International

Will Trump’s verdict impact his presidential career?

For a long time, former US president Donald Trump has been leading the polls to return to the White House in front of a Joe Biden in low hours. The country wonders this Friday if the Republican’s guilty verdict will impact his presidential career.

Trump on Thursday became the first former U.S. president to be found guilty in a criminal trial, in his case on 34 charges of serious crimes of falsification of commercial records related to the payment of a porn actress to protect her presidential career in 2016.

The Republican politician, who has denounced from the beginning that he suffers a “witch hunt,” declared that the “royal verdict” will be given by the voters in the elections on November 5.

Biden also took advantage of the historic day to campaign and affirm that “there is only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the polls,” said the Democratic president.

After the jury’s guilty verdict was heard, it is the turn of Judge Juan Merchán, who will announce the sentence on July 11, a few days before the Republican Party officially names Trump as its candidate at the National Convention to be held in Milwaukee (Wisconsin).

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Each of the crimes carries penalties of up to 4 years in prison, which can be served simultaneously, although the judge can also opt for other alternatives such as parole, house arrest or fines.

Of course, the defiant behavior that Trump has had during the trial will not serve to mitigate his sentence.
But since he has already turned 77 and has no criminal record, “it is very unlikely that he will go to jail,” Mark Smith, a constitutionalist expert at Cedarville University (Ohio), tells EFE.

In addition, in the event that he was sentenced to prison, this would not disable him from participating in next November’s elections, in which he tries to take the charge from Biden.

The defense of the tycoon will appeal the judge’s decision and will try to extend the judicial process to the maximum, trying to get the final sentence out when he is already the new president in the White House.

According to Smith, if he received a prison sentence already as president, his compliance would be delayed until after his term in office since it would be considered that “his role as president is more important” than immediately complying with a sentence of a state court.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Therefore, the doubt of whether voters will punish Trump after hearing the verdict and the sentence becomes even more important. The indications so far point to the opposite.

Neither the details of the trial nor the other three criminal charges that weigh on Trump (two for electoral interference in 2020 and another for having taken classified documents from the White House) have diminished his strong electoral base in a very polarized country.

According to the average of polls made by the FiveThirtyEight portal, Trump would win the elections at the national level with 41.3% of the votes compared to 39.3% of Biden.

A survey published by the public media NPR and PBS before the guilty verdict was known reflected that 67% of Americans do not intend to change the meaning of their vote based on what the jury decided on Trump.

The trial IN New York is also perceived as the least serious one faced by Trump, but the other three are paralyzed waiting for the Supreme Court to decide if the former president has immunity and can hardly be carried out before the elections.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

The Republican appeared this Friday before the press in a new attempt to mobilize his base, where he called the trial in New York “rigged” and claimed that he continues to lead the polls.

For political scientist Geoffrey Bowden, it is clear that the Republican’s strategy will continue to be to “affirm that the judicial system is manipulated” and act as “a victim.”

“Trump’s most loyal supporters will believe that the whole process is rigged but most Americans don’t believe it,” the analyst told EFE.

A prison sentence, therefore, could demobilize Trump’s more moderate voters and that is dangerous for the Republican in key states where elections are tighter, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

International

Hiroshima survivor who embraced Obama dies at 88

The emotional embrace between Barack Obama and Hiroshima survivor Mori—who was eight years old when the United States dropped the atomic bomb in 1945—resonated around the world.

According to Asahi Shimbun and other local media, Mori died on Saturday at a hospital in Hiroshima.

Mori, known for his research on the fate of American prisoners of war in Hiroshima, was thrown into a river by the force of the explosion on August 6, 1945, during the atomic bombing of the city.

In a past interview with AFP, ahead of his meeting with Obama at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in 2016, Mori recalled the chaos and desperation that followed the blast.

He described how, after emerging from the water, he encountered injured civilians seeking help amid the devastation, an experience that stayed with him throughout his life.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

In 2016, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, where he paid tribute to the victims of the first atomic bomb used in warfare. During the visit, Mori was visibly moved as he met the president, sharing a brief but powerful moment that symbolized remembrance and reconciliation.

The bombing of Hiroshima resulted in the deaths of approximately 140,000 people, including those who succumbed to radiation exposure in the aftermath.

Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people and contributing to the end of World War II.

International

Colombia seeks ‘total suffocation’ of armed groups with regional support

Colombia is advancing a strategy aimed at the “total suffocation” of illegal armed groups, seeking to corner them in border regions with the support of Ecuador and Venezuela, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in an interview with AFP.

According to the minister, coordinated pressure from neighboring countries—backed by United States—aims to dismantle criminal networks that use cross-border routes to traffic Colombian cocaine toward North America and Europe.

For decades, armed groups involved in Colombia’s internal conflict have relied on border territories as strategic rear bases to evade military operations and maintain logistical support.

However, Sánchez said that dynamic is beginning to change.

“We expect a total suffocation between both nations so they have no spaces where they can live or feel safe […] to close off any room they might have,” he stated during the interview in Bogotá, less than five months before the end of President Gustavo Petro’s term.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Regional developments have reinforced this strategy. Following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation, Washington has increased its influence in Caracas, where interim leader Delcy Rodríguez has implemented a renewed anti-narcotics policy.

Meanwhile, in Ecuador, President Daniel Noboa—a key U.S. ally in the region—has launched a two-week security plan under strict curfews to combat criminal gangs, with U.S. support.

Sánchez argued that these combined efforts leave illegal organizations with fewer escape routes and operational spaces, effectively placing them in a “dead end.”

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.