International

The formation of a government with Wilders’ radical right in the Netherlands is successfully completed

Geert Wilders’ radical right successfully completed on Monday the formation of a government in the Netherlands, in coalition with three other right-wing parties, which will have as prime minister Dick Schoof, an expert official in security and asylum, at the head of a team of ministers with political experience.

According to the report presented on Monday to Parliament, the future government will have 15 ministers and, despite the initial promise that half will be technocrats, finally all the members of the cabinet come from politics: five from the radical right of the PVV, four from the liberals of the VVD, four from the Christian Democrat NSC and two from the BBB peasant party.

The new Dutch cabinet, which will not include Geert Wilders or any of the leaders of the other three parties, will devote the next two months to detailing the government program, after taking office on Tuesday, which puts an end to almost 14 years of legislatures of the liberal Mark Rutte, who says goodbye to the policy to take over the general secretariat of NATO in October.

The report, presented by mediator Richard van Zwol, points out that the program of the future government “will be presented to the States General in time for Budget Day,” on Tuesday, September 17, and also “will be dedicated to the legislative quality and the viability of the political and legislative proposals” that the initial pact includes in general lines.

The document, which does not offer much information on how the government pact will be applied, emphasizes that the planned cuts in government employees will be made in a “responsible and achievable way” and “special attention will be paid to the importance of an adequate supervision function (inspections) and an adequate network of missions abroad.”

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The four parties have included in their agreement a 22% reduction in the public service, which alarmed many ministries, such as Foreign Affairs, which fear the closure of embassies.

Early in the morning, the new team of ministers formally met for the first time in what is called a “constitutive meeting,” under the leadership of Schoof and Van Zwol.

The far-right deputy Fleur Agema (PVV) stressed that she was “very proud” of being the future deputy prime minister and Minister of Public Health of the “most right-wing” cabinet in Dutch history, although “with a warm social heart,” she said. “I’ll take care of that,” he promised.

His PVV colleague, Marjolein Faber, who will be in charge of the new Ministry of Migration and Asylum, spoke of “a historic day” for the Netherlands and stressed that he does not want to “look back, only forward,” when asked about his defense of “ethnic substitution”, the conspiracy theory of the Great Replacement, which believes that immigrants are “repopuling” the West.

Both Faber and the far-right deputy Reinette Klever, who will be Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, were heavily criticized for having used racist claims and known terminology of National Socialism in the past. “I’m not going to say anything else about that,” Klever said today.

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In parliamentary hearings in recent weeks, Faber distanced himself from the term “ethnic substitution,” and Klever described it as “a factual description of a demographic development.”

Van Zwol will meet today with King William Alexander of the Netherlands and introduce him to Schoof, before the inauguration this Tuesday.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”

International

Mexico security chief meets DEA director in Washington to boost anti-drug cooperation

Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, met in Washington with the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Terrance Cole, to discuss cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking and illegal arms flows.

The Mexican official said Monday on social media that he attended the meeting in representation of the Mexican government’s Security Cabinet.

“In Washington, D.C., I represented the Security Cabinet to hold talks with DEA Director Terrance Cole on the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation to combat drug trafficking, curb the flow of weapons into our country, and reduce violence in Mexico through significant arrests,” García Harfuch wrote.

He added that, following instructions from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, the government will continue strengthening international cooperation on security matters.

For his part, Cole said the meeting focused on cross-border collaboration to tackle drug trafficking and to build safer communities on both sides of the border.

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The meeting comes as Mexico and the United States begin a new round of dialogue on economic and security issues.

Earlier Monday, President Claudia Sheinbaum said she will look for the “best moment” to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, adding that maintaining a good relationship with Washington is a priority for her administration.