International
The death toll in an insurgent attack on a military base in Pakistan rise to 13
The death toll in an attack this Saturday against a military base in northern Pakistan increased to thirteen, including seven members of the security forces and six insurgents, the Asian country’s Army reported.
“A group of six terrorists attacked a security forces post in the Mir Ali area, in the district of North Waziristan. His troops failed in the initial attempt at intrusion, so the terrorists rammed a truck loaded with explosives against the post followed by multiple suicide attacks,” said the communication services of the Pakistani Army, the ISPR.
The source said in a statement that seven soldiers, including two officers, died in an attack that also led to the partial destruction of the military base.
The Pakistani Army claimed that the six attacking insurgents were killed in the confrontation with the security forces.
“During the clean-ups operation, our troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Kashif, managed to confront and send the six terrorists to hell,” the ISPR said.
An officer from the Mir Ali Police Station, Hayat Khan, told EFE that the attack began around 6:10 local time (1:10 GMT), in this district located in the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Despite the fact that the Pakistani authorities claimed to have killed all the insurgents, the Army’s communication office pointed out that the security forces are carrying out a search “to eliminate any other terrorist present in the area.”
For now, no insurgent group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The eastern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where today’s attack took place, and southern Balochistan have been especially affected by the increase in insurgent attacks in Pakistan.
Ten police officers were killed and six others were injured on February 5 in an attack on the police station in the Dera Ismail Khan district, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In that same province, 23 soldiers were killed and more than 30 were injured last December when six insurgents tried unsuccessfully to access a military base, and later a vehicle loaded with explosives crashed into it that caused the collapse of the building.
The rise in violence in the Asian country coincided with the coming to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan in August 2021, which according to the Pakistani Government reactivated the attacks of its Pakistani ideological brothers, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The government of the Asian country accuses the TTP of using Afghan soil to carry out attacks, an extreme that Kabul has repeatedly denied.
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.
International
U.S. Sanctions Network Linked to Fentanyl Trafficking Across India, Guatemala and Mexico
The United States Department of State announced sanctions on Thursday against 23 individuals and companies allegedly linked to an international fentanyl production and smuggling network operating in India, Guatemala and Mexico.
According to the State Department, the network supplied precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel, which the United States has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Washington declared fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, a weapon of mass destruction last year due to its role in the ongoing overdose crisis in the United States.
“By targeting the entire supply chain — from chemical suppliers in Asia to logistical intermediaries in Central America and cartel-linked networks in Mexico — the Trump Administration is dismantling networks that destabilize governance across our hemisphere and threaten U.S. security,” the State Department said.
In a separate statement, the Office of Foreign Assets Control detailed sanctions against three Indian chemical and pharmaceutical companies: Sutaria, Agrat and SR Chemicals, along with a sales executive accused of supplying precursor chemicals to contacts in Guatemala and Mexico.
In Guatemala, authorities sanctioned J and C Import and Central Logística de Servicios, as well as intermediary Jaime Augusto Barrientos.
The OFAC also designated several intermediaries and import companies operating in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
As part of the investigation, U.S. authorities identified Ramiro Baltazar Félix as a member of Los Mayos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and Alejandro Reynoso, accused of operating clandestine drug laboratories in Guadalajara.
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