International

López Obrador denies that there will be more migrants deported to Mexico due to restrictions in the United States

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denied that he increased the number of migrants deported to Mexico after the new restrictions on asylum in the United States promulgated last week by the Joe Biden government.

The president argued in his morning conference that after a “crisis” in December, with 12,000 daily migrants intercepted at the U.S. border with Mexico, the figure has fallen almost 56% to 5,506 on May 9, so he expects this trend to continue.

“No (it implies more migrants returned to Mexico), we are like this (with this trend). We’re doing well,” López Obrador replied to the express question in his morning conference.

The Mexican ruler referred to the rule promulgated on Thursday by the Biden government to instruct immigration agents to prohibit people considered a “risk to public or national security” from applying for asylum and being, therefore, admitted within the United States.

The US authorities immediately expel rejected applicants to Mexico or enter a formal deportation process, depending on their nationality.

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But López Obrador asserted that the measures that Biden has adopted, such as opening legal alternatives for migrants from certain Latin American countries, “are helping to prevent the migratory flow from overflowing.”

On the day Washington announced the new restrictions, last Thursday, the Mexican president received Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Biden’s National Security adviser, and the United States ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, at the National Palace.

“It was basically (the meeting) on the migration issue, we are working in a coordinated way. Of course, we do not take our finger off the line so that there are investments by the United States Government to poor countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, addressing the causes,” López Obrador said now.

The president indicated that his Government will “help in the protection of migrants and order the migratory flow.”

“The only thing we want is to be good neighbors, that there is a policy of good neighbourliness, and I have already said it many times, we must integrate more and more economically, we are the main commercial partner in the world, Mexico and the United States, we need each other,” he said.

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Although arrests at the common border have decreased during the first months of this year, in 2023 the United States reported a record of more than 2.3 million arrests of migrants.

While Mexico recorded a year-on-year increase of almost 200% in irregular migration intercepted by the Government in the first quarter, up to almost 360,000 people.

Biden and López Obrador agreed at the end of April “to work together to immediately implement concrete measures in order to significantly reduce irregular border crossings and at the same time protect human rights.”

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”