. The president expects to unleash a gusher of Venezuelan oil on the markets.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
It’s his usual trick — a tactical blow that generates enough strategic leverage to nudge Russia into peace with Ukraine.
In this case, it hasn’t happened yet.
Possibly, it never will — Putin, after all, represents the Russian bear, whereas Maduro resembled a noisier but far less dangerous denizen of the tropical canopy. Frustrating American presidents is a habit the Russian leader has refined over the decades.
But it is a sign of the strange moment we are living through — and, it may be, of Trump’s skill at converting tactics into strategic outcomes — that we can imagine a raid on a Caribbean dictator helping to end a bloody war in Eastern Europe’s heart of darkness.
Dodgers sign star outfielder Kyle Tucker to $240M contract: reports
Former Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros star outfielder Kyle Tucker has agreed to a $240 million, four-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, per multiple reports.
Tucker’s $60 million average annual value would be the second-highest in baseball history, not factoring discounting, behind Shohei Ohtani’s $70 million in his 10-year deal with the Dodgers that runs through 2033.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
When healthy, Tucker is among the best all-around players in the majors. But the outfielder has played in just 214 regular-season games over the past two years.
CUBS, ALEX BREGMAN AGREE TO 5-YEAR DEAL: REPORTS
He batted .266 with 22 homers and 73 RBIs with the Chicago Cubs last season. He was acquired in a blockbuster trade with Houston in December 2024 that moved slugging prospect Cam Smith to the Astros.
Tucker was slowed by a pair of injuries in his lone season with the Cubs. He sustained a small fracture in his right hand on an awkward slide against Cincinnati on June 1. He also strained his left calf against Atlanta on Sept. 2.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Suspect accused of killing sleeping passenger on Chicago train filmed himself carrying out attack: prosecutors
A man accused of killing another passenger in a weekend stabbing on a Chicago train allegedly recorded the attack and its aftermath on his cellphone, according to prosecutors.
FOX 32 Chicago reported that 40-year-old Demetrius Thurman is charged with murder in the stabbing death of 37-year-old Dominique Pollion, who was sleeping on a Blue Line train early Saturday morning when the attack occurred.
Court records reviewed by the station show Pollion had been asleep in the train car for nearly an hour without interacting with Thurman, and prosecutors said the men did not know each other.
Thurman allegedly approached Pollion from behind at about 2:17 a.m., began recording on his phone, and stabbed him once in the chest near his heart and once in the abdomen with a knife that had a bright-orange handle, court documents show.
TWICE-DEPORTED HONDURAN ACCUSED OF STABBING PASSENGER ON CHARLOTTE LIGHT RAIL FACES FEDERAL CHARGES
Pollion woke up screaming and tried to back away down the train car aisle before collapsing, prosecutors said. Thurman then switched trains.
Pollion was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died.
CTA surveillance video captured the attack and its aftermath, prosecutors said, as did video recorded on Thurman’s phone.
NYC TEEN ARRESTED, CHARGED FOR SETTING HOMELESS SUBWAY RIDER ON FIRE, POLICE SAY
Immediately after the stabbing, court documents say, Thurman pointed the phone toward himself, capturing his face on video.
When the train arrived at the Clark/Lake station a short time later, a passenger alerted security officers on the platform. While outside the train car, Thurman allegedly turned the camera on himself again and said, "somebody got his ass," before leaving the station.
Investigators gathered images from surveillance video that prosecutors said showed Thurman’s face and submitted them to Illinois’ facial recognition program, which led to his identification.
CHICAGO PERSON OF INTEREST IN TRAIN FIRE ATTACK HAS 22 PRIOR ARRESTS, WAS FREED BY JUDGE: REPORT
Police later issued a bulletin, and a Chicago police officer who had encountered Thurman just days earlier recognized him. The officer said Thurman had been sleeping on a Blue Line train at the time and provided his driver’s license during that encounter.
Thurman was arrested Sunday. Court documents say he was wearing the same clothes seen in the surveillance video and was in possession of a cellphone that contained recordings of the stabbing, along with photos of other passengers sleeping on the train.
Prosecutors said Thurman’s cousin also identified him as the person seen on surveillance video, and they allege Thurman admitted to stabbing Pollion. He was charged with first-degree murder.
FOX 32 reported that Thurman’s criminal past includes disorderly conduct, DUI and a 2023 traffic arrest. His next court date is scheduled for Jan. 20.
Crime on the CTA drew federal scrutiny after a November incident in which a man set a woman on fire aboard a downtown train.
On Dec. 19, federal transit officials ordered the agency to submit a tougher safety plan within 90 days or risk losing a quarter of its federal operating funds.
Passenger’s Wi-Fi name triggers bomb scare, forces Turkish Airlines emergency landing
A Turkish Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Barcelona Thursday morning after a passenger created a hoax threat by setting up a Wi-Fi hotspot suggesting there was a "bomb threat" on board, according to airline officials.
The emergency protocol was alerted when Flight 1853 was already approaching its intended designation at Barcelona-El Prat Airport from Istanbul. Euronews said the Airbus A321, which was carrying 148 passengers and seven crew members, was directed to a designated area for inspection upon landing.
"It was detected that a passenger had created an in-flight internet access point and named the network in a way that included a bomb threat," Yahya Üstün, senior vice president of communications at Turkish Airlines, said in a post on X.
Simpleflying reported that the flight was cruising over the Mediterranean when a flight crew member noticed an alarming Wi-Fi name that reportedly said, "I have a bomb, everyone will die."
PASSENGERS BAFFLED AND CONFUSED AFTER SCREAMS BURST FROM BENEATH TAXIING AIR CANADA PLANE
Necessary safety procedures were immediately initiated following the alert, Üstün said.
The aircraft was then escorted by two fighter jets, one Spanish and one French, during the emergency protocol, Euronews reported.
CAUSE OF FAILED ALASKA AIRLINES LANDING GEAR THAT SENT PASSENGERS SCREAMING REVEALED
Following the aircraft’s safe landing, response crews inspected the plane and worked to identify the passenger who created the threatening Wi-Fi hotspot name, airline officials said. The operation involved Spanish authorities such as personnel from the Civil Guard, the National Police and Catalonia’s regional police and fire services, according to Euronews.
According to footage from the scene, a dog was deployed to examine the passenger's luggage on the tarmac.
However, "no irregularities were found" following a thorough inspection, according to officials.
"Our aircraft's return flight will be carried out after the completion of passenger boarding," Üstün said.
Operations at Barcelona-El Prat Airport resumed normally following the explosive scare, Reuters reported.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Trump flashes championship ring as Panthers celebrate Stanley Cup repeat at White House
The back-to-back NHL Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers visited the White House on Thursday, two days before their current road trip concluded.
The Panthers play at Carolina on Friday before returning to Washington to face the Capitals. It is a familiar stop at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, with the team having landed an invitation after defeating Edmonton to win the Stanley Cup last season.
Florida’s four-game win over Edmonton in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final set the stage for another White House visit.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
"It's an honor to welcome to the White House the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. Unbelievable team, unbelievable athletes, players. These men are responsible for the greatest feats in Panthers franchise history," Trump said.
TRUMP TO ATTEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF CHAMPIONSHIP GAME IN MIAMI WITH RUBIO
"And beyond that, you compare them to some of the greatest hockey teams ever," he said. "Including the first-ever Presidents' Trophy, three straight finals appearances."
During the ceremony, the Panthers presented Trump with a No. 47 jersey, championship rings and a golden hockey stick.
"Good for slashing," the president said in reference to the hockey stick. Trump put on one of the rings, flashed it to the cameras and waved his new hockey stick during the ceremony.
Trump also highlighted the locale of the last two seasons' Stanley Cup runner-up, Edmonton, Canada. "You denied Canada the Stanley Cup," he said, adding the U.S. has "a little competition" with its neighboring nation.
"We’re doing much better than Canada, but that’s okay," Trump noted. "We want them to do well, and they’re going to do well."
Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk beamed with pride as he walked to the podium. "On behalf of the whole organization and mainly the players. We are so honored to be here… being an American, I know I said it last year, but nothing beats this. I'm so proud to be an American. I'm so proud to be here with you and everybody else."
"Winning it takes a toll, you pay a price for it," he continued. "Each one of these members behind me, it really does take a village to make it happen. Each person played a very very important part in it."
Tkachuk also noted excitement about playing for Team USA in February at the 2026 Winter Olympics. "Representing you and the millions back here, not month in the Olympics, will be one of the highlights of my life as well."
When they were White House guests last year, the Panthers brought the Stanley Cup and also presented Trump with a personalized jersey. The coveted trophy was also on display on Thursday.
Tkachuk and Brad Marchand have recently dealt with injury, but both players could be back on the ice as soon as this weekend. The Panthers entered Thursday in 12th place in the NHL's Eastern Conference standings.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Noem names Charles Wall ICE deputy director following Sheahan resignation
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday via X that longtime U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorney Charles Wall will serve as the agency’s new deputy director as enforcement operations intensify nationwide.
"Effective immediately, Charles Wall will serve as the Deputy Director of @ICEGov," wrote Noem. "For the last year, Mr. Wall served as ICE’s Principal Legal Advisor, playing a key role in helping us deliver historic results in arresting and removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from American neighborhoods."
Wall replaces Madison Sheahan, who stepped down earlier Thursday to pursue a congressional run in Ohio. Her departure left ICE leadership in transition at a moment when the agency has faced increasing resistance to enforcement efforts and heightened threats against officers in the field.
The move comes as the Trump administration intensifies immigration enforcement against murderers, rapists, gang members and suspected terrorists living illegally in the U.S., even as sanctuary jurisdictions and activist groups seek to block or disrupt ICE actions.
ICE officials said Wall brings more than a decade of experience inside the agency.
"Mr. Wall has served as an ICE attorney for 14 years and is a forward-leaning, strategic thinker who understands the importance of prioritizing the removal of murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists from our country," Noem added.
Wall most recently served as ICE’s principal legal advisor, overseeing more than 3,500 attorneys and support staff who represent the DHS in removal proceedings and provide legal counsel to senior agency leadership.
He has served at ICE since 2012, previously holding senior counsel roles in New Orleans, according to DHS.
‘WORST OF THE WORST’: ICE ARRESTS CHILD PREDATOR, VIOLENT CRIMINALS AMID SURGE IN ANTI-AGENT ATTACKS
DHS has described the appointment as part of a broader effort to ensure ICE leadership is aligned with the Trump administration’s public safety priorities.
The leadership change comes as ICE operations have drawn national attention following protests in Minneapolis after the ICE-involved fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good on Jan. 7.
Administration officials have repeatedly emphasized that ICE’s focus remains on what they describe as the "worst of the worst" criminal illegal aliens, warning that local resistance and political opposition increase risks for officers carrying out enforcement duties.
ICE has recently created a specific landing page where these 'worst of the worst' offenders can be viewed with names and nationalities attached.
"I look forward to working with him in his new role to make America safe again," Noem concluded.
ICE did not immediately provide additional comment to Fox News Digital.
Latin America rebel groups urged to form 'super guerrilla' alliance against Trump
Latin America’s most powerful guerrilla groups are being urged to set aside years of bloody infighting and unite against President Donald Trump, according to reports.
The calls intensified in the wake of the arrest of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, which has fueled fears among groups of a looming US-backed military intervention.
The recent call came from Colombia’s most wanted insurgent leader, Nestor Gregorio Vera, or "Ivan Mordisco", who released a video appeal to rival rebel factions, even despite years of brutal infighting, according to Reuters.
After decades of waging a bloody conflict over territory, drug routes and illegal economies, Vera said the time had come to put differences aside.
US MAY BE INVOLVED IN VENEZUELA FOR YEARS, TRUMP SAYS
"The shadow of the interventionist eagle looms over everyone equally. We urge you to put aside these differences," Vera said in the video, in which he appeared in camouflage flanked by two heavily armed fighters, Reuters said.
"Destiny is calling us to unite. We are not scattered forces, we are heirs to the same cause. Let us weave unity through action and forge the great insurgent bloc that will push back the enemies of the greater homeland," he added.
Among the groups singled out was the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombia’s largest and most powerful guerrilla organization, which controls vast stretches of the 1,400-mile border between Colombia and Venezuela.
US RAID IN VENEZUELA SIGNALS DETERRENCE TO ADVERSARIES ON THREE FRONTS, EXPERTS SAY
"The war between Mordisco’s Farc dissidents and the ELN has been very, very bloody with a huge humanitarian impact," Jorge Mantilla, a security analyst and expert on Colombian guerrilla groups, told The Telegraph.
"So it calls my attention that, despite that, Mordisco is still saying, ‘stop this, let’s unite against our enemy, which is the US and its intervention’. So the cards are on the table."
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, himself a former guerrilla fighter, had seized on the threat of a united insurgent front to call for a concerted effort to "remove" drug-trafficking guerrillas.
He said he had invited Venezuela’s new leader, Delcy Rodriguez, to cooperate in rooting out the armed groups.
But reports of a potential joint military operation involving the US, Colombia and Venezuela also raised the prospect that the ELN could finally be dismantled after more than 60 years of insurgency.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, guerrillas now operate along Venezuela’s 2,219-kilometer border with Colombia and control illegal mining near the Orinoco oil belt.
The National Liberation Army (ELN), a Colombian Marxist guerrilla group with thousands of fighters and designated a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, has operated in Venezuela as a paramilitary force.
The group is believed to have around 6,000 fighters and controls key cocaine-producing regions, illegal mining operations and smuggling routes, per reports.
Following Mr Maduro’s capture, the ELN vowed to fight to its "last drop of blood" against what it called the US empire.
"Today, the main goal of the ELN is not the takeover of power in Colombia or to rebuild a Colombian state, but more so to defend the Bolivarian Revolution, because they consider themselves a continental guerrilla [group] because their ideological inspiration is Latin Americanist, so they feel the struggle of Venezuela is their struggle," Mantilla told the Telegraph.
"I think ELN is, right now, in a very vulnerable position," Angelika Rettberg, political science professor at the University of the Andes in Colombia told the outlet.
"I also don’t think that even if they are able to build this unified organization, that would make them less likely to be hit by an eventual US attack," Ms Rettberg said.
Maria Corina Machado details gifting Trump Nobel Peace Prize during White House visit
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado detailed gifting her Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump during an interview with "Fox & Friends."
"He deserves it," Machado told "FOX & Friends Weekend" co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. "It was a very emotional moment."
Machado explained she presented the prize to the president on behalf of the Venezuelan people, crediting him for the historic work he did in liberating the country from its dictator Nicolás Maduro.
"[Venezuelans] appreciate so much what he has done for, not only the freedom of the Venezuelan people, but I would say the whole hemisphere," she said.
TRUMP ANNOUNCES VENEZUELA TURNING OVER MILLIONS OF BARRELS OF OIL TO US GOVERNMENT 'IMMEDIATELY'
As a long-time Maduro critic, Machado has been vocal in supporting Trump’s unprecedented removal of the disgraced Venezuelan leader, prompting her to credit him with the prize for the historic capture.
Trump appeared pleased and gratified by Machado's gesture.
"It was my Great Honor to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect."
Days ago, Machado discussed transferring the prize to Trump during an interview on "Hannity," but the idea was rejected by the Norwegian Nobel Institute last Friday.
"Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time," the institute wrote in a statement.
TRUMP VOWS US 'IN CHARGE' OF VENEZUELA AS HE REVEALS IF HE'S SPOKEN TO DELCY RODRÍGUEZ
While the award cannot be officially transferred, Machado instead gifted it to Trump.
President Trump has spoken previously about being eligible to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
On "Hannity," Trump argued he should receive one award for each war he has ended.
"You know, when you put out eight wars, in theory, you should get one for each war," he told Fox News.
Machado also opened up about visiting the White House and meeting with Trump on Thursday, nearly two weeks after the United States captured Maduro.
"It went very well," she said. "I'm very grateful for the opportunity I had to speak with President Trump. Something I've been looking forward for a very long time."
"It was a huge responsibility because I did it on behalf of the Venezuelan people," she added.
Tune in to Fox News on Friday to watch Machado's full interview on "Fox & Friends."