AFP USA

“Weapons,” a new horror film about the mysterious disappearance of a group of children from the same school class, opened atop the North American box office with $42.5 million in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday.”This is an outstanding opening for an original horror film,” analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research said of the Warner Bros. movie starring Julia Garner (“Ozark”) and Josh Brolin (“Avengers: Infinity War”).Debuting in second place was Disney’s “Freakier Friday” starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, the much-anticipated sequel to the 2003 family film in which body-switching leads to amusing hijinks, at $29 million, Exhibitor Relations said.”This is an excellent opening. The estimated weekend figure is well above average for a comedy follow-up sequel, and it’s also well above the first film’s opening 22 years ago,” Gross said.”The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Disney’s debut of the rebooted Marvel Comics franchise, dropped to third place at $15.5 million. Its overall take in the United States and Canada stands at $230.4 million.Actor-of-the-moment Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Emmy-winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn star as the titular team of superheroes, who must save a retro-futuristic world from the evil Galactus.Universal’s family-friendly animation sequel “The Bad Guys 2,” about a squad of goofy animal criminals actually doing good in their rebranded lives, dropped to fourth, earning $10.4 million.Finishing out the top five was Paramount’s reboot of “Naked Gun,” a slapstick comedy starring Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr, son of the bumbling police lieutenant from the original 1980s movie and related television series “Police Squad!”The film, which co-stars Pamela Anderson, pulled in $8.4 million in its second weekend in theaters.Rounding out the top 10 were:”Superman” ($7.8 million)”Jurassic World: Rebirth” ($4.7 million)”F1: The Movie” ($2.8 million)”Together” ($2.6 million)”Sketch” ($2.5 million)

European leaders urged more “pressure” on Russia overnight Saturday, after the announcement of a Trump-Putin summit to end the war in Ukraine raised concern that an agreement would require Kyiv to cede swathes of territory.Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska this Friday to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of negotiations.Announcing the summit last week, Trump said that “there’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” sides, without elaborating.But President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday that Ukraine won’t surrender land to Russia to buy peace.”Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier,” he said on social media.”Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace,” he added.Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies to take “clear steps” towards achieving a sustainable peace during a call with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.European leaders issued a joint statement overnight Saturday to Sunday saying that “only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed”.They welcomed Trump’s efforts, saying they were ready to help diplomatically — by maintaining support to Ukraine, as well as by upholding and imposing restrictive measures against Russia. “The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations”, said the statement, signed by leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain, Finland and EU Commission chief Ursula Von Der Leyen, without giving more details.They also said a resolution “must protect Ukraine’s and Europe’s vital security interests”, including “the need for robust and credible security guarantees that enable Ukraine to effectively defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity”.”The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine,” they said. National security advisors from Kyiv’s allies — including the United States, EU nations and the UK — gathered in Britain Saturday to align their views ahead of the Putin-Trump summit.French President Emmanuel Macron, following phone calls with Zelensky, Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said “the future of Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukrainians” and that Europe also had to be involved in the negotiations.In his evening address Saturday, Zelensky stressed: “There must be an honest end to this war, and it is up to Russia to end the war it started.”- A ‘dignified peace’ -Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine this year have failed to bear fruit.Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes.Putin, a former KGB officer in power in Russia for over 25 years, has ruled out holding talks with Zelensky at this stage.Ukraine’s leader has been pushing for a three-way summit and argues that meeting Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace.The summit in Alaska, the far-north territory which Russia sold to the United States in 1867, would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021.Nine months later, Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.Zelensky said of the location that it was “very far away from this war, which is raging on our land, against our people”. The Kremlin said the choice was “logical” because the state close to the Arctic is on the border between the two countries, and this is where their “economic interests intersect”.Moscow has also invited Trump to pay a reciprocal visit to Russia later. Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump’s first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January, but Trump has failed to broker peace in Ukraine as he promised he could.- Fighting goes on -Russia and Ukraine continued pouring dozens of drones onto each other’s positions in an exchange of attacks in the early hours of Saturday. A bus carrying civilians was hit in Ukraine’s frontline city of Kherson, killing two people and wounding 16.The Russian army claimed to have taken Yablonovka, another village in the Donetsk region, the site of the most intense fighting in the east and one of the five regions Putin says is part of Russia. In 2022, the Kremlin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — despite not having full control over them. As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Moscow demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO.Kyiv said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.burs-jj/gv/tc/fox

Jen Pawol made history by becoming the first woman to umpire in a regular-season Major League Baseball game on Saturday — and she says she is aware of the “magnitude” of the moment.The 48-year-old, who worked in more than 1,200 minor league games before getting the call-up this week, achieved the milestone at Truist Park in Atlanta in the first game of a double-header between the Braves and the Miami Marlins.”I’m aware of the gravity. I’m aware of the magnitude,” said Pawol, who worked at first base.Pawol, whose cap from the historic outing will be donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame, will be calling balls and strikes behind home plate in Sunday’s contest between the clubs.”Just incredible. The dream came true. The dream actually came true today,” Pawol said following the game. “And I’m still living in it.”The historic moment for Pawol came when Atlanta starting pitcher Hurston Waldrep threw the opening pitch. She later inspected Waldrep’s hands for foreign substances as part of her game duties.”Once I started umpiring, I was like, ‘This is for me,'” Pawol recalled before the game. “I can’t explain it. It’s just in my DNA.”This is a viable career, to become a professional umpire, for men and women, girls and boys. I’m able to make a living doing it and I’m passionate about it. I just work harder every day and get better before tomorrow.”In the game, Drake Baldwin singled in two runs and Michael Harris smashed a three-run home run in the seventh inning to lead the Braves over Miami, 7-1.- ‘Long, hard journey’ -Pawol began working as an umpire in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2016 and last year became the first woman umpire in a pre-season spring training game since Ria Cortesio in 2007 before making her historic breakthrough in a regular-season game.”It has been a long, hard journey to the top here,” Pawol said. “I’m just extremely focused on getting my calls right and I’m so grateful to all those along the way who have helped me become a better umpire every day.”MLB’s addition of a female umpire comes 28 years after Violet Palmer became the first woman to referee an NBA game in October 1997.Shannon Eastin was the NFL’s first female on-field official, hired as a replacement when regular officials were locked out in a contract dispute in September 2012.Three years later, Sarah Thomas became the NFL’s first full-time female on-field official and last year, two women worked on the officiating crew of the same game for the first time.Stephanie Frappart of France was the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match when she worked a group stage match in 2022.

Ukraine won’t surrender land to Russia to buy peace, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday, after Washington and Moscow agreed to hold a summit in a bid to end the war.Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska next Friday, to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of negotiations. Announcing the summit on Friday, Trump said that “there’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” sides, without elaborating.Hours later, Zelensky said on social media: “Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier.”Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace,” he added. “They will achieve nothing.” The war “cannot be ended without us, without Ukraine”, he said.Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies to take “clear steps” towards achieving a sustainable peace, during a call with Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.National security advisors from Kyiv’s allies — including the United States, EU nations and the UK — gathered in Britain Saturday to align their views ahead of the Putin-Trump summit.French President Emmanuel Macron, following phone calls with Zelensky, Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said “the future of Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukrainians” and that Europe also had to be involved in the negotiations.UK Foreign Secretary Lammy received US Vice President JD Vance, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, top Zelensky aide Andriy Yermak and European national security advisors.On Saturday, Lammy posted on X: “The UK’s support for Ukraine remains ironclad as we continue working towards a just and lasting peace.”In his evening address Saturday, Zelensky stressed: “There must be an honest end to this war, and it is up to Russia to end the war it started.”- A ‘dignified peace’ -Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine this year have failed to bear fruit, and it remains unclear whether a summit could bring peace any closer as the warring sides’ positions are still far apart.Tens of thousands of people have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with millions forced to flee their homes.Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire.Putin, a former KGB officer in power in Russia for over 25 years, has ruled out holding talks with Zelensky at this stage.Ukraine’s leader has been pushing for a three-way summit and argues that meeting Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace.- Far from the war -The summit in Alaska, the far-north territory which Russia sold to the United States in 1867, would be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva in June 2021.Nine months later, Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.Zelensky said of the location that it was “very far away from this war, which is raging on our land, against our people”. The Kremlin said the choice was “logical” because the state close to the Arctic is on the border between the two countries, and this is where their “economic interests intersect”.Moscow has also invited Trump to pay a reciprocal visit to Russia later. Trump and Putin last sat together in 2019 at a G20 summit meeting in Japan during Trump’s first term. They have spoken by telephone several times since January, but Trump has failed to broker peace in Ukraine as he promised he could.On Friday, Putin held a round of calls with allies, including Brazil, China and India, in a diplomatic flurry ahead of the Alaska summit. In a 40-minute phone conversation Saturday between Putin and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian leader reiterated his support for dialogue “and the pursuit of a peaceful solution”, his office said.Trump has imposed an additional tariff on India for buying Russia’s oil in a bid to nudge Moscow into talks. He has threatened China with a similar tax, but so far has refrained from doing so.- Fighting goes on -Russia and Ukraine continued pouring dozens of drones onto each other’s positions in an exchange of attacks in the early hours of Saturday. A bus carrying civilians was hit in Ukraine’s frontline city of Kherson, killing two people and wounding 16. The Russian army claimed to have taken Yablonovka, another village in the Donetsk region, the site of the most intense fighting in the east and one of the five regions Putin says is part of Russia. Four people were killed as of Saturday morning in Donetsk after Russian shelling, Ukrainian authorities said. In 2022, the Kremlin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — despite not having full control over them. Russia had previously annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.As a prerequisite to any peace settlement, Moscow demanded Kyiv pull its forces out of the regions and commit to being a neutral state, shun Western military support and be excluded from joining NATO.Kyiv said it would never recognise Russian control over its sovereign territory, though it acknowledged that getting land captured by Russia back would have to come through diplomacy, not on the battlefield.burs-jj/gv

An international crew of four astronauts is back home on Earth Saturday after nearly five months aboard the International Space Station, returning safely in a SpaceX capsule.The spacecraft carrying US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov splashed down off California’s coast at 8:44 am local time (1534 GMT). Their return marks the end of the 10th crew rotation mission to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which was created to succeed the Space Shuttle era by partnering with private industry.The Dragon capsule of billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX company detached from the International Space Station (ISS) at 2215 GMT on Friday.When these capsules reenter Earth’s atmosphere, they heat up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,925 Celsius), according to NASA.Atmospheric reentry — then the deployment of huge parachutes when the capsule gets closer to Earth — slows its speed from 17,500 miles (28,100 kilometers ) per hour to just 16 miles per hour.After the capsule splashed down, it was recovered by a SpaceX ship and hoisted aboard. Only then were the astronauts able to breathe Earth’s air again, for the first time in months.The crew will now fly to Houston to be reunited with their families.They conducted numerous scientific experiments during their time on the space station, including studying plant growth, how cells react to gravity, and the effect of microgravity on human eyes.- ‘Bittersweet’ return -NASA acting Administrator Sean Duffy praised the successful mission.”Our crew missions are the building blocks for long-duration, human exploration pushing the boundaries of what’s possible,” he said in a NASA statement.McClain said her farewell to the ISS was “bittersweet” because she may never return.”Every day, this mission depends on people from all over the world,” she wrote on X.”It depends on government and commercial entities, it depends on all political parties, and it depends on commitment to an unchanged goal over many years and decades.”NASA said last month it would lose about 20 percent of its workforce — around 3,900 employees — under cuts from the US President Donald Trump’s sweeping effort to trim the federal workforce.Trump has meanwhile prioritized crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.The Crew-10’s launch into space in March allowed two US astronauts to return home after being unexpectedly stuck aboard the space station for nine months.When they launched in June 2024, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were only supposed to spend eight days in space on a test of the Boeing Starliner’s first crewed flight. However, the spaceship developed propulsion problems and was deemed unfit to fly back, leaving them in space for an indefinite period.NASA announced this week that Wilmore has decided to retire after 25 years of service at the US space agency. Last week, US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov boarded the ISS for a six-month mission. 

US fashion designer Willy Chavarria said Saturday he regrets that sandals he created together with Adidas “appropriated” a traditional design from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.Local authorities had complained that the Oaxaca Slip-On sandals were a “reinterpreted” model of huarache sandals, particularly one found uniquely in the area, which has one of the highest Indigenous populations in the country. Mexico’s government said Friday it was seeking compensation from Adidas.”I deeply regret that this design has appropriated the name and was not developed in direct and meaningful partnership with the Oaxacan community,” Chavarria, who is of Mexican heritage, said in a statement sent to AFP. Chavarria acknowledged that the sandals “did not live up to the respect and collaborative approach” deserved by the community of Villa Hidalgo Yalalag, from where the original design is said to have come.The Mexican government said Friday that Adidas had agreed to meet with Oaxaca authorities.”It’s collective intellectual property. There must be compensation. The heritage law must be complied with,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her regular morning press conference Friday. The controversy is the latest instance of Mexican officials denouncing major brands or designers using unauthorized Indigenous art or designs from the region, with previous complaints raised about fast fashion juggernaut Shein, Spain’s Zara and high-end label Carolina Herrera.

After nearly five months onboard the International Space Station, an international crew of four astronauts began their descent back down to Earth in a SpaceX capsule Friday. US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov are expected to spend more than 17 hours in the capsule before splashing down off California’s coast at 1533 GMT on Saturday.Their return will mark the end of the 10th crew rotation mission to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which was created to succeed the Space Shuttle era by partnering with private industry.The Dragon capsule of billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX company detached from the International Space Station (ISS) at 2215 GMT on Friday.The capsule’s dizzying drop back down to Earth will be slowed when it re-enters the atmosphere — and then again by huge parachutes to soften its landing.After the capsule splashes down, it will be recovered by a SpaceX ship and hoisted aboard. Only then will the astronauts be able to breathe Earth’s air again, for the first time in months.The astronauts, known as Crew-10, conducted numerous scientific experiments during their time on the space station, including studying plant growth and how cells react to gravity.Their launch into space in March was heavily scrutinized because it finally allowed two US astronauts — who had been unexpectedly stuck onboard the space station for nine months — to return home.When they launched in June 2024, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were only supposed to spend eight days in space on a test of the Boeing Starliner’s first crewed flight. However, the spaceship developed propulsion problems and was deemed unfit to fly back, leaving them stranded in space.NASA announced this week that Wilmore has decided to retire after 25 years of service at the US space agency. Last week, US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov boarded the ISS for a six-month mission.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have committed to a lasting peace after decades of conflict, US President Donald Trump said after the South Caucasus rivals signed a deal welcomed on Saturday by Iran and Western nations.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s long-time President Ilham Aliyev said Trump’s mediation should earn him a Nobel Peace Prize — an award the US leader has been vocal about seeking.The two former Soviet republics “are committing to stop all fighting forever, open up commerce, travel and diplomatic relations and respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Trump said at a White House signing event on Friday.However, the fine print and binding nature of the deal between the long-time foes remained unclear.The two leaders would have a “great relationship,” Trump said.”But if there’s conflict… they’re going to call me and we’re going to get it straightened out,” he said.Christian-majority Armenia and Muslim-majority Azerbaijan have feuded for decades over their border and the status of ethnic enclaves within each other’s territories.They went to war twice over the disputed Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured from Armenian forces in a lightning 2023 offensive, sparking the exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.- ‘Historic signature’ -The Azerbaijan and Armenian leaders shook hands under the satisfied gaze of Trump before all three signed a document the White House called a “joint declaration.”Aliyev hailed the “historic signature” between two “countries which were at war for more than three decades.” “We are today establishing peace in the Caucasus,” he said.Aliyev offered to send a joint appeal, along with Pashinyan, to the Nobel committee recommending Trump receive the Peace Prize. “Who, if not President Trump, deserves a Nobel Peace Prize?” he said.Aliyev also thanked Trump for lifting restrictions on US military cooperation with Azerbaijan, which was announced on Friday.Pashinyan said the “initialing of (the) peace agreement will pave the way to end decades of conflict between our countries and open a new era.”The Armenian leader said the “breakthrough” would not have been possible without “peacemaker” Trump.”Today, we can say that peace has been achieved,” Pashinyan told a news conference after signing the deal.The agreement includes establishing a transit corridor passing through Armenia to connect Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan, a longstanding demand of Baku.The United States will have development rights for the corridor — dubbed the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity” — in the strategic and resource-rich region.Iran, which has long opposed the corridor over fears it would cut the country off from the Caucasus, welcomed the deal on Saturday.However, it also expressed “concern over the negative consequences of any foreign intervention in any way and form, especially in the vicinity of common borders.”The foreign ministry in Turkey, a longtime supporter of Azerbaijan, hailed the “progress achieved towards establishing a lasting peace”.UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy congratulated the two countries “on the bold steps taken in Washington.”European Union chiefs said it would pave the way to “lasting, sustainable peace for both countries and across the entire region.”- ‘Strategic’ partner -Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on the text of a comprehensive peace deal in March. However, Azerbaijan later outlined a host of demands — including amendments to Armenia’s constitution to drop territorial claims for Karabakh — before signing the document.Pashinyan has announced plans for a constitutional referendum in 2027, but the issue remains deeply divisive among Armenians.Asked what Armenia stood to gain from Friday’s deal, a White House official said it was “an enormous strategic commercial partner, probably the most enormous and strategic in the history of the world: the United States of America.””The losers here are China, Russia, and Iran,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.The disputed mountainous enclave of Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but was controlled by pro-Armenian separatists for nearly three decades after a war following the break-up of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijan captured part of the territory during a 2020 war, then took all of it three years later. Almost the entire local population of around 100,000 ethnic Armenians left for Armenia.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday that there would be “no invasion of Mexico” following reports that President Donald Trump had ordered the US military to target Latin American drug cartels.”There will be no invasion of Mexico,” Sheinbaum said after The New York Times reported that Trump had secretly signed a directive to use military force against cartels that his administration has declared terrorist organizations.”We were informed that this executive order was coming and that it had nothing to do with the participation of any military personnel or any institution in our territory,” Sheinbaum told her regular morning conference.The Mexican foreign ministry said later that Mexico “would not accept the participation of US military forces on our territory.”The remarks followed a statement released by the US embassy in Mexico, which said both countries would use “every tool at our disposal to protect our peoples” from drug trafficking groups.US ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said on X that the countries “face a common enemy: the violent criminal cartels.”The Pentagon referred questions on the issue to the White House, which did not immediately confirm the order.The Times said Trump’s order provided an official basis for military operations at sea or on foreign soil against the cartels.In February, his administration designated eight drug trafficking groups as terrorist organizations. Six are Mexican, one is Venezuelan and the eighth originates in El Salvador.Two weeks ago, his administration added another Venezuelan gang, the Cartel of the Suns, which has shipped hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States over two decades.On Thursday, the US Justice Department doubled to $50 million its bounty on Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, whom it accuses of leading the Cartel of the Suns. Venezuela has dismissed the allegations, with Foreign Minister Yvan Gil calling it “the most ridiculous smokescreen we have ever seen.”Sheinbaum has made strenuous efforts to show Trump she is acting against her country’s cartels, whom he accuses of flooding the United States with drugs, particularly fentanyl.”We are cooperating, we are collaborating, but there will be no invasion. That is absolutely ruled out,” she said.She said that in “every call” with US officials, Mexico insisted that this “is not permitted.”The 63-year-old has been dubbed the “Trump whisperer” for repeatedly securing reprieves from his threats of stiff tariffs over the smuggling of drugs and migrants across their shared border.

President Donald Trump is moving to target Latin American drug cartels with the military, US media said Friday, after Washington designated several narcotics trafficking groups as “terrorist” organizations earlier this year.The New York Times reported that Trump has directed the Pentagon to use military force against cartels deemed terrorist organizations.The Wall Street Journal said the president ordered options to be prepared, with the use of special forces and the provision of intelligence support under discussion, and that any action would be coordinated with foreign partners.White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly, while not confirming the reports, said in a statement that Trump’s “top priority is protecting the homeland, which is why he took the bold step to designate several cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.”The United States designated Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and six other drug trafficking groups with Latin American roots as terror groups in February.The US embassy in Mexico released a statement later Friday, saying both countries would use “every tool at our disposal to protect our peoples” from drug trafficking groups.But the Mexican foreign ministry stressed that Mexico “would not accept the participation of US military forces on our territory.”- ‘No invasion’ -Trump’s administration has since added another Venezuelan gang, the Cartel of the Suns, which has allegedly shipped hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States over two decades.The United States accuses Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro of leading that cartel — an allegation Caracas has rejected as a “ridiculous smokescreen.”Trump signed an executive order on January 20, his first day back in the White House, creating a process for the designation of the cartels, which he said “constitute a national-security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime.”US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Thursday interview with EWTN that the designations allow “us to now target what they’re operating and to use other elements of American power, intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, whatever — to target these groups.””We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organizations, not simply drug dealing organizations,” Rubio said. “It’s no longer a law enforcement issue. It becomes a national security issue.”Trump vowed in March to “wage war” on Mexico’s drug cartels, which he accused of rape and murder.His Mexican counterpart Claudia Sheinbaum, following the reports of potential US military action against cartels, insisted on Friday that there would be “no invasion” of her country.Sheinbaum has made strenuous efforts to show Trump she is acting against Mexico’s cartels, whom he accuses of flooding the United States with drugs, particularly fentanyl.”We are cooperating, we are collaborating, but there will be no invasion. That is absolutely ruled out,” she said.Sheinbaum has been dubbed the “Trump whisperer” for repeatedly securing reprieves from his threats of stiff tariffs over the smuggling of drugs and migrants across their shared border.