International
Trump could testify next week in the final stretch of his criminal trial
The defense of the former president of the United States. Donald Trump (2017-2021) said on Thursday that the tycoon has not yet decided if he will go up to the stand to testify next week, the date that the judge of the case wants it to be the final stretch for this criminal trial that began a month ago with the jury selection.
On Friday there will be no session and next Monday it is expected that Michael Cohen, who was a lawyer and right-hand man of the former president and is the last witness of the Prosecutor’s Office, will continue with his testimony after having already spent three days on the stand.
Trump’s lawyers also left the door open to summon more witnesses and said that it would not take “long” to make the announcement of who they would be.
For his part, Judge Juan M. Merchan considered it appropriate to warn both parties that they were prepared for the final allegations on Tuesday. That could mean that the case will reach the jury to pronounce its verdict next week.
This week, Cohen testified that Trump ordered him to pay $130,000 to silence Stormy Daniels during the campaign, a porn star who claims to have had relations with Trump in 2006, and detailed how he later reimbursed him for his expenses.
During the examination of the star witness of the Prosecutor’s Office this Thursday, Trump’s chief lawyer, Todd Blanche, was more agitated than the witness, who, for his part, answered serenely and sometimes extremely slowly.
Trump’s defense focused on questioning Cohen’s honesty and morality before the jury and on reviewing in detail some of the evidence that has been shown so far in the trial.
Thus, he asked Cohen to tell the lies he told the Intelligence Committee of the 2017 House of Representatives, where he lied under oath, which cost him to be accused of perjury in 2018.
The defense also analyzed the relationship with Cohen’s press, who explained that journalists came to him to ask him to confirm or deny information about Trump during the almost ten years he worked for him, and acknowledged that with some of them he came to establish a friendly relationship.
The former lawyer said that he never made any statement without first consulting the Republican politician.
Blanche attacked Cohen’s professionalism by pointing out that he secretly recorded some of his conversations with the press, including about forty with The New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman, who has written 38 articles about him and was in the Manhattan Criminal Court room today following the case.
To which the former lawyer, who can no longer practice, justified – without receiving the question – that in the state of New York they consider it legal to record a phone call without letting the other person know.
However, Trump’s lawyer reproached him for also recording conversations with clients, something that is not allowed for lawyers in this state.
He also recorded conversations with Trump, one of them in 2016 that he used as evidence in this trial.
With regard to other conversations with the former president and his circle during the last stretch of the 2016 presidential elections, in which Cohen points out that the issue of payment was discussed to silence the extramarital relationship, Blanche questioned Cohen’s memory by pointing out that at that time he received an average of 50 calls a day.
Trump, who is in the middle of the electoral campaign but has to attend the trial four days a week, paid attention during the testimony of his former employee, thus breaking with his habit of “listening to the testimonies with his eyes closed”, especially after lunch.
Today the news was not only inside the room, but also outside, where dozens of large penis-shaped pink balloons flew over the vicinity of the court.
The balloons overprinted the faces of people like Merchan or that of the Manhattan prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, who has filed the accusation that Trump has in the dock.
International
Mexico and U.S. Launch New Bilateral Security Group to Combat Fentanyl and Organized Crime
The governments of Mexico and the United States officially launched the Bilateral Implementation Group (BIG) on Friday, a new initiative aimed at strengthening cooperation on security issues and enhancing joint efforts against transnational crime.
In a statement, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson announced that he and Deputy Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco addressed officials from both countries who will lead what he described as a “new phase of bilateral cooperation.” The initiative seeks to curb the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, illegal firearms, and human trafficking across the shared border.
Earlier this week, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had confirmed that senior security officials from both nations would meet in Mexico City on June 12 to review and advance existing cooperation agreements.
Through social media, Ambassador Johnson explained that the new bilateral group is designed to improve coordination between the two governments by placing greater emphasis on implementation, accountability, and measurable results. The effort will also focus on combating transnational criminal organizations operating across North America.
“The participation of 15 U.S. government agencies, working alongside their Mexican counterparts, reflects the seriousness of this effort and our shared commitment to delivering measurable results,” Johnson said.
The ambassador also highlighted several achievements that he attributed to ongoing bilateral cooperation. According to Johnson, maritime drug trafficking into the United States has declined by more than 95 percent, while overdose deaths have fallen by 35 percent.
He further noted that Mexican authorities have seized more than 400 metric tons of illegal drugs and dismantled over 2,300 clandestine laboratories as part of their efforts to combat organized crime and narcotics production.
The launch of the Bilateral Implementation Group marks the latest step in the security partnership between Mexico and the United States, as both countries seek to address shared challenges related to drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, and the activities of criminal networks operating across the region.
International
‘El Chapo’ Guzmán again asks Mexican president to seek his return from U.S. prison
Convicted drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has once again appealed to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to intervene on his behalf and seek his transfer from the United States to Mexico, where he hopes to serve the remainder of his prison sentence.
Guzmán, the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, is currently serving a sentence of more than 50 years in the United States after being convicted in 2019 on multiple charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering.
According to reports, the latest request was made in a letter dated June 2, one of several messages that Guzmán has reportedly sent to Sheinbaum in recent months in an effort to secure his repatriation. In the letter, he expresses hope that the Mexican government can support the efforts of his legal team.
Written in English and by hand, the letter asks that he be allowed to complete his sentence in Mexico, arguing that such a transfer would enable him to receive visits from family members more easily.
Guzmán is currently being held at the United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado, commonly known as the “Alcatraz of the Rockies,” one of the most secure prisons in the United States.
As in previous communications, the former cartel leader complained about his prison conditions, stating that he remains in near-total isolation and has little to no contact with other inmates.
He also reiterated his long-standing claim that he did not receive a fair trial in the United States and argued that the Mexican government bears responsibility for much of the violence associated with organized crime in the country.
In the letter, Guzmán maintains that his actions were motivated by a desire to protect himself and his family amid the violence linked to criminal organizations in Mexico.
Mexican authorities have not publicly indicated whether they plan to respond to the request. Guzmán remains one of the most notorious figures in the history of international drug trafficking and is serving his sentence under some of the strictest security measures in the U.S. prison system.
Central America
U.S. Authorities Accuse Guatemalan Nationals of Using False Information to Sponsor Migrant Minors
Senior officials from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday criminal charges against three Guatemalan citizens accused of using false information to sponsor migrant children who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or guardian.
According to an indictment filed in Ohio, Maritza Cahuec Coc allegedly submitted at least 12 sponsorship applications, several of which were filed under aliases or contained materially false statements intended to secure custody of the minors.
Under U.S. procedures, unaccompanied migrant children apprehended at the southern border are placed in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for their care until they can be released to a qualified sponsor, such as a parent or relative living in the United States.
Prosecutors allege that Cahuec Coc, who reportedly entered the United States illegally in 2018, received payments between late 2020 and 2023 for helping bring 12 migrant minors into the country. Authorities claim she submitted fraudulent documents and misleading information to obtain approval for the sponsorship requests.
The case was announced during a joint press conference led by Acting Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. However, officials provided limited details about the investigation and instead focused much of their remarks on criticizing immigration policies implemented under the previous administration.
Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials have frequently pointed to the increase in unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border during President Joe Biden’s term, arguing that the government failed to adequately oversee their care and placement.
During Thursday’s briefing, A. Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, alleged that Cahuec Coc used the identities of other individuals and falsely claimed family relationships in order to obtain custody of the children.
“Maritza submitted sponsorship applications using other people’s identities and falsely represented that the minors were the children of close relatives in order to secure their release,” Duva said.
The case remains under investigation, and federal authorities have not yet disclosed additional information regarding the other two Guatemalan nationals charged in connection with the alleged scheme.
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