International

MAGA Movement accompanies Donald Trump to vote in Palm Beach

Dozens of supporters of former president (2017-2021) and Republican candidate Donald Trump met this Tuesday at the voting center of the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center, in Palm Beach (Florida, USA), to support him and accompany him to vote in the place.

“I am here because I am a faithful follower of Donald Trump, he is a leader who can say no more, because we need a leader for the economy and people,” Juan David Rubio, a Colombian-American resident in the area, who spent hours waiting for the arrival of the former president, told EFE.

Rubio is one of the hundreds of followers of the White House aspirant who is part of the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement, which in Spanish means ‘Let’s Make the United States Great Again’, and who were encouraged to accompany Trump at the time of casting his vote for the Presidency.

Dressed in a black T-shirt on which Trump’s photo is printed on the words “Never Surrender”, Rubio repeated the rhetoric of Trump’s campaign about how the Democrats have destroyed the country, without giving further details.

The support of the MAGA movement to Trump

For her part, the Cuban Xiomara Claudio, who had a cap and posters in support of the Republican, explained that she was there “to support our President Trump because he is the only one who will protect this country. Not Kamala Harris (in reference to the vice president and Democratic candidate).”

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Former New York Mayor Rudy Giulliani also arrived at the place, assuring the press that if the Republican loses the elections it is “because the Democratic Party is the most corrupt in the history of the United States.”

Trump’s supporters of the MAGA movement spent hours standing, enduring the sun and intermittent rain, hoping to see their candidate.

In the early hours of the morning, the line in front of the polling center was extended for several blocks, with people waiting to cast their vote, in what is considered a crucial day.

The only political activists not related to the Trump movement were some women who promoted the right to abortion in Florida, a point that will be decided in a referendum included in the ballot, in which seats for the Senate, members of the House of Representatives, school district leaders and judges are also chosen.

Trump is “very confident” in victory

Numerous media, including EFE, installed their equipment in the community center with a playground, soccer fields and classrooms for neighbors, a gym and a cafeteria.

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The former president arrived at the place with his wife, Melania Trump, and cast the vote shortly after 11:40 local time (16:40 GMT)

“We are doing very well in Georgia (‘hinge’ state) and everywhere,” Trump told the media at the voting center of this city where his luxurious Mar-a-Lago complex is located.

Trump said that he is “very confident” in the victory, which, according to him, will not even be by a very narrow margin, to ensure that this has been “the best” of the three electoral campaigns he has starred in.

However, he complained about the probable delay in calculating the election results.

However, Trump did not go out to greet his supporters. Once it was known that he would not do it, the members of the MAGA movement left the place and its surroundings, although they promised to meet around the Palm Beach County Convention Center, where the campaign will see the vote count and followers of the tycoon have already begun to arrive.

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Strict security measures

The streets adjacent to the voting center and the convention center were closed from the day before, as well as those surrounding the former president’s house, in a measure that had already been implemented following previous incidents such as the arrest of a man with a gun near the golf course last July.

The city has been heavily guarded. “We have no reason to think that something could happen, but the community must know that we are always attentive in case anything happens, and we are ready to act, if necessary,” the local police spokesman, Captain Will Rothrock, told the press when talking about the operation.

He added that the Palm Beach County Police Department closely monitors security during the election process, in coordination with other state and federal security agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service.

International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.

International

Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition

he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.

Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.

The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”

International

Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may

The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.

The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”

The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”

Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.

The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.