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The top U.S. general in Latin America and the Caribbean says land strikes against drug cartels are on the table.Gen. Francis Donovan, the Marine four-star who leads U.S. Southern Command, made the remarks in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that was featured in a Tuesday article. His comments come as the Pentagon broadens its campaign against trafficking networks across Central America, South America and the Caribbean. That campaign began with strikes on suspected smuggling boats one year ago."Do I see land strikes as options? Yes," Donovan said. "We want all options at the table."He described a wide range of possible actions."Those actions might be strikes, arrests, or the takedown of a safe house," Donovan explained. "It could even be something as routine as increasing the use of cargo scanners at border checkpoints."His stated aim is to create "total systemic friction" for the cartels.U.S. forces are already moving past the boat strikes. Last week, roughly 50 American troops and law enforcement personnel accompanied Ecuadorean police on early morning raids targeting an alleged cocaine ring tied to a Mexican cartel. Ecuadorean officials said it was the first time U.S. troops had taken a direct part in police raids there. This year the U.S. military has also helped Ecuador bomb a suspected trafficking camp. It also worked with Venezuela on a strike that killed the leader of the Tren de Aragua gang.Moving from sea to land could invite more legal scrutiny, The Journal noted. The Trump administration has argued the U.S. is in an armed conflict with cartels. Legal experts and lawmakers dispute that, and they note that Congress has not authorized such a war, according to The Journal.The State Department told Congress earlier this month that it plans to redirect $52 million in foreign military financing to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Panama, according to The Journal. The money would let those Latin American countries purchase more American weapons and military services.

A startling claim from President Donald Trump's ambassador to China reveals "something profoundly amiss" in how the administration handles one of America's most consequential rivalries, according to a new analysis by MS NOW's Zeeshan Aleem.Ambassador David Perdue told Fox News on Sunday that Trump, while discussing U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit last week, told Xi, "Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world," and then "actually asked President Xi, would he like to buy some at one point?"Trump has denied the account, but statements from the White House and State Department to The New York Times did not dispute that the remarks were made, saying only that no offer or plan to sell arms to China currently exists."This scenario, if true, is mind-boggling," Aleem wrote. If Perdue was wrong, it "would not just be a major lie, but a foolish one."China is the lone nation capable of challenging U.S. military supremacy, the columnist noted, and Washington works hard to protect its technological advantage, which is why reports that sensitive F-35 components were diverted to Hong Kong are alarming. Arming Beijing would also contradict Trump's request that Xi limit support for Iran.Such a sale would upend the One China framework in place since 1979, under which the U.S. formally acknowledges Beijing's position while supplying Taiwan with billions of dollars in defensive weapons.Selling arms to China "would be akin to scoring an own goal," Aleem wrote.The episode fits a familiar pattern, according to the analysis, of Trump alienating democratic allies while cozying up to authoritarian leaders. The columnist suggested Trump, facing a cost-of-living crisis and a faltering trade war with China, may have been searching for any deal Xi might accept. Trump previously paused a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan in May after meeting with Xi.The columnist also faulted Perdue for revealing what a capable diplomat would have kept quiet."The capitals of the world are always watching Washington closely," Aleem concluded. "This episode shows a president who seems to have fewer and fewer wits about him — and a staff that lacks the competence or willpower to make up for it."

The White House boasted about 1,750 jobs that would be created from a new $15 billion steel plant announced by President Donald Trump, but several right-wing figures expressed outrage Tuesday as details about the project began to emerge.The steel mill will be constructed by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota-based company that carries years of baggage, including project delays, bankruptcy, unpaid contractors and disputes with Minnesota state officials. However, what frustrated right-wing figures was not the company’s financial struggles, but rather its use of the H-1B visa program.“Mesabi Metallics is owned by an India-based company and is already an H1B sponsor,” wrote Grace Chong, the chief operating officer for “War Room,” the program run by Trump’s former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. “So how many of the 1,750 jobs at its new Iowa steel plant will actually go to American workers?”Mesabi Metallics is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Essar Group, an India-based conglomerate whose portfolio companies had aggregate annual revenues of around $15 billion as of January 2025. Mesabi Metallics has already sponsored workers through the U.S. H-1B visa program, a federal program allowing employers “who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce” to sponsor foreign workers for employment.Critics have scrutinized employers’ use of the program, accusing companies of relying on it for “cheap labor” and using it as a tool to “prevent union organizing.”“Trump brags about bringing in a steel company and come to find out it’s from India and already uses H1B visas to import workers,” wrote former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in a social media post on X Tuesday.“MAGA is so America Last it’s almost comical at this point. Oh but we have to stop the communists Democrats!! Meanwhile Trump [loves New York City Mayor Zohran] Mamdani and [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping]!”Trump brags about bringing in a steel company and come to find out it’s from India and already uses H1B visas to import workers.MAGA is so America Last it’s almost comical at this point.Oh but we have to stop the communists Democrats!!Meanwhile Trump ❤️’s Mamdani and Xi!!???? https://t.co/OXyKVG9p9h— Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene???????? (@FmrRepMTG) September 29, 2026

The Trump administration remained silent when pressed this week on the arrest and alleged abuse of an American teenager by the Israeli government, Zeteo exclusively reported on Tuesday.According to Zeteo’s Prem Thakker, an American teenager “with Texas roots,” Abdalkareem Issa Ahmed Safi, was taken from his home in the Israeli-occupied West Bank “in the middle of the night” in late June, and as of Tuesday, is still being held in an Israeli prison on administrative detention, an order that allows the government to imprison individuals without charge or trial.Safi’s father told Zeteo he had “no information” about his son, that he was “deeply concerned about his health” after being told by a U.S. embassy official that he claimed to have been beaten on his first day of detention, and that his detention may be indefinitely renewed.When pressed for comment on Safi, who was detained days before his 18th birthday, the Trump White House, the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Israel did not respond.According to Zeteo, Safi is being held at Ofer prison, a facility in the West Bank where inmates have reportedly been subjected to “frequent beatings, overcrowding and withholding of basic rations,” according to the Associated Press. Safi’s father also told Zeteo that he feared his son is suffering from scabies, a contagious skin infestation, which he claimed to have been told by a prisoner released from an Israeli prison.Safi is just one of at least three young Americans currently being held in Israeli prisons, with Safi’s cousin, Sama Safi, being among them.“In early June, in the middle of the night, Israeli officers raided 20-year-old Sama Safi’s home in Ramallah. She was then held without formal charges for weeks,” Zeteo’s report reads. “Eventually, authorities accused her of involvement with a student organization they allege is affiliated with a ‘terrorist group.’ Sama Safi, who has ties to Tampa, Florida, denies the allegations. She suffers from a chronic medical condition that can cause severe fevers and pain. And yet after nearly 16 weeks, she remains in prison, with inadequate access to food and medical care.”Adam Karakrah, a 16-year-old American “with ties to Chicago," is the third known young American being held in an Israeli prison. Israeli authorities reportedly disregarded Karakrah’s U.S. citizenship.“When I showed them his U.S. passport and birth certificate, they didn’t even ask [about it], they threw them in my face,” Karakrah’s sister previously told Zeteo.

The scandal-plagued 42-year-old ex-prosecutor who unsuccessfully represented President Donald Trump in his $460 million civil fraud trial raised eyebrows this weekend by marrying a Turkish billionaire with a history of romancing women connected to powerful political leaders and securing lucrative construction deals, reports show. Alina Habba’s weekend wedding to Turhan Mildon, 29, spurred a flurry of interest in the businessman whose exes have been linked to a Turkish president and the Venezuelan leader ousted by Trump earlier this year, as the Middle East Eye reported last week. “This marriage has no political motivation,” Mildon told the news outlet.Mildon, a third-generation member of the family business Miller Holding, has largely stayed out of the public eye despite high-profile romances and business dealings. Such romances include his marriage to Betul Gursoy, whose father’s company built the Camlica Mosque in Istanbul at the request of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to Middle East Eye.Since 2021, Mildon’s own company Milvest has secured about $1 billion worth of construction contracts in Congo — after he received an introduction to its president, Felix Tshisekedi, from Erdogan.Mildon's Kinshasa Financial Centre drew public scrutiny after local reports alleged former Congolese Finance Minister Nicolas Kazadi, who denied wrongdoing, had mismanaged funds.Mildon's company was also accused of improperly obtaining import exemptions for building supplies for his massive Kinshasa Arena — Mildon denied those claims.Such accusations did not prevent Mildon from securing a contract to build a drone base reportedly worth $67 million earlier this year.In March, the Associated Press reported drone strikes and clashes between Congo’s government and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels had cast doubt over a peace deal Trump helped negotiate in 2025, alongside a deal to allow the U.S. to access Congo’s minerals.After Mildon and Gursoy divorced in 2024, the billionaire dated the daughter of Remigio Ceballos, a Venezuelan admiral close to former President Nicolas Maduro, Middle East Eye reported.In 2025, Mildon’s company Vencement announced a profit-sharing deal with the Venezuelan government to revive 10 public cement factories, according to the Middle East Eye report.Once again, there were allegations.“Claims have circulated that Vencement, despite being profitable, has failed to pay some contractors,” according to the outlet. “The sums allegedly owed are disputed, with some estimates running into hundreds of thousands of dollars.”Mildon denied owing any money.In June of this year, Venezuela’s National Assembly president Jorge Rodriguez announced he wanted Turkish cement companies to explain why cement-bag prices had spiked to $37."The cement prices are different all over the country and even though we sell each bag for three to five dollars, people resell them up to 20-30 dollars," Mildon told Middle East Eye."We asked the government to create a task force to control the market to lower the prices but didn’t see any concrete movement yet."Habba — who resigned as Trump’s U.S. Attorney for the state of New Jersey after it was found she was wrongly appointed — and Mildon married Saturday at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City after a mere months-long relationship, the New York Post reported.Habba and Mildon reportedly met earlier this year at a Kennedy Center event in Washington, D.C., reports show.Habba was photographed at the Kennedy Center premiere of “Melania” on Jan. 29 — and reportedly filed for divorce from parking lot millionaire Gregg Reuben, 54, exactly two weeks later.Perks of the relationship with the CEO include an approximately 23-carat diamond and a Hermès Birkin bag worth about $30,000, according to the Daily Mail.Ragıp Soylu, Turkey Bureau Chief for the Middle East Eye, revealed on X that United Kingdom company records indicate Mildon was born in December 2000, which would make him four years younger than his stated age — 25.

Marie-Celestin Karondwa was attacked on Sunday after promoting measures to prevent spread of disease, his party saysA senior member of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s ruling party was beaten to death on Sunday after appearing on a radio programme to raise awareness about the Ebola outbreak, a party representative has said.Marie-Celestin Karondwa, the acting president of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) party’s federal executive committee in Butembo, a new hotspot for the outbreak, was attacked after taking part in a ​radio show during which he ‌promoted prevention measures for the disease, ‌the UDPS federation in the city said in a statement, Reuters reported. Continue reading...

The Trump administration sparked outrage Sunday night after new details leaked regarding an Iranian attack on a U.S.-contracted vessel earlier this month.On Sept. 14, Iran struck the ship near the Strait of Hormuz, causing what Fox News’ Trey Yingst called “minor injuries” when reporting on the incident Sept. 16. But according to a report published Sunday night from NBC News, a total of eight U.S. Marines were injured in the attack, and may have suffered “traumatic brain injuries.”“Eight U.S. Marines were injured two weeks ago when an Iranian cruise missile attacked the ship they were operating on in the Strait of Hormuz, according to three U.S. officials,” NBC News reported, calling the details “previously unreported.” “The Marines were not seriously injured, but they sustained smoke inhalation and possibly traumatic brain injuries, as they had symptoms of concussions, such as headaches, the officials said.”Outrage soon surged in the wake of NBC News’ report. Attorney and MeidasTouch co-founder Ben Meiselas expressed confusion that the details on U.S. service member injuries were being reported weeks later, writing “What the hell is going on?” Geopolitical risk consultant Brett Erickson argued the report underscored why President Donald Trump should end his deeply unpopular war against Iran immediately.“THESE are the exact type of events that could have seen MULTIPLE Americans killed,” Erickson wrote in a social media post on X. “It is increasingly clear that the United States is putting TROOPS aboard vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz. End this war. Remove our troops from the region. BEFORE a disaster strikes.”Erickson’s appeal to Trump would likely fall on deaf ears, suggested mathematician and published researcher Majid Hosseini, who argued injuries to U.S. service members weren’t a concern for the commander in chief.“Trump couldn’t care less,” Hosseini wrote in a social media post on X. “For Trump the only thing that matters is Trump. Remember the day after Charlie Kirk, his devoted friend, was murdered: he was dancing in the stadium.”MAJOR BREAKING: New reporting from NBC indicates that EIGHT marines were injured in a recent Iranian attack on a vessel likely transiting the Strait of Hormuz.According to the NBC reporting:“The Marines were not on a U.S. Navy ship, according to the officials. The officials… https://t.co/oaXgo1uRjv— Brett Erickson (@BrettErickson28) September 28, 2026

President Donald Trump made a startling admission to Axios on Sunday when pressed on whether he intended to escalate his deeply unpopular war against Iran in the near future.Trump’s phone call with the outlet came just one day after he rejected Iran’s latest proposal to end the war.Trump was asked during the phone call, according to Axios’ Barak Ravid, whether he was considering resuming strikes against Iran in the wake of his refusal to accept Iran’s terms.“I am always thinking about it,” Trump answered.Trump has frequently made violent threats toward Iran, most recently by threatening to commit what The New York Times’ Farnaz Fassihi described as a war crime during his address to the United Nations General Assembly. During his speech, Trump asked himself out loud whether he should “annihilate the Islamic Republic” and “drive it into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations.”He also told aides last week that he expected to resume bombing Iran after the midterms, according to The Wall Street Journal, and has made countless other threats toward the Middle East nation, perhaps most infamously with his pledge to destroy Iran’s entire civilization in a single night back in April.Beyond his admission that he is “always thinking” about striking Iran, Trump also told Axios that he expected “more talks” with Iranian negotiators this week. However, he also suggested that a deal was unlikely to be made, at least soon, accusing Iran of having “overplayed their hand.”Experts have suspected that Trump’s strategy appears to be centered around inflicting enough economic harm on Iran to bolster the United States’ negotiating position, though those same experts fear that such a strategy could “backfire” with deadly consequences.