The Wild Details Behind Bumbling Plot to ‘Injure or Kill’ New York Diplomat

Two Myanmar citizens have been arrested in New York and accused of plotting to hurt or kill Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, the latest in what has been called a “disturbing pattern” of authoritarian regimes reaching beyond borders to clamp down on opponents.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrests of Phyo Hein Htut, 28, and Ye Hein Zaw, 20, on August 6 for conspiracy to assault and make a violent attack upon UN envoy Kyaw Moe Tun. They face up to five years in prison.

A longtime diplomat, Kyaw Moe Tun defied the military coup in Myanmar weeks after the February 1 takeover with an emotional speech on the floor of the UN General Assembly. In a clip that inspired the swelling demonstrations at home, he flashed the three-finger “Hunger Games” salute that has come to symbolize pro-democracy forces across Asia.

He was fired by the junta and charged with high treason but has refused to step down, which authorities say was the overarching goal of the plot hatched between July and August. The junta, however, has denied involvement while reiterating its demand that the envoy be extradited to Myanmar to face the treason charges.

Since the military takeover, the arrest of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and a crackdown that has killed more than 900 people, Myanmar diplomats across the world have openly opposed the junta, whose fight for control included locking an envoy out of the embassy in London.

But the alleged plot against Kyaw Moe Tun could signal an escalation of tactics against high-profile critics of the new regime abroad.

“These defendants reached across borders and oceans in designing a violent plot against an international leader on United States soil,” New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement.

Here’s what officials say they’ve discovered so far.

At the center of the story is a mysterious arms dealer who sells weapons to the Myanmar military. According to the FBI’s interview with defendant Phyo Hein Htut, the dealer, who has not been named in the documents, reached out to Htut on Facebook and FaceTime after seeing a photo of him online at Myanmar’s UN Mission. 

He then offered him money to organize an attack on the diplomat so he would step down from the post, and if that did not work, “the attackers hired by Htut would kill the ambassador,” according to documents filed in court. The plan apparently went awry when Htut told a volunteer security guard about it.

Cars feature often in international intrigue, and this case is no exception. The ambassador lives in Westchester County, New York, and works at Myanmar’s Permanent Mission in Manhattan. The initial plan allegedly involved somehow tampering with the tires of the envoy’s car to “cause a crash while the Ambassador was inside.” 

According to Htut, he was to receive $4,000 up front for the planned attack and $1,000 after it was completed, which of course it wasn’t. He told the FBI that he received two transfers of $2,000 for the up front payment, and a text message indicating that the second transfer had been sent. That’s where the other defendant enters the story.

Not old enough to legally drink in the U.S., 20-year-old defendant Ye Hein Zaw allegedly contacted Htut by phone to discuss the plot and sent him the money in separate Zelle app payments because of transfer limits. Authorities included a screenshot of a text message said to be from Zaw that confirmed the second transfer: “Hi bro I just zelled you 2000 again.” 

In a recorded phone call late last month, the two discussed the plan and Htut said more money was needed but for an additional payment on top of that request the attackers could “finish off” the ambassador, according to authorities. Zaw allegedly agreed to the $1,000 extra and said he would look into getting more funds. He later admitted to transferring the money, authorities said. Contact for Zaw and Htun’s legal representation was not available.

More details are likely to emerge in the coming days, but one senior U.S. official said the case is hardly an isolated incident. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Saturday that it fits into a broader series of events in which authoritarian governments or their supporters reach beyond international borders to achieve their aims.

She cited Belarusian Olympian Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who sought asylum in Poland after the Tokyo Games, with help from Japanese authorities. Thomas-Greenfield also highlighted an alleged Iranian plot last month to kidnap and imprison an Iranian-American journalist.

“These are only the most recent acts of transnational repression, and they must be met with the condemnation of the world and with full and certain accountability,” she said.

Citing Thomas-Greenfield’s statement, Myanmar’s junta-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in state media on Tuesday (August 10) that Myanmar had “nothing to do with this incident.” It also said that its “demand for extradition” has not been carried out yet.

Update: This story has been updated to reflect a response from Myanmar’s military government.