International
U.S. officials discuss fentanyl and migration in Mexico
October 5 |
Senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, were in Mexico on Wednesday for talks with Mexican officials on drug trafficking and a humanitarian crisis on the U.S. southern border.
Blinken will be joined by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. The U.S. delegation will meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Rosa Icela Rodriguez, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection.
The meeting comes at a time of growing tension between the two nations. The United States is in the midst of an opioid addiction epidemic that claims more than 100,000 lives each year. Most of the deaths are attributable to fentanyl, a potent narcotic trafficked across the border by Mexico-based drug cartels.
At the same time, the southern border of the United States faces a daily flood of migrants, often in the thousands, who use Mexico as a jumping-off point for their efforts to enter the United States, either illegally or to seek asylum as refugees.
The dual problem has led some U.S. political leaders to call for aggressive action, with several Republican candidates for the presidential nomination advocating military intervention.
Fentanyl charges
In an indication of the global nature of the fentanyl problem, Garland held a press conference at the Justice Department on Tuesday and announced that charges had been filed against eight Chinese companies and 12 individuals for their role in selling fentanyl precursors – the chemical compounds. from which the drug is synthesized – to buyers in Mexico.
It was the second time since June that the United States has brought charges against Chinese companies supplying fentanyl precursors to criminal organizations in Mexico.
“We know who is responsible for poisoning the American people with fentanyl,” Garland said. “And we know that this global fentanyl supply chain, which ends in the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China.”
As of August of this year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized more than 25,500 pounds of fentanyl entering the U.S., nearly double the amount seized in the same period last year. The amount of fentanyl seized in the US has increased by 800% since 2019, according to the Department of Homeland Security, with most of it coming from Mexico.
Unlike other drugs, such as cocaine and marijuana, whose raw materials must be grown on acres of farmland, fentanyl labs are small and easy to hide. And because the drug is so potent (50 times more potent than heroin), it is also easier to transport.
In addition, the United States and Mexico are looking for ways to cooperate on the issue of human migration. In recent years, the flow of economic migrants and asylum seekers through Mexico to the U.S. border has become a flood.
After plummeting to fewer than 500,000 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, attempts to cross the southern border, whether legally or illegally, have skyrocketed in recent years. In 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials encountered 1.7 million people attempting to cross the southern land border. That number increased to 2.4 million in 2022, and the numbers for 2023 are on track to be even higher.
Mexican resistance
Among other actions, U.S. officials are expected to ask their Mexican counterparts to deploy more law enforcement personnel to interdict shipments of fentanyl precursors and shut down laboratories where the drug is produced.
The reception is likely to be cool. The Mexican government, including López Obrador, has openly criticized U.S. politicians who campaign on drug and immigration issues, accusing them of making their country a scapegoat for the United States’ own problem.
López Obrador has referred to the opioid epidemic in the United States as a result of “social decadence.”
Central America
Senator Van Hollen Meets with Deported MS-13 Member in El Salvador; Trump and Bukele React
U.S. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, representing the state of Maryland, held a meeting in El Salvador with deported MS-13 gang member Kilmar Ábrego García, a member of the criminal group classified by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization.
“Kilmar Ábrego García, miraculously resurrected from the ‘extermination camps’ and ‘torture chambers,’ now sipping margaritas with Senator Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!” wrote President Nayib Bukeleon X (formerly Twitter), sharing photos of Van Hollen, Ábrego García, and a lawyer sitting together at a Salvadoran hotel.
The deported gang member is seen wearing a plaid shirt and a flat-brimmed cap, seated at a table with glasses and coffee cups. The senator also shared images of the meeting on his own social media accounts.
Bukele reaffirmed that Ábrego will remain in El Salvador and will not be returned to the United States.
“Now that his health has been confirmed, he has earned the honor of remaining under the custody of El Salvador,” Bukele added.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the senator’s meeting with Ábrego on Truth Social, calling Van Hollen “a fool” for advocating for Ábrego’s return to the U.S.
International
Pope Francis Appears for Easter Blessing, Calls for Peace and Religious Freedom
Pope Francis, still recovering from pneumonia, appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Easter Sunday and, with a faint voice, wished a “Happy Easter” to the thousands of faithful gathered to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ.
A month after being discharged from a lengthy hospital stay, the presence of the 88-year-old pontiff had remained uncertain, with the Vatican not confirming his attendance ahead of time.
Eventually, the pope made a brief appearance in a wheelchair shortly after 12:00 p.m. (10:00 GMT) to deliver his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing (“to the city and to the world”).
Although no longer wearing an oxygen cannula, the Argentine Jesuit relied on a close aide to read his Easter message, which touched on major global conflicts.
Francis condemned the “dramatic and unworthy humanitarian crisis” in Gaza and called for a ceasefire, while also expressing concern over the “growing climate of antisemitism spreading across the globe.”
He further emphasized the importance of religious freedom and freedom of thought, stating that without mutual respect, “peace is not possible.”
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.
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Pope Francis Appears for Easter Blessing, Calls for Peace and Religious Freedom
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