International

Mexican President defends new strategy to search for missing persons

Photo: EFE

August 25|

In his usual morning conference from the National Palace, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador defended the day before the new federal strategy for the search of missing persons.

López Obrador also admitted that Karla Quintana’s resignation as National Search Commissioner may have been due to her disagreement with the new census of missing persons planned by the federal government.

The President also assured that the resignation was because Quintana “closed a cycle” and explained that it will be up to the Secretary of the Interior, Luisa María Alcalde, to appoint a new head of the National Search Commission (CNB).

In this regard, he called on the family collectives not to be discouraged by Quintana’s departure. The search, he assured, “does not depend on one colleague, however responsible she may be, however efficient she may be, however committed she may be; it depends on all of us and there are many of us who are working on this”.

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The President clarified that during his term of office, the attention to these cases is not only the responsibility of the CNB, but also of other federal government agencies. “There has been considerable progress, in many places there is good news because young people are being found,” said the Mexican president.

López Obrador reiterated that it was necessary to raise a new registry; because if a missing person appeared “they were kept in the census”. “But we are already taking away the flag from the false, corrupt, conservative, simulators, hypocrites and that bothers them very much”, he denounced.

As he explained, during this new stage, the authorities must take, as a basis for the new registry, not only the corresponding denunciations before state prosecutors’ offices, but also other data provided, for example, the Covid-19 vaccination list and home visits of officials known as “Servants of the Nation”.

International

White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment

The White House said Monday that it has not changed its policy toward Cuba, despite allowing a sanctioned Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island on humanitarian grounds.

U.S. officials emphasized that the decision was made as an exception and does not signal a broader shift in policy.

The administration added that similar decisions would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on humanitarian considerations.

The clarification comes amid ongoing restrictions related to U.S. sanctions policy, which continue to limit trade and financial flows involving Cuba.

International

Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López

The Spanish government is expected to grant citizenship this Tuesday to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lópezthrough an extraordinary procedure known as “carta de naturaleza.”

The decision will be approved by royal decree, an exceptional legal mechanism used in special cases that require expedited resolution due to specific circumstances.

López has been living in Madrid since 2020, after leaving Venezuela following a prolonged political and legal conflict with the government of Nicolás Maduro.

According to government sources, López currently does not have a valid Venezuelan passport and faces difficulties in having his nationality fully recognized in his home country.

As a result, he applied for Spanish citizenship via a fast-track process at the end of 2025, after previously attempting to obtain it through regular procedures.

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The Spanish government justified the move based on López’s international relevance and foreign policy considerations.

López is the leader of the Voluntad Popular party and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, an initiative launched in 2022 alongside figures such as Garry Kasparov and Masih Alinejad.

International

ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says

The U.S. “border czar,” Tom Homan, said Sunday that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain deployed at airports until operations return to “100% normal,” as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.

“We will maintain ICE presence until airports feel they are fully back to normal operations,” Homan said during an interview on Face the Nation on CBS.

Homan justified the deployment on security grounds, noting that the measure was ordered by President Donald Trumpamid widespread absenteeism among agents of the Transportation Security Administration, who have gone without pay for over six weeks due to the DHS shutdown.

According to acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, at least 460 TSA agents have resigned during the shutdown, while daily absenteeism has averaged 11%, exceeding 50% at some airports.

Homan warned that if TSA staffing levels do not recover after the shutdown, ICE agents will continue filling the gap. “ICE is there to support our TSA brothers and sisters. We will remain as long as needed to ensure airport security,” he said.

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The DHS shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The impasse stems from disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over ICE funding.

A recent bipartisan Senate proposal to fund DHS without including ICE failed after being blocked by House Republicans, who insist on full funding for the agency.

Amid the deadlock, Trump signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA agents to address what he called an “emergency situation” and restore order at airports, with payments expected to begin Monday.