International

A Texas judge approves the transfer of Ismael ‘el Mayo’ Zambada to New York

Judge Kathleen Cardone approved this Thursday the federal government’s request to expedite the transfer to New York of the co-founder of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael ‘el Mayo’ Zambada, to be judged in that city.

Zambada (76 years old), who is currently detained in the border city of El Paso and has already had two initial hearings before Justice, had been a fugitive for almost 50 years in Mexico and until his arrest on July 25 in El Paso (Texas) he was one of the most wanted criminals by the United States with a reward of 15 million dollars.

There is already a pending accusation against him in the Eastern District of New York and after the U.S. Prosecutor’s Office formally filed the request for his transfer on Thursday, the magistrate accepted it.

The accusation in New York is one of at least four that it faces in the United States, but it was updated in February of this year and is the only one that mentions the trafficking of fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid that has generated a serious crisis of overdose deaths in the United States and that has become the center of the country’s anti-drug policy.

In the Eastern District of New York, his former partner Joaquín ‘el Chapo’ Guzmán was already sentenced to life imprisonment. A son of the latter, Joaquín Guzmán López, stopped him next to ‘el Mayo’ last month.

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The U.S. Department of Justice then stressed that both “face multiple charges in the United States for leading the Cartel’s criminal operations, including its lethal fentanyl manufacturing and trafficking networks.”

The judge accepted on Thursday that an initial appearance be set for the accused “without further delay.”

International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.

International

Trump Floats “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Rising Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration is considering what he described as a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, as Washington continues to increase pressure on the island’s communist government.

“The Cuban government is talking to us and they have very serious problems, as you know. They have no money, they have nothing at this moment, but they are talking to us and maybe we will see a friendly takeover of Cuba,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for a trip to Texas.

Earlier in the week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba needed a “radical change,” shortly after Washington eased restrictions on oil exports to the island for what officials described as “humanitarian reasons,” amid a deep economic crisis.

The United States has imposed an energy blockade on Cuba since January, citing what it calls an “extraordinary threat” posed by the communist-run island, located roughly 150 kilometers (90 miles) off the coast of Florida, to U.S. national security.

International

Argentina’s Senate Reviews Milei-Backed Labor Overhaul

Argentina’s Senate on Friday began reviewing the Labor Modernization Law promoted by the administration of President Javier Milei, a proposal that would significantly reshape labor rules across the country.

The upper chamber opened its final discussion of the contentious initiative, which revises the method used to calculate severance payments — lowering the amounts owed in dismissal cases — and introduces an “hour bank” mechanism that allows overtime to be offset with paid leave rather than extra wages.

The legislation also broadens the classification of essential services, a change that would place new limits on the right to strike in designated sectors.

The bill was initially approved by the Senate on February 11 and then moved to the Chamber of Deputies, where lawmakers passed it with amendments. It has now returned to the Senate for definitive approval.

Outside the Congress building in Buenos Aires, workers, trade unions and left-wing organizations staged demonstrations beginning at midday. The gathering later thinned out amid reports of disturbances and a strong police presence. Security forces had secured the area surrounding the legislature since early morning hours.

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Union leaders contend that the reform weakens labor protections, while many business representatives back the measure but stress that sustainable formal employment will require economic expansion, improved credit conditions, greater investment and a more dynamic domestic market.