The two container ships seized by Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz have been taken toward the port of Bandar Abbas along the key waterway, a report said Thursday. 

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed on Wednesday that the vessels, identified as the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas, were operating without proper authorization and had tampered with navigation systems, accusations that could not be independently verified.   

«Some 20 Iranians armed to the teeth stormed the ship. Sailors are under Iranians’ control, their ⁠movements on the ship are limited, but the Iranians are treating them well,» a relative of a captive onboard one of the ships told Reuters on Thursday in relation to one of the seizures. 

The news outlet cited sources as saying that both ships — which are managed by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) — were taken toward Bandar Abbas, with a combined 40 crew onboard.

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«The ship is anchored nine nautical miles from the Iranian coast. Negotiations between MSC and Iran are ongoing, our sailors are fine,» Filip Radulovic, Montenegro’s minister of maritime affairs, was quoted by Reuters as telling state television there. 

Before their seizure on Wednesday, the ships reported coming under fire near the strait, underscoring the increasingly volatile conditions in one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes. 

The situation is unfolding after U.S. forces recently seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman as it was approaching Iranian waters Sunday.

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Soldiers take part in the operation seizing container ships MSC Francesca and Epaminondas in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state TV on April 22, 2026. (IRIB/Handout/Reuters)

That vessel, the Touska, remains in U.S. custody as American forces continue inspecting what maritime security sources told Reuters is likely «dual-use» cargo — materials that can serve both civilian and military purposes — following a voyage from Asia. 

The U.S. military is also continuing to enforce a blockade of Iranian ports on Thursday.

The Epaminondas container ship is seen in Naples, Italy, on March 12, 2025. (Giovanni Costigliola/Reuters)

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So far, U.S. forces have redirected 33 vessels since the start of the blockade against Iran, U.S. Central Command said Thursday.

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report. 

The Justice Department unveiled charges Thursday against two Chinese nationals allegedly behind an overseas cryptocurrency scam center, as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro vowed that the Trump administration is «just getting started» in combating these schemes. 

Pirro told reporters in Washington, D.C., that cyber-enabled and cryptocurrency investment fraud is «among the fastest growing and the most financially devastating form of cybercrime that is targeting Americans today.» The DOJ’s actions come after Pirro launched the Scam Center Strike Force in November last year, following an executive order from President Donald Trump. 

«Today, we announce significant milestones in that fight. We have charged Chinese bosses who ran a scam compound in Burma where thousands were trafficked, enslaved, beaten and then forced to steal from Americans for years. We have seized also a Telegram channel, and that channel was luring workers into a forced compound in Cambodia,» Pirro said. «There they were ordered to pose as U.S. banks, as the New York City Police Department, to steal Americans’ life savings.» 

«We have taken down more than 500 websites. They were used to steal Americans life savings. My office is going to continue to work to identify the funds stolen,» Pirro added. «We have also restrained more than $700 million in cryptocurrency from U.S. victims of fraud. The administration of President Trump is lockstep in combating these scams, and we are just getting started.»

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The Justice Department said the two Chinese nationals, identified as Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wen Jie, were arrested in Thailand earlier this year after allegedly being linked to «cryptocurrency investment fraud operations» out of the Shunda compound in Burma. The pair were charged with wire fraud conspiracy and the U.S. is working to extradite them to face justice on American soil, according to Pirro. 

«The Shunda compound operated from at least January 2025 until approximately November 2025, when it was seized by the Karen National Liberation Army of Burma. The compound used scam websites and mobile applications disguised as legitimate investment platforms to defraud victims, including Americans,» the DOJ said. «Workers within the compound were trafficked individuals who were held against their will and forced to defraud victims under the threat of violence and torture.» 

«According to the investigation, Huang served at Shunda as a high-level manager and enforcer and personally participated in the physical punishment of trafficked compound workers. Jiang served as a team leader directly supervising workers who specifically targeted American victims,» the DOJ added. «Under Jiang’s supervision, one of the people under his command successfully defrauded a single American victim of over $3 million utilizing a fraudulent investment platform. The theft was celebrated within the organization as a paradigm of success.»

HOW FLORIDA RETIREE LOST $200,000 IN FAKE PAYPAL REFUND SCAM

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announces charges related to an international car theft ring during a press conference at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)

Officials said after the Shunda compound was seized, «Huang and Jiang relocated to another scam compound located in Cambodia where they attempted to continue their cryptocurrency investment fraud operation» before their arrests. 

«The Strike Force conducted a first-of-its-kind seizure of a Telegram channel with more than 6,000 followers that was used to recruit individuals to travel to Cambodia under false promises of high-paying employment. Once there, recruited workers were held against their will and forced to defraud victims, including Americans, as part of a sophisticated law enforcement impersonation scheme,» the DOJ also said. 

On Thursday, Pirro called on Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov to shut the channel down.

«Now, the workers, though, who responded to these jobs, they end up posing as banks, as police officers, as prosecutors. They sound like Americans, directing Americans to fork over their money or be prosecuted. They have backgrounds and backdrops where they actually look like they are from an official agency,» Pirro said. 

Phones that the Justice Department says were seized from the Shunda compound in Burma. (Justice Department)

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«Folks, this isn’t abstract. It is hitting your neighbors, your friends, and your parents’ retirement accounts. Some of these victims are so distraught that they end up taking their own lives. This is economic homicide,» she added. «We have seized the sites and we are coming for the rest. These criminals thought they were untouchable because they were overseas. Today we are proving them wrong and we are just getting started.» 

Las raíces de Sudamérica se extienden mucho más allá de lo imaginado: su ADN indígena revela capítulos desconocidos sobre las primeras migraciones en el subcontinente.

Científicos de once países, incluyendo Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Ecuador, Alemania, Italia, México, Perú, España, Suiza y Estados Unidos, consiguieron elaborar un mapa genético de los pueblos indígenas de Sudamérica.

El equipo fue liderado por la doctora Tabita Hünemeier de la Universidad de San Pablo, en Brasil. Reveló que la diversidad genética en el continente es mucho más compleja de lo que se pensaba, aunque reconocieron que las muestras y los métodos tienen limitaciones y que algunas interpretaciones requieren cautela. La investigación se publicó en la revista Nature. El ADN de diversas comunidades indígenas cuenta cómo los ancestros recorrieron selvas, montañas y ríos.

Los investigadores detectaron varias regiones genómicas muestran un notable compartimiento de alelos con poblaciones australasianas.

Aunque aclararon que esa afinidad se explica mejor por combinación con una población asiática ancestral no muestreada, y que el grado y la distribución de esa afinidad varían entre grupos.

Además, se identificaron aportes de humanos arcaicos como neandertales y denisovanos, aunque su relevancia adaptativa sigue en estudio.

Los hallazgos formaron parte de un trabajo en colaboración de científicos de la Universidad Pompeu Fabra, en Barcelona, la Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia (ENAH) de México y la Universidad de las Américas, en Ecuador.

Desde la Argentina, colaboraron los investigadores María Laura Parolín, del Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral, y Virginia Ramallo del Instituto Patagónico de Ciencias Sociales y Humanas (CONICET-CENPAT) en Puerto Madryn. Además participaron Graciela Bailliet y Claudio Bravi, del Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular (IMBICE-CONICET), en La Plata.

También participaron expertos de la Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Lima, e instituciones de los países ya mencionados.

Durante años, la diversidad genética de los pueblos indígenas de América recibió poca atención en la ciencia global. Los estudios se enfocaron en otras regiones y dejaron a esas comunidades sin datos suficientes para reconstruir su historia evolutiva.

La falta de muestras representativas y la complejidad de la genética regional dificultaron entender cómo se formaron las poblaciones indígenas y cómo se diferenciaron a lo largo del tiempo.

Los investigadores buscaron responder cuántas olas migratorias poblaron Sudamérica y cómo se diferenciaron las comunidades. Se propusieron desafiar la idea de un modelo simple y reconstruir el árbol genealógico de los pueblos indígenas con genomas modernos y antiguos.

“Para alcanzar el objetivo, nuestro equipo secuenció el genoma completo de 128 personas que representan 45 comunidades indígenas en ocho países desde América del Norte a Patagonia”, contó a Infobae la doctora Parolin, quien es investigadora del Conicet en paleogenómica. “Identificamos más de un millón de variantes genéticas nunca antes habían sido observadas en otros continentes, lo que revela una diversidad genétca única americana”, resaltó

Integraron estos datos con genomas antiguos y modernos de América, aunque reconocen que la muestra, aunque amplia, no cubre toda la diversidad del continente. El análisis mostró que la mayor parte de la diversidad genética proviene de una tercera gran migración, probablemente relacionada con grupos de Mesoamérica.

Esta ola llegó hace al menos 1.300 años, pero los investigadores aclaran que la antigüedad exacta y el origen geográfico requieren futuras investigaciones.

Se observó que “la afinidad genética con los australasianos contradice una sola rama de indígenas americanos no árticos”.

Sin embargo, esta afinidad se atribuye a la mezcla con una población asiática antigua, llamada Ypykuéra, y los cientificos enfatizaron que la magnitud de esa combinación es modesta y no uniforme en todas las poblaciones.

En el ADN se detectaron variantes nuevas en genes vinculados con fertilidad, rasgos faciales, defensas y metabolismo. También se encontraron señales de adaptación en genes relacionados con la piel, el sistema inmunológico y la energía.

El equipo confirmó la presencia de segmentos de ADN de neandertales y denisovanos, pero subraya que el significado funcional de muchas de estas variantes aún no se comprende del todo y requiere más investigación.

Tras los resultados, se sugirió sumar la diversidad indígena a los estudios genéticos globales para mejorar el conocimiento sobre salud y evolución humana.

También se remarcó la importancia de trabajar junto a las comunidades y compartir los resultados con transparencia.

Los hallazgos abrieron nuevas puertas para valorar y proteger la diversidad biológica y cultural de los pueblos indígenas.

“Nuestros resultados sugieren que el pasado genético de Sudamérica es una red de caminos complejos, de migraciones, mestizajes y adaptaciones, aunque destacamos la importancia de la cautela y la investigación continua para comprender todos sus matices”, sostuvo la científica Parolin en la entrevista con Infobae.