International
Who rings for Trump’s cabinet 2.0?
The appointment of Susie Wiles as chief of staff of the White House is the first position announced by the next president of the United States, Donald Trump, for a second term in which he is expected to surround himself with very loyal collaborators.
Trump, who ended up fighting with many members of his first cabinet, especially after the assault on the Capitol, will have as vice president JD Vance, a senator from Ohio who was critical of him in the past but now fully supports him.
Meanwhile, Wiles, the first woman appointed chief of staff of the White House, one of the most important positions in Washington, has been one of the main advisors of the Republican campaign and Trump himself attributes credit to her for last Tuesday’s victory over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
Elon Musk, Trump’s key ally
One of the people who could have a great prominence is the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, director of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of the social network X, from where he has promoted a strong campaign in favor of the Republican.
Trump offered Musk to run an office for “government efficiency” with the aim of cutting the expenses of the bureaucracy and fulfilling the Republican’s goal of eliminating what he calls the “deep state.”
Kennedy Jr.
Some charge is also expected for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nephew of former Democratic President John F. Kennedy (1961-1963), who withdrew his presidential candidacy as an independent to support Trump, a gesture rejected by the Kennedy dynasty.
This controversial businessman, known for his anti-vaccine positions, has said that he could play an important role in the health policies of the next Trump Administration.
Stephen Miller, one of the great ideologists of Trump’s anti-immigration policy, could also have an important position in the White House.
Attorney General, Trump’s trusted men
One of the most important decisions that the next president must make is the appointment of the attorney general who will lead the Department of Justice and close the two criminal cases that weigh on the Republican for the assault on the Capitol and for having taken classified documents from the White House.
After a tense relationship with the prosecutors of his first term, Jeff Sessions and William Barr, he is expected to choose very loyal people who never turn their backs on him, including Jeff Clark, former deputy attorney general who was charged with Trump for electoral interference in the state of Georgia, or the current Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton.
Secretary of State
One of the names with which the most speculation is made to lead US diplomacy is that of Marco Rubio, a Florida senator who was on the list of possible vice presidents for a second term of the Republican
Rubio, of Cuban origin, exerted from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee a remarkable influence on the policy towards Latin America of Trump’s first term, but some advisors to the future president believe that his ‘hawk’ profile contrasts with the isolationist policy of “United States first” promoted by Trump.
Also in the pools is Richard Grenell, controversial former ambassador of Trump to Germany, a man very loyal to the Republican who was involved in his attempt to reverse his 2020 electoral defeat in the state of Nevada. He also participated in a recent meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Secretary of Defense
Trump is considering the possibility of putting Mike Pompeo at the head of the Pentagon, who was Secretary of State in his first term and is one of the few members of his first cabinet who could repeat in the Government.
Other names on the table are those of Mike Waltz, a Florida congressman and retired National Guard colonel; and Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, who had already sounded as Secretary of Defense for Trump’s first term.
Secretary of the Treasury
At the head of the US Treasury could be Robert Lighthizer, who was already a representative of Foreign Trade in Trump’s first term and is considered a skeptic of free trade and a supporter of the tariff war with China.
Important donors of the Trump campaign also sound for the position, such as businessmen Howard Lutnick, Scott Bessent or John Paulson.
The governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum, is on the list of possible energy secretaries and former Secretary of Education Betsy Devos could return to that department to fulfill Trump’s promise to eliminate it.
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.”
Thousands rally nationwide against Trump’s threat to U.S. democracy
ACLU seeks emergency court order to stop venezuelan deportations under Wartime Law
UN complaint filed against Costa Rica over detention of migrant children
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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