He seems to hope to slip away without Americans noticing the magnitude of this defeat.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty
The outlines of President Trump’s endgame in the Iran war are now emerging. In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, Trump reportedly explained that the United States was negotiating a “letter of intent” with Iran that would “formally end the war and launch a 30-day period of negotiations” on Iran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The purpose and effect of such an agreement should be clear: The United States is walking away from the crisis. Trump may launch another limited strike to look tough and satisfy the demands of the war’s supporters, but it would be a performative gesture. Endgame in this case is a euphemism for “surrender.”
Trump has blinked many times in the confrontation with Iran—ever since March 18, when Israel attacked the Pars gas field and Iran retaliated with a strike against Qatar’s most important natural-gas-production facility. Trump then called for a halt on U.S. and Israeli targeting of Iran’s energy infrastructure, and the war effectively ended.
Trump’s repeated threats to resume attacks since then have proved to be bluffs. The leaders in Tehran have been calculating for two months that Trump would not launch another attack, and for this reason they have made no concessions despite the damage they suffered from 37 days of relentless strikes. On the contrary, their terms for a settlement are those of a victor: They demand war reparations, no limits on uranium enrichment, recognized control of the strait, and an end to sanctions.
For Trump to respond to this defiance by now calling for another 30 days of cease-fire and talks is a tacit admission of defeat. If he does launch a performative attack in the next few days, the Iranians will understand it for what it is. No one believes that he is going to resume a full-scale war a month from now. Among other reasons, with 30 more days to heal, rearm, and fill its coffers with tolls, Iran will be a more formidable adversary.
In 30 days, moreover, the new Iranian strait regime may already be firmly in place. As the Institute for the Study of War reports, Iran has been using the cease-fire period to “normalize” its control over the strait by “compelling oil-importing countries” to establish transit agreements with Tehran and charging fees on vessels from nations without such deals. According to Iranian officials, the new strait regime will give Iran’s strategic partners, such as Russia and China, priority and allow nations friendly to Iran, such as India and Pakistan, to negotiate their own transit agreements. Vessels associated with nations that Iran regards as an adversary will be denied access to the strait entirely.
Several nations, including South Korea, Turkey, and Iraq, are reportedly already negotiating at least temporary transit agreements. Now that Trump has made clear he has no intention of fighting to reopen the strait, the stampede to get good terms with Tehran will begin. All nations heavily dependent on energy from the Persian Gulf will want to cut their deal quickly to get the oil and gas and other commodities flowing and rescue their battered economy. Those nations currently allied with the United States and friendly to Israel will feel pressure to distance themselves and make their peace with Iran. The international sanctions against Iran will collapse, and even more money will pour into the country’s accounts as its newly central role in the global economy becomes normalized. By the end of 30 days, most of the world will have a stake in the new arrangement and will oppose any resumption of hostilities, even in the unlikely event that Trump wanted to go back to war.
Trump no doubt hopes that he can slip away without Americans noticing the magnitude of this defeat. The financial markets may stabilize if it is clear that oil will eventually start flowing again through a reopened strait, even if under the new Iran-controlled system. A major strategic setback for the United States need not affect Wall Street. The president may also hope that he can change the subject by launching another military operation, this time against the government in Cuba. And the news media have indeed begun writing more about Cuba than about the unfolding disaster in Iran.
According to one U.S. official, Netanyahu’s “hair was on fire” after the call with Trump—for good reason. The Iran war may end up as the single most devastating blow to Israel’s security in its brief history. On the present trajectory, Iran will emerge from the conflict many times stronger and more influential than it was before the war. It will exercise leverage with dozens of the richest nations in the world, all of which will have an acute interest in keeping Iran happy. They will be unlikely to take Israel’s side in any conflict that it has with Tehran or with its proxies in Lebanon and Gaza, because Iran will have the means to punish them if they do. Israel will emerge more isolated than it has been at any time in its history—and not least from its only reliable protector, the United States. When Trump turns his back on Israel, as he must do to implement this policy, MAGA will gladly follow. The bipartisan anti-Israel consensus in the United States will grow and harden.
Will Israel go gentle into this good night? That is the wild card that may disrupt the financial markets’ dreams of a new stability in the Gulf. A stronger, richer, more influential Iran will mean new life for Hamas and Hezbollah. It will mean the end of the Abraham Accords, as the Gulf States will have to make their own peace with Tehran so that their economies can survive. Trump says that Netanyahu “will do whatever I want him to do.” But can Israel stand by while Iran replaces the United States as the arbiter of power in the region?
Most likely, the new normal in the Persian Gulf will be chronic instability and frequent disruptions in shipping. That’s what happens when the hegemon cedes hegemony.
Donald Trump’s endorsement is typically a boon for candidates seeking elected office – a show of support, or disapproval, from the president has proved significant in races across the US this year.
But Trump’s recent comments on the Los Angeles mayor’s race, just weeks before the primary, are sure to benefit Democrats. The president spoke favorably of Spencer Pratt, a former Republican and reality TV star who is polling second in the contest to lead America’s second-largest city.
“I’d like to see him do well. I don’t know him. I assume he probably supports me,” Trump told a reporter on Wednesday. “I heard he’s a big Maga person.”
Pratt’s rise has shaken up the mayoral race in the deep-blue city. Best known as the villain of the reality TV hit The Hills, Pratt lost his home in last year’s wildfires and became a vocal critic of the city’s response to the disaster and the leadership of its mayor, Karen Bass. Pratt has successfully harnessed anger over the slow pace of recovery, a cost-of-living crisis and an enduring homelessness emergency to advance his campaign.
Pratt is polling second in the race, behind Bass, a longtime state lawmaker, congresswoman, community organizer and high-profile Democrat.
Still, Pratt has his work cut out trying to win over skeptical voters and defeat Bass and the progressive city councilor Nithya Raman.
As Zev Yaroslavsky, who spent almost four decades in local politics, recently told the Guardian, the most unpopular person in Los Angeles is Donald Trump. “That’s where Pratt has vulnerability,” Yaroslavsky, who is the director of the Los Angeles initiative at UCLA Luskin’s School of Public Affairs, said in an interview last week.
The city has long been a liberal stronghold. Trump has been particularly unpopular in Los Angeles, even more so after last year, when immigration agents began detaining people in city streets, sparking widespread protests. The president deployed the US military to quell the backlash.
Pratt, previously a registered Republican, has said throughout the campaign he is not Maga, arguing his focus as mayor would be solely on the city rather than national politics.
But his opponents were quick to seize on Trump’s nod of approval.
“Both Trump and Pratt want ICE to invade our city and kidnap our neighbors. I stood up to ICE to protect our communities,” Bass said in response to the news, adding that neither of her challengers are “up to the job”.
Raman said Trump wants a foothold in one of the nation’s most progressive cities.
“It’s no surprise Donald Trump supports his LA Apprentice and ‘Big MAGA person’ Spencer Pratt,” Raman wrote. “Your vote for my campaign stops Spencer Pratt from making it to the general election.”
Pratt cannot come across as a conservative Republican if he wants to win the race, political analysts have said. He has had to tread a fine line as a candidate, acknowledging the support he has received from prominent Republicans while seeking to appeal to a diverse electorate by tapping into the long-brewing frustrations over quality-of-life issues in the city.
In an interview with CNN earlier this week, Pratt said he previously registered as a Republican because the party supported permits for concealed carry weapons. He said he obtained guns after receiving death threats while he was on reality TV.
The subject of Trump’s support for Pratt came up during an interview on Billy Bush’s podcast.
His priorities are local issues, such as water and power, the police, the fire department, potholes and sidewalks and streetlights, Pratt said.
“That has nothing to do with national politics or who is in the White House,” he said. “I keep telling people it’s a nonpartisan race.”
US Senate refuses to push through ICE funding amid row over Trump’s ballroom
A bid to restore funding to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol has been derailed by rows over a $1bn proposal for security measures tied to Donald Trump’s White House ballroom and controversial plans to create a $1.8bn “anti-weaponization” fund.
The US Senate will not pass the $70bn legislation ahead of a 1 June deadline set by the US president, Republican senators told reporters on Thursday, as lawmakers leave Washington for the Memorial Day recess.
It comes amid backlash from members of Trump’s own party against an attempt to latch funding for his ballroom project on to the immigration bill.
The plan prompted intense anxiety among congressional Republicans, who feared diverting taxpayer dollars toward Trump’s “East Wing modernization project” amid mounting cost of living concerns across the US would risk alienating voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Some Senate Republicans have also expressed concerns about a plan, announced on Monday, to create a secretive $1.776bn fund – which critics have argued is essentially a slush fund – to compensate Trump allies as part of an agreement in which the president and his sons dropped a $10bn long-shot lawsuit against the US Internal Revenue Service.
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US Senate refuses to push through ICE funding amid row over Trump’s ballroom. A bid to restore funding to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol has been derailed by rows over a $1bn proposal for security measures tied to Trump’s White House ballroom and controversial plans to create a $1.8bn “anti-weaponization” fund.
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The Democratic National Party belatedly released a copy of a report about why Democrats lost the 2024 presidential election, written by a Democratic strategist. The report focuses on key demographics that Harris lost – including Latinos, men and rural voters in many states – and compares her performance to other Democrats in key state races, such as North Carolina governor Josh Stein.
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Trump insists White House ballroom security costs would be a ‘very good expenditure’ despite GOP backlash. Asked about Republican backlash over plans to provide $1bn in security funds for his White House ballroom project, Trump drew distinctions between the ballroom and proposed security improvements.
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Trump postponed a signing ceremony for an executive order on artificial intelligence because he didn’t like some aspects of the text. He announced this just a few hours before the ceremony with top CEOs at the White House was due to take place.
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Trump says ‘it looks like I’ll be the one’ to intervene in Cuba after Castro indictment. Asked about the US aircraft carrier that arrived in the Caribbean yesterday and whether it was meant to intimidate the Cuban government, Trump said: “No, not at all.”
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A bid to restore funding to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol has been derailed by rows over a $1bn proposal for security measures tied to Donald Trump’s White House ballroom and controversial plans to create a $1.8bn “anti-weaponization” fund.
The US Senate will not pass the $70bn legislation ahead of a 1 June deadline set by the US president, Republican senators told reporters on Thursday, as lawmakers leave Washington for the Memorial Day recess.
The plan prompted intense anxiety among congressional Republicans, who feared diverting taxpayer dollars toward Trump’s “East Wing modernization project” amid mounting cost of living concerns across the US would risk alienating voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Some Senate Republicans have also expressed concerns about a plan, announced on Monday, to create a secretive $1.776bn fund – which critics have argued is essentially a slush fund – to compensate Trump allies as part of an agreement in which the president and his sons dropped a $10bn long-shot lawsuit against the US Internal Revenue Service.
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Asked about the US aircraft carrier that arrived in the Caribbean yesterday and whether it was meant to intimidate the Cuban government, Trump said: “No, not at all.”
“We’re going to help them along … because I want to help them,” he said, adding: “Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years. It looks like I’ll be the one that does it. We want to open it up to Cuban Americans where they can go back and help.”
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Asked about Republican backlash over plans to provide $1bn in security funds for his White House ballroom project, Donald Trump drew distinctions between the ballroom and proposed security improvements.
He said the ballroom was being built “in conjunction” with the military and the Secret Service and claimed that “a tremendous amount” of the project “is for national security”.
The president also said that the changes were “not for me because I’ll be gone” – even though he’s repeatedly mused about remaining in office after his term, including yesterday.
Pressured by the White House, Republicans tried to add the funds to a roughly $70bn bill to restore funding to ICE and the Border Patrol. But the security proposal is expected to be scrapped after being met with opposition from some GOP lawmakers who feared diverting taxpayer dollars to the project amid mounting cost of living concerns across the US would risk alienating voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.
I really don’t know. I don’t need money for the ballroom, I’m making a gift of the ballroom.
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We’re on time, on budget, it’s going beautifully. I have all the money I need, I’m making a gift to the United States. The ballroom is paid for, it’s a gift.
Well, the White House won’t be a very secure place.
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Donald Trump also called off a signing ceremony for an executive order on artificial intelligence because he didn’t like some aspects of the text.
“Because I didn’t like certain aspects of it I postponed it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office a short while ago, just a few hours before the ceremony with top CEOs at the White House was due to take place. “I didn’t like what I was seeing.”
He added: “We’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that lead.”
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The Democratic National Party released a copy of a report about why Democrats lost the 2024 presidential election, written by Democratic strategist Paul Rivera Thursday.
The report was commissioned at the request of Ken Martin, the DNC’s committee chair, and the version CNN published includes annotations that the DNC added to Rivera’s report.
The report was handed to Martin late last year, he told CNN in a statement, but he didn’t share it then because no source material was provided. He apologized for the delay, but said he was releasing it now even though it still does not meet his standards, because “people need to be able to trust the Democratic Party and trust our word.”
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Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democrats spoke held a news conference, ahead of the vote-a-rama Thursday morning.
“The Republican agenda is one big broken promise,” said Schumer, criticizing the Republican budget bill. “We still haven’t seen the bill, because they are fighting with each other.”
“Taxpayer dollars under no circumstances should be used to brutalize or kill American citizens,” said Jeffries, while speaking about the powers the Trump administration has given ICE. “That’s unpatriotic and unacceptable and thats why we are strongly opposing this bill.”
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The supreme court will hand down opinions at 10am ET today. Here’s a reminder of the major cases we’re tracking closely.
Trump v Cook: Donald Trump’s case for firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, as he continues to exert greater control over the US central bank.
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Trump v Slaughter: A case which examines the legality of Trump’s firing of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member, Rebecca Slaughter.
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Trump v Barbara: In which the court will decide if the administration’s attempts to restrict birthright citizenship are unconstitutional.
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Senate Republicans could strip Donald Trump’s lavish White House ballroom complex from the Department of Homeland Security funding bill after members queried the timing and lack of detail in the $1bn Secret Service request.
Facing pressure from the Trump administation, Republicans have tried to add the money to a roughly $70bn bill to restore funding to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.
However, the security proposal met with backlash from some GOP lawmakers who are questioning the cost and how the taxpayer dollars would be used, AP reported. While the bill’s text has yet to be released, the Senate hopes to pass it this week and send it to the House before leaving for a week-long Memorial Day recess.
The dispute comes as Senate majority leader John Thune acknowledged “ongoing vote issues” on Wednesday with leaders attempting to measure Republican support, as well as “ongoing parliamentarian issues” as they try to figure out what will be allowed in the bill under the chamber’s rules.
“There’s always a consequence with taking on United States senators,” Thune said. “[The president] obviously has his favorites and people he wants to endorse and that’s his prerogative. But what we have to deal with up here is moving the agenda, and obviously that can become slightly more complicated.”
Republican senator John Kennedy said on Wednesday that the bill would be “back to square one” without the security money because “the votes are not there.”
Meanwhile, senator Thom Tillis said the effort to add the security package to the bill was a “bad idea” because he does not think there is enough backing to pass it, even if the cost were reduced. Axios reported recently that Tillis would not support the bill if it is considered this week.
The US issued a federal criminal indictment against Raúl Castro, Cuba’s former president, potentially paving the way for a US military raid to capture him.
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Two police officers attacked by rioters at the US Capitol during the January 6 riot sued Donald Trump over plans to create a $1.776bn “anti-weaponization” fund.
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Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican congressman from a Philadelphia-area district carried by Kamala Harris in 2024, pledged on Wednesday to “try to kill” the $1.776bn slush fund created by Donald Trump’s Department of Justice this week, which could be used to compensate rioters who tried to keep Trump in office after he lost the 2020 election.
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Republican senator Bill Cassidy denounced two of Trump’s passion projects: $1bn in taxpayer funding for the White House ballroom the president can’t stop talking about, and the $1.776bn slush fund he plans to use to reward supporters who stormed the Capitol to try to keep him in office despite losing the 2020 election.
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A former federal prosecutor in Florida pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges that she illegally emailed herself a copy of the unreleased special counsel report on Trump’s mishandling of classified documents.
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Key events
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As South Carolina proceeds forward in passing the new congressional map that would eliminate the state’s only majority-Black district, Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California spoke out in a video post on X.
“We must stand up to this modern day Dred Scott Court,” he said. The Dred Scott court refers to the US Supreme Court’s 1857 decision about Black Americans not being US citizens and hence not being able to sue in federal court, among other limitations to their rights.
“They have unleashed a process that will eliminate the only Black-majority district in the state of South Carolina. South Carolina has a black population of 25% but they would be left with not a single Black majority district or Black political representation in the House,” said Khanna.
Calling out the Supreme Court, Khanna said “We need term limits for these justices now,” adding that the Court should to be expanded from 9 justices to 13 justices.
Here’s a recap of the day so far
US Senate refuses to push through ICE funding amid row over Trump’s ballroom. A bid to restore funding to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol has been derailed by rows over a $1bn proposal for security measures tied to Trump’s White House ballroom and controversial plans to create a $1.8bn “anti-weaponization” fund.
The Democratic National Party belatedly released a copy of a report about why Democrats lost the 2024 presidential election, written by a Democratic strategist. The report focuses on key demographics that Harris lost – including Latinos, men and rural voters in many states – and compares her performance to other Democrats in key state races, such as North Carolina governor Josh Stein.
Trump insists White House ballroom security costs would be a ‘very good expenditure’ despite GOP backlash. Asked about Republican backlash over plans to provide $1bn in security funds for his White House ballroom project, Trump drew distinctions between the ballroom and proposed security improvements.
Trump postponed a signing ceremony for an executive order on artificial intelligence because he didn’t like some aspects of the text. He announced this just a few hours before the ceremony with top CEOs at the White House was due to take place.
Trump says ‘it looks like I’ll be the one’ to intervene in Cuba after Castro indictment. Asked about the US aircraft carrier that arrived in the Caribbean yesterday and whether it was meant to intimidate the Cuban government, Trump said: “No, not at all.”
“Today the American people had a win in the US senate,” said Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen in a video post on X Thursday afternoon. “We stopped them from moving forward on a huge slush fund for ICE to provide billions of your taxpayer dollars for a lawless ICE operation.”
Van Hollen said that after the Democrats laid out their concerns with Trump’s $1.8 bn taxpayer funded slush fund, Republicans “pulled down votes & are going home.”
Maya Yang
Former head of Minnesota non-profit gets nearly 42-year prison sentence for fraud
The offices of Feeding Our Future are shown Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022 in St. Anthony, Minn., a week after FBI agents raided the offices of Minnesota nonprofit. (Shari L. Gross/Star Tribune via AP) Photograph: Shari L Gross/AP
A federal judge has sentenced the Feeding Our Future founder Aimee Bock to nearly 42 years in prison for orchestrating what prosecutors called the largest pandemic fraud scheme in the country.
Thursday’s sentencing follows a $250m plot that exploited federal child nutrition programs. The plot later became a flashpoint in Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, leading to violent demonstrations and the ICE killings of two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Prosecutors had asked for a 50-year sentence, arguing Bock’s crimes – which included conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery – stole millions intended to feed children during the Covid-19 pandemic and caused “profound” damage that would reverberate far beyond the state.
“I understand I failed. I failed the public, my family, everyone,” Bock said in federal court.
“Feeding Our Future operated like a cash pipeline, open to anyone willing to submit fraudulent claims and pay kickbacks,” prosecutors said in a court filing. “The ripple effects of her actions are profound, immeasurable, and will have lasting consequences for both Minnesota and the nation.”
Bock was convicted last year of multiple counts involving conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery. She had long insisted she was innocent.
Robert Tait
The DNC autopsy report focuses on key demographics that Harris lost – including Latinos, men and rural voters in many states – and compares her performance to other Democrats in key state races, such as North Carolina governor Josh Stein.
It also takes an in-depth look at campaign spending and advertising, and highlights the need to involve new voters in campaign messaging rather than just pushing out messages.
Notably, the autopsy does not mention the role that Joe Biden’s age or the US’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza played in the wider Democratic defeat, despite widespread polling about the impact of those issues.
Misgivings about the quality and contents of the 192-page document are stated graphically at the beginning and at the top of each page in the form of a disclaimer marked in red, stating: “This document reflects the views of the author, not the DNC. The DNC was not provided with the underlying sourcing, interviews, or supporting data for many of the assertions contained herein and therefore cannot independently verify the claims presented.”
Sections thereafter are punctuated with multiple qualifiers questioning sourcing, data accuracy or a perceived lack of evidence.
One qualifier undermines the author’s version of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters bent on overturning the 2020 presidential election result, which he states led to the deaths of five people. “Claim contradicts public reporting”, reads an interposed remark. In fact, five people died within 36 hours of the attack. A further four police officers who responded to the insurrection died by suicide in the following seven months.
Jay Bhattacharya, the director of National Institutes of Health, testified in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee about Trump’s 2027 fiscal budget Thursday morning.
When Bhattacharya was asked about the Trump’s proposal to cut $6bn of dollars in funding for research at NIH, he said:
“Senator, the budget is obviously a major problem for this country. The NIH, my job is to make sure that my colleagues have the resources they need to fund the best biomedical research in this country. And I am really grateful to work with Congress and the administration to make sure that that’s possible.”
The budget hearing comes amid questions about the severity of the hantavirus. Bhattacharya, who is also the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said hantavirus “is largely contained”.
US Senate refuses to push through ICE funding amid row over Trump’s ballroom
A bid to restore funding to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and border patrol has been derailed by rows over a $1bn proposal for security measures tied to Donald Trump’s White House ballroom and controversial plans to create a $1.8bn “anti-weaponization” fund.
The US Senate will not pass the $70bn legislation ahead of a 1 June deadline set by the US president, Republican senators told reporters on Thursday, as lawmakers leave Washington for the Memorial Day recess.
It comes amid backlash from members of Trump’s own party against an attempt to latch funding for his ballroom project on to the immigration bill.
The plan prompted intense anxiety among congressional Republicans, who feared diverting taxpayer dollars toward Trump’s “East Wing modernization project” amid mounting cost of living concerns across the US would risk alienating voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Some Senate Republicans have also expressed concerns about a plan, announced on Monday, to create a secretive $1.776bn fund – which critics have argued is essentially a slush fund – to compensate Trump allies as part of an agreement in which the president and his sons dropped a $10bn long-shot lawsuit against the US Internal Revenue Service.
The DNC autopsy report is a disgrace, said RootsAction, a progressive grassroots advocacy group, in a statement Thursday.
The report focuses extensively on ad spending and fundraising, without providing enough attention to the Democratic policy positions and the context of the 2024 election, said the advocacy group.
“The word “affordability,” arguably the most important issue in the 2024 election, appears twice in the 129-page report,” said the statement. “The report makes no mention whatsoever of Gaza or Israel — neither word even appears in its text.”
The Democratic party is trying to distance itself from the report by poking holes into its legitimacy instead of taking responsibility after commissioning it, the statement said.
Republicans are also reacting to the report. Democrats didn’t need a report to tell them the obvious, said Mike Marinella, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
“Democrats keep stepping on the same rake and seem genuinely surprised when it smacks them in the face,” said Marinella. “Americans have made it pretty clear they’re tired of radical social experiments and out of touch priorities.”
On the Supreme Court’s decision about birthright citizenship that was expected today – but wasn’t announced – Trump claimed the US is the only country in the world to have it.
About 32 other countries, most of them in the Western Hemisphere, have birthright citizenship laws that are similar to the US, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Approximately 50 other countries have variations of birthright citizenship.
“This was not meant for Chinese billionaires to come in and have their kids here,” he said. “This was meant for the babies of slaves. You look at the dates, it was right after the Civil War, and you can tell.”
Trump said are misusing the birthright citizenship and “if allowed to stand, it will be a disaster.” The Supreme Court will probably rule against eliminating birthright citizenship, he said.
“Birthright citizen is done by no other country in the world,” Trump said. “We are a laughingstock.”
If birthright citizenship is overturned, hundreds of thousands of children born annually would be blocked from US citizenship.
Trump says ‘it looks like I’ll be the one’ to intervene in Cuba after Castro indictment
Asked about the US aircraft carrier that arrived in the Caribbean yesterday and whether it was meant to intimidate the Cuban government, Trump said: “No, not at all.”
“We’re going to help them along … because I want to help them,” he said, adding: “Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years. It looks like I’ll be the one that does it. We want to open it up to Cuban Americans where they can go back and help.”
I’ve just been in the Oval Office, wishing I’d worn dark glasses to dim the glare of all that gold. Donald Trump was ostensibly promoting of the reversal of Joe Biden’s regulations on fridges but sounded more enthusiastic about his White House ballroom, Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and triumphal arch, which just received approval from a fine arts commission.
I asked the US president why today’s AI executive order signing ceremony – which tech titans were expected to attend – has abruptly been called off. “Because I didn’t like certain aspects of it, I postponed it,” said Trump, sitting at the Resolute desk. “We’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s gonna get in the way of that lead.”
He said AI is “causing tremendous good and it’s also bringing in a lot of jobs, tremendous numbers of jobs. Again, we have more people working right now than we’ve ever had. I really thought that could have been a blocker and I want to make sure that it’s not.”
Trump travelled to China last week with Elon Musk of Tesla, Tim Cook of Apple and other tech leaders. Did he discuss AI safeguards with Chinese leader Xi Jinping? “I did, I did, I discussed it and he acknowledges how well we’re doing,” the presidenty said. “It’s the two of us, the two countries are fighting for it. Other countries are way behind. Way, way behind.
“They’re fighting for it, they want it, everybody wants it but they’re way behind. But I didn’t want to do it – I postponed that meeting – it was a signing actually – because I didn’t like what I was seeing.”
President Donald Trump on Thursday said past U.S. presidents have mulled intervening in Cuba for decades but “it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.” He’d suggested the opposite a day earlier, however, saying further escalation isn’t necessary after federal prosecutors announced criminal charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro in the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles.
Senate Republicans appear increasingly unlikely to meet their self-imposed deadline to pass a roughly $70 billion immigration enforcement bill this week, derailed by questions about White House security funding and the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion settlement fund. Republicans were already expected to abandon $1 billion in security money for the White House complex and Trump’s ballroom amid backlash from members of their own party — the settlement fund only added to some senators’ concerns.
Despite overwhelming opposition from the public, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday approved the design for the triumphal arch that Trump wants built at an entrance to the nation’s capital. The proposed arch is one of several projects Trump is pursuing to leave his imprint on Washington.
Rubio doubtful of diplomacy with Cuba as Trump raises new threat of military action
Trump has again raised the specter of U.S. military intervention in Cuba.
The renewed threat Thursday takes on greater weight a day after the administration announced criminal charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro.
Trump said previous U.S. presidents have considered intervening in Cuba for decades, but that “it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.”
Rubio told reporters separately that the Trump administration wants to resolve differences with Cuba peacefully, but is doubtful the U.S. can reach a diplomatic resolution with the island’s current government.
The Castro indictment has led many to believe that the administration is following the same playbook it did when it ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
Cuban government tightens control over telecommunications and tech equipment
The Cuban government on Thursday made regulatory changes that tightened its control over telecommunications and technological equipment, including routers, radios and drones.
The regulations published in the country’s Official Gazette now require prior “technical authorization” for the import, use and sale of a wide range of equipment such as Wi-Fi systems, walkie-talkies, doorbell cameras and baby monitors. Some equipment will also be subject to inspection.
In addition, “the use, import, export, manufacture, and sale” of drones requires prior authorization from the Ministry of Communications “regarding the use of frequencies and power levels.”
The rules maintain Cuba’s ban on the import of cellphone signal amplifiers, or repeaters.
Republican progress on immigration bill stalls out over Trump’s ballroom, DOJ settlement
Senate Republicans appear increasingly unlikely to meet their self-imposed deadline to pass a roughly $70 billion immigration enforcement bill this week as questions about security funding for the White House and the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion settlement fund effectively derailed progress.
Republicans were already expected to abandon $1 billion in security money for the White House complex and President Donald Trump’s ballroom amid backlash from members of their own party.
But then questions about the settlement fund added to some of the senator’s concerns. They are questioning the timing of the request and who would get the money.
Republican Senators who emerged from a meeting on Thursday with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to hash out the bill’s details were tight-lipped. They indicated that lawmakers would not hold a vote on the package before leaving Washington for a Memorial Day break, risking failure to meet Trump’s June 1 deadline.
Companies join a deep-sea mining rush after Trump executive order, as regulators fast-track permits
In the year since Trump signed an executive order to create a deep-sea mining industry, businesses have raised millions from investors, stock prices have soared, and federal regulators have raced to fast-track a permitting process.
At least nine companies are in talks with the government for access to seabed minerals, according to an Associated Press review. Sections of the seafloor from American Samoa to Alaska could be auctioned for offshore mining this summer and through the fall.
But a close look at some of the companies involved reveals uncertain track records and histories spattered with legal disputes, while major questions about how the minerals would be processed and refined remain unanswered.
Environmental groups decried the order when Trump signed it in April 2025. They said it could irreparably harm marine ecosystems and ignores an ongoing process to adopt international rules for the practice.
JUST IN: Republican progress on immigration enforcement bill stalls amid disputes over Trump’s ballroom and DOJ settlement
Trump, facing a Senate Republican mutiny, says, ‘I don’t need money for the ballroom’
Trump, facing a Senate Republican mutiny, says ‘I don’t need money for the ballroom’
Asked about Senate Republicans dropping a proposed $1 billion for White House security and his ballroom project, Trump said, “I’m making a gift of the ballroom.”
Trump says the ballroom will be paid for by himself and donors – though much about its financing remains mysterious.
Trump drew distinctions between the ballroom and proposed White House security improvements. He said the ballroom was being built “in conjunction” with the military and the Secret Service and that “a tremendous amount” of the project “is for national security.”
The president also said that the changes were “not for me because I’ll be gone,” even though he’s repeatedly mused about remaining in office after his term.
Trump says he hopes to finish his revamp of the Reflecting Pool by Independence Day
Trump says he hopes to finish his revamp of the Reflecting Pool by Independence Day
“The key is to have it done before July 4,” the president said. “We want to see if we can have it done before July 4.”
The president has spent weeks promising to improve the Reflecting Pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. He says the project has been delayed by rain and other factors, but when completed, “It will be something special.”
In the meantime, a Washington-based nonprofit has sued, attempting to force the Trump administration to stop work on the Reflecting Pool and restore historic elements.
Trump returns to more definitive tone on controlling Iran’s uranium
Last week, Trump suggested that he might be OK with some 970 pounds of highly enriched uranium believed to be buried beneath Iranian nuclear facilities that were targeted by U.S. military strikes last year remaining entombed under those sites.
But speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, Trump reverted to a more definitive tone about the U.S. taking control of the uranium as part of any potential peace agreement with Iran.
“We will get it. We don’t need it. We don’t want it,” Trump said. “We’ll probably destroy it after we get it, but we’re not going to let them have it.”
Last week, Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity he’d “just feel better if I got” the uranium, but that “it’s more for public relations than it is for anything else.”
Trump says he didn’t like the AI executive order he was supposed to sign
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Trump called off a Thursday signing ceremony for a new order on artificial intelligence because he worried it could dull America’s edge on AI technology.
Trump said he was postponing the signing because he didn’t like what he saw in the order’s text. He announced the change hours before the event was scheduled to take place in the Oval Office.
“We’re leading China, we’re leading everybody, and I don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that lead,” Trump told reporters at an unrelated Oval Office event.
Trump suggests U.S. presidents have mulled intervening in Cuba for decades but ‘it looks like I’ll be the one that does it’
“Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something,” Trump told reporters during an unrelated environmental event in the Oval Office, when asked Thursday about Cuba. “And, it looks like I’ll be the one that does it. So, I would be happy to do it.”
He added that the U.S. wants to open Cuba “up to Cuban Americans, where they can go back and help.”
Trump didn’t answer questions about the aircraft carrier Nimitz having reportedly entered the southern Caribbean on Wednesday. Nor did he clarify exactly what he meant.
Still, the president’s comments deviated from Wednesday, when the president was asked about a possible U.S. escalation in Cuba and suggested one wasn’t coming.
He called Cuba a failed country and said, “They don’t have electricity. They don’t have money. They don’t have really anything,” before adding, “We’re going to help them along.”
JUST IN: Trump says he is postponing signing an executive order on AI because he was concerned it would hurt the AI industry
Trump falsely accuses Maryland of election fraud
Trump claimed that Maryland “got caught with 500,000 mail-in ballots that were corrupt,” an allegation he has repeated multiple times in recent days.
That’s not true. The Maryland State Board of Elections said some voters received a primary ballot for the wrong party ahead of the state’s 2026 gubernatorial primary due to a vendor error.
Voters who may have been affected will receive a replacement ballot and any original ballots already sent to election offices will be voided. Voters have been instructed to destroy their original ballots if they have not yet returned them. Safeguards such as unique identifiers on ballot envelopes ensure that each voter can only vote once.
Mark Lindeman, policy and strategy director at Verified Voting, a nonpartisan group focused on election technology, said the error isn’t expected to have much impact given how quickly it was discovered.
Trump begins Oval Office event as he loosens federal rules on grocery store cooling equipment
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The president gathered leaders of grocery store chains and retail companies as he moved to loosen a federal rule requiring grocery stores and air-conditioning companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cooling equipment.
Trump said terminating regulations from former President Joe Biden’s administration will “lower costs for consumers, protect hundreds of thousands of jobs, and save Americans well over $2 billion a year.”
Rubio says Trump’s preference is a diplomatic solution with Cuba, but US must preserve its interests
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the Trump administration is keen to find a diplomatic solution to its differences with the Cuban government, but is not particularly optimistic that one can be achieved.
His comments leave open the option of military action against Cuba, particularly after the indictment this week of former President Raúl Castro on terrorism charges.
“The president’s preference is always a negotiated agreement that’s peaceful,” Rubio told reporters before leaving Miami for a trip to Sweden and India. “That’s always our preference. That remains our preference with Cuba. I’m just being honest with you. You know, the likelihood of that happening, given who we’re dealing with right now, is not high.”
He added that “our preference in Cuba and anywhere in the world is a negotiated diplomatic settlement.”
US Commission of Fine Arts approves Trump’s Washington arch design
The Arlington Memorial Bridge, over the Potomac River, leads to the Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary is seen, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Arlington Memorial Bridge, over the Potomac River, leads to the Memorial Circle, where President Donald Trump has proposed building an arch to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary is seen, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The commissioners, all appointed by Trump, approved the triumphal arch design despite overwhelming opposition from the public.
It is one of several projects Trump is pursuing, along with a huge new White House ballroom, to leave his imprint on Washington. The arch itself would stand 250 feet tall (76 meters) from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure on top, flanked by two eagles, all gilded. A proposal for gilded lions to guard the base was dropped.
The vast majority of people submitting public comment complained about the design. The arch would dwarf the nearby Lincoln Memorial.
JUST IN: Despite opposition, US Commission of Fine Arts approves design for Trump’s arch, a key step for the project’s process
UN council is urged ‘to use every means at its disposal’ to press Hamas to disarm
Nickolay Mladenov, who is overseeing the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, warned the Security Council Thursday that every act of violence there risks “unraveling” the ceasefire. He said Hamas must accept the roadmap to peace and Israel must uphold its obligations.
The high representative for the Board of Peace said the choice before Hamas and Israel is “a deteriorating status quo” or a new beginning for two million Palestinians, now waiting “in desperate conditions.”
“There is no third option,” Mladenov stressed. “There never was, and the people of Gaza should not be made to wait while some pretend there is.”
He went through the 15 points in the roadmap, stressing that the board is not a substitute for Palestinian governance of Gaza.
Rubio says despite ‘good signs’ in Iran talks, ‘other options’ remain on the table
Being careful not to sound overtly optimistic, Rubio told reporters Thursday that while Pakistan and other regional allies are hard at work to bring a diplomatic resolution on Iran, with some officials traveling to Tehran today, Washington remains ready with alternative plans.
“The president’s preference is to do a good deal. That’s his preference. It’s always been his preference. If we can get a good deal done, that would be great,” he said. “But if we can’t get a good deal, the president’s been clear he has other options.”
Rubio says Iran’s plan to toll Strait of Hormuz would make deal ‘unfeasible’
Talking to reporters on the tarmac in Florida, Rubio once again blasted Tehran’s effort to financially benefit from its chokehold on the critical waterway.
“No one in the world is in favor of a tolling system. It can’t happen. It would be unacceptable,” he said. “It would make a diplomatic deal unfeasible if they were to continue to pursue that.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Rubio is traveling to a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Rubio is traveling to a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
But the secretary of state added that there were “good signs” in the ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Iran despite weeks of back-and-forth on a sustainable end to the war between the longtime adversaries.
“I don’t want to get ahead of it … I think we’ve made some progress,” Rubio said. “But obviously we’re dealing with a system that itself is a little fractured.”
GOP senators huddling with Blanche on Trump ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said before their meeting with Blanche began Thursday that his fellow Republicans want to make sure the fund is “fenced in appropriately.”
Democrats have an opening because Republicans are trying to pass the bill through a complicated budget process that requires a long series of amendment votes. Among other things, Democrats want to ban any payments to Trump supporters who harmed law enforcement officers in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
Marco Rubio says Cuba has ‘always’ been a national security threat
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Rubio is traveling to a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Rubio is traveling to a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)
The U.S. secretary of state says Cuba has “always” been a national security threat to the United States.
“Cuba hosts a Russia and Chinese intelligence presence in their country,” he told reporters before leaving Miami for a trip to a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden and then India.
Rubio would not discuss how the U.S. might move to implement the indictment against Castro, which has led many to believe that military action against the island is potentially imminent, after similar charges against former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro were invoked to justify his ouster in a military operation in January.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin released a critical study of the party’s performance in the 2024 campaign on Thursday after frustrated party operatives publicly demanded the release of the post-election autopsy.
The 192-page report was concluded last December and authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera. It calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South.”
“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.
Martin is confronting a crisis of confidence among party officials amid increasing concerns about the health of their political machine. “Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote in response.
JUST IN: Democratic National Committee releases long-awaited autopsy of the 2024 election
Democrats rally at Capitol against GOP funding bill
House and Senate Democrats gathered on the Capitol steps in opposition to Republicans’ funding bill for immigration enforcement.
Democrats are trying to draw a sharp contrast with the upcoming votes by highlighting how the White House has proposed including $1 billion for security for the White House complex and President Donald Trump’s ballroom. Republicans are abandoning that proposal, but Democrats said Congress should be focused instead on making life affordable for everyday Americans.
“Ballroom Republicans are not working for you, they are busy fighting for Trump,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. “The American people are watching and in November, they will be watching.”
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, for his part, said “Immigration enforcement in this country should be fair. It should be just, and it should be humane.”
Cuban government points to US airstrikes on boats in Latin American waters
Cuba is accusing the Trump administration of hypocrisy for indicting former President Raul Castro in the downing of civilian planes near its coast 30 years ago, noting that the U.S. president is responsible for many more killings of civilians in international waters this year.
“It is highly cynical that this accusation is made by the same government that has murdered nearly 200 people and destroyed 57 vessels in international waters of the Caribbean and the Pacific, far from the territory of the United States,” the Cuban government response said, adding that the killings “qualify as extrajudicial executions, in accordance with International Law, and murders, according to US laws.”
Trump has justified the attacks as necessary to stem the flow of drugs, while offering little evidence that “narcoterrorists” are in the boats.
Trump will ease refrigerant rule in effort to address surging grocery costs
The Trump administration is set to loosen a federal rule that requires grocery stores and air-conditioning companies to reduce greenhouse gases used in cooling equipment. The head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, said American families will see lower grocery prices as a result. Trump is scheduled to be joined by executives from Kroger, Piggly Wiggly and other grocery chains for Thursday’s announcement.
Just how much or how quickly loosening the refrigerant rule might ease grocery prices is unclear. The 2020 law reflected a broad bipartisan consensus on the need to quickly phase out domestic use of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, that are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide and are considered a major driver of global warming.
Trump has been escalating talk about regime change in Cuba ever since he sent the U.S. military to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. Now a federal indictment of former Cuban leader Raúl Castro is raising questions about whether Trump might try something similar in Havana.
Here’s a timeline of U.S. relations with the communist-run island, including repeated meetings with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of Castro known as “Raúlito.”
China opposes US sanctions and pressure on Cuba
“China always firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions that lack a basis in international law and have no authorization from the United Nations Security Council and the abuse of judicial measures, and we also oppose external forces exerting pressure on Cuba under any pretext,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiankun said Thursday.
The U.S. should “stop wielding the stick of sanctions and judicial measures” against the country, Guo added. “China firmly supports Cuba in safeguarding its national sovereignty and national dignity and opposes external interference.”
Trump’s proposed Washington arch gets another review
Trump’s plan to build a triumphal arch in Washington is getting a second look from a federal agency that suggested changes before it approved the concept last month.
The proposed 250-foot (76 meter) arch is one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his imprint on Washington. Critics of the project, including an overwhelming number of people who submitted public comment in April, said the arch would be taller than any other monument in the capital city and dominate the skyline.
He has said some of his other projects, such as adding a blue coating to the interior of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, will beautify the city in time for July 4 celebrations of America’s 250th birthday.
The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by Trump, approved the concept for the arch at its monthly meeting in April. Commissioners are set to consider and possibly vote on updated plans when they meet again on Thursday.
At one Kentucky bar, young Republicans wrestle with their disappointment in Trump and their party
Republican State Rep. TJ Roberts, 28, talks during a meeting of young Republicans at a bar in Covington, Ky., Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn)
Republican State Rep. TJ Roberts, 28, talks during a meeting of young Republicans at a bar in Covington, Ky., Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn)
On a recent evening in northern Kentucky, over a dozen young Republicans gathered with beers and brightly colored cocktails at a bar called dEcORa, ribbing each other and picking apart the presidential administration they welcomed with high hopes last year.
By now, their enthusiasm for Trump had curdled into frustration.
What poured out that night under the bar’s low lights was a sense that the Republican establishment — which they initially applauded Trump for disrupting, but which some now see him sustaining — had forsaken them. That festering feeling has widened a generational gap between younger and older conservatives as the party slowly begins to consider a future without Trump in charge.
Republicans expected to abandon $1B security proposal for White House and Trump’s ballroom
Senate Republican leaders are expected to abandon a proposal for $1 billion in security money for the White House complex and Trump’s ballroom on Thursday after members of their own party questioned the timing and the lack of detail in the Secret Service request.
Pressured by the White House, Republicans have tried to add the money to a roughly $70 billion bill to restore funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol. But the security proposal met with backlash from some GOP lawmakers who are questioning the cost and how the taxpayer dollars would be used.
The bill’s text has not yet been released, but the Senate hopes to pass it this week and send it to the House before leaving for a weeklong Memorial Day recess.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the effort to add the security package to the bill was a “bad idea” and he does not think there is enough backing to pass it, even if the cost were reduced.
WATCH: This is how Cuba reacted to the US indictment of Raúl Castro
Cuban officials reacted angrily on Wednesday after U.S. prosecutors charged former Cuban leader Raúl Castro over the 1996 shootdown of two civilian planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. (AP Video: Ariel Fernández)
US raises pressure on Cuba with indictment of former leader as island’s president condemns charges
FILE – Cuba’s President Raul Castro listens to the Cuban and Venezuelan national anthems during his welcome ceremony at the Miraflores presidential palace, March 17, 2015, in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
FILE – Cuba’s President Raul Castro listens to the Cuban and Venezuelan national anthems during his welcome ceremony at the Miraflores presidential palace, March 17, 2015, in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced criminal charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro in the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles as the Trump administration escalated pressure on the island’s socialist government.
The indictment accuses Castro of ordering the shootdown of two small planes operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro, who turns 95 next month, was Cuba’s defense minister at the time. The charges, which were secretly filed by a grand jury in April, included murder and destruction of an airplane. Five Cuban military pilots were also charged.
Asked to what lengths American authorities would go to bring Castro to face charges in the U.S., acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “There was a warrant issued for his arrest. So we expect that he will show up here, by his own will or by another way.”
The charges pose a real threat, observers said, following the capture by U.S. forces in January of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to face drug charges in New York.
