National Security News Update

Offices of the United States Attorneys

You are subscribed to National Security news updates. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. U.S. Navy Sailor Sentenced to More Than 16 Years for Spying for China 01/12/2026 07:00 AM EST SAN DIEGO – Jinchao Wei, a former U.S. Navy sailor who was convicted of espionage by a federal jury in August 2025, was sentenced in federal court today to 200 months in prison. Wei, 25, also known as Patrick Wei, was arrested in August 2023 on espionage charges as he arrived for work on the amphibious assault ship U.S.S. Essex at Naval Base San Diego, the homeport of the Pacific Fleet. He was indicted by a federal grand jury, accused of selling national defense information to an intelligence officer working for the People's Republic of China for $12,000. Former U.S. Navy SEAL Convicted of Transporting Explosives to Throw at Law Enforcement at California Protests 01/12/2026 07:00 AM EST After a five-day jury trial and approximately three hours of deliberation, a federal jury convicted Gregory Vandenberg, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, of intending to use explosives against law enforcement officers at the June 14, 2025, "No Kings Day" protests in California. Large-Scale, Politically-Connected Venezuelan Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced To Life Plus 30 Years In Prison 01/12/2026 07:00 AM EST United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA"), Terrance C. Cole, announced that Carlos Orense Azocar was sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States and related weapons charges.

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