Italy braces for Winter Olympics with high security and decree targeting violent protesters

MILAN (AP) — Italy has ramped up security ahead of the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Friday, with thousands of agents protecting athletes, spectators and global leaders at locations spanning from Milan to the Dolomites.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Cabinet on Thursday approved a security decree including stricter measures to counter violent protests, just ahead of fresh demonstrations planned around the opening ceremony. Opposition lawmakers criticized the measure, saying it muzzles freedom of expression.

While some preliminary hockey and curling events started on Wednesday, the Games officially kick off with the opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro Stadium on Friday evening, featuring global music stars and high-profile guests.

Around 6,000 security personnel will be deployed across the Olympic sites during the Games, including bomb disposal experts, snipers and counter-terrorism units, Italian authorities said.

Security at the Milan Games are particularly complicated because this is the most geographically dispersed in Olympics history, with events spread across Milan to three clusters in the mountains.

Italian police will rely on a network of operations centers to manage security and react to alerts quickly, and share information between them. The Associated Press on Thursday toured the main operations center in Milan, where dozens of police officers sat in front of computers and giant screens and kept eyes on various locations.

“The aim is to monitor in real time, in an absolutely timely and immediate manner, what is happening across the territory,” Sabrina Pane, Milan's deputy prefect, told the AP. “We can do this thanks to a very fast, constant flow of information.

Other centers are located in Bolzano, Trento, Venice, Verona, Belluno, Sondrio and Varese, where some Games venues are located.

Foreign police officers, as well as personnel from security agencies Interpol and Europol, will work with Italy’s public security department to quickly handle critical situations requiring international cooperation.

On Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Tajani revealed that Italian police had already foiled a series of Russian-linked cyberattacks targeting several foreign ministry offices, as well as websites linked to the Winter Olympics and hotels in Cortina.

Interforce teams are operating around the clock to monitor both the territory and the internet to prevent further cyberattacks.

“We are committed to a dual approach,” said chief police commissioner Luisa Massaro. “The first is the protection of critical computerized infrastructure. The second is web monitoring."

Last week, news that a unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be present during the Winter Games set off concerns and protests across Italy, where people expressed outrage at the inclusion of an agency that has dominated headlines for leading the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Homeland Security Investigations, a unit within ICE that focuses on cross-border crimes, frequently sends its officers to overseas events like the Olympics to assist with security. HSI officers are separate from the ICE arm at the forefront of the immigration crackdown known as Enforcement and Removal Operations, and there was no indication ERO officers were being sent to Italy.

Hundreds of protesters gathered on Saturday in Milan to voice opposition to the security force — both the entry of its agents to Italy and their deportation actions in the U.S. Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told parliament this week that ICE agents would only have an advisory role and would not operate on Italian territory. ICE’s unit will function solely within U.S. diplomatic missions, he said.

That hasn't completely quelled discontent. At least three rallies were set to take place in Milan on Friday before the opening ceremony, including two targeting ICE's deployment during the Games.

Dozens of students gathered Friday morning at Milan’s Leonardo da Vinci plaza to protest, blowing whistles and shouting “We don’t want ICE in our city!” as they marched under drifting clouds of pink smoke.

“It’s not only that I don’t like what they are doing to immigrants, I also don’t like what they are doing to protesters,” said Andrea Cucuzza, 18. “That’s why we are protesting. They don’t like manifestations, protests? Then we are doing one.”

A small group of protesters also gathered in the same piazza holding Palestine flags and a large white banner that read, “From Milan to Minneapolis, students and workers united against war, repression and exploitation.” The protest, organized by Amazon unionist Chris Smalls, targeted Israel’s participation in the Olympics.

Under the new security rules introduced by the government decree, police are allowed to detain people for up to 12 hours when there are reasonable grounds to believe they may act as agitators and disrupt peaceful protests. The decree takes immediate effect upon publication in the government’s official gazette.

Center-left opposition lawmakers strongly criticized the measure, saying they impose dangerous limitations to freedom of expression and exploit security worries around the Olympics to toughen state control over ordinary citizens. But the government holds a majority in parliament, ensuring the decree’s ratification before the 60-day deadline.

The move also comes several days after violent clashes between police and demonstrators erupted in the northern city of Turin. Tens of thousands of people gathered Saturday to protest the December eviction of a community center that had been occupied by leftist activists for three decades.

That peaceful demonstration turned violent when a small group of masked protesters started attacking police officers, pushing Meloni's conservative government to speed up approval of a security package that had been discussed for months.

Zampano reported from Rome. Associated Press writer María Teresa Hernández and Fernanda Figueroa reported from Milan.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

United States' activist Chris Smalls speaks during a protest against ICE, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

France's Nils Alphand speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's downhill official training, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Protesters walk with signs during a demonstration against ICE organized by students at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

An athlete from Japan trains inside the speed skating venue at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Thousands of Catholic devotees commemorated Good Friday across Latin America with processions and ceremonies re-enacting the crucifixion of Jesus.

In Antigua, a colonial-era city in southern Guatemala, dozens dressed in purple and white robes and made their way under the early morning sun, many of them penitents known as “cucuruchos.” Others carried centuries-old images of Jesus through cobblestone streets.

The city hosts more than a dozen processions throughout Holy Week, set against a backdrop of volcanoes.

Marcos Bautista, 63, said he has attended the Good Friday observances since his father brought him along as a baby in his arms.

“To describe Holy Week in Antigua, there are no words that can capture what it feels like," Bautista said. “It’s a feeling that, just by speaking about what Jesus has done in our lives, moves me deeply.”

In Bolivia, President Rodrigo Paz traveled to the southern city of Tarija to participate in Good Friday ceremonies.

The country is a secular state under its constitution and its leaders refrained from engaging in any religious events between 2006 and 2025. But Paz — who took office last November — broke with precedent by attending Palm Sunday Mass carrying a palm frond.

In the capital city of La Paz, government authorities and military bands accompanied Good Friday processions, in which hooded penitents carried the Holy Sepulcher through the streets.

Bolivia remains a predominantly Catholic country, alongside strong Indigenous spiritual traditions. In some households, it is customary to eat only fish on Good Friday and prepare up to 12 dishes representing the apostles of Jesus, a tradition that has declined in recent years amid an economic crisis.

In Ecuador, where about 80% of the population identifies as Catholic, processions were held across major cities.

In Guayaquil, roughly half a million faithful attended the “Cristo del Consuelo” procession. Amid displays of devotion, some participants walked barefoot, while others wore thorn crowns or dragged crosses.

In the capital, Quito, the “Jesús del Gran Poder” procession drew more than 150,000 faithful, who filled the historic center’s streets with chants and prayers as they accompanied an image of Jesus carrying the cross.

Thousands more climbed the Monserrate Hill in neighboring Colombia. At more than 10,200 feet (3,100 meters) above sea level, they reached the summit in the capital city of Bogotá to attend Mass at the basilica. Similar observances, including reenactments of the Stations of the Cross, were held in other parts of the country, including Medellín.

While the share of Catholics in Latin America has declined over the past decade, the faith remains the region’s largest religion.

In several countries, including Mexico, Peru and Argentina, more than 60% of adults still identify as Catholic, according to 2024 surveys by the Pew Research Center and Latinobarómetro.

AP journalists Moisés Castillo in Antigua, Guatemala; Carlos Valdez in La Paz, Bolivia; Gonzalo Solano and Gabriela Molina, in Quito, Ecuador, contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Penitents from the Nazareno brotherhood carry a statue of Jesus down the steps of the Cathedral Basilica of St. James the Apostle for a Good Friday procession during Holy Week in Tunja, Colombia, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A hooded penitent from the Nazareno brotherhood waits for the Good Friday procession inside the Cathedral Basilica of St. James the Apostle during Holy Week in Tunja, Colombia, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Young women and girls carry jeweled hearts representing the Virgin Mary at a Good Friday procession during Holy Week in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Hooded penitents participate in a Good Friday procession during Holy Week in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

A statue of Jesus Christ with a cross makes its way past electric cables at La Merced church's Good Friday procession during Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Women carry children dressed as penitents knows as "cucuruchos" on the sidelines of La Merced church's Good Friday procession during Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Penitents carry statues of Jesus Christ representing the Stations of the Cross at a Good Friday procession by La Merced church during Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala, just before sunrise Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Musicians dressed as Roman soldiers take part in La Merced church's Good Friday procession during Holy Week in Antigua, Guatemala, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)