An Arizona State University (ASU) professor is making the case that Americans are wrong to view Islamic terrorists abroad as terrorists.
Associate history professor Alexander “Alex” Avina also qualified violence as a moral and natural right to resisting tyranny and oppression in the “Psychic Militancy” podcast.
“The Iranian propaganda is helping us, too,” said Avina. “You can critique Zionism, you can critique the genocide in Gaza, but can you make that next leap forward and say, these people do have an actual right to resist tyranny via armed struggle, because that’s the only way to get rid of colonialism[.]”
🚨 “Iranian propaganda is really helping us,” Sinwar’s “political theory,” and no condemnation of terrorist groups — Inside an "anti-imperialist" discussion featuring an @ASU professor
On Lara Sheehi’s Psychic Militancy podcast, Sheehi, a former GWU professor, spoke with former… pic.twitter.com/Nqw7pxIQVW
“Psychic militancy” refers to an unyielding form of resistance against political systems perceived as violent. Most adherents of this school of thought focus on resisting that which they perceive to be imperialism, settler colonialism, and capitalism.
Avina described America as a “genocidal, Epstein empire,” accusing the Trump administration of “waging mass death, and using mass amounts of violence against civilian populations” as remedies to contradictions of policy.
Avina said the present day is defined as a “socialism vs. barbarism struggle” to avoid genocide, ecological collapse, and environmental degradation.
“It feels like we’re forced into a murder-suicide pact,” said Avina.
Avina argued those in the Middle East acting on Islamic beliefs weren’t terrorists, but defenders against an existential threat against humanity.
“What we’re witnessing right now is a lot of revolutionary cunning from people who we’ve been socialized in this country to continuously misidentify as dangerous terrorists, as barbarians, as somehow antithetical to our ‘civilizational values’,” said Avina.
Avina also joined in the praise of the late Hamas terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar.
On the topic of those allegedly mislabeled as terrorists, Avina challenged the American narrative on South American drug cartels, calling it “bullshit.” Avina said the proper perspective was to understand U.S. drug demand as to blame for cartel violence in Mexico.
“If there wasn’t the world’s largest market for licit and illicit drugs north of the Mexican border, if that didn’t exist, then we wouldn’t see the type of violence we would see today,” said Avina. “[Media reporters] don’t get at the structural and historical reasons of this type of violence, and it’s because we are the world’s largest narco-state.”
Avina argued Americans need to understand “basic and historical education” that America is based on violence, torture, suffering, disappearances, and systematic murder of migrants. Avina also said the lack of support for Palestinians was rooted in racism.
“This is a history of [American] sovereignty,” said Avina. “Can you provide the historical and political coordinates for a nation that has been so thoroughly indoctrinated in racism and Islamophobia and other types of ideological edifices that prevent them from seeing that the struggle of Palestinians for self-determination is a very human one?”
Avina has previously extolled the virtues of violence within political discourse.
Last fall Avina advocated for physical attacks on the right in the “Millennials Are Killing Capitalism” podcast responding to Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
“Today I read a quote by the writer Roberto Bolano where he says there’s a time for reciting poetry and there’s a time for fists, and this is definitely a time for fists,” said Avina.
Avina is the brother-in-law of Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06).
Yuma Sector Border Patrol Agents have arrested a cartel smuggling scout operating in the remote Sierra Pinta Mountains. The apprehension, resulting from an ongoing investigation by the Yuma Sector Targeting and Intelligence Division, disrupts cartel reconnaissance efforts that facilitate the illegal movement of aliens through the Wellton Station Area.
Cartel scouts position themselves at high vantage points in the rugged mountain terrain to monitor law enforcement activities, including the movement of Border Patrol agents and Air and Marine Operations assets.
By maintaining extended surveillance—often living in the mountains for days—these scouts enable smuggling organizations to evade detection and coordinate illegal crossings.
During the operation, agents located the suspect at a scouting site equipped for prolonged missions. A search revealed food supplies, sustainment gear, and a solar panel used to power batteries for surveillance and communications equipment.
Acting Chief Patrol Agent Dustin Caudle stated, “The arrest of this dangerous smuggler is a perfect example of a unified border enforcement team working together to achieve a successful law enforcement outcome. These ruthless transnational criminal organizations have no regard for human life, and the dismantling of these cartel networks ensures a secure border that increases the safety of agents and our communities.”
The subject, who has two prior expulsions under Title 42, was transported to Wellton Station for processing and record checks. The individual will face prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona and eventual removal proceedings.
The Yuma Sector intends to pursue sentencing enhancements related to scouting activities in support of transnational criminal organizations. The subject is being charged with illegal entry under 8 U.S.C. § 1325, with potential enhancements for scouting at sentencing.
The Yuma Border Patrol Sector Prosecutions Unit collaborates closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to seek the maximum application for offenses involving transporting and harboring illegal aliens in the United States.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
An Arizona congressman is warning constituents about the Chinese Communist Party’s close ties with Mexican drug cartels.
Congressman Abe Hamadeh, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, shared an article on X about the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) discovery of Chinese networks laundering billions of dollars for Mexican drug cartels through American financial institutions.
In his post, Hamadeh explained, “The Treasury’s FinCEN discovered that Chinese networks have been using our country to launder billions of dollars for the Mexican cartels. This is only part of a continued & concerted effort from a hostile CCP regime to undermine America’s public safety.”
The Treasury's FinCEN discovered that Chinese networks have been using our country to launder billions of dollars for the Mexican cartels.
This is only part of a continued & concerted effort from a hostile CCP regime to undermine America's public safety.https://t.co/XzCkm2hsIp
— Office of Congressman Abe Hamadeh (@RepAbeHamadeh) September 2, 2025
According to The Center Square, in a report from FinCEN, the Treasury Department analyzed 137,153 Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports totaling approximately $312 billion in suspicious activity from 2020 to 2024 that “sheds light on how [Chinese money laundering networks (CMLN),] launder illicit proceeds from criminal activities, including drug trafficking, and how CMLNs launder money on a global scale.”
The report revealed several alarming findings regarding CMLNs, describing a complex web of dirty money connecting ubiquitous real estate transactions throughout the United States to human trafficking over the Mexican border, and even assisted living facilities in New York.
“Ultimately, Chinese citizens’ demand for large quantities of U.S. dollars and the cartels’ need to launder their illicit U.S. dollar proceeds has resulted in a mutualistic relationship wherein the cartels sell off their illicitly obtained U.S. dollars to CMLNs who, in turn, sell the U.S. dollars to Chinese citizens seeking to evade China’s currency control laws,” the report explained.
According to the report, “The PRC maintains strict currency controls, also known as capital flight restrictions, which limit the amount of money Chinese citizens can transfer abroad each year to 50,000 USD for investment and financial purposes.”
To bypass these restrictions, many Chinese nationals turn to this underground banking system or ‘CUBS.’ Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley told The Center Square, “Money laundering networks linked to individual passport holders from the People’s Republic of China enable cartels to poison Americans with fentanyl, conduct human trafficking, and wreak havoc among communities across our great nation.”
The report found, “Many Chinese citizens have turned to alternative methods, like the Chinese underground banking system (CUBS), to bypass these restrictions. The CUBS consists of various individuals and businesses from different industries who collaborate through ‘mirror transfers’ to move money across borders, as part of informal value transfer system schemes. The CUBS, in turn, depend on CMLNs to secure foreign currency.”
FinCEN summarized that in just the past five years, it has recorded a significant increase in the money laundering schemes at play between CMLNs and Mexican Drug Cartels, with the agents “gain(ing) prominence among global money laundering groups due to their reliability, low fees, organizational structure, worldwide presence, and access to the U.S. financial system.” It also shared that that this massive financial windfall for bad actors in China are directly to tied to operations that “launder illicit proceeds from otherwise unrelated criminal networks involved in a range of illicit activities, including fraud schemes; human trafficking and smuggling; marijuana grow house operations; and tax evasion, by facilitating the exchange of cash proceeds.”
Communist China hasn't just been moving precursor chemicals for the Mexican cartels to make their poisons.
They've also been moving their money for them.
Congressman Hamadeh is aware of exactly what the CCP's intentions are: chaos and destruction.https://t.co/dFxYQc83FI
— Office of Congressman Abe Hamadeh (@RepAbeHamadeh) September 3, 2025
Near the Arizona-Mexico border, just inside Mexican territory, a joint operation between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Tucson Sector and Mexican authorities located and raided a cartel safe-house which stored military-grade machine-guns, ammunition, heavy ordinance, stolen vehicles, and drugs.
In a release to social media on Monday, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael W. Banks described the May 23rd raid in cooperation with Mexican federal officers. Banks wrote in a post, sharing images of the seized weapons and drugs, “USBP agents in Tucson shared intel with the Government of Mexico (GoM) that led to a successful raid south of the border.” He added that the Mexican authorities seized “4 AK-47s, 3 mortar grenades, 3 stolen vehicles, 3,250 rounds of ammo, 62 magazines, 27 tactical vests, [and] 16 sacks of marijuana.”
Banks assessed the raid saying, “This joint effort dealt a serious blow to cartel operations—removing weapons, resources, and mobility from criminal hands.”
CARTEL SAFE HOUSE TAKEN DOWN!
5/23-USBP agents in Tucson shared intel with the Government of Mexico that led to a successful raid south of the border. GoM seized:
Chief Patrol Agent (CPA) of the U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector Sean McGoffin commented on the raid as well, crediting the CBP’s Casa Grande International Liaison Unit for contributing to the raid in a statement posted to X. He wrote, “Government of Mexico officials acting on information from the Casa Grande Border Patrol station found and dismantled a cartel ‘Rip Crew’ in Mexico during a mirrored or parallel patrol just south of the border.
“Four rifles, tactical gear, a dodge truck, and ammunition were seized from two criminal operatives. These cartel bandit factions are known to victimize migrants near the border region.
“Historically, the exploitation of migrants by cartels is multi-faceted, by stealing from people that aim to illegally cross into the U.S, or by targeting other competing cartels and their human ‘Cargo’. Great job Casa Grande International Liaison Unit for getting info to our partners in Mexico.”
5/28: Government of Mexico officials acting on information from the Casa Grande Border Patrol station found and dismantled a cartel “Rip Crew” in Mexico during a mirrored or parallel patrol just south of the border.
In a subsequent post to X, McGoffin again praised an International Liaison Unit (ILU), this time from the Sonoita Border Patrol Station, for “forging new alliances to combat organized crime in the #border region.” He explained that two agents from the unit “have fostered relationships with Government of Mexico officials from the Municipality of Santa Cruz, Sonora, Mexico, to increase law enforcement presence south of the border.”
Forging new alliances to combat organized crime in the #border region. In the last two months agents from the Sonoita Border Patrol Station and the International Liaison Unit (ILU) have fostered relationships with Government of Mexico officials from the Municipality of Santa… pic.twitter.com/bNOGeAlwVj
The chief said, “The area south of #Sonoita, Arizona has been exploited by criminal organizations in the past due to its remoteness from other Mexican towns. The newly appointed Mexican officials of the area have pledged to increase patrols and collaboration with Border Patrol to ensure safety and security for the ranching communities on both sides of the border.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents hunted down and successfully apprehended three suspected Mexican drug cartel scouts and one foot guide in southern Arizona after a harrowing chase across the lands of the Tohono O’odham Nation. Authorities have associated the suspects with the Cártel de Sinaloa, a foreign terrorist organization, .
CBP revealed that the first in the series of arrests took place Monday near the town of Maricopa, Arizona. That’s when agents attached to the Casa Grande Border Patrol Station encountered and apprehended an illegal immigrant from Mexico who confessed to crossing into the country illegally. A search of the man revealed equipment for communication and observation, commonly used by cartel scouts, in his possession.
The next day, CBP agents northwest of Marana in the Silverbell Mountains spotted and arrested an illegal immigrant from Mexico and another from Guatemala following up on reports of suspicious activity in the remote high elevation area frequented by drug and human traffickers. A search of the men also yielded communication and surveillance devices equipped with solar panels and batteries.
Near Pisinemo Village, on the Tohono O’odham Nation later on Tuesday, CBP agents arrested two Mexican nationals, with one of them confessing to be a foot guide for Los Memos, a group associated with Cártel de Sinaloa.
According to CBP, “All subjects were transported to the Casa Grande Border Patrol Station for further processing. In addition to being charged with illegal entry into the country, three of the five men will face criminal charges for human smuggling and conspiracy due to their involvement in smuggling activities.”
In a post to X, Cheif Patrol Agent Sean McGoffin shared footage of Casa Grande motorcycle units and a Blackhawk helicopter working together to execute the arrest. He wrote, “AZ DPS reported 5 subjects crossing SR86 on the Tohono O’odham Nation. Casa Grande motorcycle units and a Blackhawk made quick work of the sighting, arresting 5 Mexican illegal aliens. 3 are being prosecuted for Re-Entry After Removal and 2 were Expeditiously Removed.”
AZ DPS reported 5 subjects crossing SR86 on the Tohono O’odham Nation. Casa Grande motorcycle units and a Blackhawk made quick work of the sighting, arresting 5 Mexican illegal aliens. 3 are being prosecuted for Re-Entry After Removal and 2 were Expeditiously Removed. pic.twitter.com/hBuBfMEEtp
