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Blue-state Republican aims to evict Dems from 20-year occupation of governor’s mansion

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Republican Rep. Mike Lawler’s opinion of Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York is crystal clear.

«I think Kathy Hochul is the most feckless, incompetent governor in America,» Lawler said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

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Lawler, who’s in his second term representing the state’s 17th Congressional District, which covers a large swath of New York City’s northern suburbs, is mulling a 2026 GOP run for governor.

«I’ll make a decision at some point – middle of the year. Obviously, you know if we’re going to do it, you got to get out there, and you got to campaign hard,» Lawler said.  

LAWLER SOUNDS ALARM OVER DEMOCRATS ‘INCITING FAR-LEFT ACTIVISTS’

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Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. (REUTERS/Anna Rose Layden/File)

He added, «I haven’t made a decision yet. I think, obviously, there’s a number of factors in play, but you know, we’re working through that right now.»

Lawler is one of three Republicans mulling a gubernatorial run. So are Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman and longtime Bethany town supervisor Carl Hyde Jr.

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It’s been 23 years since a Republican won a gubernatorial election in heavily blue New York. You have to go all the way back to former Gov. George Pataki’s second re-election victory in 2002.

KATHY HOCHUL’S POLLING PROBLEMS?

But Hochul’s approval ratings and favorable ratings remain underwater, giving Republicans hope the losing streak will come to an end next year. The governor also faces potential, longshot, primary challenges from her lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado, as well as Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York City.

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«There’s a reason New York leads the nation in out-migration. It has nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with the high cost of living and the declining quality of life from the migrant crisis to the crime epidemic in New York to the overall cost of living,» Lawler said.

Hochul closeup shot from DNC

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/File)

And the former political strategist and adviser-turned-politician said «people can’t afford to live in New York. They want balance and common sense, and I think that’s where there is an opportunity, if you articulate the vision to New Yorkers. They’re pragmatic, they’re commonsense, and they understand the need for change.»

Democrats disagree.

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«Whether it’s working to lower costs for families or protecting fundamental rights, Governor Hochul is a fighter for all New Yorkers with a record of getting results,» Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Kevin Donohoe told Fox News.

And Donohoe argued that «while Governor Hochul is laser focused on delivering on the priorities that matter to her state, New York Republicans every day are supporting Donald Trump’s agenda that is hurting the Empire State. By spending their time currying favor with Trump, Republicans are setting themselves up for a messy and chaotic primary that will leave whoever emerges as the nominee badly damaged.»

In 2022, then-Rep. Lee Zeldin had the best performance by a GOP gubernatorial candidate in New York since Pataki’s 2002 victory. Zeldin, who now steers the Environmental Protection Agency in President Donald Trump’s second administration, lost to Hochul by less than six and a half points.

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And Trump lost the state to then-Vice President Kamala Harris by 13 points in last November’s presidential election, but that was a 10-point improvement from his loss margin to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS ELECTION BATTLE PLAN

While Republicans have been more competitive statewide in New York the last two cycles, Lawler said next year’s elections will «be determined by a few things.»

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«No. 1, does the economy take off?» he said. «And with the tax bill, with energy production increases, you know, if the economy takes off, then I think people are going to be very willing and open to change in New York.»

«Obviously, what we’re doing at the border matters,» Lawler said. «New York has borne the brunt of some of the disastrous decisions of the Biden administration and Kathy Hochul, spending billions of dollars of taxpayer money on free housing, clothing, food, education and health care for illegals.»

MIke Lawler closeup shot with Fox News microphone

Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York is interviewed by Fox News Digital on April 7, 2025, in Washington. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

And Lawler pointed to his push to raise the cap on the state and local tax deduction, known by its acronym SALT, which is a pressing issue for many New Yorkers.

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«Do I deliver on things like SALT and lifting the cap on SALT? And so, if we get these things done, and you know, things are looking up, I think New Yorkers can be very open to a change,» he said.

Lawler grabbed attention in 2022 by narrowly defeating incumbent Sean Patrick Maloney, the then-chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

But he’s currently one of only three House Republicans who represent districts carried by Harris in November.

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Asked if he needs to keep his distance from the president if he seeks statewide office in New York, Lawler told Fox News, «Look, he’s the president of the United States, and [I] certainly would welcome his support.»

MAJORITY IN NEW YORK WANT CHALLENGER TO DEMOCRATIC GOV KATHY HOCHUL: POLL

Donald Trump in Oval Office

President Donald Trump (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File)

But he also said «New Yorkers will make a determination, though, based on the choice before them» rather than on Trump.

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«If you present a viable alternative vision to New Yorkers and explain how you’re going to deal with housing, how you’re going to deal with infrastructure, how you’re going to deal with crime, how you’re going to deal with the fact that Wall Street is leaving New York in droves, these are significant issues that we have to tackle,» Lawler said. «And it requires leadership. It requires a plan. And I think if that is presented to New Yorkers, they’ll make a determination based on that.»

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Sospechaba que su marido la engañaba, revisó su computadora y descubrió un horror inimaginable

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La historia criminal del mundo sería distinta si los delincuentes fueran fieles a sus parejas. Son muchos los crímenes que se terminan develando porque la pareja del delincuente, con los celos como ariete y el despecho como motor, denuncia a su cónyuge ante las autoridades.

Por estos días la principal noticia local en Marruecos es un caso judicial que acaba de tener sentencia. Una sentencia severa. Veinte años de prisión para un médico prestigioso, un psiquiatra que es identificado con las iniciales S.I. Fue encontrado culpable de violación, explotación sexual, trata de personas y suministro de drogas ilegales. Sus víctimas eran mujeres, todas pacientes suyas.

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Leé también: Brillaba en Hollywood, lo denunciaron por abusos sexuales en pleno rodaje y podría ir a la cárcel 15 años

El doctor tenía organizado un viaje a París con su esposa, celebrarían su aniversario de bodas en tierras francesas. Pero a último momento él no viajó, adujo problemas laborales. Un aumento de casos en su clínica psiquiátrica, la imposibilidad de abandonar a sus pacientes. Su esposa terminó yendo sola a París pero al regreso puso en marcha su venganza. La mujer sospechaba que el marido le era infiel pero lo que encontró tras su pesquisa excedió cualquier cosa que hubiera imaginado. Logró ingresar a la computadora personal y al teléfono del doctor y halló una serie de videos de contenido sexual. No se trataba de una mera infidelidad. Los videos registraban orgías con muchos participantes, hombres y mujeres, que mantenían relaciones hetero y homosexuales. La mujer identificó de inmediato las sedes de la mayoría de esos encuentros: su hogar y el consultorio de su marido.

La legislación de Marruecos continúa siendo híper conservadora en lo que respecta a las costumbres y libertades sexuales. Todavía está prohibido que parejas compartan la misma habitación de hotel si no están legalmente casadas, las relaciones extramatrimoniales tienen penas de prisión efectiva (un año para solteros y dos para casados o para quien tuviera relaciones con alguien casado) y tres años de cárcel para los que mantengan relaciones homosexuales.

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El psiquiatra, ante el aluvión de pruebas y la evidencia incontrastable, no pudo negar su participación en los hechos. (Foto: AP)

Aprovechando las normas marroquíes, con los videos como prueba, la esposa se presentó ante los tribunales y pidió que su marido fuera juzgado por dos cargos: el adulterio y la conducta desviada -tal como rotulan allí a las relaciones homosexuales.

Sin embargo, cuando las autoridades se interiorizaron en el caso, la acusación se agravó considerablemente.

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El hombre fue detenido en junio del año pasado cuando se descubrió que la mayoría de las mujeres que participaban en esas orgías filmadas eran sus pacientes.

Muy pronto aparecieron otros videos y se descubrió que los encuentros no sólo se dieron en el domicilio del doctor mientras su esposa viajaba por París. Hubo en su auto, en la clínica en la que trabajaba y hasta en un riad (casa tradicional con varias habitaciones alrededor de un patio con una fuente) situada en la medina, el corazón de Riad.

Según la justicia, el médico drogaba a sus pacientes y las entregaba a otras personas para que tuvieran sexo con ellas. (Foto: Pixabay)

Según la justicia, el médico drogaba a sus pacientes y las entregaba a otras personas para que tuvieran sexo con ellas. (Foto: Pixabay)

En las propiedades del psiquiatra, los investigadores encontraron grabaciones, fotos, drogas, prescripciones médicas adulteradas, lubricantes y juguetes sexuales.

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Las mujeres, sus pacientes, habían acudido a él por problemas de adicciones y/o de salud mental. Él les suministraba cocaína, heroína y alucinógenos. No sólo en ocasión de las fiestas sexuales: lo hacía a lo largo de semanas para poder disponer de ellas cuando quisiera. Si alguna objetaba algo, él le decía que las sustancias eran parte de un tratamiento más largo que las iba a sanar para siempre. Alguna de ellas denunció que debido a la adicción en la que fue metida por el médico debió vender su departamento por los deudas que había contraído con los dealers. Algunas grabaciones muestran que en las consultas médicas también abusaba de las pacientes mientras aducía que los besos, tocamientos y penetraciones eran parte de la terapia programada.

Las víctimas que se animaron a presentarse declararon que fueron drogadas y que el doctor las hacía participar de una especie de ritual. Las hacía tocar la cítara, había siempre música regional de fondo y mientras el doctor las obligaba a desnudarse realizaba una especie de ceremonia litúrgica con largos parlamentos que simulaban una plegaria. Disfrazaba las orgías y las violaciones de liturgia. Cuando alguna de las mujeres se resistía o mostraba signos de dudas, el psiquiatra le decía que todo era parte del tratamiento y que no se preocuparan porque ese era un ámbito seguro.

La esposa del médico revisó su computadora. Tenía videos de orgías con hombres y mujeres. (Foto: Pixabay)

La esposa del médico revisó su computadora. Tenía videos de orgías con hombres y mujeres. (Foto: Pixabay)

Uno de los problemas que afrontó la investigación fue el temor de las víctimas. Nadie quería prestar testimonio. De las 10 víctimas identificadas -los investigadores sospechan que hubo más- sólo cuatro declararon y una de ellas lo hizo presionada por la fiscalía que si no se presentaba podía ser ella misma procesada.

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Por un lado está el temor a la reacción posterior en una sociedad machista, la posibilidad cierta de que se les cierren muchas (o todas) las puertas en el futuro. A eso se le suma , la vergüenza natural de haber sido objeto de una agresión sexual. Por el otro, la incertidumbre de que un sistema jurídico patriarcal encontrara en algún momento del procedimiento un artilugio para dar vuelta la acusación y que sus testimonios se volvieran contra ellas y fueran acusadas de tener relaciones extramatrimoniales (delito de fornicación en el sistema legal marroquí). Otro factor: los agresores sexuales no suelen ser penados y cuando lo son reciben penas menores y al poco tiempo están en libertad convirtiéndose en un peligro para la vida de las denunciantes. Es como si los jueces marroquíes siempre encontraran un eximente o un atenuante para los agresores sexuales.

Marruecos está conmocionado por la condena a 20 años de prisión por violación, explotación sexual, trata de personas y suministro de drogas ilegales a un prestigioso psiquiatra. (Foto: AP)

Marruecos está conmocionado por la condena a 20 años de prisión por violación, explotación sexual, trata de personas y suministro de drogas ilegales a un prestigioso psiquiatra. (Foto: AP)

El diario El País de España en su crónica de este caso recuerda que hace pocos meses una abogada francesa denunció que fue abusada y violada luego de que la sometiera a una sumisión química por tres jóvenes hijos de empresarios poderosísimos en Marruecos. Cuando despertó al día siguiente se encontró con el pantalón mal puesto, la ropa interior desgarrada, lesiones en sus órganos sexuales y magulladuras en el resto del cuerpo. La denuncia provocó un gran escándalo. Los tres hombres adujeron que todo había sido consentido y que los cuatro participantes habían tomado alcohol y cocaína. Unos meses después la mujer retiró la denuncia, el caso quedó archivado y los tres hombres totalmente exculpados.

El caso del psiquiatra se presenta como una excepción o como un cambio radical en el panorama. Porque no sólo el médico fue encontrado culpable. Otras cinco personas fueron condenadas pero con penas más leves. El fotógrafo que registraba las orgías y que, al ser amigo del psiquiatra, también participaba de ellas recibió cinco años de prisión (reconoció que además de registrar los encuentros colectivos también tenía grabados actos sexuales entre él y el psiquiatra: eso agravó su pena). El dueño del Riad de nacionalidad belga y una de las administradores recibieron un año porque conocían la situación y de todas maneras facilitaron el lugar. El enfermero que conseguía las drogas fue condenado a dos años y también el hombre que prestaba su nombre para que le hicieran las recetas de las drogas legales (somníferos y ansiolíticos mayormente) que también les suministraban a las mujeres. El tribunal dictaminó que todas las penas, teniendo en cuenta la naturaleza de los hechos, deben ser de cumplimiento efectivo.

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La justicia condenó al psiquiatra a 20 años de prisión decretando que el doctor había abusado de las mujeres aprovechándose de su posición profesional. (Foto: AP)

La justicia condenó al psiquiatra a 20 años de prisión decretando que el doctor había abusado de las mujeres aprovechándose de su posición profesional. (Foto: AP)

El psiquiatra, ante el aluvión de pruebas y la evidencia incontrastable, no pudo negar su participación en los hechos. Alegó que la denuncia de su esposa tuvo como único móvil la venganza porque él sospechaba sobre la paternidad del hijo que ella llevaba en la panza y que le había pedido que se realizara un examen de ADN. La mujer desmintió que alguna vez haya tenido lugar la solicitud de ADN. La defensa legal del doctor consistió en afirmar que los encuentros fueron consensuados y que todos los que participaron -puso especial énfasis en las mujeres- lo hicieron por decisión personal, dando su libre consentimiento. Negó haberles suministrado drogas pero decenas de testimonios, múltiples recetas médicas y evidencias requisadas en su casa y en el consultorio lo desmienten contundentemente.

La justicia condenó al psiquiatra a 20 años de prisión decretando que el doctor había abusado de las mujeres aprovechándose de su posición profesional, de la relación asimétrica que se da entre doctor y paciente, que había abusado también de la vulnerabilidad de las mujeres y que luego de drogarlas las había entregado a otras personas para que tuvieran sexo con ellas, lo que además configura el delito equivalente a la trata de personas y la explotación sexual. También lo penó por haber mantenido relaciones homosexuales.

Sólo el tiempo podrá determinar si a partir de este caso, los jueces mostraran firmeza ante los agresores sexuales.

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Marruecos, Violación, orgías, cocaina, Sumario

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Iran’s ideological state: faith, fear and favors fuel its vast propaganda and patronage network

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When Benny Sabti was a child growing up in Iran, he remembers receiving an unusual prize at school. «For being an excellent student, I received a Persian translation of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler,» Sabti told Fox News Digital. «They translated Hitler’s book into Persian and distributed it to students.»

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The experience stayed with him. Looking back, Sabti, now an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Israel, says it reflected a broader effort by Iran’s ruling clerical establishment to shape how young Iranians viewed politics, religion and the world around them.

Schools, mosques, workplaces and media all became part of an ideological ecosystem designed to reinforce loyalty to the regime. But critics of Iran’s leadership say religion itself was often not the ultimate goal.

«Faith for them is their tool,» Banafsheh Zand, an Iranian-American journalist and editor of the Iran So Far Away Substack, told Fox News Digital. «It’s not the end all to be all. It’s a tool that they can hide behind so that they can carry out all their criminalities.»

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Primary school girls in traditional headscarves sit in a classroom, Tehran, Iran, Oct. 1, 1997.  (Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)

Religion and power

The Islamic Republic was founded on the doctrine of velayat-e faqih, or «guardianship of the Islamic jurist,» which places ultimate political and religious authority in the hands of the country’s supreme leader.

But Zand argues that in practice the system functions less as a purely religious project and more as a mechanism of political control. «It’s more like a mafia,» she said. «They use faith in order to keep people down.»

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According to Zand, ideology is reinforced through a mix of financial incentives and intimidation. «They tried by incentive and money and buying people,» she said.

Programs tied to the Basij, a militia affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), have often provided benefits such as jobs, housing and education to families aligned with the regime.

«If you are poor and you join the Basij, they give you benefits,» Zand said. «But you have to go along with whatever it is that they offer you.»

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Ideology embedded in daily life

Sabti says the Islamic Republic built a vast network designed to reinforce ideology in everyday life. «In banks, offices, public spaces and even in the bazaars, regime representatives walk between shops telling people it is time to pray and checking who is not attending,» Sabti said.

Mosques themselves are closely integrated into the political system. Friday prayer leaders often deliver sermons aligned with government messaging.

«There are 16 propaganda bodies in Iran,» Sabti said, describing a network of state institutions responsible for spreading the regime’s interpretation of Islam and the ideals of the Islamic Revolution.

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Some institutions also focus on exporting that ideology abroad. «There is a university dedicated to converting Sunnis to Shiism,» he said. «They bring people from Africa and South America to Iran, convert them to Shiism and send them back to export the Shiite Islamic revolution.»

OPERATION EPIC FURY: HOW AMERICA’S AIR POWER IS CRUSHING IRAN’S TERROR REGIME

Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf in Persian

A Persian-language edition of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

Indoctrination in schools

Schools play a central role in the regime’s ideological system.

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«Schools are heavily indoctrinated,» Sabti said. «In civil studies books, Islam was promoted as superior to all other ideologies.»

Religious messaging appears across the curriculum. «You cannot separate any school subject from Islam,» Sabti said. «Not history, not geography. Everything is mixed with ideology. The only thing missing was adding it to mathematics.»

For Sabti, the Mein Kampf episode symbolized the ideological environment students were exposed to. The message, he said, reinforced hostility toward perceived enemies and embedded a political worldview from an early age.

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Ideology and hypocrisy

Sabti says the credibility of the system is also undermined by the behavior of Iran’s own elites. «You can see it in the second generation,» he said. «Their children live abroad while the elites live in palaces in Iran and in other countries. It is hypocrisy.»

Zand says ideology has always been reinforced by intimidation. «They make examples out of people in the most vicious possible way,» she said. «It’s fear and manipulation.»

According to Zand, that atmosphere of fear shapes daily life for many Iranians. «Everybody is afraid of the police,» she said. «Everybody is afraid of their neighbors.»

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WORLD LEADERS SPLIT OVER MILITARY ACTION AS US-ISRAEL STRIKE IRAN IN COORDINATED OPERATION

chool in the capital Tehran, Iran

School children sit together in a classroom while mask-clad and distanced apart from each other, with Iranian national flags on the desk of each, on the first day of school’s re-opening, at Nojavanan school in the capital Tehran on Sept. 5, 2020.  (Photo by Atta Kenare / AFP / Getty)

An ideology losing its grip

Despite the regime’s extensive ideological machinery, Sabti believes many Iranians never fully accepted the worldview the government tried to impose.

«Over the years, the indoctrination has stopped working,» he said. «Most of the public does not truly believe it.»

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Still, the Islamic Republic remains in power. «The regime maintains control through money, weapons and propaganda,» Sabti said.

Zand agrees the system never fully reshaped Iranian society. Many people, she said, complied outwardly simply to avoid punishment.

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Iranian school girls

Iranian school girls wearing angel wings hold flags and portraits of Iran’s supreme leaders, past and present, as officials and security forces mark the 37th anniversary of the day in 1979 that the father of Iran’s Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, returned from exile in France, at the shrine built to house his remains on Feb. 1, 2016 south of Tehran, Iran.  (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

«They won’t have a problem to transfer as long as they realize that the new Iran has no room for the violence and the horrifying characteristics of the Islamist regime,» Zand told Fox News Digital.

She said that beneath the surface, Iran’s cultural identity remained intact even after decades of pressure from the state.

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Noem reveals Trump will have ‘big agreement’ to announce at major summit with world leaders

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Kristi Noem will reportedly join President Donald Trump and 12 Latin American leaders at his resort in Florida for a «Shield of the Americas» summit Saturday after her ouster as the Secretary of Homeland Security and appointment by President Donald Trump to be special envoy for the new coalition of nations. 

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On Thursday, Trump announced Noem would be exiting her role as Homeland Security secretary and would be appointed a Special Envoy for the «Shield of the Americas,» a summit for which will be held at the president’s resort in Doral, Florida, on Saturday. The new coalition of 13 countries has been formed to advance strategies that will tackle mass illegal immigration, narco-terrorist gangs and cartels. 

«After years of neglect, President Trump established the ‘Donroe Doctrine’ to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere. His efforts have been a tremendous success – our southern border is secure, Latin American countries are working with us to defeat the cartels, and illegitimate dictator Nicolas Maduro is facing justice for his crimes in the Southern District of New York – ushering in historic economic cooperation with Venezuela,» said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly ahead of the summit. 

«The President has successfully strengthened our relationships in our own backyard to make the entire region safer and more stable, and this weekend’s ‘Shield of the Americas’ Summit will encapsulate all of his work to Make America, and our partners, Strong Again,» she continued.

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President Donald Trump greets Argentinian President Javier Milei at the White House in October. ( ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Members of Trump’s Cabinet, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, will also be at the Saturday summit. 

The leaders from other nations who will be present are Argentina’s Javier Milei, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele Ortez, Bolivia’s Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Costa Rica’s Rodrigo Chaves Robles, Panama’s José Raúl Mulino Quintero, and Trinidad and Tobago’s Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Chile’s Jose Antonio Kast, the Dominican Republic’s Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona, Ecuador’s Daniel Roy Gilchrist Noboa Azín, Guyana’s Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Honduras’ Nasry «Tito» Asfura, and Paraguay’s Santiago Peña.

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President Donald Trump shakes hands with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 14, 2025 (Al Drago for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

‘IT WAS TIME’: DESPITE RARE CRITICISM, SOME HILL REPUBLICANS WELCOME KRISTI NOEM’S OUSTER

Noem confirmed Friday, speaking from Nashville, that she will be at the summit, according to the Associated Press. Noem reportedly added that the president will announce «a big agreement» detailing «how we’re going to go after cartels and drug trafficking in the entire Western Hemisphere.» 

On Friday, Hegseth led a strategic conference in Doral with representatives of 17 different Caribbean, Central American and South American countries throughout the Western Hemisphere. During the conference, they signed a joint security declaration, reaffirming their commitment to peace and sovereignty in the region. According to a source familiar with the plans for the summit, the president plans to celebrate this achievement with attendees.

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Kristi Noem testifies during Senate hearing

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

«Secretary Noem helped usher in the most secure border in history, deported hundreds of thousands of criminal illegal aliens, and executed record-setting counter-drug operations against cartels. All of this great experience positions Noem well to ensure American preeminence in the entire Western Hemisphere in her new role as Special Envoy to the Shield of the Americas,» White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said. «This historic new security initiative, led by Secretary Noem, will advance cutting-edge strategies to defeat narco-terrorist cartels and stop illegal mass migration to make America and the entire Western Hemisphere safer.»

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On Thursday, Rubio said he looked forward to working with Noem as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, and echoed the comments from the White House about her experience.

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«Kristi has achieved incredible results as Secretary of Homeland Security and will be a tremendous asset in our effort to promote security and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere,» Rubio said on X after Trump named Noem to her new post. 

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Capitol Hill Dems hail Trump's DHS ouster of Noem after heated Senate hearing

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