Sicily in Fall 1992

[darkerhorse]

I visited Sicily in October-November of 1992.

One day there was a noticeable heavily armed law enforcement presence in Siracusa, with multiple officers paroling the streets apparently searching for suspects. I asked one official it was safe to walk back to my hotel and he grinned and said something like you're safe, they're not after you.

I also made a side-trip to Palermo on a Sunday and I noticed an armed officer in front of a closed bank. I took photos and he ran across the street after me. He demanded my passport and camera. I gave him my passport but I played dumb about the camera because I wanted to keep the photos. He finally left me alone, I assume because I was an American citizen.

Does anyone know what might have been going on in the area at that time?

By the way, most locals seem to be in favor of Clinton over Bush in the American presidential election at the time. Someone said they always favor change. The day after the election the newspaper read something like "America ha detto Clinton". Most locals were happy.

[MarcuccioV]

I visited Sicily in October-November of 1992.

One day there was a noticeable heavily armed law enforcement presence in Siracusa, with multiple officers paroling the streets apparently searching for suspects. I asked one official it was safe to walk back to my hotel and he grinned and said something like you're safe, they're not after you.

Does anyone know what might have been going on in the area at that time?

Could it have been this..?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation ... 80%931998)

[darkerhorse]

It could have been.

I don't recall what their uniforms looked like. I remember the officer I spoke with seemed to be in charge, he was looking at a map and conferring with others at what was likely their street headquarters.

The bus I arrived on, after visiting a nearby suburb of Siracusa, wasn't allowed to go all the way to the regular bus stop, so I had to depart in the middle of the street and walk quite a ways. I saw several armed officers going down side-streets along the way, as if they were on the hunt.