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Swiss woman in ICE custody, drones and ransom for hostages in Niger and France to protect key frontline NATO hub next year

Swiss woman in ICE custody, drones and ransom for hostages in Niger and France to protect key frontline NATO hub next year

This week, as Europe's security crisis hits a nadir of "hybrid warfare," Europe is once again not master of its destiny nor a player on the world stage. It barely registers in the headlines. Even so-called leaders who once shouted the term from the roofs are mealy mouthed now that things are real. It is no longer frustration but rather a deep desire to not sound histrionic that governs.

Yesterday there was a threat, today it is real and now no one speaks of the threat in such terms.

This week, Jensen Huang's extramarital hobbies blew up the headlines not just because it is salacious, which it is, but because of the gambling involved on the AI future (which will someday seem hugely inevitable in the rear view mirror) but because of the alleged Chinese espionage involved. A huge global scandal and no European footprint, neither as purchaser or player? Europe sidelined on its own future again and geopolitics? 

This week alone hundreds of schools in Italy received bomb threats at once along with both Irelands (Republic of and Northern) and Scotland. Last week, the once lauded "internet of things" delivered a vulnerability significant enough that refrigerator hacks could sully grocery store frozen food aisles and blood storage banks. An ambush in normal terms should produce hypervigilance.

Once upon a time, there might have been reason to speak of security. Defense seems more appropriate when under siege. You might not like it, but you will dislike the alternatives far more.

Welcome to the Alpine Security Monitor. We urge you to subscribe (and become a paid subscriber!) for weekly updates on security and geopolitics as it concerns the Alpine region, namely Austria, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland (ok, little Liechtenstein and Monaco too when merited).

 

DALLAS, UNITED STATES – Swiss woman detained by ICE agents

  • Swissinfo reports last Thursday that a Swiss woman detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at the Dallas airport is facing expulsion.
  • The woman currently in "detention pending deportation" is 23 years old, married to a US national and "in the process of applying for a green card".
  • The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the case; however it is unable to help her. According to experts, "the woman probably has no choice but to leave the country voluntarily". This, however, would result "in a ban on re-entry for several years".

 

NIAMEY, NIGER – Ransom and drones led to release of Swiss and Austrian hostages

  • Swissinfo reports Tuesday that in exchange for the release of a
    Swiss and an Austrian hostage, the kidnappers received "weapons and
    several million dollars".
  • Reportedly, Saddam Haftar, the man in control of eastern Libya, played an important part in securing the release of the women after they had been kidnapped in Niger in 2025. One week after their release last month, a Libyan rebel group opposed to Haftar said that it "intercepted weapons and cash intended" for the women's kidnappers. According to the rebel leader, members of his group detained men who were connected to the "Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and implicated" in the kidnapping and transport of the two women and seized 50 suicide drones. The arrested men were allegedly on their way back from a meeting with Haftar, where they received money and military equipment. Those involved in the transport of the hostages supposedly got "10 million CFA francs in cash", a reference to the regional currency used across 14 nations in West Africa that is worth approximately $17,000, €15,000 or 14,000 Swiss francs.
  • The Swiss Foreign Ministry denies knowledge of such a deal and insists it did not pay ransom.

 

RZESZOW, POLAND – France to take charge of protecting NATO hub from January

  • Reuters reports last Friday that France will defend the Rzeszów airport in Poland, a critical NATO hub for supplying Ukraine, from January onwards.
  • The French ambassador to Poland said "French air defence systems would work" alongside US-made Patriot missile defense batteries.
  • It is unclear for how long French air defense systems will remain in place.

 

PARIS, FRANCE – France says Iran behind supermarket and blood bank cyber attacks

  • Politico reports Monday that French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Iran was responsible for the recent cyberattacks on supermarket fridges.
  • Barrot specifically identified the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as responsible for the attacks which caused supermarket fridge temperatures to rise up to 50 C (122 F) as well as blood banks. More specifically, investigators found that Iran's cyber unit "Shahid Kaveh" was behind the attacks.
  • Barrot said that France will impose sanctions at the "European level" on those responsible for the attacks.

 

PARIS, FRANCE – France ties Russia, Israel to anti-migration and Islam info ops around riots

  • The Times of Israel reports Monday that an internal investigation by the French Foreign Ministry found that a selection of social media posts related to the countrywide unrest were linked to pro-Russian groups and Israeli sources.
  • An internal assessment by the EU also came to the conclusion that "a covert Russian network sought to exploit last month's riots in France" by spreading posts on social media blaming the riots on "uncontrolled immigration" and portraying the government as having lost control. A clandestine Russian group "spread videos impersonating Western media outlets" targeted at French viewers. Some of the videos claimed that "migrants had raped protesters or terrorist attacks were imminent". Meanwhile, French authorities concluded that "hostile narratives" posted by accounts linked to Israeli officials and government accounts got over 25 million views.
  • Neither the Israeli nor the Russian government responded to the allegations.

 

PARIS, FRANCE – Far left makes campaign promise to leave NATO

  • Politico reports last Friday that far-left presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon's party France Unbowed put into the party's official platform its plans to leave NATO if it comes to power in next year's presidential election.
  • In its party program, France Unbowed declares it will "immediately withdraw from NATO's integrated command and then, in stages, from the organization itself". However, as French president ,Mélenchon would still provide assistance to EU member states in accordance with EU treaties. With regard to Ukraine, France Unbowed stresses "the need for a diplomatic solution", but leaves open whether it would continue supporting Ukraine or not.
  • Mélenchon is currently polling second in next year's presidential elections, behind far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

 

ROME, ITALY – Bomb threats force hundreds of schools to be evacuated

  • Deutsche Welle reports Wednesday that at 10am local time 312 schools across Italy received bomb threats via email.
  • While officials see a potential "hoaxer" behind the threats, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her cabinet held an emergency meeting. In a statement, Meloni said that preliminary investigations suggest no "concrete danger exists".
  • Reportedly, the email threats sent to Italian schools were signed with the same name as "similar messages that went out to newsrooms in Bulgaria and Ireland" last Friday. Furthermore, around 300 schools in Northern Ireland apparently were also affected by threats, though it is unclear if the same sender was behind the threats. CNN notes, "Schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland also received emails Wednesday" though "police warned these were likely hoaxes and education facilities were not evacuated."

 

ROME, ITALY – Meloni accuses Russia of leaking foreign minister's private data

  • The BBC reports Saturday that Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed Russia for a cyberattack that ensnared Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and led to his personal data being published online.
  • Foreign Minister Tajani wrote on X: "For days now, cyber-criminals have been publishing my personal data on the dark web and seeking further information". Furthermore, Tajani stated that "our position on Ukraine is the political reason I have been targeted". Meloni, meanwhile, offered her "full solidarity" to Tajani and said that such incidents had to be "tackled with the utmost determination".
  • Russia has yet to react to the high level accusations.

 

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY – 'King of Germany' on trial for leading criminal group

  • The BBC reports Friday that a self-styled "king" of Germany, a member of the banned Reichsbürger (Citizens of the Reich) group, has been put on trial for "leading a criminal organization" along with three of his "subjects".
  • German intelligence agencies define Reichsbürger as "conspiracy theorists who reject the existence and legitimacy of the post-war German state". The group wants to establish a "Kingdom of Germany". Peter Fitzek, the self-proclaimed king on trial now, declared himself "supreme sovereign" in 2012 and gained around 6,000 followers over the years. Fitzek and his three "subjects" are accused of "plotting against Germany" by trying to establish structures for an "alternative state", including running their own banking and insurance system. Prosecutors say the group wanted "to replace the 'system' of the Federal Republic of Germany". On top of that, Fitzek and his partners are charged with "organised forgery and tax evasion amounting to millions of euros".
  • In total, intelligence services estimate that around 26,000 people are members of Reichsbürger groups. In a separate case in 2022, dozens of Reichsbürger were arrested for "plotting to overthrow the German government", and five of them ended up in jail. Fitzek, meanwhile, denies any wrongdoing.

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – Chinese cars and drones banned from military bases

  • The Guardian reports Wednesday that Germany has "reportedly" banned Chinese-made drones and vehicles from army bases in the country.
  • The policy comes as Western nations are "increasingly worried Chinese-made technology could send sensitive information to Beijing".
  • The German ban on Chinese-made technologies on the country's military bases comes after the US banned "China's BYD electric vehicles from its Kadena airbase on the Japanese island of Okinawa." In February, Poland enacted a similar ban on Chinese-made vehicles in the country's military facilities.

 

POTSDAM, GERMANY – Study finds 60% of female German soldiers experience abuse

  • The Guardian reports Friday that "More than 60% of Germany's female soldiers report harassment or abuse".
  • The German Defense Ministry has promised a "zero tolerance" approach after "a study found soldiers, particularly women, faced extensive harassment within the ranks." Around 19% of men experienced "a similar form of sexual misconduct, with non-binary or gay soldiers disproportionately affected". The survey was carried out by the Centre for Military History and Social Sciences in Potsdam.
  • Per the survey, "harassment or abuse" as defined by the study includes "sexually explicit remarks and degrading rituals to sexual violence."

 

ZUGSPITZE, GERMANY – Man left behind 17 year old on Germany's highest mountain

  • BBC reports last Friday that Austrian authorities are investigating a man for leaving his 17 year old friend behind while attempting to hike Zugspitze mountain.
  • The teenager who was left behind managed to call emergency services and was rescued in subzero temperatures at an altitude of around 2500m (8200 feet). Suffering from hypothermia, she was taken to a hospital. Initially, she and her 21 year old male friend started their hike from the nearby Austrian town of Ehrwald. As they climbed, the weather conditions worsened until they separated at one point and the man descended on his own. Police said it is unclear why the two split. They are investigating the man "on suspicion of endangering public safety".
  • If convicted, the man could face up to three months in prison.

 

GENEVA,SWITZERLAND – Swiss Ebola patient released from hospital

  • Swissinfo reports Thursday that "The Swiss woman with Ebola has been discharged from Geneva University Hospital."
  • The woman, previously reported to be the wife of the Swiss ambassador in Nigeria, "was able to leave the hospital on Wednesday after 16 days".
  • She had tested positive in Nigeria on October 20 following travel across Uganda and was flown to Switzerland for treatment on October 26.

 

BELLINZONA, SWITZERLAND – Mobster sentenced to six years in jail

  • Swissinfo reports Tuesday that a 59 year old man was sentenced by the Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona for "acting as the logistical and financial hub of the 'Ndrangheta in Switzerland".
  • When delivering the verdict, the presiding judge said there was no doubt that "the man is a member of the criminal organisation". In line with the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland's recommendation, the court sentenced the man to six years and three months in prison. The convict worked for the mafia from "at least the beginning of 2001 until July 2020". Among other crimes, the man was an "intermediary in drug trafficking and supported the illegal trade in arms and ammunition".
  • In addition to the prison sentence, the man will be deported from Switzerland for 10 years.

 

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Kenya permanently closes its embassy in Switzerland

  • Daily Nation reports Wednesday that Kenya will permanently close its embassy in Bern on November 30, 2026.
  • In the future, Kenya's diplomatic affairs with Switzerland will be managed through Kenya's Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva. According to the Kenyan Foreign Ministry, the embassy closure is part of a realignment of the country's diplomatic resources with its strategic priorities.
  • The Kenyan embassy in Bern opened in April 2020.

 

Stay safe and no need to tell Europeans to keep calm, the ghosts!

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