Book: Europe’s Help w/ Israel’s Secret Assassinations Deeper than Previously Known

(José Niño, Headline USA) When Mossad began its campaign of targeted assassinations, relatively few knew how deeply Europe was involved.

While the operation has long been shrouded in tales of Mossad’s daring endeavors, new research by Dr. Aviva Guttmann, detailed in her forthcoming book Operation Wrath of God: The Secret History of European Intelligence and the Mossad’s Assassination Campaign, reveals some surprising details.  Guttman’s book was previewed last week by Haaretz journalist Yossi Melman in an article entitled “Wrath of God, Revisited: How Europe Enabled Mossad’s Secret Campaign of Assassinations After Munich”

Guttmann’s unprecedented access to the secret archives of the “Berne Club” — a clandestine forum of European intelligence agencies — shows that Mossad’s campaign was deeply reliant on European cooperation and intelligence sharing.

Founded in 1969, the Club de Berne brought together intelligence services from Switzerland, West Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Later, the network expanded to include the U.S., Canada, Australia, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Norway, and Israel. In the latter case, Israel was represented by Mossad and Shin Bet. 

Contrary to Mossad’s image as an omnipotent force, the agency’s success depended heavily on information provided by Berne Club members: addresses, license plates, flight records, hotel bills, and phone logs. This intelligence was crucial for identifying and locating targets across Europe.

Known as “Operation Wrath of God,” Israel’s campaign was authorized at the highest levels by Prime Minister Golda Meir and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan. It reportedly aimed to eliminate not just the direct perpetrators of the Munich massacre, but also those suspected of providing assistance to Palestinian militant groups such as Black September, Fatah, and the PLO. Mossad’s operations were not always smooth, with some missions marked by mistakes and misidentifications.

The first assassination from Operation Wrath of God occurred in Oct. 16, 1972, when Wael Zwaiter, a Palestinian intellectual and alleged representative of Fatah, was gunned down outside his Rome apartment. The 11 bullets that killed him mirrored the number of Israeli athletes murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the Munich Olympics several months earlier. 

Zwaiter’s assassination marked the opening salvo of Israel’s secret campaign to hunt down individuals it held responsible for Munich and other terrorist attacks.

After Zwaiter, the next major target was Dr. Mohammad Al-Hamshari, the PLO representative in Paris. Despite a lack of direct evidence linking him to Munich, he was considered a “soft target” and was seriously wounded by a bomb planted in his apartment. Intelligence for these hits often came through the Kilowatt system, underscoring the centrality of European cooperation.

Over the following months, Mossad eliminated several more Palestinian operatives in Cyprus, Rome, and Paris. These assassinations sparked a cycle of retaliation, with Palestinian groups launching letter bombs, attacking Israeli diplomats, and even seizing embassies. This escalating tit-for-tat was labeled by Time magazine as the “Battle of the Spooks”  — a clandestine war fought across European capitals. 

One of the most notorious failures of the operation occurred in Lillehammer, Norway, in 1973, when Mossad agents mistakenly killed Ahmed Bouchiki, a Moroccan waiter, believing him to be Ali Hassan Salameh, a top PLO operative. Norwegian authorities arrested and convicted several Mossad operatives, exposing the agency’s European network and causing the campaign to be halted. 

Despite public outrage and official condemnations, Guttmann’s research shows that European intelligence agencies continued to cooperate with Mossad behind the scenes. Many European governments, facing their own threats from Palestinian militants, saw value in Israel’s aggressive approach — even if it meant tacitly supporting extrajudicial killings on their soil. 

The secret nature of the Berne Club allowed these countries to maintain deniability while quietly enabling Mossad’s operations.

This parallel intelligence order operated independently of official foreign policies and public scrutiny, shaping the course of the Cold War and the Arab-Israeli conflict in ways previously unknown.

As Guttmann notes, the legacy of this cooperation raises questions about present-day intelligence operations executed by Israel. If Mossad relied on European support in the 1970s, similar alliances, be they formal or tacit, may still underpin covert actions in the present.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino 

BREAKING: Joe Biden Diagnosed w/ Prostate Cancer

(Headline USAFormer President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said Sunday.

Biden was seen last week by doctors after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule was found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” his office said. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

Prostate cancers are given a score called a Gleason score that measures, on a scale of 1 to 10, how the cancerous cells look compared with normal cells. Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.

When prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it often spreads to the bones. Metastasized cancer is much harder to treat than localized cancer because it can be hard for drugs to reach all the tumors and completely root out the disease.

However, when prostate cancers need hormones to grow, as in Biden’s case, they can be susceptible to treatment that deprives the tumors of hormones.

The health of Biden, 82, was a dominant concern among voters during his time as president. After a calamitous debate performance in June while seeking reelection, Biden abandoned his bid for a second term. Then-Vice President Kamala Harris became the nominee and lost to Republican Donald Trump, who returned to the White House after a four-year hiatus.

But in recent days, Biden rejected concerns about his age despite reporting in the new book “Original Sin” by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson that aides had shielded the public from the extent of his decline while serving as president.

In February 2023, Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. And in November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon that was a benign, but potentially pre-cancerous lesion.

In 2022, Biden made a “cancer moonshot” one of his administration’s priorities with the goal of halving the cancer death rate over the next 25 years. The initiative was a continuation of his work as vice president to address a disease that had killed his older son, Beau.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Lawsuit: State Dept. Officer Referred to DOJ for Investigation b/c of His Pro-Christian Views

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago, the State Department circulated an “optional” pledge, in which signatories agreed to refrain from attending church.

State Department security officer Mark Pemberton refused to sign the “optional” pledge. As a result, his own agency referred him to the Justice Department for investigation on the grounds that he was involved in “Religiously Motivated Violent Extremism,” or RMVE, according to a lawsuit he filed earlier this month against the State Department.

Pemberton said in his lawsuit that he first told his superior, Diplomatic Security Mobile Security Deployments Office Director Jeff Thomas, he was refusing to sign the voluntary pledge because he couldn’t wave his constitutional rights. Nor could he stop exercising his religious beliefs, he said. Thomas later retaliated by referring him to the department’s insider threat program.

Around that same time, a State Department employee named Kate Shilling reported Pemberton as a “white supremacist” and potential insider threat due to his social media activity, which included posts of a Christian prayer and a photo of a “traditional family” in front of an American flag.

His colleagues also apparently discovered his dating profile. They mocked him on a “hall of shame” in response to his stated preferences for a “white,” “Christian,” “woman,” who was interested in “starting a family.”

According to the lawsuit, the harassment of Pemberton was only the beginning of his troubles. He would soon find himself subjected to a potential criminal investigation.

“[The Office of Special Investigations] attempted to have Mr. Pemberton criminally prosecuted for his religious speech, personal identity, and personal relationship preferences by referring him to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), Domestic Terrorism Task Force (DTTF) … and Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA),” his lawsuit states.

“OSI’s solicitation of this office to investigate his personal dating preferences raises significant questions as to the motivations behind the investigation itself.”

According to the lawsuit, the DOJ repeatedly said there was no basis for a criminal investigation against Pemberton. Despite that, OSI agents Palmer Jones and Kerri Hartman concluded in an official report that his activity was “notoriously disgraceful.”

“OSI agents also stated that Mr. Pemberton’s personal relationship preferences regarding gender, race, family, and sexual orientation, which are derived from his own personal identity, were ‘concerning,’ and they claimed his interest in starting his own family and exercising his reproductive choices based on his sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy preference made him comparable to a ‘white nationalist,’” his lawsuit adds.

Pemberton was hit with a six-day suspension over the matter. He unsuccessfully exhausted all his internal appeals, and filed the lawsuit months after receiving a  “Determination and Notice of Rights” letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Feb. 6.

He now seeks $2.5 million in damages for what he said was gross discrimination based on his “membership in the protected classes of race (Caucasian), color (white), sex (male), gender identity (male), religion (Christianity), and sexual orientation (heterosexual).”

The State Department has yet to respond to the lawsuit, which was filed in DC federal court.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

House Probes Pfizer’s Delay of Covid Jab to Influence 2020 Election

(Luis CornelioHeadline USA) The House Judiciary Committee has zeroed in on a former Pfizer researcher following a Wall Street Journal report that the pharmaceutical company may have delayed positive COVID-19 vaccine trial results to influence the 2020 election.

On Thursday, the committee sent a letter to Philip Dormitzer, Pfizer’s former head of vaccine research and development, demanding all documents about his work on Pfizer’s vaccine trials from March 1, 2020 to present. The letter comes as federal prosecutors are also reportedly looking into the matter.

The allegation surfaced when Dormitzer told coworkers at his new employer, GSK, that Pfizer deliberately slowed clinical testing so it would not be complete until after the election

Positive results from the clinical trials may have given Trump a political boost. Instead, he left the White House in 2021—only to return in 2025.

After Trump’s 2024 election, Dormitzer asked GSK to transfer him to Canada, fearing he might become a target of an investigation. When pressed on the reason, he replied, “Let’s just say it wasn’t a coincidence, the timing of the vaccine.” 

GSK later passed his comments to federal prosecutors in New York, as reported by The Journal in March. The House Judiciary swiftly stepped in and pressed GSK for more information about The Journal’s reporting. 

According to GSK’s answers to congressional investigators, Dormitzer claimed that “in late 2020, the three most senior people in Pfizer R&D were involved in a decision to deliberately slow down clinical testing so that it would not be complete prior to the results of the presidential election that year.” 

Dormitzer reportedly clarified that “this was not a situation of delaying disclosure of completed results but was a situation of slowing down results before disclosure became necessary.” 

Dormitzer has until May 29 to produce the requested documents and schedule his transcribed interview with the Committee.

Trump previously made similar claims that Pfizer withheld knowledge on its alleged vaccine success.

“The @US_FDA and the Democrats didn’t want to have me get a Vaccine WIN, prior to the election, so instead it came out five days later – As I’ve said all along!” Trump wrote on social media after the 2020 election.

The safety of the COVID vaccines have been speculated since it was released. There has been concerns that the vaccines could cause myocarditis.

Freedom of Information Act on a myocarditis study was released in March 2024 and was entirely redacted.

Gov. Whitmer Made the Same Threat to Trump as James Comey

(Luis CornelioHeadline USAMichigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been cozying up to President Donald Trump in recent months, but nearly five years ago she made the identical alleged death threat that former FBI James Comey is now under investigation for.

Whitmer is now facing renewed scrutiny after a resurfaced October 2020 MSNBC interview showed a pin behind her reading “8645.” Social media critics slammed her as they believed the pin veiled a death threat against President Donald Trump. “Eighty-six” is colloquially known for getting rid of someone or something, while “45” references Trump as the 45th president.  

Whitmer’s pin resurfaced a day after Comey faced a Secret Service interview over an “8647” seashell message he posted on Instagram. Trump currently serves as the 47th president. 

Whitmer first drew fire in 2020, when Trump’s campaign tweeted on X (then Twitter): “Whitmer is encouraging assassination attempts against President Trump just weeks after someone sent a ricin-laced package to the White House.”

Former Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Laura Cox echoed the campaign’s sentiments, writing: “Governor @gretchenwhitmer has the gall to go on @MeetThePress this morning complaining about President @realDonaldTrump’s rhetoric, but in the background displays a phrase which calls for the killing of President Trump! This is truly disgusting.”

A Whitmer spokesperson dismissed the accusation, claiming no one in the Trump campaign has ever worked in a restaurant. They claimed “86” simply means a menu item has been sold out or a customer has been removed.

Whitmer’s apparent threat on Trump also occurred days after the FBI announced the arrest of 13 men over an alleged plot to kidnap her. While the case was quickly labeled as an example of domestic terrorism, several details later undermined that narrative. 

One of the alleged leaders in the plot turned out to be an FBI informant—whose own questionable conduct had been ignored. The FBI also had several undercover agents involved in the plot. 

Critics argue the plot never would have materialized without the heavy involvement of undercover FBI agents and informants.  Five of the alleged kidnappers—Daniel Harris, Brandon Caserta, William Null, Michael Null and Eric Molitor—were ultimately acquitted of any wrongdoing.

Two other men, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr., faced hung juries in their first trials but were later convicted in re-trials. 

Fast forward to 2025, Whitmer’s apparent death threat is going viral. 

“Should DHS expand their investigation to include Governor Gretchen Whitmer?” asked former Michigan state Senator Patrick Colbeck.  

“They know exactly what they’re doing,” said Libs of TikTok. 

‘Survivor’ for Illegals? DHS Responds to Citizenship Reality Show Rumors

(Luis CornelioHeadline USA) The Trump administration swiftly shut down the Daily Mail’s reporting that the administration is working with a Duck Dynasty producer on a reality TV show where illegal aliens would compete in physical challenges to win fast-tracked U.S. citizenship. 

In an X post on Thursday, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called the Mail’s story “completely false” and an “affront to journalism,” emphasizing that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem neither backed nor was aware of any such reality show.

At the heart of McLaughlin’s denial is the Mail’s claim that Noem sought a show pitting illegal aliens against each other “for the honor of fast-tracking their way to U.S. citizenship.”  

The proposed series, dubbed The American, was outlined in a 35-page program pitch purportedly created “in coordination” with Noem, according to the Mail.  

“Noem is even offering up officials from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to tally votes for the made-for-TV contest,” the paper reported.

Producer Rob Worsoff—known for Duck Dynasty and Millionaire Matchmaker—devised the original idea.  

Under Worsoff’s vision, the illegal aliens would face off in “cultural” competitions like rolling logs in Wisconsin, culminating in a swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. 

“Along the way, we will be reminded what it means to be American – through the eyes of the people who want it most,” the pitch read, as quoted by the Mail. 

Worsoff stood by the pitch, describing his idea as non-partisan: “I’m not affiliated with any political ideology.”  

“As an immigrant myself, I am merely trying to make a show that celebrates the immigration process, celebrate what it means to be American and have a national conversation about what it means to be American, through the eyes of the people who want it most,” he added. 

Meanwhile, McLaughlin added that DHS receives hundreds of TV pitches yearly, including documentaries about ICE or CBP operations and white-collar investigations by HSI. 

“Each proposal undergoes a thorough vetting process prior to denial or approval,” she added, clarifying that The American has “not received approval or denial by staff.” 

FBI Agents Beg Court to Destroy List Before ‘Shame’ Campaign

(Luis CornelioHeadline USAA group of FBI agents involved in the Jan. 6 investigations asked a judge Thursday to destroy a Trump administration list containing the names of roughly 5,000 agents tied to the probes. 

Their move follows Ed Martin’s vow, as the newly appointed weaponization czar, to “name” and “shame” the thousands of agents who helped crack down on more than 1,000 Americans allegedly involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, protests. 

The anonymous agents told U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb that Martin’s public pledge signals the federal government plans to release the list. They first sued in February, asking the court to destroy or seal the roster. 

Their Thursday filing came after Martin promised at a Tuesday press conference to hold the agents accountable for destroying the lives of more than 1,000 Jan. 6 defendants. 

“There are some really bad actors, some people that did some really bad things to the American people. And if they can be charged, we’ll charge them. But if they can’t be charged, we will name them. And in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are ashamed. And that’s a fact. That’s the way things work. And so that’s, that’s how I believe the job operates.” 

The agents argue Martin’s rhetoric puts them in greater danger of retribution by the pardoned Jan. 6 defendants. 

“Mr. Martin’s statements represent new, relevant facts worthy of the Court’s attention while it considers Plaintiffs’ requested relief,” their filing claimed, according to Law and Crime. 

The agents are represented by a group of attorneys that includes Mark Zaid, who is also suing President Trump over revoked security clearances. 

Zaid is also representing former FBI agent Jamie Mannina in a defamation suit against journalist James O’Keefe, after O’Keefe released undercover footage of Mannina expressing his contempt for Trump. 

Explosion Rocks California Fertility Clinic, Killing at Least 1 in What FBI Deems an Act of Terrorism

(Headline USAThe person believed responsible for an attack targeting a Southern California fertility clinic Saturday posted rambling online writings before an explosion that investigators are treating as an act of terrorism, according to a law enforcement official.

The suspect, who died in the explosion that tore through the clinic and rattled the upscale California city of Palm Springs, also attempted to record video or stream the attack, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss details of the attack and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

“Make no mistake: This is an intentional act of terrorism,” Akil Davis, the head of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, told an evening news conference.

The suspect was reportedly identified as Guy Edward Bartkus, a member of a anti-natalist cult who believes that it’s wrong to have more children.

Authorities were still working to piece together a motive and build a chronology of events leading up to the attack. Though the FBI did not say how it had determined the explosion was terrorism, the writings left behind, in which the suspect communicated a belief that the world should not be populated, appear to shed light on the person’s state of mind and help explain investigators’ thesis that the attack was targeted and intentional.

Authorities have not released the identity of the person thought to be responsible but believe the individual died in a car explosion. Davis said investigators weren’t looking for anyone else.

Four others were injured but details of the severity of their injuries weren’t shared.

A burned-out vehicle was seen in the parking lot behind the clinic after the blast, which caved in the building’s roof, sprayed debris across a five-lane road and shattered windows in businesses blocks away. The clinic was closed for the weekend, and the doctor who leads it told the AP its staffers were safe.

The blast gutted the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic, housed in a single-story building along a five-lane street lined with palm trees.

Dr. Maher Abdallah, who leads the clinic, told the AP in a phone interview that the explosion damaged the practice’s office space, where it conducts consultations with patients. The clinic’s IVF lab and stored embryos are offsite and were not damaged.

“Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients,” Abdallah said.

Palm Springs Mayor Pro Tem Naomi Soto called the clinic “a place of hope.”

“This is a building that people go to to start or expand their families,” she said. “We acknowledge their pain and concern across the community for the patients and staff.”

Rhino Williams, 47, said he was chatting with customers at a hotel restaurant he helps manage just over a block away when he heard a huge boom. Everything rattled, Williams said, and he sprinted to the scene to see if anyone needed help.

Williams covered his nose with his shirt as he smelled burning plastic and rubber. He said he saw a building had “blown out” into the street, with bricks and debris scattered everywhere, and he spotted a car’s front axle on fire in the parking lot.

It was the only car in the lot, said Williams, who ran into the building, calling out and peering behind the counter to see if anyone was inside. He did not hear a response and did not see anyone behind the counter.

Williams then ran around checking on other buildings. Multiple windows of the neighboring liquor store also were blown out. Once he saw authorities arrive, Williams headed back to the hotel, he said.

Steven Michael Chacon was in his car preparing to turn into a hospital across the street from the clinic when felt and heard a massive boom as the building was torn apart, sending a massive plume of black smoke into the air. Not knowing what happened, he exited his car to flee the scene. Glass was all over the ground, and he saw what appeared to be a body part.

“I got out of my car and then people started screaming, there were people bloody, there was glass everywhere,” he said.

Palm Springs, about a two-hour drive east of Los Angeles, is known for upscale resorts, golf courses and a history of celebrity residents.

The Trump administration condemned the attack.

“The Trump administration understands that women and mothers are the heartbeat of America,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “Violence against a fertility clinic is unforgivable.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

Rubio Tells Netanyahu Trump Is ‘Concerned About Humanitarian Situation in Gaza’

(Kyle Anzalone, Antiwar.comSecretary of State Marco Rubio informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that President Donald Trump has become “concerned” about the Palestinians in Gaza. In March, Tel Aviv imposed a total blockade on all goods and aid entering the Strip, leading to widespread starvation.

Axios reporter and IDF veteran Barak Ravid posted to X on Thursday, “US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by phone with Prime Minister Netanyahu and told him that the Trump administration is concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”

Tel Aviv is responsible for the mass suffering in Gaza as the IDF is preventing all food, fuel, and medicine from entering the territory. At least scores of children have starved to death over the past two weeks.

Israel has also stepped up attacks on Gaza’s already partially destroyed hospital network. Earlier this week, Tel Aviv admitted to dropping nine bunker-busting bombs on or near the European Hospital in southern Gaza in an attempt to kill a single Hamas member.

On Friday, Trump told reporters while in the UAE, “We’re looking at Gaza, and we got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving.” He added, “A lot of people. There’s a lot of bad things going on.”

The previous day, Trump restated his plan to have American forces take over Gaza and turn the Strip into a “freedom zone.”

“I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good: Make it a freedom zone. Let the United States get involved, and make it just a freedom zone,” the president said. “I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone, let some good things happen. Put people in homes where they can be safe, and Hamas is going to have to be dealt with.”

Trump floated a similar proposal earlier in his administration. At the time, he said the Palestinians would be removed from the Strip and sent to live in refugee cities in third countries.

That plan is in line with what has been proposed in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu recently said that even if Hamas released its remaining Israeli hostages, the IDF would continue operations in Gaza and at least 50% of Palestinians would be forced from their homeland.

Following the Netanyahu call with Rubio, Israel unleashed a massive assaulton northern Gaza. On Friday, sources in Gaza said at least 100 Palestinians had been killed over the previous 24-hour period. Some sources put the number as high as 250. The IDF said on Friday it had conducted over 150 strikes in the last day alone.

Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He hosts The Kyle Anzalone Show and is co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Connor Freeman.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.

Mexican Tall Ship Strikes Brooklyn Bridge, Snapping Masts and Killing 2

(Headline USAA Mexican navy sailing ship on a global goodwill tour struck the Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Saturday, snapping its three masts, killing two crew members and leaving some sailors dangling from harnesses high in the air waiting for help.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the 142-year-old bridge was spared major damage but at least 19 people aboard the ship needed medical treatment.

Two of the four people who suffered serious injuries later died, Adams announced on social media early Sunday.

The cause of the collision was under investigation.

In a scene captured in multiple eyewitness videos, the ship, called the Cuauhtemoc, could be seen traveling swiftly in reverse toward the bridge near the Brooklyn side of the East River. Then, its three masts struck the bridge’s span and snapped, one by one, as the ship kept moving.

Videos showed heavy traffic on the span at the time of the 8:20 p.m. collision. No one on the bridge was reported injured.

The vessel, which was flying a giant Mexican flag and had 277 people aboard, then drifted into a pier on the riverbank as onlookers scrambled away.

Sailors could be seen aloft in the rigging on the damaged masts but, remarkably, no one fell into the water, officials said.

Sydney Neidell and Lily Katz told The Associated Press they were sitting outside to watch the sunset when they saw the vessel strike the bridge.

“We saw someone dangling, and I couldn’t tell if it was just blurry or my eyes, and we were able to zoom in on our phone and there was someone dangling from the harness from the top for like at least like 15 minutes before they were able to rescue them,” Katz said.

Just before the collision, Nick Corso, 23, took his phone out to capture the backdrop of the ship and the bridge against a sunset, Instead, he heard what sounded like the loud snapping of a “big twig.” Several more snaps followed.

People in his vicinity began running and “pandemonium” erupted aboard the ship, he said. He later saw a handful of people dangling from a mast.

“I didn’t know what to think, I was like, is this a movie?” he said.

The Mexican navy said in a post on the social platform X that the Cuauhtemoc was an academy training vessel. It said a total of 22 people were injured, 19 of whom needed medical treatment.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum regretted the loss of the two crew members.

“Our solidarity and support go out to their families,” Sheinbaum said on X.

The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, has a nearly 1,600-foot (490-meter) main span supported by two masonry towers. More than 100,000 vehicles and an estimated 32,000 pedestrians cross every day, according to the city’s transportation department. Its walkway is a major tourist attraction.

Traffic was halted after the collision but was allowed to resume after an inspection, city officials said.

It was unclear what caused the ship to veer off course. New York Police Department Special Operations Chief Wilson Aramboles said the ship had just left a Manhattan pier and was supposed to have been headed out to sea, not toward the bridge.

He said an initial report was that the pilot of the ship had lost power due to a mechanical problem, though officials cautioned that information was preliminary. Videos show a tugboat was close to the Cuauhtemoc at the time of the crash.

The Cuauhtemoc — about 297 feet long and 40 feet wide (90.5 meters long and 12 meters wide), according to the Mexican navy — sailed for the first time in 1982.

The vessel’s main mast has a height of 160 feet (48.9 meters), according to the Mexican government.

As midnight approached, the broken boat was moved slowly up the East River, going under and past the Manhattan Bridge, aided by a series of tugboats, before docking at a pier. Onlookers continued to gather on the waterfront to watch the spectacle.

Each year the Cuauhtemoc sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training. This year it left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on April 6, the navy said.

It arrived in New York City on May 13, where visitors were welcome for several days, the Mexican consulate said. The ship was scheduled to visit 22 ports in 15 nations over 254 days, 170 of them at sea.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press