International

Musk will pay Trump 10 million dollars for vetoing X in the past, according to WSJ

South African tycoon, Elon Musk, agreed to pay 10 million dollars to dismiss the legal battle that US President Donald Trump had waged against the social media giant for having been excluded from the platform after the January 6 attack, according to The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

Trump’s team considered abandoning the lawsuit, according to sources close to the matter to the WSJ, citing Musk’s closeness to the president and the fact that he spent 250 million dollars to help choose him. However, they finally advanced with the agreement despite the close relationship between Trump and Musk, reports the media.

Musk has been the right hand of the Republican leader since the last election campaign and since the beginning of his second term on January 20 he has been at the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), in charge of cutting federal expenses and bureaucracy.

X, then known as Twitter, decided to suspend Trump’s account in January 2021, amid the political tension derived from the 2020 presidential elections and the assault on the Capitol that was starred in the politician’s supporters.

The Republican’s last message before that veto, on January 8, 2021, was: “To all those who have asked, I will not attend the inauguration (of Joe Biden) on January 20.”

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At the end of 2022, after acquiring the social network for 44 billion dollars, Musk ordered to restore Trump’s account, but the latter, who had created his own platform, Truth Social, chose to leave it inactive.

It did not reappear in it until August 2024.

Trump initially filed the lawsuit in July 2021, months after he was banned from accessing.

The company alleged at that time that its decision was due to “the risk of greater incitement to violence,” while the affected person argued that the measure infringed the First Amendment, which protects freedom of expression.

A California federal judge dismissed Trump’s initial lawsuit in May 2022, stating that Twitter did not act as part of the United States government and, therefore, did not violate its rights, but Trump had appealed that decision.

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On January 29, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) indicated that the American technology company Meta agreed to pay 25 million dollars to resolve the lawsuit that Trump filed in 2021 for vetoing it on its social networks (Facebook and Instagram) also after the assault on the Capitol.

The WSJ, which cited sources familiar with the agreement, indicated that 22 million of the amount would be used to finance Trump’s presidential library and the rest to legal expenses and to compensate other complainants.

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.