International
Trump defends the deportation of hundreds of immigrants in his first days in office
US President Donald Trump highlighted on Monday the “hundreds of illegal criminal immigrants” deported during their first days in office, including, he said, members of the transnational organization Tren de Aragua and the Mara Salvatrucha gang.
Trump closed today the first day of an annual conference of Republican congressmen held at his hotel in Doral, a neighboring city of Miami and South Florida, where he has reviewed the first executive and political orders he has implemented, including the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the abolition in the Federal Administration of equity and gender programs, in pursuit of a return of “meritocracy”.
But there has been a topic that has implied a good stretch of the speech of more than an hour he has offered in Florida has been that of the measures against immigration that he has implemented and the deportations of hundreds of “criminal immigrants”, many of whom are repeat offenders.
“They are more violent than our own criminals,” said the Republican, who added that he is analyzing the possibility of establishing the death penalty for undocumented people who commit murders.
The US immigration authorities have arrested at least 2,382 undocumented immigrants in the first week of the Republican’s mandate and issued 1,797 arrest warrants against citizens susceptible to being deported, according to official figures.
Trump also referred to the crisis raised over the weekend with his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, by his refusal to accept two repatriation flights, before which the US announced the imposition of general tariffs of 25%, among other measures. Hours later, the White House announced that the Colombian Executive agreed to the terms.
“He said: ‘This is not the way to treat people.’ You would have to say that these are murderers, drug traffickers, gang members, the toughest people you have ever met or seen. How would you like to be a pilot of that plane?” Trump joked.
The president said that he is working with Congress on a bill to allocate funds “to totally and permanently restore the sovereign borders of the United States once and for all.”
This project, he added, should include funding for “a record increase in border security personnel” and bonuses for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) staff and for its operational arm, the Border Patrol.”
He defended that the automotive industry returns to produce in the country, rather than importing from Mexico or China, otherwise it will impose tariffs, an idea that he defends as a mechanism to defend the American population: “Our country is going to be rich again,” he said.
He also warned that although they work on legislation in the face of budget cuts, he will not sign any law that would cut “a single penny” to funds for Social Security and Medicare. “We are not going to touch those benefits,” he stressed.
He also kept his promise not to apply taxes to tips.
“I think we will have many victories, but we must stay united. This Congress will be remembered as the most successful in the United States,” promised the Republican, who precisely has a majority of his party in both chambers.
He was aware, however, that the long-term legislative agenda would require almost unanimous party cohesion.
In the middle of his speech, Trump commented again in a joking tone about the possibility of running for a third term, a scenario unfeasible for unconstitutional, although the Republican legislator for Tennessee Andy Ogles has already proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow that scenario.
Internacionales
Erik Prince Backs Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa in Fight Against Crime and “Narcoterrorism”
Erik Prince, the founder of the private security firm Blackwater (now called Academi), expressed his support for Daniel Noboa, the president and re-election candidate in Ecuador, and stated that he hopes to continue working together in the fight against crime.
“I hope Ecuador chooses law and order. We are here to help, to combat gangs, and to provide the tools for the government to restore law and order, peace, and prosperity,” said the former U.S. military member, who arrived in Guayaquil to participate in an operation alongside the Ministers of the Interior, John Reimberg, and Defense, Gian Carlo Loffredo.
Prince did not hold back in his criticism of left-wing governments, such as Venezuela, which he described as a “narco-state with mass drug processing,” while also linking the party Revolución Ciudadana, of which the Correista Luisa González is a member (and who faces Noboa in the second electoral round), as an “ally of Nicolás Maduro.”
Minister Loffredo had already announced on Tuesday that a team from Prince would arrive in the country in the coming days to provide “advisory and training” to security forces, as part of the “strategic alliance” that President Noboa agreed upon with the Blackwater founder to fight against “narcoterrorism,” details of which have not been disclosed.
International
Javier Milei vows to work ‘side by side’ with the U.S. on trade rules
Determined to work “side by side” with the United States, Argentine President Javier Milei announced in Mar-a-Lagothat his government will modify trade regulations to meet the requirements of Donald Trump’s newly imposed tariffs.
Milei arrived in Florida amid the trade war triggered by the latest round of tariff hikes announced by the Republican leader. While many countries are considering retaliation, Milei’s ultraliberal Argentina has opted to adapt instead.
“Argentina will move forward in adjusting its regulations to comply with the reciprocal tariff proposal drafted by President Trump,” Milei stated at the Gala of American Patriots, organized by the Make America Clean Again (MACA) Foundation and the We Fund the Blue NGO, according to his office.
He further explained that Argentina has already met nine out of the 16 necessary requirements and has instructed his administration to comply with the remaining ones in order to resolve trade asymmetries with the U.S. in a short time frame.
International
Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal
Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.
The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.
The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).
“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.
Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”
Erik Prince Backs Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa in Fight Against Crime and “Narcoterrorism”
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Javier Milei vows to work ‘side by side’ with the U.S. on trade rules
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
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