INTERNACIONAL
Mexican sewage gushing into Navy SEAL training waters is US’ ‘next Camp Lejeune,’ vets warn
«Disgusting,» said Navy SEAL veteran Rob Sweetman in describing the smell and mist of Mexican sewage spewing into U.S. waters as he stood on a hill overlooking the Tijuana River estuary in California.
Sweetman, a Navy veteran who served on the SEALs for eight years, spoke to Fox News Digital to sound the alarm on a water crisis rocking the San Diego area, including where SEALs train, taking a camera with him to show viewers firsthand how the contaminated water flows into the U.S.
Just one mile away from where Sweetman spoke, SEALs and candidates train in the same water, which has sickened more than 1,000 candidates in a five-year period, per a Department of Defense watchdog report released in February.
San Diego and the surrounding area are in a clean-water crisis that has raged for decades, but it is finding revived concern from the Trump administration as SEALs and local veterans warn of a «national security crisis» that they say is on par with the Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, water crisis.
Thousands of Marines and others were sickened at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune base between 1953 and 1987 as a result of water contaminated by industrial solvents used to drink, bathe and cook at the training facilities and on-base housing.
EPA CHIEF TAKES ON MEXICAN ‘SEWAGE CRISIS’ FLOWING INTO US WATERS WHERE NAVY SEALS TRAIN
The Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) class participates in a surf passage training exercise at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in Coronado, California. (Getty Images)
Kate Monroe, a Marine Corps veteran and CEO of VetComm — which advocates for disabled veterans and those navigating the VA’s complicated health system — told Fox Digital in an April Zoom interview, «San Diego County is as big as some states. It’s giant. Millions of people live here and are breathing the air of this water. It goes well beyond the military. It’s a crisis. It’s a FEMA-level travesty, and we have just been hiding it.»
The Navy has deep roots in the San Diego area, with the United States Naval Special Warfare Command headquartered in America’s Finest City and where Navy SEAL candidates complete their arduous six-month Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado.
Naval Special Warfare Center reported 1,168 cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses among SEAL candidates between January 2019 and May 2023 alone. (Jeff Gum)
The sewage problem flowing from neighboring Mexico into the U.S. has percolated in San Diego for years.
But the water crisis hit crisis level when it was reported in 2024 that 44 billion gallons of contaminated water imbued with raw sewage was released along the California coast in 2023, the most on record since at least 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time.
The issue of sewage water flowing into U.S. waters is largely attributed to outdated wastewater infrastructure across the southern border, local media outlets recently reported, with Mexico reportedly in the midst of addressing its infrastructure to curb the leaks of sewage water.
The Tijuana River has for decades been plagued by sewage and waste that has affected its beaches and neighboring San Diego.
In February, the Department of Defense’s inspector general released a report finding that the Naval Special Warfare Center reported 1,168 cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses among SEAL candidates between January 2019 and May 2023 alone.
Navy SEAL trainees are shown during Hell Week. (Getty Images)
«Navy SEAL candidate exposure to contaminated water occurred because (Naval Special Warfare Command) did not follow San Diego County’s Beach and Bay Water Quality Program’s beach closure postings,» the inspector general report found. «As a result of Navy SEAL candidate exposure to contaminated water during training, candidates are presented with increased health risks and NAVSPECWARCOM’s training mission could be impacted.»
‘IBS, GERD, skin issues, weird cancers’
It was when Monroe, who is well-versed with veteran health through VetComm, was working with SEALs who were retiring that she realized the severity of the San Diego water pollution of the past few years.
She observed an increase in health claims related to intestinal issues and «weird cancers,» which was a departure from typical claims related to PTSD or orthopedic ailments.
US SENATOR BLASTS PRESIDENT OF MEXICO, SAYS TOXIC SEWAGE DUMP THREATENS ‘NATIONAL SECURITY’
«I started creating relationships with the SEAL teams, the people that were exiting the SEALs, you know, at 14 years, 20 years, nearing their retirement,» Monroe told Fox News Digital. «And the claims that we were making for these guys were surprising to me because a lot of them, they have combat PTSD, a lot of orthopedic issues. But we were having guys coming to us with, like, IBS, GERD, skin issues, weird cancers, and they were all attributing it to their time spent in San Diego training to be a SEAL in that water here that we have in San Diego.»
Swimming and spending time in water contaminated with feces can lead to a host of illnesses, including bacterial, viral and parasitic infections that leave people nauseous, vomiting and rushing to the bathroom.
Navy SEAL vet Jeff Gum was only days from entering the SEAL’s aptly named Hell Week — the fourth week of basic conditioning for SEAL candidates — when nausea hit him. He was trapped in a cycle of drinking water and vomiting when he realized a serious illness had its grips on him.
Gum is a retired SEAL who served from 2007 to 2017 and was exposed to the contaminated water in 2008 during BUD/S training off the San Diego coast.
Navy SEAL vet Jeff Gum (Jeff Gum)
«I couldn’t stop,» Gum recounted of how he couldn’t keep water down without vomiting. «You never really want to go to medical because they can pull you out or make you get rolled to the next class, but I couldn’t even drink water without throwing up. It’s the only time in my whole life that this has happened.»
Gum’s nausea overcame him on a Friday in 2008, with Hell Week kicking off that Sunday night. Hell Week is a more than five-day training that puts candidates through rigorous training, including cold-water immersion, «surf torture,» buoy swims, mud runs, all while operating on minimal sleep.
SAN DIEGO SUBURB FACES ‘SEWAGE CRISIS’ FROM LOCAL BEACH
Navy SEAL vet Jeff Gum in Iraq. (Jeff Gum)
«The sun goes down, and the instructors come out with big machine guns, that kicks it off,» Gum said of how Hell Week began. «We run out to the beach, right into the ocean. You spend the rest of the week soaking wet, covered in sand. And everywhere you go, you have a 200-pound boat on your head that you and your boat crew of six to seven guys will share the weight of, and you just run everywhere.»
Hell Week training for the SEALs includes carrying boats. (Getty Images)
«You’re just in the water. There’s no escaping it. It’s part of what makes BUD/S BUD/S. And it’s part of what makes the Navy SEALs America’s premier maritime special operators,» he said. «There’s not getting around how comfortable we have to be in the water. Cold, wet, miserable, doesn’t matter, we suck it up and we do it.»
MEXICO IS POISONING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN A BORDER CRISIS ALMOST NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT
Gum received IVs the weekend ahead of Hell Week and was able to keep food and water down by the time the intense training began, but he had been diagnosed with viral gastroenteritis, commonly known as the stomach flu and highly contagious, which then morphed into rhabdomyolysis due to exerting so much energy while dehydrated from viral gastroenteritis
Rhabdomyolysis is a serious illness that causes muscle to break down quickly and can lead to «muscle death» and the release of high levels of myoglobin in the blood that can injure a person’s kidneys.
The border fence between Imperial Beach near San Ysidro, California, right, and Playas de Tijuana near Tijuana, Mexico. (Getty Images)
Gum failed the first phase of BUD/S, but he was granted permission to return to training for a second time after senior leaders saw he had viral gastroenteritis. Gum again went through the first phase of BUD/S, but again he went to medical, where tests showed that his «blood came back toxic» from rhabdomyolysis.
The SEAL was put on medical leave and able to fully recover in his home state of Pennsylvania before he «crushed» the hellish training on his third try. He served on SEAL Team Five, deployed to Fallujah, Iraq, and taught combatives and prisoner handling to SEAL trainees in San Diego from 2013 until his retirement in 2017.
Sweetman told Fox Digital that «everyone who goes through training is going to get sick.»
Tijuana, Mexico, top, and San Diego (Getty Images)
«They’re going to get infections, and it’s terrible,» Sweetman told Fox Digital in an April Zoom interview. «And some might argue that this is Navy SEAL training. You have to go through the toughest conditions to be able to survive and make it. I would say that it’s gotten a little bit out of hand.»
The SEAL vet, who lives in the San Diego area, said the issue has gotten worse in recent years as Tijuana’s population grows.
I TRAINED WITH THE NAVY SEALS FOR A DAY. THIS IS WHAT I LEARNED
«When I went through training, it was absolutely a thing that they’d shut down the Imperial Beach because the ocean water was so bad, because the waste coming from Tijuana had infected the water,» Sweetman said. «You could always smell it. And oftentimes, even in the bay, we’d need to wash our wet suit after being out on a swim.»
Rob Sweetman served eight years as a Navy SEAL. (Rob Sweetman)
«Now, some of the training causes us to be deeply immersed in the water, and infections and all types of things can come up from being in the water. But I’ll say that it has gotten significantly worse as the population has doubled in Tijuana.»
Raw sewage from Tijuana is flowing into the San Diego area, causing illness to spread among SEALs and candidates. (Rob Sweetman)
‘A huge national crisis’
Gum and Monroe both said that water issue is a crisis, with Gum identifying it as a national security crisis that could cull well-suited candidates from the SEALs due to acute illnesses as well as sicken active SEALs.
«This is a huge national crisis,» he said. «Like half the SEAL teams are located in San Diego, the other half are in Virginia Beach. So when you’ve got half the SEAL teams who are getting exposed to this, then it’s a major issue.»
Monroe called it the «next Camp Lejeune» crisis, which sickened Marines with contaminated drinking water at the North Carolina Marine Corps base camp for nearly three decades. The crisis has cost the U.S. billions of dollars, including legal costs and settlements to vets and their families.
«This is going to be, in my opinion, the next Camp Lejeune water problem that cost our government $21 to $25 billion,» she said. «That’s just in the compensation directly, like the lawsuit portion of it. That doesn’t cover all the compensation you have to pay these veterans tax-free for the rest of their lives. I would say that this issue here in San Diego, if you look at it over the time that people have been training here, you’re looking at another $21 to $25 billion, plus all of the compensation that’s going to come. It would be cheaper for our country to fix this than it would to allow it to continue.»
The three veterans who spoke to Fox Digital all responded with optimism that the Trump administration will tackle the crisis and end it.
WILL CAIN, NAVY SEALS HONORS VETERANS AT 2024 NYC SEAL SWIM
Fox Digital exclusively reported earlier in April that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is heading to San Diego to meet with SEALs and see the crisis firsthand April 22, 2025.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is heading to San Diego to meet with SEALs and see the water firsthand April 22, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
«The raw sewage flowing from Mexico into the Tijuana River is creating serious, detrimental issues for communities with affected waterways,» Zeldin told Fox Digital ahead of the Tuesday trip.
«Ensuring America’s waters are clean is part of EPA’s core mission, and I look forward to being on the ground in San Diego in a few days to assess the situation and hear directly from those affected,» he said. «It is top-of-mind knowing that as this issue persists, more and more Navy SEALs remain at risk of sickness because of the contaminated waterways they train in. I strongly believe the time has come to finalize and implement an urgent strategy to end decades of raw sewage entering the U.S.»
BUD/S students participate in SEAL training at the Naval Special Warfare Center, Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, California. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
A spokesperson for Naval Special Warfare added in a comment to Fox News Digital that SEALs and candidates’ health are a top priority and that officials are monitoring water quality in areas where they train.
«The Navy takes the health and safety of our personnel very seriously,» the spokesperson said. «Water quality at Navy training locations on the beach waterfront is closely monitored in coordination with local authorities. We are fully committed to ensuring warfighters at U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command train in a safe environment.»
Mexican sewage flows into the U.S. (Rob Sweetman)
Ahead of Zeldin’s visit, the water flowing from Mexico into the U.S. is as «nasty» as ever, according to Sweetman.
«What I see here is a tremendous amount of green, nasty water,» Sweetman said while pointing at the murky water. «I mean, you can smell it. This is disgusting. As it pours through, it doesn’t clear up. There’s no clarity to it. It just turns into a foam. And the foam sits on top of the water where it’s murky and it just continues to flow towards Imperial Beach and the ocean down here.»
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«It’s absolutely disgusting. I can’t comment strongly enough about how bad it is to be here. I’m here specifically because I want people to see just how bad it is,» he said. «The moment that I leave here, I’m going to go take a shower.»
US Navy,California,Mexico,MILITARY,National Security,Politics,Donald Trump,Lee Zeldin
President Trump is fighting a war with many battlefields.
It’s a nine-front crusade, although I could easily double that number.
If there’s a common thread here, it’s the president taking on elite institutions that he has long resented or reviled.
That’s why his first three months seem stuck on hyperspeed – critics would say chaos – because he’s broken with the traditional model of tackling one or two issues at a time. Voters gave him a second term to shake things up. It’s the first Trump term on steroids.
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The president is surrounded by loyalists who encourage his flood-the-zone approach, unlike some of the more traditional figures (Rex Tillerson, Jim Mattis, Gary Cohn) who tried to restrain him the last time he lived in the White House.
One advantage is that he uses Truth Social as a weapon, unloading on those who displease him.
And yet he still finds time to abolish rules limiting shower pressure, call for the abolition of pennies, and come out against changing clocks (though his stance on daylight savings is unclear) – all matters that affect people’s daily lives.
Here, in no particular order, are Donald Trump’s nine battlegrounds:
1. TOP PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES
Although Trump himself went to the Wharton School, he is constantly attacking Columbia and other top Ivy colleges. Harvard, where he has frozen more than $2 billion in federal funding and another $7 billion is at risk, is fighting back. Plus, the IRS is looking at revoking the university’s tax-exempt status.
Trump has publicly criticized Harvard University multiple times in recent weeks. (Getty Images | iStock)
The White House now admits that the letter a Trump official transmitted to Harvard was «unauthorized» and should not have been sent. Harvard officials were stunned because they thought they were in the process of negotiating a settlement with the administration.
2. LAW FIRMS
One giant law firm after another, under pressure from Trump, has caved and reached settlements with the White House. This involves agreeing to provide up to $100 million or even $125 million in pro bono services on matters important to the administration. The alternative is an executive order pulling its members’ security clearances, making it impossible to serve their corporate clients without access to secret data. A few firms have fought back, and some attorneys have resigned in protest, but most are volunteering to settle.
3. MEDIA
President Trump has sued CBS, NBC and Gannett. He won a $16-million lawsuit against ABC–approved by Disney–after George Stephanopoulos repeatedly called him a rapist when he was actually held liable for sexual abuse. Even if the suits go nowhere, journalists and news outlets have to hire lawyers and go through an ordeal.
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Trump has long used the press as a foil, but now he ridicules the likes of CNN’s Kaitlan Collins when she tries to ask questions. He refused to take a question from an NBC reporter, saying the network has no credibility. And yet Trump provides an absolutely stunning degree of access. He takes questions virtually every day and has taken over the press pool (with the AP still excluded). The coverage is overwhelmingly anti-Trump–sometimes that’s self-inflicted–but that also boosts clicks and ratings. It’s a love-hate relationship.
4. FEDERAL RESERVE
The markets nose-dived again yesterday as Trump stepped up his personal assault on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell in an obvious attempt to pressure him into resigning. Powell’s job is to worry about inflation, not to goose the economy because the president wants him to cut interest rates.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell responds to a question from David Rubenstein (not pictured) during an on-stage discussion at a meeting of The Economic Club of Washington, at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C., U.S, February 7, 2023. (REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/File Photo)
The entire tariff war has spooked Wall Street and alienated such allies as Canada (the 51st State???), Mexico and the European Union. He repeatedly promised a tariff war during the campaign, but no one expected tariffs of this magnitude, even against China, which has retaliated. Now Trump says he’ll even work out a deal with China. The 90-day pause briefly seemed to stabilize things, but whether the president can strike deals with 90 countries in 90 days remains to be seen.
5. COURTS
Donald Trump has a long history of attacking judges and prosecutors. Now he is going up to the line, and perhaps crossing it, when it comes to challenging court rulings, even with a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court.
The other day, the president deflected questions about the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, telling reporters to speak to the lawyers. The next day, he unloaded at length on Abrego Garcia, saying he’s a violent man who deserves to be in prison and criticizing Chris Van Hollen’s trip to visit him in a carefully staged photo op.
Abrego Garcia may well be a gang member, but a previous court ruling had found he should not be sent to El Salvador. Politically, this is a winning issue for Trump. But when SCOTUS ruled 9-0 that he should «facilitate» Garcia’s return, Trump pretty much ignored it.
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In a separate case, the Supreme Court, 7-2, ordered Trump not to move a second wave of Venezuelan migrants from where they are being held. This time, the administration agreed to follow the ruling.
6. FORMER AIDES
The president is going after two of his appointees from the first term.
He has ordered an investigation of his former cybersecurity chief, Chris Krebs, for «falsely and baselessly» denying that the 2020 election was rigged. He called Krebs a «significant bad-faith actor who weaponized and abused his government authority,» meaning Krebs found what every other probe, including one by Attorney General Bill Barr, found–no evidence of significant fraud.
Trump also ordered a probe of Miles Taylor, better known as «Anonymous,» for the New York Times op-ed he wrote ripping the president.
Taylor, a former Homeland Security official, «wrote a book under the pseudonym ‘Anonymous,’ making outrageous claims both about your administration and about others in it,» the president was told in a memo. So he too is under investigation. Trump even accused Taylor of committing «treason.»
7. HILL REPUBLICANS
The president has pressured members of his own party into going along with just about anything he wants. Other than the Matt Gaetz fiasco, that has meant approving all his nominees, despite doubts about the likes of Pete Hegseth and RFK Jr.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prepares to give a television interview outside the White House, on Friday, March 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
He has openly warned that he will use Elon Musk’s money to launch primary opponents against those who defy him. Musk has been a heat shield for Trump, though he has broken with him on tariffs. Remember that Musk poured money into that Wisconsin Supreme Court battle and lost. The chainsaw looks very different now.
While the violent attacks against Tesla have been despicable, Musk has also had to admit, after vowing to cut $1 trillion, that he’ll only be able to save $150 billion. Musk also admitted firing and having to rehire bird flu experts and nuclear bomb specialists, but remains the world’s richest man.
Lisa Murkowski just came out and said it: They are all afraid to criticize Trump for fear of political retaliation.
8. KENNEDY CENTER
It’s never been done, but the president fired all the Democratic board members and named himself chairman. He’s even suggested that he should host the annual awards given out for the glittering building on the Potomac named for JFK – not because he needs the attention, he says, but because it would be good for ratings.
The board has always been bipartisan, but that doesn’t bother Trump.
Some performers, led by Lin-Manuel Miranda of «Hamilton» fame, have already pulled out. Will only conservative performers get the green light?
I’ve picked the Kennedy Center as an example of Trump’s culture wars, but he’s also taken aim at the Smithsonian Institution and the National Zoo.
9. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY
The president, with help from JD Vance, utterly humiliated the Ukrainian president during that meltdown meeting at the White House. Now Zelenskyy bears a good bit of responsibility for the clash – he should have kept his mouth shut and walked away with an agreement, but took the bait.
Trump went a step further, kicking him out of the White House and sending him home.
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Now Trump, through Marco Rubio, says he may give up on negotiating a cease-fire in Ukraine. That’s exactly what Vladimir Putin wants, so he can keep on seizing land from the brave Ukrainians. One thing that Trump said he would do, but hasn’t done, is pressure his pal Putin. He still blames Zelenskyy and Ukraine for having the temerity to be invaded by the Kremlin.
That’s the list. Feel free to create your own. Sometimes it works for Donald Trump, sometimes it doesn’t. But it helps explain the dizzying pace of change and sends an unmistakable message that he is in charge.
Media,Media Buzz,US,Donald Trump,Politics,JD Vance,Elon Musk,US Education,Federal Reserve
Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, who worked to instill progressive influences on the global church while maintaining unity with conservatives amid years of turmoil, died Monday morning, Vatican camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced.
He was 88 years old.
«Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church,» Farrell announced.
«He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.»
U.S. Vice President JD Vance had just met with the pope on Sunday.
«I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul,» Vance said early Monday morning in a post on X.
Pope Francis meets with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his delegation during an audience at Casa Santa Marta on April 20, 2025, in Vatican City, Vatican. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
The pope preached frequently on the Catholic virtues of mercy, kindness and humility. He did not shy away from controversy, and American presidents, including Donald Trump and Joe Biden, were not immune from his views.
Less than a month into President Donald Trump’s presidency, the pontiff criticized the Republican’s plans for the mass deportations of migrants, stressing that the forceful removal of people simply for their immigration status deprives them of their inherent dignity and «will end badly.»
In a strongly worded letter to U.S. Catholic Bishops, the pope appeared to counter remarks made by Vice President JD Vance — who had recently converted to Catholicism — after he suggested Americans should care for family, communities and the country before caring about others.
«Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups,» the pontiff wrote. «Worrying about personal, community or national identity, apart from these considerations.»
POPE FRANCIS EXPOSES CONFIDENTIAL DETAILS ABOUT HIS ELECTION AND RELATIONSHIPS IN LENGTHY INTERVIEW
Pope Francis meets with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons, seminarians and pastoral workers in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 15, 2022. (Reuters/Pavel Mikheyev)
Pope Francis in 2015 became the first pontiff to ever address a Joint Meeting of Congress where he spoke on a range of topics including immigration, family, the death penalty, climate change, extremism, religious freedom and the refugee crisis.
He joined American bishops and urged American leaders to abolish capital punishment and said Congress has a «role to play» in addressing global warming.
In 2022 he questioned then President Biden’s conscience on abortion in an interview during which he described the commander-in-chief’s religious identity and views on abortion as incoherent. «A month after conception, the DNA of the fetus is already there and the organs are aligned. There is human life,» the pontiff said in the interview with Spanish-language outlet Univision.
He also weighed in on candidates Trump and Harris during the election campaign, where he bashed them both, saying, «Both are against life, be it the one who kicks out migrants, or be it the one who kills babies,″ he said, according to the Associated Press.
Just weeks before President Trump’s second inauguration, he appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy to be the Archbishop of Washington. McElroy had been critical of Trump’s immigration policies during his first term as president.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 to Italian immigrant parents in Argentina, Francis made history as the first pope from the Americas — as well as the first Jesuit to hold the office.
He was elected pope in 2013 after the almost unprecedented retirement of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
Bergolio’s father, Mario, was an accountant for the railway industry, and his mother, Regina, was a homemaker and caregiver for her five children.
POPE FRANCIS FUELS NEW SPECULATION ON FUTURE OF PONTIFICATE
Pope Francis, born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is shown here with his family. From left to right, standing, brother Alberto Horacio, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Oscar Adrian and sister Marta Regina, sitting, sister Maria Elena, mother Regina and father Mario Jose Francisco. (API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Throughout his early years, the future pope worked a number of menial jobs. He labored briefly in the stocking factory where his father was an accountant before moving on to other opportunities, including jobs as a bar bouncer and janitor.
He eventually sought a career as a chemical technician, receiving a diploma in chemistry from the secondary school Escuela Técnica Industrial N° 27 Hipólito Yrigoyen. He also worked briefly in a food laboratory. However, his career in chemistry was short-lived.
He entered the priesthood at the Diocesan Seminary of Villa Devoto in Argentina. Francis was ordained a priest in 1969 and made his final profession with the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, in 1973. The same year, he was appointed as a provincial for the order.
His appointment as provincial was concurrent with the Dirty War, a period of intense state-led persecution of left-wing leaders and political dissidents. Bergolio experienced constant threats to his own safety as he worked to hide or aid in the escape of government targets, including many Catholic faithful.
Pope Francis’ is a fan of Argentina’s San Lorenzo Futbol Club. (API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
During that time, two Jesuit priests under his supervision were disappeared by the government, drugged and left barely alive in a field five months after their kidnapping. Pope Francis has said he was forced to negotiate with the regime for their release.
Bergolio would spend the next two decades bouncing from position to position at the direction of his superiors. He served as a professor of theology, seminary instructor, rector, doctoral student and parish priest.
In 1992, Pope John Paul II appointed Bergolio as titular Bishop of Auca and as an auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires. This was done at the request of Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, who consecrated him to the episcopacy.
Bergoglio proved vital to the nation’s Catholic community, and he was quickly raised to the dignity of Coadjutor Archbishop of Buenos Aires, serving alongside Quarracino and taking over the archdiocese entirely after his death the following year.
Bergoglio was given the crimson hat of a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001.
In 2013, after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Bergoglio was elected to the papacy, selecting the pontifical name «Francis» after St. Francis of Assisi — a choice that set the tone for the rest of his papacy.
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Newly elected Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after being elected by the conclave of cardinals, at the Vatican on March 13, 2013. White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel chimney, and the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica rang out, signaling at the time that the Roman Catholic cardinals had elected a pope to succeed Benedict XVI. (Tony Gentile/Reuters)
Pope Francis’s teachings as a priest, bishop, cardinal and pope were deeply influenced by his Jesuit vocation — viewing each person as a unique creation of God, with whom they can have a personal relationship. His ministry and leadership were committed to keeping doors open and making the church approachable to the public.
It was not only American politics that he had strong opinions of.
He faced criticism for specific remarks he made against Israel’s military operation in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave «very serious and shameful.» During that same speech, he condemned the growth of antisemitism throughout the world, Reuters reported. He also called for an end to the war in Ukraine and expressed concerns over climate change.
In 2023, seemingly looking to strike a balance, he formally allowed Catholic priests to give same-sex couples a blessing, which was seen as being a radical shift in church policy, the Associated Press reported at the time.
Pope Francis is also remembered for living a life of intense simplicity, denying himself a lavish papal apartment in the Vatican upon his election, and opting instead for a two-room suite in the Domus Santa Marta, a residence built by Pope John Paul II.
Pope Francis celebrates the traditional rite of the washing of feet at the Casal del Marmo juvenile penitentiary on April 6, 2023, in Rome, Italy. On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis went to the outskirts of Rome to celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Casal del Marmo juvenile penitentiary, where he carried out the traditional rite of the washing of the feet of twelve of the young people there. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
In contrast to his immediate predecessors, Pope Francis eschewed ornate robes or luxurious clothing. His outfit rarely consisted of more than a plain, white cassock tied with a papal fascia.
Pope Francis even dressed down his Ring of the Fisherman — a piece of gold jewelry worn by popes to signify their office — by having it made with silver and only wearing it for ceremonies.
Francis’s tenure continued the ongoing efforts to investigate decades of sexual abuse claims against priests across the world, including in the United States, with Francis vowing transparency in 2019.
«Transparency is now being implemented at the highest level,» said Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the Archbishop of Malta and Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, after Francis gave legal authorities access to documents about sexual abuse cases and abolished the «pontifical secret» of the cases.
POPE FRANCIS DEFROCKS NOTORIOUS BISHOP WHO CONFESSED TO ABUSING HIS NEPHEW
Pope Francis meets President Donald Trump during his first term in the Private Library of the Apostolic Palace with his wife, Melania, his daughter, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. (Vatican/Pool/Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori via Getty Images)
He continued Benedict’s work to root malicious clerics out of the Church hierarchy «with the wrath of God,» appointing task forces and establishing victim aid groups.
Pope Francis proved frustrating for a wide variety of conservatives, liberals, traditionalists and progressives.
His gentle — at times vague and confusing — language on key social issues, such as sexuality and divorce, frustrated conservatives hoping for a more aggressive champion of Catholic moral teaching.
In July 2017, a group of Catholic clergy and academics sent Pope Francis a «Filial Correction» document alleging seven serious theological mistakes made by the pontiff in public statements. The document’s assertions proved controversial within the Catholic Church and the document was never explicitly addressed.
Conversely, his refusal to back down from traditional church teachings on abortion, gay marriage, women’s ordination and priestly celibacy frustrated progressives hoping for a more modern church.
Echoing his time as a prelate in Argentina, Pope Francis was at times criticized from both sides of the aisle for his heavy hand enforcing Catholic unity on national and international levels.
Traditionalists voiced intense opposition to his apostolic letter «Traditionis custodes,» which restricted the celebration of the traditional Latin mass in an attempt to squash increasingly separatist conservative movements within the Church.
Pope Francis meets with then-President Joe Biden during an audience at the Apostolic Palace on Oct. 29, 2021 in Vatican City. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool)
He similarly shut down discussion of many social issues that progressives have sought to reform.
In 2019, Pope Francis told a nun asking him to approve the ordination of women that «if the Lord didn’t want a sacramental ministry for women, it can’t go forward,» adding, «We are Catholics, but if anyone wants to found another church they are free [to do so].»
The hyper-progressive leadership of the Catholic Church in Germany was a target of his ire after the country’s clerical leaders attempted an upheaval of traditional teachings regarding gender and sexuality. The Vatican issued a series of letters, approved by Pope Francis, accusing the German church of risking separation from the Catholic Communion.
The conflict with German bishops encapsulated his papacy’s recurring themes of authority and unity, best exemplified in a passage from his «Letter to the Pilgrim People of God in Germany.»
POPE FRANCIS URGES CATHOLIC VOTERS TO ‘CHOOSE THE LESSER EVIL’ BETWEEN TRUMP AND HARRIS
Pope Francis delivers a speech during the Holy Mass with newly appointed Cardinals. (Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In the letter, Pope Francis wrote, «The universal Church lives in and of the particular Churches, just as the particular Churches live and flourish in and from the universal Church. If they find themselves separated from the entire ecclesial body, they weaken, rot and die. Hence, the need always to ensure that communion with the whole body of the Church is alive and effective.»
Pope Francis visited dozens of countries, including the United States and Cuba in 2015, and went as far afield as Papua New Guinea, as well as visits to predominantly Muslim countries including Egypt, Morocco and Jordan.
Pope Francis struggled with health complications throughout his reign.
The pontiff dealt for many years with sciatica, a nerve condition that caused immense pain in his leg and at times hindered his ability to walk.
In 2021, Pope Francis was hospitalized for an intestinal surgery that removed 13 inches of his colon.
In March 2023, Francis was again taken to the hospital after experiencing intense chest pain and difficulty breathing. He was treated for a respiratory infection and released after antibiotic treatment.
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Pope Francis is welcomed as he arrives at the Apostolic Prefecture on Sept. 1, 2023 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. According to the Vatican, the trip was Pope Francis’s 43rd Apostolic Journey abroad and the 61st country he visited as Pope. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
In June of the same year, the pope was brought back for another abdominal surgery to repair an incisional hernia. He was released after making a full recovery.
He took a fall at his residence and suffered a contusion on his right arm in January 2025.
In February, he was once again hospitalized after a bout of bronchitis.
Following Pope Francis’ death, the Vatican has entered a time of sede vacante — in English, «empty seat.»
The Associated Press, Reuters and Fox News’ Annie Butterworth contributed to this report.
INTERNACIONAL
Nicolás Maduro rechazó el intercambio de prisioneros que le propuso Nayib Bukele y lo criticó con dureza
Luego de que el presidente de El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, le propusiera a Nicolás Maduro el intercambio de más de 250 ciudadanos venezolanos deportados por Estados Unidos que permanecen en cárceles salvadoreñas a cambio de que su colega devuelva a la misma cantidad de presos políticos, llegó la respuesta del presidente venezolano, quien rechazó la oferta, dijo que el salvadoreño tiene secuestrados a sus conciudadanos y exigió su liberación.
Bukele había hecho su propuesta el domingo, a través de un posteo en la red social X. «Quiero proponerle un acuerdo humanitario que contemple la repatriación del 100 % de los 252 venezolanos que fueron deportados, a cambio de la liberación y entrega de un número idéntico (252) de los miles de presos políticos que usted mantiene», expresó el extenso mensaje del presidente salvadoreño, en el que aseguró además que la propuesta formal sería enviada por la Cancillería de su país.
La respuesta de Maduro llegó este lunes a través del programa de televisión «Con Maduro +», que él mismo conduce. “Bukele es un violador serial del derecho a la libertad, al trato justo y la dignidad del ser humano”, afirmó el venezolano durante su más reciente emisión, y más tarde aseguró que «Bukele ha actuado bajo los patrones y los cánones de la violación serial de los derechos humanos y ha actuado en los esquemas de los nazis».
En su respuesta, Maduro aseguró que la oferta de Bukele es «completamente ilegítima, ilegal, abusiva” y que dejó en evidencia que el país centroamericano “tiene secuestrados” a los venezolanos deportados por Estados Unidos. El venezolano aseguró además que los detenidos en El Salvador no cometieron ningún delito en ese país.
«Yo le digo señor Bukele, póngase a derecho, diga dónde están enjuiciados, qué causa qué delito cometieron, permita el acceso de sus abogados y familiares a la visita en la prisión donde los tiene secuestrados, abandone el camino de la desaparición forzosa», instó Maduro este lunes, y pidió al salvadoreño que firme “un decreto dándole la libertad incondicional” a los deportados y permita «regresar a Venezuela a todos los 252 muchachos”.
Entre los presos políticos cuya libertad reclamó el presidente de El Salvador figuran Rafael Tudares, yerno de Edmundo González; el periodista Roland Carreño; la abogada y activista Rocío San Miguel; la señora Corina Parisca de Machado, madre de María Corina Machado y los cuatro dirigentes políticos asilados en la embajada de Argentina.
Además, hay personal de campaña, activistas y periodistas, muchos de ellos detenidos tras las protestas que siguieron a las elecciones de julio pasado, cuestionadas por falta de transparencia.
Señor @NicolasMaduro, usted ha dicho en numerosas ocasiones que quiere a los venezolanos de regreso y en libertad.
A diferencia de usted, que tiene presos políticos, nosotros no tenemos presos políticos. Todos los venezolanos que tenemos bajo custodia fueron detenidos en el…
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) April 20, 2025
Bukele también había incluido en su pedido a “los casi 50 ciudadanos detenidos de otras nacionalidades: estadounidense, alemana, dominicana, argentina, boliviana, israelí, chilena, colombiana, ecuatoriana, española, francesa, guyanesa, neerlandesa, iraní, italiana, libanesa, mexicana, peruana, puertorriqueña, ucraniana, uruguaya, portuguesa y checa”.
“La única razón por la que están encarcelados es por haberse opuesto a usted y a sus fraudes electorales”, había expresado el salvadoreño el domingo.
Por su parte, El Salvador mantiene en una cárcel de máxima seguridad a un grupo de ciudadanos venezolanos. Entre ellos, hay presuntos criminales de la pandilla Tren de Aragua y migrantes irregulares que fueron deportados por Estados Unidos.
La propuesta se produjo en momentos que el país centroamericano se encuentra bajo un intenso escrutinio internacional por recibir a venezolanos deportados por el gobierno de Donald Trump, que los acusó de ser presuntos pandilleros con escasas pruebas.
Human Rights Watch acusó recientemente a Estados Unidos y El Salvador de la desaparición y detención arbitraria de venezolanos y denunció que las autoridades salvadoreñas y estadounidenses no han dado información a los familiares del paradero de los deportad
Por su parte, las elecciones de 2024 en Venezuela fueron tildadas de fraudulentas, luego de que Maduro se autoproclamase ganador sin mostrar las actas que validasen ese resultado. Por su parte, la oposición presentó pruebas, avaladas por observadores internacionales, de una votación que le daban la ventaja por 2 a 1 al candidato opositor Edmundo González.
No obstante, Maduro fue declarado ganador de los comicios por las autoridades electorales sin que hasta ahora hayan publicado las actas de votación.
Nayib Bukele,Nicolás Maduro,Venezuela,El Salvador,Últimas Noticias
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