The United States Supreme Court was skeptical this Thursday about Donald Trump’s request to enjoy absolute judicial immunity for having been president of the country, but there were judges who were inclined not to fully resolve the matter and return it to lower courts.

In a historic hearing of more than two hours, the nine magistrates (six conservatives and three progressives) questioned Trump’s lawyer, John Sauer, and prosecutor Michael Dreeben about the Republican’s potential immunity.

The high court must decide if Trump has absolute immunity for having been president of the country and, therefore, the trial against him pending in a federal court in Washington for electoral interference and the assault on the Capitol must be annulled.

Most judges were skeptical of Trump’s request when considering that only the actions of the functions of a president are shielded by immunity and not those that are personal.

But there were also conservative magistrates critical of the handling of the case by the Prosecutor’s Office and suggested that they could return the case to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals to determine whether Trump’s actions can be considered public or private.

Trump, a Republican pre-candidate in the elections on November 5, should extend the litigation since, if he returns to the White House, he could order the Department of Justice to close the federal accusations against him.

On the other hand, the Special Prosecutor’s Office led by Jack Smith pressures the high court to make a quick decision and the preparations for the trial of the assault on the Capitol, which should have begun on March 4 but was suspended due to Trump’s request for immunity, can be resumed.

It is unknown when the Supreme Court will issue its ruling, but it usually publishes its decisions in June, before the summer recess.

Although it is not included in the Constitution or in the laws, the active presidents of the United States have historically enjoyed immunity from judicial processes related to their functions, in order to avoid a violation of the separation between the executive and judicial branches.

Questioned by conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett, appointed by Trump himself, the Republican’s lawyer admitted that some of the actions that the former president carried out after the 2020 elections were “private” and probably not protected by immunity.

Later, the also conservative Samuel Alito pressured the prosecutor with the idea that leaving the former presidents unprotected would “destabilize” democracy because it would open the door for the new leaders to imprison their predecessors for revenge.

Progressive judges were very opposed to Trump’s absolute immunity.

Elena Kagan recalled that the drafters of the Constitution were opposed to the existence of a “monarch” who was “above the law” and Ketanji Brown Jackson suggested that the pardon that Richard Nixon received after the Watergate scandal shows that the former presidents can be prosecuted.

Unlike Trump, however, Nixon was not formally charged with any crime. His successor, Gerald Ford (1974-1977), granted him a preventive pardon for any crime he could have committed during his Presidency to prevent him from being prosecuted in the future, in a controversial decision that divided the country.

The former president of Uruguay José Mujica assures that the Argentine president, Javier Milei, is “very impulsive” and that he “hit the entrance” when talking about his Brazilian peer, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, while wishing that his political project will give him a result and can prosecute the country.

“I am very sorry that Milei, who is seen to be very impulsive and very run over, kicked the doorstay because he relaxed Lula. He has every right to think what he wants, but a man at the head of a country cannot say that of a neighboring country. The relationship has been screwed up,” he says during an interview with the EFE Agency.

There he also talks about the situation in Argentina and assures that “he has many problems” that he hopes he can overcome, while emphasizing that Uruguay “it is in the best interest of it.”

“The Argentine middle class who comes to summer here if they can leave a cake of guita (money), work and everything else. That’s a value. A balanced Argentina is convenient for us. Hopefully this project that Milei has will work for him and that Argentina will be caused,” says the former Uruguayan president.

On the other hand, he talks about Brazil and assures that this nation is “in another category” and he has no doubt that it will be a power. “It is the world’s leading producer of meat and soy. Brazil plays on the big court, moves the wheel of the world,” says Mujica.

In that sense, he details that, despite “all the defects” that Mercosur has, Uruguay sells more to São Paulo than to any European country.

“We sell added value to Brazil. We sell chocolate to Brazil, which is more or less like selling ice to the Eskimos,” Mujica emphasizes.

Finally, the former Uruguayan president assures that the tensions in the region weaken it against the world and emphasizes the importance of the joint work of both countries.

“One thing is a proposal that Brazil and Argentina do together and another thing is that they do it separately. That doesn’t mean that we have to go to the kisses or we agree one hundred percent. It means that you have to have a diplomatic position that suits the region,” he concludes.

The US Government imposed sanctions against 16 companies and 8 individuals linked to Iran’s drone program and its distribution to Russia for the war in Ukraine.

The United States also identified five ships and a plane as a blocked property.

Washington justified these measures against companies and individuals for “having facilitated the illicit trade and sale of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in support of the Ministry of Defense of Iran.”

Among the sanctioned entities is ‘Sahara Thunder’, which according to a statement from the State Department, is the main company that oversees the commercial activities of Modafl, the logistics branch of the Iranian Ministry of Defense.

“‘Sahara Thunder’ also plays a key role in the design, development, manufacture and sale of thousands of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) by Iran, many of which are finally transferred to Russia for use in its war of aggression against Ukraine,” the United States said.

In its measure today, the United States also sanctioned several members of the leadership of this company identified as Kazem Mirzai Kondori, Hossein Bakshayesh and Hojat Abdulahi Fard.

Likewise, the United States sanctioned a network of Iranian logistics companies and other countries from which Modafl and ‘Sahara Thunder’ would have been used for the international trade of drones to Russia, China or Venezuela.

Among them several companies from India, the United Arab Emirates and Iran that operate ships with the flag of the Cook Islands and also from Palau.

As a result of the sanctions, the properties and assets that those people or companies have in U.S. territory are blocked, and Americans are prohibited from having transactions with them.