VIENNA: Austrian investigators have raided the apartment of a far-right group leader over possible links to the man behind deadly attacks on two mosques in New Zealand, officials said Tuesday.
Martin Sellner of the Identitarian Movement Austria (IBOe) said in a video uploaded online late Monday that he had received a donation, possibly from Christchurch gunman Brenton Tarrant.
But he denied having any connection to the March 15 assault, which claimed 50 lives, and instead blamed Tarrant for seeking to involve him by making the donation.
“I have nothing to do with this terror attack,” Sellner said in the video, adding his group’s was a peaceful anti-immigration movement.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who governs Austria in a coalition with a far-right party, on Tuesday called for a “complete and unsparing” investigation of any links.
Sellner said he had had no contact with Tarrant, but had found an email with a “disproportionally large” donation with the name “Tarrant” in the email address.
Sellner said he had sent a “thank you” reply prior to the New Zealand attack as he did with other donation emails.
The far-right leader added that authorities had seized his computer and phone during Monday’s raid on his apartment in Vienna.
The prosecutor’s office in the southern city of Graz said authorities had noticed the suspicious email address while probing the donation of around 1,500 euros ($1,700), which exceeded the usual sums given to IBOe.
Officials confirmed last week that Tarrant, who traveled extensively in Europe, also visited Austria. According to media reports, he arrived in Vienna on November 26 and visited several other places within Austria, including Salzburg and Innsbruck.
The 28-year-old was arrested minutes after the attack on the mosques and has been charged with murder. The Australian white supremacist streamed his shooting rampage online.
Last March, Sellner was prevented from entering the UK, with authorities saying his presence would not have been “conducive to the public good.”
Austria far-right figure probed over New Zealand attacker link
Austria far-right figure probed over New Zealand attacker link
- The far-right leader added that authorities had seized his computer and phone during Monday’s raid on his apartment in Vienna
US Justice Department official eyes cases against Cuba leaders as Trump floats ‘friendly takeover’
- “Working group” formed to build cases against people connected to the Cuban government
- Trump’s has increasingly displayed aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership
MIAMI: The top Justice Department prosecutor in Miami is considering criminal investigations of Cuban government officials, according to people familiar with the matter. The inquiry comes as President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover” of the communist-run island.
Jason Reding Quiñones, the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida, has created a “working group” that includes federal prosecutors and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies to try to build cases against people connected to the Cuban government and its Communist Party, according to one of the people. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the effort.
It was not immediately clear which Cuban officials the office is targeting or what criminal charges prosecutors may be looking to bring.
The Justice Department said in a statement Friday that “federal prosecutors from across the country work every day to pursue justice, which includes efforts to combat transnational crime.”
The effort is taking place against the backdrop of Trump’s increasingly aggressive stance against Cuba’s communist leadership.
Emboldened by the US capture of Cuba’s close ally, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump last month said his administration was in high-level talks with officials in Havana to pursue “a friendly takeover” of the country. He repeated those claims this week, saying his attention would turn back to Cuba once the war with Iran winds down.
“They want to make a deal so bad,” Trump said of Cuba’s leadership.
While Cuba has faded from Washington’s radar as a major national security threat in recent decades, it remains a priority in the US Attorney’s office in Miami, whose political, economic and cultural life is dominated by Cuban-American exiles.
The FBI field office has a dedicated Cuba group that in 2024 was instrumental in the arrest of former US Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha on charges of serving as a secret agent of Cuba stretching back to the 1970s.
In recent weeks, several Miami Republicans, in addition to Florida Sen. Rick Scott, have called on the Trump administration to reopen its criminal investigation into the 1996 shootdown of four planes operated by anti-communist exiles.
In a letter to Trump on Feb. 13, lawmakers including Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez highlighted decades-old news reports indicating that former President Raúl Castro — the head of Cuba’s military at the time — gave the order to shoot down the unarmed Cessna aircraft.
“We believe unequivocally that Raúl Castro is responsible for this heinous crime,” lawmakers wrote. “It is time for him to be brought to justice.”
While no indictment against Castro has been announced, Florida’s attorney general said this week that he would open a state-level investigation into the crime.
The Trump administration has also accused Cuba of not cooperating with American counterterrorism efforts, adding it alongside North Korea and Iran to a select few nations the US considers state sponsors of terrorism.
The designation stems from Cuba’s harboring of US fugitives and its refusal to extradite several Colombian rebel leaders while they were engaged in peace talks with the South American nation.
