International

Trump defends the deportation of hundreds of immigrants in his first days in office

US President Donald Trump highlighted on Monday the “hundreds of illegal criminal immigrants” deported during their first days in office, including, he said, members of the transnational organization Tren de Aragua and the Mara Salvatrucha gang.

Trump closed today the first day of an annual conference of Republican congressmen held at his hotel in Doral, a neighboring city of Miami and South Florida, where he has reviewed the first executive and political orders he has implemented, including the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the abolition in the Federal Administration of equity and gender programs, in pursuit of a return of “meritocracy”.

But there has been a topic that has implied a good stretch of the speech of more than an hour he has offered in Florida has been that of the measures against immigration that he has implemented and the deportations of hundreds of “criminal immigrants”, many of whom are repeat offenders.

“They are more violent than our own criminals,” said the Republican, who added that he is analyzing the possibility of establishing the death penalty for undocumented people who commit murders.

The US immigration authorities have arrested at least 2,382 undocumented immigrants in the first week of the Republican’s mandate and issued 1,797 arrest warrants against citizens susceptible to being deported, according to official figures.

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Trump also referred to the crisis raised over the weekend with his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, by his refusal to accept two repatriation flights, before which the US announced the imposition of general tariffs of 25%, among other measures. Hours later, the White House announced that the Colombian Executive agreed to the terms.

“He said: ‘This is not the way to treat people.’ You would have to say that these are murderers, drug traffickers, gang members, the toughest people you have ever met or seen. How would you like to be a pilot of that plane?” Trump joked.

The president said that he is working with Congress on a bill to allocate funds “to totally and permanently restore the sovereign borders of the United States once and for all.”

This project, he added, should include funding for “a record increase in border security personnel” and bonuses for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) staff and for its operational arm, the Border Patrol.”

He defended that the automotive industry returns to produce in the country, rather than importing from Mexico or China, otherwise it will impose tariffs, an idea that he defends as a mechanism to defend the American population: “Our country is going to be rich again,” he said.

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He also warned that although they work on legislation in the face of budget cuts, he will not sign any law that would cut “a single penny” to funds for Social Security and Medicare. “We are not going to touch those benefits,” he stressed.

He also kept his promise not to apply taxes to tips.

“I think we will have many victories, but we must stay united. This Congress will be remembered as the most successful in the United States,” promised the Republican, who precisely has a majority of his party in both chambers.

He was aware, however, that the long-term legislative agenda would require almost unanimous party cohesion.

In the middle of his speech, Trump commented again in a joking tone about the possibility of running for a third term, a scenario unfeasible for unconstitutional, although the Republican legislator for Tennessee Andy Ogles has already proposed a constitutional amendment that would allow that scenario.

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International

Florida judge sets 2027 trial in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against BBC

A federal judge in Florida has scheduled February 2027 for the trial in the lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump against the BBC, in which he is seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation.

Trump accuses the British broadcaster of airing a misleading edit of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, which, he says, made it appear that he explicitly urged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

The president filed the suit in December in federal court in Florida, alleging defamation and violations of a law governing business practices when the program was broadcast ahead of the 2024 election.

Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the two claims.

Lawyers for the BBC unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Trump had not suffered a “legally recognizable harm,” since the investigative program Panorama, which included the edited footage, aired outside the United States.

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International

Head-of-state diplomacy key to guiding China–U.S. ties, Beijing says

Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–United States relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday during a regular press briefing, when asked about high-level exchanges between the two sides.

Lin added that in a recent phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump once again expressed his intention to visit China in April, while Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his invitation.

Both sides remain in communication regarding the matter, the spokesperson said.

Lin noted that the essence of China–U.S. economic and trade ties lies in mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

“Both parties should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, injecting greater certainty and stability into China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as into the global economy,” he said.

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International

Trump administration to end special immigration operation in Minnesota

The administration of Donald Trump is bringing to a close its special operation targeting illegal immigration in the northern state of Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday, following weeks of unrest and the fatal shootings of two activists by federal agents.

Thousands of federal officers had been deployed to Minnesota in December to carry out large-scale raids against undocumented immigrants.

The operations triggered strong reactions from residents and advocacy groups, leading to daily confrontations and the deaths of two people who were shot by federal agents.

“I proposed, and President Trump agreed, that this special operation should end in Minnesota,” Homan said during a press conference in the state capital, Minneapolis.

“A significant drawdown began this week and will continue into next week,” he added.

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Homan indicated that similar enforcement efforts could be launched in other cities.

“Next week we will redeploy the agents currently here back to their home stations or to other parts of the country where they are needed. But we will continue to enforce immigration laws,” he said.