International
What are the first measures approved by Trump after taking office as US president?
Republican Donald Trump has debuted as president of the United States, dismantling Joe Biden’s legacy with a sleve of executive decrees to inaugurate his second term in the White House.
But what measures has Donald Trump already approved and which ones are just a declaration of intent? Review of some of the most outstanding decisions during these first hours in office.
1. Not applying the agreement reached in the OECD to apply the global tax in the United States
The president said that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will be notified that the commitments made by the previous cabinet regarding the global tax agreement to impose a global tax are ineffective
2. Exiting the Paris Agreement against climate change
One of the measures that the president has already announced and that he has fulfilled has been to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. An action that he already did during his first term (2016-2021) and which now former President Joe Biden reinstated in 2021.
3. Withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization
He also ordered the US’s exit from the World Health Organization (WHO).
4. Pardon 1,500 convicted of the assault on the Capitol in 2021
Most of those convicted for the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, which occurred on the same day that Biden’s victory was being certified, have been pardoned by the new President Trump. About 1,500 people benefit from this measure.
5. Declare the “national emergency” on the border with Mexico, which authorizes the use of military
In honor of his motto Make America Great Again, Trump declared a “national emergency” on the border with Mexico, which authorizes the use of military forces on that border.
6. Revoke Cuba’s exit from the list of states promoting terrorism
Donald Trump revoked the order of last January 14 with which former President Joe Biden removed Cuba from the US list of states promoting terrorism.
7. Declare the “national energy emergency” to be able to drill in the United States in search of oil and gas
He also signed an executive order to declare a “national energy emergency” that gives him authority to boost oil and gas production in the country, including the opening of new drilling in Alaska.
This energy emergency is one of several measures with which to boost the oil, gas and energy industry and reverse the transition to clean sources promoted by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
But in addition, during his first hours after taking office, he also made headlines with several declarations of intent:
1. Rename the “Gulf of Mexico” to be called “Gulf of America”
Another of the announced reforms was the renaming of the “Gulf of Mexico”. “Soon, we will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’,” Trump said.
2. Regain control of the Panama Canal
During his speech, he assured that he would regain control of the Panama Canal. “China is operating the Panama Canal. But we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we are going to take it back,” he said.
3. Turn into “official policy” of his new government to recognize only two gender identities: “the male and the female”
One of the orders decreed by the new president was to ‘overthring’ almost 80 decrees of the Biden government, including the one that bet on racial equity and the one that advocated to prevent and combat discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. In his inauguration speech, he stated that he will recognize only two gender identities, “the male and the female”.
4. He criticized the economic contribution of some NATO countries, such as Spain, whose contribution he described as “very low”
The new president criticized that Spain’s contribution to NATO is “very low”, in addition to being confused by including the country as a member of the BRICS, an organization of emerging countries of which it is not a part.
International
Thousands rally nationwide against Trump’s threat to U.S. democracy
Thousands of protesters gathered on Saturday (April 19, 2025) in major cities like New York and Washington, as well as in small communities across the United States, in a second wave of demonstrations against President Donald Trump. The crowds denounced what they view as growing threats to the country’s democratic ideals.
In New York City, demonstrators of all ages rallied in front of the Public Library near Trump Tower, holding signs accusing the president of undermining democratic institutions and judicial independence.
Many protesters also criticized Trump’s hardline immigration policies, including mass deportations and raids targeting undocumented migrants.
“Democracy is in grave danger,” said Kathy Valyi, 73, the daughter of Holocaust survivors. She told AFP that the stories her parents shared about Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1930s Germany “are happening here now.”
In Washington, demonstrators voiced concern over what they see as Trump’s disregard for long-standing constitutional norms, such as the right to due process.
International
ACLU seeks emergency court order to stop venezuelan deportations under Wartime Law
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Friday asked two federal judges to block the U.S. government under President Donald Trump from deporting any Venezuelan nationals detained in North Texas under a rarely used 18th-century wartime law, arguing that immigration officials appear to be moving forward with deportations despite Supreme Court-imposed limitations.
The ACLU has already filed lawsuits to stop the deportation of two Venezuelan men held at the Bluebonnet Detention Center, challenging the application of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The organization is now seeking a broader court order that would prevent the deportation of any immigrant in the region under that law.
In an emergency filing early Friday, the ACLU warned that immigration authorities were accusing other Venezuelan detainees of being members of the Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal gang. These accusations, the ACLU argues, are being used to justify deportations under the wartime statute.
The Alien Enemies Act has only been invoked three times in U.S. history — most notably during World War II to detain Japanese-American civilians in internment camps. The Trump administration has claimed the law allows them to swiftly remove individuals identified as gang members, regardless of their immigration status.
The ACLU, together with Democracy Forward, filed legal actions aiming to suspend all deportations carried out under the law. Although the U.S. Supreme Court recently allowed deportations to resume, it unanimously ruled that they could only proceed if detainees are given a chance to present their cases in court and are granted “a reasonable amount of time” to challenge their pending removal.
International
Dominican ‘False Hero’ Arrested for Faking Role in Nightclub Collapse That Killed 231
A man identified as Rafael Rosario Mota falsely claimed to have rescued 12 people from the collapse of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo—a tragedy that left 231 people dead—but he was never at the scene.
Intelligence agents in the Dominican Republic arrested the 32-year-old man for pretending to be a hero who saved lives during the catastrophic incident, authorities announced.
Rosario Mota had been charging for media interviews in which he falsely claimed to have pulled survivors from the rubble after the nightclub’s roof collapsed in the early hours of April 8, during a concert by merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was among those killed.
“He was never at the scene of the tragedy,” the police stated. The arrest took place just after he finished another interview on a digital platform, where he repeated his fabricated story in exchange for money as part of a “media tour” filled with manipulated information and invented testimonies.
“False hero!” read a message shared on the police force’s Instagram account alongside a short video of the suspect, in which he apologized: “I did it because I was paid. I ask forgiveness from the public and the authorities.”
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