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

White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment

The White House said Monday that it has not changed its policy toward Cuba, despite allowing a sanctioned Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island on humanitarian grounds.

U.S. officials emphasized that the decision was made as an exception and does not signal a broader shift in policy.

The administration added that similar decisions would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on humanitarian considerations.

The clarification comes amid ongoing restrictions related to U.S. sanctions policy, which continue to limit trade and financial flows involving Cuba.

International

Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López

The Spanish government is expected to grant citizenship this Tuesday to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lópezthrough an extraordinary procedure known as “carta de naturaleza.”

The decision will be approved by royal decree, an exceptional legal mechanism used in special cases that require expedited resolution due to specific circumstances.

López has been living in Madrid since 2020, after leaving Venezuela following a prolonged political and legal conflict with the government of Nicolás Maduro.

According to government sources, López currently does not have a valid Venezuelan passport and faces difficulties in having his nationality fully recognized in his home country.

As a result, he applied for Spanish citizenship via a fast-track process at the end of 2025, after previously attempting to obtain it through regular procedures.

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The Spanish government justified the move based on López’s international relevance and foreign policy considerations.

López is the leader of the Voluntad Popular party and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, an initiative launched in 2022 alongside figures such as Garry Kasparov and Masih Alinejad.

International

ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says

The U.S. “border czar,” Tom Homan, said Sunday that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain deployed at airports until operations return to “100% normal,” as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.

“We will maintain ICE presence until airports feel they are fully back to normal operations,” Homan said during an interview on Face the Nation on CBS.

Homan justified the deployment on security grounds, noting that the measure was ordered by President Donald Trumpamid widespread absenteeism among agents of the Transportation Security Administration, who have gone without pay for over six weeks due to the DHS shutdown.

According to acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, at least 460 TSA agents have resigned during the shutdown, while daily absenteeism has averaged 11%, exceeding 50% at some airports.

Homan warned that if TSA staffing levels do not recover after the shutdown, ICE agents will continue filling the gap. “ICE is there to support our TSA brothers and sisters. We will remain as long as needed to ensure airport security,” he said.

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The DHS shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The impasse stems from disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over ICE funding.

A recent bipartisan Senate proposal to fund DHS without including ICE failed after being blocked by House Republicans, who insist on full funding for the agency.

Amid the deadlock, Trump signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA agents to address what he called an “emergency situation” and restore order at airports, with payments expected to begin Monday.