International
In Florida, right-wing mothers lead the ‘parents’ revolution’
| By AFP | Léa Dauple |
A conservative group known as “Moms for Liberty” is triggering a minor earthquake in Florida school board elections, hoping the tremors will ripple across the entire United States.
The group demands that often-sleepy school boards wake up and yank “problematic” books from schools, and empower parents to have more say in public education.
“I am on the right side of history,” said Jacqueline Rosario, who is seeking re-election to a school board in Indian River County on Florida’s east coast.
Rosario warmly welcomed guests to a lounge in this charming seaside resort, speaking to them about a subject that distresses her: the “insane” education that young Americans get in public schools.
“Moms for Liberty,” founded only last year in Florida but now claiming 100,000 members in 42 states, offers wholehearted endorsements of school board candidates like Rosario.
That support has turned school boards, historically apolitical elected bodies, into real powder kegs dealing with subjects such as gender, sexuality and racism in schools.
These days, hot-button culture and social issues ignite passions at the local level, not just the state and national levels.
Some heavyweight Republicans, like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a possible presidential candidate in 2024, have gotten involved in the humble school board battles.
Moms for Liberty publicly endorsed DeSantis, and he in turn endorsed candidates like Jacqueline Rosario.
‘Pornographic’
Rosario has made a personal battle out of one of Moms for Liberty’s obsessions — “inappropriate” books.
As she explained the reasons for her anger, Rosario interrupted the interview.
“Can I read you a couple of excerpts?” she asked, warning that she might feel “weird” because some material “is so explicit.”
The candidate recites a sex scene from Margaret Atwood’s famous novel “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which also became a hit television series.
“That’s disgusting,” Rosario, a former English teacher, said of the work, her voice suddenly stern.
She read an excerpt from another book, “Push”, which recounts in graphic detail the rape of a child by her father.
“There is absolutely no literary, scientific, political or any other value to this kind of reading, not for children,” Rosario said, adding that she would like such “obscene… pornographic” books to be replaced by others of “higher quality,” including ones offering vocational training.
“You’re opening up Pandora’s box for children who are supposed to preserve their innocence,” Rosario said.
She stated that she does not want to “ban or burn” such books, but only to get them out of the classroom — a message hammered home by Moms for Liberty.
Flags and popcorn
Later in the afternoon, Rosario campaigned at a small church in Vero Beach.
The audience seemed to be behind her. Between a tray of cheese and a bowl of popcorn, Terri Privett, a 53-year-old who loves former president Donald Trump’s rallies, worries that “the left is indoctrinating our children with things that are just not American.”
During the reception, the song “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood played on a loop — interrupted, however, when all attendees stood to pledge allegiance to the flag.
Though he is not present, DeSantis’ influence is palpable. At the entrance, a lighted sign calls for people to vote for him to “save Florida.”
“Our governor is a champion for parental rights,” said Jennifer Pippin, head of the Indian River County chapter of Moms for Liberty, convinced that he will win re-election.
For this crowd, DeSantis’ military background and his image as a family man are strong reasons to like him.
On a table festooned with small US flags is a list of candidates running in various local elections who espouse anti-abortion rights views. Flyers call on the citizenry to pull children from public schools.
Organizers have also brought two piles of books — around 150 they deem problematic — that Jennifer Pippin said contain scenes of “rape, incest” or even “oral sex.” Colorful post-it notes indicate the pages of the books with the material deemed questionable.
Love for DeSantis
Moms for Liberty has had a meteoric rise, a sign of the simmering culture wars across the United States.
“I think you’re going to see that American politics are going to be changing a lot because of this parent revolution,” said Tiffany Justice, one of the co-founders.
She predicts a bright political future for politicians like DeSantis who join up with groups seeking to empower parents over educators.
DeSantis won hearts at the first Moms for Liberty national conference, where he gave a speech.
Moms for Liberty members “wished Ron DeSantis was their governor,” Justice said. “You could hear them say we can’t wait to vote for him for president of the United States.”
International
Mexico Arrests CJNG Leader “El Jardinero” in Nayarit
Mexican authorities arrested Audias Flores, known as “El Jardinero,” on Monday during a naval operation in the western state of Nayarit, delivering another major blow to the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
Flores was considered one of the top regional leaders within the cartel and had reportedly overseen criminal operations along Mexico’s Pacific coast. Security analysts viewed him as a potential successor to slain drug kingpin Nemesio Oseguera.
The arrest was carried out by Mexico’s Navy Special Forces in a planned operation, according to Security Minister Omar García Harfuch.
The United States Department of the Treasury had previously identified Flores as a “significant foreign narcotics trafficker,” while U.S. authorities offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his capture and extradition.
A U.S. grand jury indicted Flores in 2021 on charges including conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin.
His capture comes months after the reported death of “El Mencho,” an operation that Mexican authorities considered a priority due to the cartel leader’s alleged involvement in a 2020 assassination attempt against García Harfuch.
International
Suspect Armed With Shotgun and Knives Detained at White House Correspondents Dinner
U.S. authorities confirmed Saturday that the suspect who stormed into the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner while President Donald Trump was attending acted alone, adding that there is no ongoing threat to the public following the incident, which left one Secret Service agent injured.
Acting Metropolitan Police Department chief Jeff Carroll said during a press conference that the suspect was carrying “a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives” when he attempted to pass through a Secret Service security checkpoint inside the hotel lobby at approximately 8:36 p.m. local time.
“At this point, everything indicates that this was a lone actor, a lone gunman,” Carroll stated, adding that investigators have found no preliminary evidence suggesting the involvement of additional suspects.
During the exchange of gunfire inside the hotel corridors, the suspect was not struck by bullets but was subdued by law enforcement officers and later transported to a hospital for medical evaluation.
A member of the United States Secret Service Uniformed Division was shot during the incident, though the bullet was stopped by the officer’s ballistic vest, preventing serious injuries. The agent was taken to a hospital and is reportedly “in good spirits,” according to Carroll.
The shooting prompted the immediate evacuation of President Trump, Melania Trump, and several senior officials attending the event after multiple gunshots were heard outside the hotel’s main ballroom.
International
U.S. allows Venezuela to fund Maduro and Cilia Flores’ legal defense
Until now, the U.S. administration had blocked the Venezuelan government from covering the legal fees of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who is also jailed and facing drug trafficking charges, due to international sanctions imposed on Venezuela.
The couple’s legal team had relied on that argument in an attempt to have the indictment dismissed, claiming that preventing a defendant from accessing counsel of their choice violates rights guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
However, the U.S. Treasury Department will now allow “defense attorneys to receive payments from the Government of Venezuela under certain conditions,” New York prosecutor Jay Clayton wrote in a letter dated Friday to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the case.
According to the letter, the funds must have become available after March 5, 2026, and cannot come from Venezuelan oil sales regulated in the United States.
Since Maduro’s removal from power in early January, former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has served as Venezuela’s interim leader.
The United States effectively controls Venezuelan crude exports, with revenues deposited into special accounts supervised by Washington.
Court documents filed on Friday show that the defense acknowledged the sanctions exemption and, for now, withdrew its motion seeking dismissal of the charges.
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