International
The formation of a government with Wilders’ radical right in the Netherlands is successfully completed
Geert Wilders’ radical right successfully completed on Monday the formation of a government in the Netherlands, in coalition with three other right-wing parties, which will have as prime minister Dick Schoof, an expert official in security and asylum, at the head of a team of ministers with political experience.
According to the report presented on Monday to Parliament, the future government will have 15 ministers and, despite the initial promise that half will be technocrats, finally all the members of the cabinet come from politics: five from the radical right of the PVV, four from the liberals of the VVD, four from the Christian Democrat NSC and two from the BBB peasant party.
The new Dutch cabinet, which will not include Geert Wilders or any of the leaders of the other three parties, will devote the next two months to detailing the government program, after taking office on Tuesday, which puts an end to almost 14 years of legislatures of the liberal Mark Rutte, who says goodbye to the policy to take over the general secretariat of NATO in October.
The report, presented by mediator Richard van Zwol, points out that the program of the future government “will be presented to the States General in time for Budget Day,” on Tuesday, September 17, and also “will be dedicated to the legislative quality and the viability of the political and legislative proposals” that the initial pact includes in general lines.
The document, which does not offer much information on how the government pact will be applied, emphasizes that the planned cuts in government employees will be made in a “responsible and achievable way” and “special attention will be paid to the importance of an adequate supervision function (inspections) and an adequate network of missions abroad.”
The four parties have included in their agreement a 22% reduction in the public service, which alarmed many ministries, such as Foreign Affairs, which fear the closure of embassies.
Early in the morning, the new team of ministers formally met for the first time in what is called a “constitutive meeting,” under the leadership of Schoof and Van Zwol.
The far-right deputy Fleur Agema (PVV) stressed that she was “very proud” of being the future deputy prime minister and Minister of Public Health of the “most right-wing” cabinet in Dutch history, although “with a warm social heart,” she said. “I’ll take care of that,” he promised.
His PVV colleague, Marjolein Faber, who will be in charge of the new Ministry of Migration and Asylum, spoke of “a historic day” for the Netherlands and stressed that he does not want to “look back, only forward,” when asked about his defense of “ethnic substitution”, the conspiracy theory of the Great Replacement, which believes that immigrants are “repopuling” the West.
Both Faber and the far-right deputy Reinette Klever, who will be Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, were heavily criticized for having used racist claims and known terminology of National Socialism in the past. “I’m not going to say anything else about that,” Klever said today.
In parliamentary hearings in recent weeks, Faber distanced himself from the term “ethnic substitution,” and Klever described it as “a factual description of a demographic development.”
Van Zwol will meet today with King William Alexander of the Netherlands and introduce him to Schoof, before the inauguration this Tuesday.
International
Brazil helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro kills six, including pilots and international figures
The Rio de Janeiro Civil Police confirmed on Monday the identities of three of the six victims killed in a helicopter collision that occurred the previous morning in the Recreio dos Bandeirantes neighborhood.
All three identified victims are Brazilian nationals: the pilots of the aircraft, Charles Marsillac and Alexandre Souza, and music producer Lucas Brito.
The identities of the three foreign victims have not yet been officially confirmed. They include U.S. singer Oliver Tree, Argentine YouTuber Gaspar Prim—known online as “Gaspi”—and Argentine producer Lucas Vignale, all of whom were listed on the flight manifest.
According to police, forensic experts from the Legal Medical Institute have already collected DNA samples in order to identify the foreign victims, whose bodies were severely burned.
One of the helicopters crashed into a private parking lot, triggering a fire that destroyed around twenty electric vehicles. That aircraft was carrying the pilot and four passengers, including the three foreign nationals.
The second helicopter, which had only the pilot on board, crashed approximately 100 meters away from the first impact site.
Rio de Janeiro’s deputy mayor, Eduardo Cavaliere, stated that both helicopters were operating transport flights toward Angra dos Reis on the Rio coastline and toward the mountainous region of the state.
Oliver Tree, 32, was in Brazil as part of an international tour. The artist, known for songs such as “Life Goes On” and “Miss You,” had performed to a large audience in São Paulo a week earlier and was scheduled to continue his tour in Europe.
Argentine content creator Gaspar Prim, 23, had built a following of more than two million on social media platforms, gaining popularity for humorous and often controversial video productions that had occasionally been removed by hosting platforms.
International
Mexico and U.S. Launch New Bilateral Security Group to Combat Fentanyl and Organized Crime
The governments of Mexico and the United States officially launched the Bilateral Implementation Group (BIG) on Friday, a new initiative aimed at strengthening cooperation on security issues and enhancing joint efforts against transnational crime.
In a statement, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson announced that he and Deputy Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco addressed officials from both countries who will lead what he described as a “new phase of bilateral cooperation.” The initiative seeks to curb the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, illegal firearms, and human trafficking across the shared border.
Earlier this week, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had confirmed that senior security officials from both nations would meet in Mexico City on June 12 to review and advance existing cooperation agreements.
Through social media, Ambassador Johnson explained that the new bilateral group is designed to improve coordination between the two governments by placing greater emphasis on implementation, accountability, and measurable results. The effort will also focus on combating transnational criminal organizations operating across North America.
“The participation of 15 U.S. government agencies, working alongside their Mexican counterparts, reflects the seriousness of this effort and our shared commitment to delivering measurable results,” Johnson said.
The ambassador also highlighted several achievements that he attributed to ongoing bilateral cooperation. According to Johnson, maritime drug trafficking into the United States has declined by more than 95 percent, while overdose deaths have fallen by 35 percent.
He further noted that Mexican authorities have seized more than 400 metric tons of illegal drugs and dismantled over 2,300 clandestine laboratories as part of their efforts to combat organized crime and narcotics production.
The launch of the Bilateral Implementation Group marks the latest step in the security partnership between Mexico and the United States, as both countries seek to address shared challenges related to drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, and the activities of criminal networks operating across the region.
International
‘El Chapo’ Guzmán again asks Mexican president to seek his return from U.S. prison
Convicted drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has once again appealed to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to intervene on his behalf and seek his transfer from the United States to Mexico, where he hopes to serve the remainder of his prison sentence.
Guzmán, the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, is currently serving a sentence of more than 50 years in the United States after being convicted in 2019 on multiple charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering.
According to reports, the latest request was made in a letter dated June 2, one of several messages that Guzmán has reportedly sent to Sheinbaum in recent months in an effort to secure his repatriation. In the letter, he expresses hope that the Mexican government can support the efforts of his legal team.
Written in English and by hand, the letter asks that he be allowed to complete his sentence in Mexico, arguing that such a transfer would enable him to receive visits from family members more easily.
Guzmán is currently being held at the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado, commonly known as the “Alcatraz of the Rockies,” one of the most secure prisons in the United States.
As in previous communications, the former cartel leader complained about his prison conditions, stating that he remains in near-total isolation and has little to no contact with other inmates.
He also reiterated his long-standing claim that he did not receive a fair trial in the United States and argued that the Mexican government bears responsibility for much of the violence associated with organized crime in the country.
In the letter, Guzmán maintains that his actions were motivated by a desire to protect himself and his family amid the violence linked to criminal organizations in Mexico.
Mexican authorities have not publicly indicated whether they plan to respond to the request. Guzmán remains one of the most notorious figures in the history of international drug trafficking and is serving his sentence under some of the strictest security measures in the U.S. prison system.
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