US Attorney’s Office said that two men had been arrested in New York on Friday for allegedly conspiring to kill Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations.
The two Myanmar citizens have been charged with conspiring with an arms dealer in Thailand to “seriously injure or kill” Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun.
The arms dealer reportedly sells weapons to the Burmese army.
Audrey Strauss, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement that the attack was targeted at “a foreign official that was to take place on American soil.”
Myanmar ambassador to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, has openly opposed the February 1 coup and the civilian government sacking.
He has also spoken out against the deadly crackdown on protests by Myanmar’s military.
Kyaw Moe Tun still represents the overthrown civilian government as UN ambassador since the United Nations has not recognized the military junta.
The ambassador told the media that he was made aware of the alleged plot on Tuesday and immediately alerted the US Mission and law enforcement.
The FBI and the New York police now provide him with 24-hour security, he said.
Suspects were identified as Phyo Hein Htut, 28, and Ye Hein Zaw, 20, from New York.
They face charges for a conspiracy to assault and attack a foreign official.
If found guilty, they could spend up to five years in prison.
The legal complaint stated that Phyo Hein Htut told the FBI that the arms dealer offered them cash to hire attackers to hurt the ambassador and force him to resign.
If he did not step down, attackers would kill him by manipulating his car’s tires to make it crash while he was inside.
Ye Hein Zaw reportedly transferred around $4,000 to Phyo Hein Htut as an advance payment after agreeing on the plan.
In a later recorded phone conversation, the duo said the attackers would need an additional payment of $1,000 to make the attack and “finish off” the ambassador.
The alleged plot, planned between July and August 5, would take place in New York’s Westchester County, where the ambassador resides, the complaint added.
“As alleged in today’s federal charges, these defendants reached across borders and oceans in designing a violent plot against an international leader on United States soil,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement.
However, NYPD investigators and prosecutors from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York worked hard to bring them to justice “any harm could be done,” he added.
Kyaw Moe Tun thanked the US government, State Department, and law enforcement agencies for “saving his life.”
He also told the media that he could not speculate who was behind the plot when asked if he believed the attack came from Myanmar’s military junta.
