NYC Mayor Mamdani clarifies wife will travel to Syria without NYPD security

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has clarified that his wife, Rama Duwaji, will travel to Syria and Lebanon without an NYPD security detail. The announcement follows a public dispute between City Hall and the police department.

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the mayor claimed that Duwaji would be accompanied by NYPD officers following a “strong recommendation” from the department. However, the NYPD issued a direct contradiction, stating that the department does not deploy officers to countries with Level 4 travel advisories for discretionary or personal reasons not linked to investigative work.

Duwaji, a Syrian-American artist, is planning the trip for late September to visit family. Both Syria and Lebanon are currently under the U.S. State Department’s highest travel warning, the “Do Not Travel” advisory, due to security concerns and instability. Mayor Mamdani attributed the conflicting reports to a “miscommunication” within his staff.