International
Israel’s preemptive strike on Iran signals a turning point in the Middle East

Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran not only marked a significant milestone for the 77-year-old nation but also represented a turning point for the Middle East. According to a former IDF spokesperson, while Jerusalem grapples with the ongoing war in Gaza, it is clear that Israel’s main objective is to ensure Tehran never acquires a nuclear weapon.
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, former IDF spokesperson, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), and co-founder of BottomLine Media, told Fox News Digital that Israel is working to eradicate what it sees as an existential threat.
In the early hours of Friday local time, Israel launched a series of airstrikes and covert operations to dismantle Iranian infrastructure and high-ranking commanders. On Saturday, the IDF claimed to have killed over 20 Iranian commanders, including the head of the country’s Intelligence Directorate and the commander of Iran’s land-to-land missile forces.
“To be frank, a nuclear program like that means it’s personal before infrastructure. And if we take it seriously, having a significant and lasting impact on Iran’s nuclear weapons program means Israel has to work hard and long, which means erasing a lot of knowledge,” Conricus said.
While Iran’s infrastructure and leadership have taken major hits during Israel’s Operation Dawn Lion, Tehran’s influence in the Middle East, including its proxies, has also been damaged. Conricus told Fox News Digital that the unraveling of what he calls “Iran’s ring of fire around Israel” began with Hamas’s massacres on October 7.
“It’s not completely done yet, but Hamas and Hezbollah are much weaker compared to where they were on October 7, and Iran itself is, I think, the weakest I have ever seen it, militarily and politically,” he said.
“So, I think in hindsight, Iranian strategic planners who envisioned this multi-front assault against Israel—from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, maybe from other places—and had these fantasies that it would somehow eradicate the State of Israel—well, in hindsight, maybe it wasn’t such a brilliant idea.”
International
Mexican authorities bust Meth Lab and seize tons of drugs and chemicals in multiple states

Mexican authorities dismantled a clandestine laboratory containing 2.5 tons of methamphetamine in the southeastern state of Chiapas, seized a warehouse with more than four tons of chemical precursors in Guerrero (south), and intercepted a trailer in Tijuana attempting to cross into the United States with 2.7 tons of drugs.
Omar García Harfuch, head of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), reported on Saturday via social media that agents from the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), along with representatives from the Defense Secretariat, Navy (Semar), National Guard (GN), and SSPC, disabled the methamphetamine production lab in Chiapas and confiscated 2.5 tons of the drug.
A statement specified that the agents secured 2.5 tons of methamphetamine, barrels containing substances used to manufacture synthetic drugs, a firearm, and four trucks. In another operation in Guerrero, authorities located over four tons of chemical substances.
The discovery took place on a property in the community of Margarita Maza, Juárez, used to store materials for synthetic drug production. Sufficient evidence was collected and presented to a control judge who authorized the intervention of the property.
In Chiapas, authorities also seized more than 300 barrels and containers with chemicals for making synthetic drugs, as well as various metal containers and devices.
International
Maduro gains support from Venezuelan Assembly amid U.S. drug trafficking accusations

The National Assembly of Venezuela expressed its support this Saturday for President Nicolás Maduro, condemning the United States’ increase in the reward offered for his capture as an “act of aggression.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Thursday that Washington had doubled the reward to $50 million for Maduro’s capture, labeling him as one of the “world’s largest drug traffickers.”
“We reject the absurd and desperate actions announced by the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, which are clearly illegal and lack any real basis, beyond being a delirious attempt of aggression against the president (…) and against our rebellious and brave people,” said the Assembly leader, Jorge Rodríguez, while reading a letter he said was unanimously approved by the deputies.
“It is precisely President Nicolás Maduro (…) the protector of the strong democracy that shelters us and the leader who firmly upholds the rule of law and justice,” Rodríguez continued. He is also Venezuela’s chief negotiator in talks with Washington.
Bondi accused Maduro of using “terrorist organizations like the Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa cartel, and the Cartel of the Suns to introduce lethal drugs and violence” into the United States.
“In 25 years of revolution, we have resisted and advanced despite constant imperialist aggressions. They have not succeeded, and will not succeed, with crude sanctions, criminal blockades, or senseless threats in diverting the noble path the Venezuelan people charted in the free elections of July 28, 2024, in which Nicolás Maduro was elected President of the Republic,” the statement read.
The Venezuelan opposition alleges fraud in those elections and claims victory, and as a result, has boycotted the 2025 legislative, regional, and municipal elections.
International
U.S. doubles bounty on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro to $50 million

In February, the United States designated eight Latin American criminal organizations as “global terrorist” groups, including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, and the MS-13 gang. In July, it added the Cartel of the Suns to the list — a group Washington claims is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Last Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, raising it from $25 million to $50 million, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on social media platform X.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained that labeling the Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization allows for a strategic shift in dealing with the Venezuelan regime, as it is now also considered a direct threat to U.S. national security, according to El Espectador.
In an interview with The World Over on EWTN, Rubio said the designation enables the U.S. to “use intelligence agencies, the Department of Defense, or any other element of American power to go after them.” He stressed this is no longer just a law enforcement matter, but a national security operation.
When asked at the White House whether he believes it is worth sending the military to combat Latin American drug cartels, Trump responded:
“Latin America has many cartels, a lot of drug trafficking, so, you know, we want to protect our country. We have to protect it.”
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