Las carreteras del sur de Italia son asaltadas a menudo por mafias que se enriquecen atracando furgones blindados con divisas. Su último golpe, con tiros y explosiones a plena luz del día, ha constatado su peligrosidad, mientras la policía reclama más medios y equipos para hacerles frente.

«Esta criminalidad está en auge tanto por los botines que logran como por la violencia que emplean contra las fuerzas del orden», explica a EFE el miembro del cuerpo de los carabineros (policía militarizada) y secretario del sindicato UNARMA, Nicola Magno.

Estas bandas campan especialmente por la región de Puglia (sur), el ‘tacón de la bota italiana’, y su última fechoría ha encendido las alarmas por su espectacularidad y su violencia casi paramilitar y porque ha quedado grabada por los teléfonos de algunos presentes.

Lunes por la mañana. Un furgón de transporte de divisas recorre la autovía entre Lecce y Brindisi cuando, a la altura de Tuturano, se ve inesperadamente bloqueado en el tráfico por la presencia de varios coches cortando el paso, uno de ellos envuelto en llamas.

El blindado frena hasta detenerse. En ese momento, varios hombres -entre 6 y 8- encapuchados y armados con fusiles irrumpen en la vía. Dos abren fuego contra el furgón, llegan incluso a dinamitarlo. Otros ponen clavos en el asfalto para sellar la escena.

La aparición de los carabineros deriva en un tiroteo hasta que los bandidos desisten y huyen con las manos vacías. Antes abren fuego contra los coches policiales, perforando el parabrisas de uno.

Tras de sí dejan una escena de auténtica guerrilla y numerosos conductores estupefactos. A una joven que iba a la universidad le roban el coche. Dos hombres son detenidos poco después, mientras que el resto permanece este martes en busca y captura.

Este asalto ha vuelto a poner de manifiesto un problema muchas veces ignorado: la criminalidad organizada que domina una parte importante de esta región periférica italiana.

El panorama de Puglia, según el último informe de la Dirección de Investigaciones Antimafia (DIA), está constituido por «múltiples organizaciones criminales caracterizadas por un acentuado dinamismo por las cambiantes relaciones en las alianzas» entre los clanes.

En esta región operaba la Sacra Corona Unida, una de las grandes entidades criminales junto con la Camorra napolitana, la Cosa Nostra siciliana o la ‘Ndrangheta calabresa, pero las alarmas actuales apuntan directamente a la llamada ‘Cuarta Mafia’ de Foggia.

La DIA ilustra que esta organización tienen dos intereses clave: la corrupción agrícola y los robos a furgones blindados y bancos, una actividad «que premia por su amplia remuneración y su prestigio».

El agente Magno cree que este hampa está detrás del reciente golpe: «Hablamos de una criminalidad muy feroz. La situación es peliaguda porque atracan con ‘kalashnikov’», advierte.

Los robos a mano armada a furgones no son el único problema en la zona, sino que empiezan a sucederse los ataques a bancos. La pasada semana fue desarticulada en la cercana Taranto la ‘Banda de las Marmotas’, que explotaba de noche cajeros automáticos: un total de 17 en un mes.

Pero otro motivo de desvelo es que la ‘Cuarta Mafia’ tiene entre sus filas a gente con experiencia militar. De hecho, uno de los detenidos en este último asalto es un ex paracaidista de la Marina Militar.

Este intento de atraco con armas de guerra y explosivos en una carretera del sur italiano, a pocos meses de la muerte de un policía durante una persecución en Bríndisi, preocupa enormemente y los cuerpos de seguridad, tanto pública como privada, exigen más medios y prevención.

Magno, que patrulla cada día este territorio dejando en casa a su esposa y su hija, sostiene que el valor de los Carabineros está más que demostrado pero, por otro lado, denuncia que «falta material militar adecuado» para hacer frente a este tipo de bandidos.

«Ayer uno de los coches policiales no era blindado. Durante el tiroteo, un proyectil atravesó el cristal. Están vivos de milagro», afirma.

Y, en la misma línea, la Federación de Seguridad Privada denuncia que episodios de este tipo «confirman la urgencia de reforzar aún más la protección» de este tipo de furgones, «cada vez más expuestos a formas de criminalidad organizada extremadamente violenta».

Republican Sen. Susan Collins is well aware of the tough path ahead as she officially kicks off her 2026 re-election campaign in blue-leaning Maine.

Collins is the top target for Senate Democrats as they try to win back the chamber’s majority in November’s midterm elections.

«Chuck Schumer has made me once again — this is the third time he’s done this — his number one target,» Collins said in an interview with Fox News Digital soon after she announced her re-election bid, as she pointed to the longtime top Democrat in the Senate.

Collins took to social media a couple of hours earlier to declare, «GOOD NEWS! I am ALL-IN for 2026.»

LONGTIME REPUBLICAN SENATOR MAKES A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

Democrats have long targeted the 73-year-old Collins, who was first elected to the Senate three decades ago, but keep coming up short.

«I will be outspent as I was in 2020, but fortunately, Maine people are famously independent. They look at the individual candidates, and they don’t just necessarily vote a party line,» the senator said.

Collins was one of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict after the House impeached President Donald Trump in 2021, following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the president aiming to upend congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results.

IS THE REPUBLICAN SENATE MAJORITY AT RISK IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS?

And Collins has earned Trump’s ire with Senate votes that go against the administration’s wishes.

Trump has so far not made an endorsement in the pivotal contest, and has taken shots at Collins throughout the year for breaking ranks with him and Republicans, particularly when she voted in favor of bipartisan legislation that would have reined in his war authorities in Venezuela.

Trump declared that Collins and the handful of other Republicans that voted with Democrats to curb his war powers «should never be elected to office again.»

«Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America,» Trump said in a Truth Social post at the time.

When asked if Trump should weigh in, or stay neutral in the contest, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, «I would defer to Susan Collins on that.»

«I think she knows how to run in Maine. She’s been incredibly successful there. She is a veteran campaigner who knows her state well and knows what works,» Thune said.

«So I would, I guess, defer to her on any decisions that are made related to her campaign and what she would like to see happen or not see happen in terms of endorsements, but we will be all in trying to make sure that she gets re-elected,» he continued.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins has earned President Donald Trump’s ire with Senate votes that go against the administration’s wishes. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

Her willingness to criticize Trump and to break with his policies may be beneficial to Collins, who needs support from independents and some Democrats to earn re-election.

«What I think the President’s criticism demonstrates is that I’m independent in the way I approach issues. I look at what the impact is on the state of Maine and what the impact is on the country and Mainers appreciate that,» she told Fox News Digital.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, leaves the Republican Senate luncheon in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Collins emphasized, «I support President Trump when I think he’s right, I don’t when I think he’s wrong, and that’s the approach I’ve always taken with all of the presidents with whom I’ve worked. I’ve never agreed 100% with any of them. So, this President is more outspoken when you disagree with him than previous presidents, but I think that I can fully justify how I have voted.»

TRUMP BLASTS GOP WAR POWERS DEFECTORS, SAYS THEY ‘SHOULD NEVER BE ELECTED TO OFFICE AGAIN’

But the Maine Democratic Party charged in a statement that «Susan Collins has spent the last 30 years betraying Maine, from stripping Mainers’ affordable health care, to casting the decisive vote to confirm Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, to voting with Donald Trump 94% of the time.»

«She now faces some of the lowest approval ratings of her career because Mainers see through her political games and fake shows of concern. In November, we will reject her at the ballot box,» added state party executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson.

National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Sen. Tim Scott called Collins «a battle-tested leader whose fierce independence has led to historic wins for Maine.»

But in a closed-door NRSC briefing last week to Senate Republicans, Scott pointed to the latest Fox News national poll which showed the GOP facing a ballot box deficit, and said it could impact specific Senate races this year.

GOP sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that Scott said the toughest challenge may be in Maine.

Democratic senate candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on Oct. 22, 2025, in Ogunquit, Maine.  (Sophie Park/Getty Images)

Collins is likely to face either two-term Democratic Gov. Jane Mills, who has the tacit support of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the DSCC, or political newcomer, veteran, and oyster farmer Graham Platner, who is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, in November. The Democratic primary, which is expected to be competitive, is scheduled for June.

Collins charged that Democrats are working «to distort my record,» with Democratic-aligned outside groups running ads «that are provably false and that’s very disappointing. The people of Maine deserve better.»

Democratic Maine Gov. Janet Mills is running in 2026 to try and defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins. (Getty Images)

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Asked whom she’d rather face in the general election, Collins said, «I leave that up to the Democrats to decide. I know that a ton of outside money is going to be poured into this race, regardless of who the Democratic candidate is.»

Tumbler Ridge Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) confirmed an active shooter incident Tuesday at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia, with at least one suspect found dead.

Police confirmed to Fox News Digital the «original suspect» is believed to have been found dead, but they are working to determine if there was a second suspect involved and the total number of victims.

«We have no confirmation at this time on the number of individuals injured or requiring assistance,» Tumbler Ridge RCMP wrote in a statement.

7-YEAR-OLD INJURES HAND AFTER ACCIDENTALLY DISCHARGING FIREARM IN MARYLAND CLASSROOM

Police remain on the scene and have issued a localized police emergency alert.

Those in the Tumbler Ridge area are asked to stay inside, lock their doors and refrain from leaving their homes or businesses.

Additional police resources are being deployed to the area from neighboring detachments, along with the North District Emergency Response Team.

BROWN UNIVERSITY, MIT SHOOTINGS: ARE ELITE US UNIVERSITIES PREPARED FOR TARGETED VIOLENCE?

In a message on its website, the Peace River South School District said it is «aware of a lockdown and secure and hold at Tumbler Ridge Secondary and Tumbler Ridge Elementary schools.»

«We are asking people to have patience as we work with the RCMP,» school officials wrote.

Larry Neufeld, who represents Peace River South in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, released a statement on social media noting he is on the way to the scene.

«I am aware of the active shooter situation currently unfolding in Tumbler Ridge, and my thoughts are with residents as this situation continues to develop,» Neufeld wrote. «I have been in direct contact with the Solicitor General to receive updates and to ensure all necessary provincial resources are being made available to support local law enforcement and emergency responders.

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«Public safety is the absolute priority. I urge everyone in the area to follow RCMP instructions, remain sheltered, and rely only on official updates,» he continued. «I am leaving Victoria immediately to return to my riding to be on the ground and available to support the community in any way needed. I will continue to stay closely engaged as this situation evolves.»

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.