International

Trump’s proposal for Gaza is “steroid imperialism,” according to UN rapporteur

The UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, condemned on Wednesday as “steroid imperialism” President Donald Trump’s proposal to expel the Palestinians from Gaza and called it “illegal and immoral madness” that will make the situation “even more draconian” and “coverturn” the system of international law.

In a meeting with a group of journalists in the Dutch city of The Hague, including EFE, Albanese warned that Trump’s proposal is “grotesque and insulting.”

And he does, he added, that “suddenly, something that the Palestinians have experienced for decades, is no longer just an Israeli policy that has led to catastrophic results and international crimes.”

Trump proposes that the US take and rebuild Gaza as a real estate project under the name of the “Middle East River”, expelling Gazans to neighboring states such as Jordan and Egypt.

“What authority does the United States have for this? Let’s go back to what’s really happening: this is steroid imperialism (…) It’s not new, but it’s now completely exposed. It’s crazy, but it’s also illegal, it’s immoral. And it arrives in the middle of genocide. It is irresponsible, and will not bring stability to the region,” he warned.

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The Italian lawyer said she was “very concerned about the legal implications of what Trump is saying” because “what he has said includes deportation, forced displacement, aggression” which, according to her, “will become the foreign policy of the United States from now on.”

Trump announced his plan for Gaza, Albanese said, while he was with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is “seeked and arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity” for the war in Gaza.

“When the president of the United States, instead of condemning him, moving away, embraces him… So, what do we have left? The implications in Gaza for the Palestinians will continue to be tragic,” he lamented.

Gaza is “part of the territory occupied” by Israel and is “part of the territorial unity of the State where there is international consensus that the Palestinians have an exclusive right over their land,” he said.

In this sense, he assured that the two-state solution for Palestine and Israel has been an “opportunity” for the latter to “distract attention from the continuous annexation of Palestinian lands (…) by taking land, displacing people to its extreme consequences.”

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“What is happening to the Palestinians is not only an announced tragedy, but it is the result of impunity. And it will continue to be. The system is collapsing in our hands, and living in a world without laws, where force makes law, is not going to protect any of us,” he warned.

Albanese is visiting the Netherlands this week, where he is giving speeches and participating in round tables. However, both the government and the country’s parliament rejected a formal meeting with her because of their criticisms of Israel, but several deputies will receive it informally.

In this sense, he regretted that representatives of the Netherlands “do not want to listen to a lawyer, an expert in international law, who has been appointed by the UN, while listening to pro-Israeli organizations that are financed by who knows who.”

Albanese explained that “there are a small number of States that have broken the chains of control,” while other countries are “waiting to see where the wind blows” and others “are becoming even more accomplices of this lack of legality.”

“I think that, ultimately, this is also an opportunity for us in the West to do better. To take the opportunity to demonstrate that we can be fairer without giving lessons to others about human rights,” he said.

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And he concluded: “The genocide is not only the concentration camps: it is the lack of food and medical care, health conditions, induced famine.”

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.