Greetings! It’s August 13, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: What to Know About the Cuban Mafia in Quintana Roo, Russia’s Central Bank Proposes Framework for Publicly Trading Major Cryptocurrencies, Deutsche becomes first non-Chinese bank to settle yuan, Inside North Korea’s Operation to Conquer the American Job Market, and much more…

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🎯 FEATURED STORY

What to Know About the Cuban Mafia in Quintana Roo. A group of Cuban men in Mexico was charged with smuggling people to the United States. One of its leaders said Raúl Castro’s grandson helped. New York Times

🔥 TOP STORIES

Russia’s Central Bank Proposes Framework for Publicly Trading Major Cryptocurrencies Moscow Times

Deutsche becomes first non-Chinese bank to settle yuan Semafor

Inside North Korea’s Operation to Conquer the American Job Market WSJ

After Coldcard Was Hacked, $15 Billion in Bitcoin Moved to Safety Decrypt

Ex Syria Dictator Bashar al-Assad sentenced to death — a look back at his reign of terror New York Post

‘The Worst I’ve Ever Seen’: Cargo Thefts Have Turned Violent in Pursuit of AI Hardware WIRED

Former employee at Southern Poverty Law Center arrested on fraud charges CNN

Pig-Butchering Scams and the Limits and Promise of Civil Forfeiture Lawfare

FinCEN Permanently Ends Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements for Millions of Small Business Owners U.S. Treasury

The US tried to stop cartel money-laundering. It devastated mom-and-pop businesses instead. The Guardian

Prediction Firms Are Flagging Insider Traders. Many Will Not Face Charges. New York Times

Ryan Wedding's accused Canadian money launderer agrees to U.S. extradition CBC News

Florida man charged by CFTC over $397 million crypto Ponzi scheme The Block

UK Muslim charity under terror probe over Hamas ties after senior figure arrested in US case Times of India

Powerful cartel in Mexico sought to buy weapons overseas in exchange for fentanyl and meth CBS News

Lazarus hackers exploited Windows zero-day to target defense firms BleepingComputer

🚩 RUSSIA & CHINA

Putin Threatens To Seize European Ships Over Moves Against Russia's 'Shadow Fleet' RFE

China detains Japanese executives in dual-use technology export probe South China Morning Post

Chinese spy camera company has HQ just three miles from Navy base The Telegraph

Russia Rolling Out Starlink-Style Network Faster Than Expected Reuters

🚀 SANCTIONS & TERROR

Trump snaps back to economic warfare in struggle to make Iran tap out The Hill

Human rights groups sue Trump administration over ‘crippling’ ICC sanctions The Guardian

US fuel exports to Cuba spur chaotic black market Reuters

Liquid bomb plot terrorists could be free in weeks The Telegraph

Trump's War on 'Antifa' Sends Protesters to Prison for Decades Rolling Stone

Kuwait foils ISIS plot targeting 'vital facility,' arrests suspect Anadolu Agency

UK, Italy among states considered to verify Hezbollah disarmament Reuters

IRGC-Qods Force commander Qaani travels to Iraq amid pressure over militia weapons  Long War Journal

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Albania's Cheerful 'AI Minister' Is the Product of a Government Agency Under Investigation for Massive Corruption OCCRP

Settlement Agreement between the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and Rice Lake Weighing Systems, Inc. OFAC

Iraq PM’s Anti-Corruption Campaign Rumbles On OCCRP

Former Brooklyn Bank Manager Sentenced to Prison for Laundering Proceeds of Medicare Fraud DOJ

Eight Individuals Plead Guilty for Roles in $11 Million Bank Fraud Conspiracy DOJ

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

Researchers observe first ‘near-autonomous’ AI attack on government target in Taiwan CyberScoop

Harmony’s ONE falls 40% after attacker allegedly mints 4 billion tokens CoinDesk

Uber Freight reportedly investigating after hacking group claims data breach TechCrunch

AI agents' 'alarming' hacking skills creates rush to spend on cybersecurity CNBC

Sandworm hackers target IT pros with trojanized WireGuard VPN client BleepingComputer

🚚 TRAFFICKING

Mexican man arrested over attempt to smuggle some 200 lizards into Japan The Japan Times

Mexican national with Sinaloa Cartel ties sentenced for trafficking over 130,000 fentanyl pills in NC NBC

116 arrested, 5 human trafficking victims rescued in 'Operation Relentless Summer' Fox

Two Georgia Men and Chinese National Indicted for Forced Labor and Related Offenses DOJ

180 pounds of cocaine seized in large-scale drug trafficking investigation in Pittsburgh area CBS News

"Simplicity and sincerity generally go hand in hand, as both proceed from a love of truth." —Mary Wollstonecraft

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