Will Trump strike drug cartels he says ‘run’ Mexico?

President Donald Trump has boosted the US military presence along the border with Mexico and left open the possibility of drone strikes against drug trafficking groups that he designated terrorist organizations.In March, he vowed in Congress to “wage war” on Mexican drug cartels that he said posed a grave threat to national security.How far is Trump willing to go to curb drug flows from a country he says is run by the cartels?- What steps is Trump taking? – After returning to office in January, Trump declared an emergency along the 3,100-kilometer (1,900-mile) border and ordered the deployment of thousands of troops to beef up security.In March, he ordered the deployment of two warships to support the border mission.Trump also announced the creation of a “national defense area” stretching more than 170 miles (270 kilometers) along the frontier to enable the army to support border patrols.”I think they need help,” Trump said last week in an interview with The Blaze, a conservative media outlet, referring to Mexico.Asked whether he would take military action even if Mexico did not want it, Trump said: “You could say at some point, maybe something’s going to have to happen.”Vanda Felbab-Brown, a security expert at the Washington-based Brookings Institute, thinks that “the threat of air strikes or drone strikes is very realistic. It was very popular among Republican politicians,” she said.”That said, it also serves as a coercive technique” to encourage Mexican action against drug trafficking, she told AFP.Raul Benitez, an expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, sees Trump’s warnings as a “show of force.””They are not immediate or direct threats” against Mexico, he said.- How is Mexico responding? –  Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has said she would oppose US military attacks on cartels, while ordering thousands more troops to the border to fight drug trafficking.She also confirmed that the United States had been operating drones spying on Mexican cartels as part of a collaboration that has existed for years.The flights were “gathering a large amount of information that will help develop a target inventory,” said Inigo Guevara, an expert at defense intelligence company Janes. In February, Mexico extradited some of its most notorious imprisoned drug lords to the United States in a bid to avert Trump’s tariffs.Eager to highlight its efforts to reduce trafficking, Sheinbaum’s government has announced the seizure of 144 tons of drugs, including two million fentanyl pills, since October. It has also underscored a sharp fall in migrant arrivals at its northern border.At the same time, Sheinbaum pushed a reform through Congress that means foreign agents engaging in covert actions in Mexico are at risk of imprisonment.-  Would US strikes work? -US drone strikes are unlikely to be very effective and would be politically explosive because they would undermine cooperation between Mexico and the United States, Felbab-Brown warned.”They can destroy labs, but they are very easy to resurrect. They could take out high value targets, but that’s no different than Mexican forces taking them down,” she said.Guevara said US strikes “would be a leap back of more than a hundred years,” referring to a 1916 invasion by US troops to capture revolutionary Pancho Villa after he carried out a cross-border raid.Despite the resentment generated by Trump’s remarks in Mexico, experts point to the close ties between the two countries’ militaries, including the training of Mexican officers in the United States.”Trump’s rhetoric usually begins exaggeratedly high to create alarm and force his counterpart into swift action,” Guevara said.But at the operational level, cooperation with the United States was expected to give Mexico an “unparalleled capability” to fight organized crime, he added.

Cuba: le dissident José Daniel Ferrer à nouveau arrêté

L’opposant historique cubain José Daniel Ferrer et un autre dissident ont été arrêtés mardi à Cuba après la révocation de la mesure de libération conditionnelle qui leur avait été accordée en janvier. José Daniel Ferrer, 54 ans, et Felix Navarro, 72 ans, avaient été remis en liberté dans le cadre d’un accord négocié avec le Vatican après le retrait de l’île de la liste noire américaine des pays soutenant le terrorisme par l’ex-président américain Joe Biden, qui prévoyait la libération de 553 prisonniers cubains. Donald Trump a par la suite réinscrit Cuba sur cette liste.La justice a révoqué “la liberté conditionnelle de deux condamnés, appartenant au groupe des 553, qui n’ont pas respecté ce qui est établi par la loi pendant la période probatoire à laquelle ils étaient soumis”, a annoncé la Cour suprême dans un communiqué, en citant le cas des deux dissidents, mais sans préciser leur lieu de détention.José Daniel Ferrer, fondateur du mouvement Union patriotique de Cuba (Unpacu) et défenseur de la lutte pacifique en faveur d’un changement démocratique sur l’île, avait été remis en liberté le 16 janvier à Santiago de Cuba (est).Sa sœur, Ana Belkis Ferrer, installée aux Etats-Unis, a indiqué sur X que les forces de sécurité avaient “attaqué (mardi matin) le siège principal de l’Unpacu” installé au domicile du dissident, et avaient “emmené” José Daniel Ferrer, son épouse et leur fils, ainsi que des militants de son organisation “vers des lieux inconnus”. L’épouse et le fils du dissident ont ensuite été relâchés après “plusieurs heures” de détention, selon elle.M. Ferrer a été emprisonné le 11 juillet 2021, tandis qu’il tentait de rejoindre les manifestations antigouvernementales historiques qui secouaient le pays. Un tribunal avait mis fin à sa liberté conditionnelle et l’avait renvoyé en prison pour terminer de purger une peine de quatre ans et demi à laquelle il avait été condamné en 2020.- Convocations – Mardi, la Cour suprême a justifié la décision de révoquer à nouveau la mesure de liberté conditionnelle en indiquant qu’il ne s’était pas rendu à deux convocations judiciaires.”Non seulement il ne s’est pas présenté, mais il a également annoncé (…) sur les réseaux sociaux, en défi flagrant et violation de la loi, qu’il ne comparaîtrait pas devant l’autorité judiciaire”, a ajouté la Cour.Depuis sa remise en liberté, le dissident a défié les autorités en critiquant le pouvoir communiste sur les réseaux sociaux. Il a également mis en place une cantine à son domicile pour accueillir des indigents, financée par des Cubains de l’étranger. Il avait indiqué à l’AFP que les autorités n’appréciaient pas son activisme social car cela mettait en évidence la pauvreté de certains habitants.Felix Navarro, remis en liberté le 18 janvier dans le cadre de l’accord passé avec le Vatican et habitant à une centaine de kilomètres de La Havane, a également vu sa mesure de liberté conditionnelle révoquée pour avoir “quitté à sept reprises sa commune sans demander l’autorisation du juge d’application des peines”. Il “a été arrêté chez lui à 6H30 du matin (…)”, a déclaré sur X l’opposant Manuel Cuesta Morrua. – “Printemps noir” -Les deux hommes ont fait partie des 75 opposants arrêtés en 2003 lors du “Printemps noir”, une vague de répression contre la dissidence. Ils avaient été libérés en 2011.Le département d’Etat américain, par la voix de sa porte-parole Tammy Bruce, a dénoncé “le traitement brutal et la détention injuste” de “patriotes cubains”.La Cour suprême a également affirmé que les deux dissidents “maintiennent des liens publics avec le chargé d’affaires de l’ambassade des États-Unis à Cuba”, Mike Hammer, en poste depuis novembre 2024. Depuis le début de l’année, le diplomate a rendu visite à plusieurs dissidents dans différentes provinces de l’île. Lundi, il a rencontré à Santa Clara (centre) l’opposant Coco Fariñas, récompensé en 2010 par le prix Sakharov, distinction de l’Union européenne pour les droits humains, a indiqué mardi l’ambassade des Etats-Unis à La Havane. “Cuba a-t-elle le droit de (…) s’opposer à ce que le diplomate en chef des États-Unis à La Havane soit un activiste qui encourage les Cubains à agir contre leur pays ? (…) Telle est la question”, a déclaré sur X en anglais, le vice-ministre cubain des Affaires étrangères, Carlos Fernandez de Cossio.Cuba nie l’existence de prisonniers politiques et accuse les opposants d’être des “mercenaires” à la solde des Etats-Unis.

Trump fires Kamala Harris’s husband from Holocaust board

US President Donald Trump has removed Doug Emhoff, husband of his former rival Kamala Harris, from the Holocaust Memorial Council board, drawing an angry reaction.Emhoff, who is married to the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee and former vice president, campaigned against anti-Semitism as part of the administration of Joe Biden, who appointed him to the board.”Let me be clear: Holocaust remembrance and education should never be politicized,” Emhoff, who is Jewish, posted on Tuesday, confirming his dismissal.”To turn one of the worst atrocities in history into a wedge issue is dangerous — and it dishonors the memory of six million Jews murdered by Nazis that this museum was created to preserve.”Since taking office, Trump has looked beyond politics to impose his brand of right-wing populism on cultural and educational institutions such as Washington’s prestigious Kennedy Center and Harvard University.He has also sought to settle scores with perceived adversaries — targeting law firms associated with his political foes, such as Emhoff’s employer, Willkie Farr & Gallagher.Several other former officials removed from the Holocaust board include Biden’s White House chief of staff Ron Klain, domestic policy advisor Susan Rice and an aide to former first lady Jill Biden, The New York Times reported.The White House Presidential Personnel Office sent an email to council members early Tuesday, according to the Times, which read: “(On) behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council is terminated, effective immediately.”The council was established by Congress in 1980 to lead the country in commemorating the Holocaust, launching the Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993.Emhoff said his commitment to Holocaust remembrance and education, as well as to combating hate and anti-Semitism, remained undiminished. “I will continue to speak out, to educate, and to fight hate in all its forms because silence is never an option,” he said.

C1: Dembélé, leader au rendez-vous

Absent lors de la défaite en octobre, Ousmane Dembélé a cette fois rempli son rôle de leader d’attaque du PSG mardi en demi-finale aller de Ligue des champions face à Arsenal, en étant décisif dès le début du match (1-0), un but qui rapproche Paris de son rêve de finale.Étrangement seul, il lui a suffit d’un ballon pour faire la différence et faire danser les Gunners: à l’origine de l’action, l’ancien Barcelonais est monté balle au pied, a fixé la défense, a décalé à gauche pour Kvaratskhelia, qui lui a remis en retrait dans la surface. Du gauche, sans contrôle et aidé par le poteau, il a trompé le gardien David Raya sur son premier tir (1-0, 4e).Comme un symbole, les deux attaquants parisiens n’étaient pas présents cet automne: “Kvara” jouait encore à Naples et “Dembouz” avait été écarté par Luis Enrique à cause d’un problème de comportement.Les deux attaquants ont conclu une action collective de haut niveau avec 26 passes et neuf joueurs de champs sur dix sollicités, selon le statisticien Opta.Célébrant le doigt sur la bouche et l’air rageur, les yeux froncés, Dembélé a voulu faire taire les critiques qui ont commencé à naître ces derniers matches, alors qu’il était moins clinique dans la surface.Pour le premier match de sa carrière à l’Emirates stadium, l’international français, qui n’avait plus marqué depuis le 1er avril en Coupe de France a donc relancé son compteur au moment idoine car il était attendu pour cette première manche si importante dans l’histoire du PSG. Il a inscrit son 28e but depuis son replacement en numéro 9 par Luis Enrique: aucun attaquant n’a fait mieux en Europe sur la même période, sachant qu’il a été décisif 45 fois (buts et passes décisives) en 45 matches cette saison avec le PSG. Comme face à City et Liverpool, il a été à la hauteur de l’évènement, réussissant à faire tomber Arsenal chez lui, avant de sortir épuisé à la 70e minute, suscitant quelques inquiétudes.”Je ne peux rien vous dire, il y aura des examens médicaux demain (mercredi). Ce n’est rien de grave mais il y a un doute pour le match retour”, a répondu Luis Enrique après le match.- J’ai senti quelque chose mais ça va” -Après le match, Dembélé est revenu sur le terrain en claquettes et sans boiter. Puis, il a glissé à plusieurs médias dont l’AFP “J’ai senti quelque chose mais ça va”, avant de monter dans le bus du PSG.Précieux dans le pressing sur le gardien et l’arrière-garde londonienne, il a continué de décrocher beaucoup au cours du match. Ces efforts l’ont rendu plus discret en attaque, même s’il a été tout proche de délivrer une passe décisive à Désiré Doué (31e), puis à Achraf Hakimi, bien pris et qui n’a pas pu reprendre le ballon (60e). Il a donc été le leader que le PSG attendait et qu’il est depuis la sanction d’octobre de Luis Enrique, qui l’a replacé entre-temps en N.9. Impeccable sur le terrain, donnant l’exemple dans le pressing et haranguant régulièrement ses coéquipiers, il est aussi important dans le vestiaire. “Le leader du PSG, je ne sais pas, mais l’un des cadres, je pense”, a-t-il expliqué avant le déplacement à Aston Villa (2-3, le 15 avril en quarts de finale retour), “je le vis très bien. Je suis resté moi-même, comme d’habitude. J’essaie d’encourager les joueurs les plus jeunes, même les plus anciens aussi”.Pour le milieu Vitinha, Dembélé “est un leader par l’exemple”.”La façon dont il est à 100 % dans les matches nous donne envie de l’aider et de donner plus sur le terrain”, a-t-il confié lundi.Avant la seconde manche mercredi prochain au Parc des Princes et une éventuelle finale le 31 mai à Munich, l’attaquant parisien a réussi le pari de faire totalement oublier son copain, Kylian Mbappé, parti au Real Madrid l’été dernier.Les statistiques parlent pour lui: il est impliqué dans 11 buts (8 buts et 3 passes) cette saison en Ligue des champions, égalant l’ex-star parisienne lors de la saison 2020-2021. 

Weinstein sex attack accuser tells court he ‘humiliated’ her

Miriam Haleyi told jurors at Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault and rape retrial Tuesday that the mogul “humiliated” her and reduced her to tears, recounting to the court her ordeal, the disclosure of which fired the “MeToo” movement.Haleyi previously worked for Weinstein and her testimony was key to his conviction in 2020, subsequently overturned by an appeals court triggering the retrial at which she began to testify Tuesday. She will take the stand again Wednesday.The former Miramax studio boss is charged with the 2006 sexual assault of former production assistant Haleyi and the 2013 rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann. He also faces a new count for an alleged sexual assault of a 19-year-old in 2006.Ahead of 48-year-old Haleyi’s evidence, her lawyer Gloria Allred told journalists: “It is a big sacrifice for her to return to New York in terms of time, emotionally, to have to relive again what she alleged happened to her many years ago in 2006.””But she’s willing to do it. I’m very proud of her. She’s doing it for only one reason — because it’s for the cause of justice,” Allred said.Assistant District Attorney Shannon Lucey recounted Weinstein’s alleged attacks in graphic detail during opening statements, saying all three women had begged him to stop, but that he had “all the power… He made all these women feel small.”Prosecutors have described how Weinstein pestered Haleyi with multiple requests for massages and sexual favors before she found herself alone with him in an apartment one day in 2006.They detailed how Weinstein then forced himself on Haleyi, performing oral sex on her despite her pleas for him to stop.The award-winning movie producer, who was brought into the Manhattan criminal court in a wheelchair and wore a dark business suit, looked somber at times during the proceedings.Accusers describe the impresario as a predator who used his perch atop the cinema industry to pressure actresses and assistants for sexual favors, often in hotel rooms.But Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s defense attorney, has argued that the jury would hear no evidence of the use of force or a lack of consent.Presentation of the evidence in the retrial is expected to last five to six weeks.Weinstein’s 2020 convictions over Haleyi and Mann were overturned last year by the New York Court of Appeals, which ruled that the way witnesses were handled in the original New York trial was unlawful.The 73-year-old has said he hopes his case will be judged with “fresh eyes.”Weinstein is already serving a 16-year prison sentence after being convicted of raping and assaulting a European actress more than a decade ago.The producer of a string of box office hits such as “Sex, Lies and Videotape,” “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” Weinstein has battled health issues.He has never acknowledged any wrongdoing and has always maintained that the encounters were consensual.

Global stocks mostly rise as Trump grants auto tariff relief

Global stocks mostly rose despite fresh signs of a tariff hit to corporate earnings, while Wall Street cheered President Donald Trump’s moves to soften the levies hitting automakers.Trump’s pivot includes limitations on the impact of multiple tariffs on carmakers and a measure to allow carmakers to offset a portion of the levy for two years.All three major US indices posted solid gains, with the S&P 500 adding 0.6 percent.Investors are “encouraged by the Trump decision to be a little more flexible (…) with the autos,” said CFRA Research’s Sam Stovall, who predicted stocks could go higher.”There’s definitely uncertainty, but I believe that the risk is to the upside, meaning that the market has already priced in the impact of the tariffs,” he said.In Europe, the London FTSE 100 index and Frankfurt’s DAX closed higher but the Paris CAC 40 ended in the red.Stocks moved sideways on Monday after notching four straight positive sessions last week as Trump adopted a more conciliatory posture on the trade war with China and said he doesn’t plan to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.But tariff talk has been prominent during earnings season.In Europe, shares in Volvo Cars sank nearly 10 percent after it announced plans to cut costs by almost $2 billion, including through job cuts, as its profits fall.”Tougher market conditions and lower volumes combined with increased price pressure and tariff effects are impacting profitability,” Volvo Cars chief executive Hakan Samuelsson said.Shares in German sportswear giant Adidas fell 2.8 percent as it warned that tariffs would increase prices for its products in the United States.British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said it has begun to move some of its European production to the United States, ahead of Trump’s possible tariffs on the sector, helping its shares rise 0.9 percent.Amazon shares initially slid nearly two percent after the White House slammed the online retailer over a report in Punchbowl News that it would soon tell consumers how much Trump’s tariffs have contributed to the price tag on its goods, branding it a “hostile and political act”. Without fully denying the Punchbowl report, Amazon released a statement saying its low-cost Amazon Haul store had “considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products.” “This was never approved and is not going to happen,” said the statement from Amazon, which finished down 0.2 percent.Elsewhere, oil prices fell further on Tuesday on fears that global trade tensions may lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would hamper energy demand. – Key figures at 2130 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 40,527.62 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.6 percent at 5,560.83 (close)New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.6 percent at 17,461.32 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,463.46 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.2 percent at 7,555.87 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 22,425.83 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 22,008.11 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,286.65 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: Closed for a holidayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1390 from $1.1420 on MondayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3399 from $1.3441 Dollar/yen: UP at 142.22 yen from 142.01 yenEuro/pound: UP at 85.08 pence from 84.96 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.6 percent at $60.42 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.4 percent at $64.25 per barrelburs-jmb/dw  

‘Beautiful job’: Trump faithful applaud president at 100-day mark

With music blasting and flags flying, supporters of Donald Trump celebrated his barnstorming first 100 days back in office as they gathered in Michigan in a party-like atmosphere to see the US president speak.”He’s done a beautiful job,” said seller Donna Fitzsimons, 65, as she prepared an array of Trump merchandise — including special “I Was There!” badges to mark Tuesday’s milestone.Throngs of people, many sporting Trump’s famous red baseball cap, filed into the Macomb Community College venue just north of US carmaking hub Detroit and near the border of American friend-turned-foe Canada.Tunes blared on speakers in the car park, including a cover of the Y.M.C.A song that Trump favors at his rallies, which instead spelled out “MAGA” in its chorus — Make American Great Again.The event marks 100 hectic days in the White House dominated by an immigration crackdown, sweeping levies and a wider right-wing agenda that has pitted Trump against the courts amid complaints of executive overreach.”He’s taken quick action on things,” said janitor Kyle Murphy, 45, who praised Trump for “calling out wokeness” and the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by his billionaire ally Elon Musk.Steve Camber, a 60-year-old retired nurse, agreed: “No one can do anything in 100 days that quickly. But I think he’s doing really good, and DOGE is doing amazing things.”Tuesday’s event marked Trump’s return to his campaign trail stomping grounds in blue-collar Macomb County, which helped him win the crucial swing state of Michigan.- ‘Love’ -For some attendees, it was a chance to show their love for the Republican leader.”Any opportunity to see our president is exciting for me,” said Lisa Reeves, a 55-year-old decorator, who sported a sparkly MAGA hat.”We love President Trump and his family. We just love their heart for America and the morality that they have for this country.”Still, some at Tuesday’s event voiced reservations about Trump’s actions, as opinion polls have shown a slump in support for the US president since January.Nelly Nkouka, 40, who moved to America from Congo in 2005, said she liked that Trump was “honest” but was hesitant about his large-scale deportation of migrants.”I think everybody needs a chance to be here,” the care home supervisor said. “Somebody needs to talk to him about it, to let people have an American dream.”Zaid Hanif, 29, said he backed Trump’s clampdown on the southern US border but was disappointed about his coziness with Israel, and his failure to make China concede in the countries’ ongoing trade war.Still, he was confident that Trump could fix the economic turbulence triggered by stop-start tariffs policies that advocates say will boost American industry.”Obviously the economy is not too good right now but to fix it, if you’re not feeling well, you’re going to take some medicine, and medicine doesn’t always taste the best,” said Hanif, a textiles business owner.Fitzsimons, the merchandise seller, agreed: “It takes time to get to where you need to go… Let it play out.”