International
Trump goes to the Supreme Court for the first time to defend his attack on the public administration
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, plans to resort for the first time to the Supreme Court to defend his offensive against the public administration, seeking cost cuts and the loyalty of his officials.
Specifically, according to local media, the Trump Administration has already prepared the necessary documents to request the Supreme Court to authorize it to dismiss Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Advice (OSC), the federal agency in charge of protecting those who report irregularities within the Administration.
The petition before the Supreme Court, which was accessed by local media such as The Hill, has not yet been formally presented to the court, and is not expected to be done until Tuesday, since Monday is a holiday in the United States.
Dellinger assumed in March 2024, under the Joe Biden Government, the leadership of the OSC, an agency whose priorities are to defend public employees from any retaliation for denouncing irregularities within the Administration.
Trump ordered his impeachment on February 7, but a judge temporarily blocked the decision. On Saturday, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, a lower instance than the Supreme Court, rejected the White House’s appeal against that court order
Trump starts with an advantage in the Supreme Court, where six of the nine judges – including three appointed by him in his first term (2017-2021) – are conservatives.
In addition, last year, the court ruled in favor of granting Trump and all future presidents broad immunity for actions taken in the exercise of their functions, which in practice meant an unprecedented expansion of presidential power.
Dellinger’s dismissal is part of the new Trump administration’s offensive to reduce public spending and reduce the functions of the federal administration, a strategy led by the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under the supervision of Elon Musk.
As part of this plan, the U.S. International Development Agency (USAID) and the Consumer Financial Protection Office (CFPB), created after the 2008 crisis, with its offices closed and its employees in limbo, have also been de facto dismantled.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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