International
Elon Musk calls Australia “fascist” for plan against disinformation on social networks
The owner of the X platform, Elon Musk, called Australia “fascist” for proposing a law to fine social networks and digital platforms with 5% of their global income for spreading misleading or false news that causes serious damage.
“Fascist” Musk wrote on Thursday night on his X account, when sharing the news about this bill presented by the Canberra Executive to combat the serious damage caused by the distribution of misinformation and misinformation in the safety, health and well-being of Australians, as well as to the democracy, society and economy of the oceanic country.
The answer from Australia
For the assistant of the Australian Ministry of the Treasury, Stephen Jones, Musk’s comments are “crapid,” as he told the Australian public broadcaster ABC when he stressed that the bill responds to the exercise of the “sovereignty” of his country, as of any other, to keep its citizens “safe from scammers, safe from criminals.”
“I don’t understand how Elon Musk or anyone else, in the name of freedom of expression, thinks it’s okay to have social media platforms that publish content about scams (…) ultra-fake news, child pornography or live broadcast murder scenes,” he said.
“Is this what he believes freedom of expression is?” Jones said, alluding to Musk’s reaction when the Electronic Security Commissioner in Australia, Inman Grant, ordered social networks last April to remove the videos related to a stabbing of a bishop in an Assyrian church in Sydney, which the authorities described as terrorist.
X, who considered that the order was an attack on freedom of expression, only geoblocked the images in Australia, which motivated the commissioner to go to court to have the material removed worldwide, although she withdrew the lawsuit two months later on the grounds of wanting to focus on other pending trials.
Musk’s criticisms
Last night’s criticism from Musk refers to the 2024 Draft Amendment to the Communications Legislation (Fight against Misinformation and Misinformation), which was presented on Thursday to the Parliament in Canberra.
With the law, the Canberra Executive plans to give more powers to supervise and regulate the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which may impose a code of conduct, although it may not be able to withdraw individual content, among other measures.
This proposal is part of a series of initiatives that have been announced or presented to Parliament against ‘doxing’ (reveying information about a person online without their consent), online fraud, and the imposition of age limits for accessing social networks.
International
Mexico Arrests CJNG Leader “El Jardinero” in Nayarit
Mexican authorities arrested Audias Flores, known as “El Jardinero,” on Monday during a naval operation in the western state of Nayarit, delivering another major blow to the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
Flores was considered one of the top regional leaders within the cartel and had reportedly overseen criminal operations along Mexico’s Pacific coast. Security analysts viewed him as a potential successor to slain drug kingpin Nemesio Oseguera.
The arrest was carried out by Mexico’s Navy Special Forces in a planned operation, according to Security Minister Omar García Harfuch.
The United States Department of the Treasury had previously identified Flores as a “significant foreign narcotics trafficker,” while U.S. authorities offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture and extradition.
A U.S. grand jury indicted Flores in 2021 on charges including conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin.
His capture comes months after the reported death of “El Mencho,” an operation that Mexican authorities considered a priority due to the cartel leader’s alleged involvement in a 2020 assassination attempt against García Harfuch.
International
Suspect Armed With Shotgun and Knives Detained at White House Correspondents Dinner
U.S. authorities confirmed Saturday that the suspect who stormed into the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner while President Donald Trump was attending acted alone, adding that there is no ongoing threat to the public following the incident, which left one Secret Service agent injured.
Acting Metropolitan Police Department chief Jeff Carroll said during a press conference that the suspect was carrying “a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives” when he attempted to pass through a Secret Service security checkpoint inside the hotel lobby at approximately 8:36 p.m. local time.
“At this point, everything indicates that this was a lone actor, a lone gunman,” Carroll stated, adding that investigators have found no preliminary evidence suggesting the involvement of additional suspects.
During the exchange of gunfire inside the hotel corridors, the suspect was not struck by bullets but was subdued by law enforcement officers and later transported to a hospital for medical evaluation.
A member of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division was shot during the incident, though the bullet was stopped by the officer’s ballistic vest, preventing serious injuries. The agent was taken to a hospital and is reportedly “in good spirits,” according to Carroll.
The shooting prompted the immediate evacuation of President Trump, Melania Trump, and several senior officials attending the event after multiple gunshots were heard outside the hotel’s main ballroom.
International
U.S. allows Venezuela to fund Maduro and Cilia Flores’ legal defense
Until now, the U.S. administration had blocked the Venezuelan government from covering the legal fees of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who is also jailed and facing drug trafficking charges, due to international sanctions imposed on Venezuela.
The couple’s legal team had relied on that argument in an attempt to have the indictment dismissed, claiming that preventing a defendant from accessing counsel of their choice violates rights guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
However, the U.S. Treasury Department will now allow “defense attorneys to receive payments from the Government of Venezuela under certain conditions,” New York prosecutor Jay Clayton wrote in a letter dated Friday to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case.
According to the letter, the funds must have become available after March 5, 2026, and cannot come from Venezuelan oil sales regulated in the United States.
Since Maduro’s removal from power in early January, former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has served as Venezuela’s interim leader.
The United States effectively controls Venezuelan crude exports, with revenues deposited into special accounts supervised by Washington.
Court documents filed on Friday show that the defense acknowledged the sanctions exemption and, for now, withdrew its motion seeking dismissal of the charges.
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