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Pritzker rails against ‘un-American’ possible National Guard deployment by Trump

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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker blasted President Donald Trump as a «wannabe dictator» Monday, accusing him of trying to «occupy» Chicago with National Guard troops after reports the White House is preparing a possible deployment as soon as September.
The Democrat railed against a Washington Post report detailing the potential move, warning that Trump was escalating rhetoric against Chicago and its leaders over crime.
«This is exactly the type of overreach that our country’s founders warned against,» Pritzker said at a press conference in front of Trump Tower in downtown Chicago.
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«What President Trump is doing is unprecedented and unwarranted. It is illegal. It is unconstitutional. It is un-American.»
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks to reporters in front of Trump Tower in Chicago as he denounces a potential plan by the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops to the city. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Pritzker vowed to fight the move in court, accusing Trump of trying to occupy a U.S. city for political gain.
«Go talk to the people of Chicago who are enjoying a gorgeous afternoon in this city… ask if they want their neighborhoods turned into a war zone by a wannabe dictator,» Pritzker said, flanked by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and other local officials.
«Donald Trump wants to use the military to occupy a U.S. city, punish his dissidents and score political points. If this were happening in any other country, we would have no trouble calling it what it is — a dangerous power grab.»
The Democrat said Trump was trying to militarize a blue state while simultaneously slashing $800 million in federal crime prevention grants. Most of the grants were headed to nonprofits and local community groups, not to police departments or federal law enforcement.
Pritzker said that crime rates are down in Chicago, the nation’s third-largest city, and that Trump’s narrative of the city being engulfed in crime is manufactured.
For instance, he said that murders are down 32% compared to last year and nearly cut in half since 2021.
«You are neither wanted here nor needed here,» Pritzker added. «We will see the Trump administration in court. We will use every lever at our disposal to protect the people of Illinois and their rights.»
Hours earlier Trump suggested he would prefer to be «asked» before sending troops. He has been floating the idea of deploying the National Guard in Chicago, replicating operations in Washington D.C. which has also seen the federal government take control of the local police. More than 1,000 arrests have been made and the capital has gone 11 days straight without a homicide, according to the latest figures.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivers remarks in Chicago alongside Mayor Brandon Johnson and other officials after reports the White House is preparing to deploy National Guard troops to the city. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)
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National Guard units sent without state approval are generally restricted to defending federal property and personnel. When Guard troops were deployed to Los Angeles in June over anti-ICE protests, they were confined to federal buildings and escort duties for immigration agents. In Washington, D.C., which is under federal jurisdiction, Guard units have conducted armed patrols alongside local police.
«In a certain way, you really want to be asked to go,» Trump told reporters, before taking a jab at Pritzker: «He has to spend more time in the gym.»
Trump continued his attacks on Pritzker and ripped the Windy City’s crime record.
«I’m thinking about you know, when I have some slob like Pritzker criticizing us before we even go there. I made the statement that next year be Chicago because, as you all know, Chicago’s a killing field right now and they don’t acknowledge it. And they say, we don’t need him.»
Chicago recorded 573 homicides in 2024, marking the 13th straight year Chicago has led the nation in total murders, according to Chicago Police Department data compiled by Wirepoints.
According to the Council on Criminal Justice’s year-end 2024 update, aggravated assaults declined by 4% compared to 2023 but remained 4% higher than in 2019, gun assaults fell 15% though they were still 5% above 2019 levels, and carjackings dropped 32% year-over-year yet were 25% higher than in 2019.
Meanwhile, Johnson echoed Pritzker’s defiance, insisting Chicagoans don’t want a «military occupation.»
«We believe that you don’t solve crime by sending in the military,» Johnson said. «The last thing that Chicagoans want is someone from the outside of our city who doesn’t know our city, trying to dictate and tell us what our city needs.»

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office as he continues to defend a potential National Guard deployment to Chicago. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Johnson called the plan «a stunt,» saying Trump’s targeting of Chicago is rooted in racism.
«We cannot incarcerate our way out of violence. We’ve already tried that, and we’ve ended up with the largest prison population in the world without solving the problems of crime and violence,» Johnson said.
«The addiction on jails and incarceration in this country. We have moved past that. It is racist. It is immoral. It is unholy. And it is not the way to drive violence down.»
chicago,donald trump,jb pritzker,crime world,politics,washington dc,illinois
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DHS juggles ‘mass deportation’ push with Helene relief, adds $124M after Biden backlash

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The Department of Homeland Security released a second round of August funding for Hurricane Helene relief this week, even as the agency directs increased resources toward President Donald Trump’s «mass deportation» framework.
Secretary Kristi Noem’s latest $28 million allocation formally offered Sunday brings the month’s total to $124 million in funds from FEMA, which sits within DHS, for the deadly Category 4 hurricane that made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend and devastated the Smokies.
The funding will go to road repairs and critical infrastructure restoration – which is especially needed in North Carolina and Tennessee.
In that regard, a crucial stretch of Interstate 40 washed into the Pigeon River near that state line — cutting off the lone major trucking route over the mountains, as large vehicles are prohibited on Tail of the Dragon and other regional crossings.
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Devastation from Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, 2024. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
FEMA funds have also been allocated to debris removal and «life and property» concerns.
«North Carolina families suffering from this unimaginable tragedy were cruelly ignored by the Biden administration,» Noem deputy Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
«Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, FEMA is moving faster than ever before to get Americans the relief they need. This move to continue supporting North Carolina victims of Hurricane Helene is a testament to that fact.»
Trump lambasted former President Joe Biden’s initial response to Helene, claiming he «didn’t like reports that [he was] getting about the federal government.»
Trump alleged that more conservative areas – of which the western half of North Carolina has many, with the notable exception of Asheville – were wrongly being underserved by the feds.
Biden, however, rejected the claim, cutting off a reporter who asked him about it at the time.
NOEM SAYS CRITICISM OF FEDERAL RESPONSE TO TEXAS FLOODING IS ‘ALL POLITICS’: ‘DISSERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY’

A stretch of eastbound Interstate 40 in Cocke County, Tenn., near the North Carolina line, collapsed into the raging Pigeon River during Hurricane Helene, stymieing regional commerce. (Brianna Paciorka/Knoxville News-Sentinel/IMAGN)
«He’s lying, and the governor told him he was lying. I’ve spoken to the governor. I spent time with him and he told me [Trump is] lying. I don’t know why he does this,» said Biden, who had recently spoken with then-North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp around that time.
Republicans also lambasted then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas when he claimed FEMA was running out of funds amid allegations the agency spent large sums on the migrant crisis, according to the New York Post.
However, Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., who represents a swath of storm-ravaged communities, said in a «fact-check» on his congressional website that FEMA did not divert any disaster response to the border or to foreign aid.
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«FEMA’s non-disaster-related presence at the border has always been of major concern to me, even before Hurricane Helene, and I will continue to condemn their deployment of personnel to the southern border, but we must separate the two issues,» Edwards said, while adding that the agency informed him they had enough money for recovery needs.
«Secretary Mayorkas’ statement indicating otherwise was an irresponsible attempt to politicize a tragedy for personal gain,» Edwards said.
Trump later told a campaign rally in Pennsylvania that Biden’s response to Helene was worse than what followed Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Then-President George W. Bush was memorably lambasted for praising then-FEMA Director Michael Brown’s response – remarking «Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job,» Bush said while surveying recovery efforts in Mobile.
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María Corina Machado agradeció a Milei haber declarado grupo terrorista al Cartel de los Soles

María Corina Machado, líder política opositora al régimen dictatorial de Nicolás Maduro, agradeció este martes al presidente argentino Javier Milei el decreto que declaró como grupo terrorista al Cartel de los Soles.
Machado, perseguida por la dictadura de Maduro e imposibilitada de presentarse a elecciones, remarcó el compromiso del jefe de estado argentino que se sumó de esta forma a lo actuado por Ecuador y por Paraguay en las últimas semanas. «Querido Presidente Milei, en nombre de los venezolanos le agradezco su firme y decidido apoyo a la causa justa por la Libertad y la democracia de Venezuela, así como el respaldo y cariño del pueblo de la Argentina“, indica el texto publicado en X.
“Nuestro pueblo ha enfrentado con inmensa valentía y dignidad a un régimen criminal narco-terrorista que ha provocado intencionalmente miseria, violencia y la huida de millones de ciudadanos”, subrayó Machado.
La líder política de la oposición venezolana enfatizó además la voluntad de cambio definitivo que atraviesa el pueblo de su país, sumido en una severa crisis humama, social, política y económica. “Hoy tenemos una sociedad unida, organizada y decidida a conquistar su Libertad para traer a nuestros hijos de vuelta a casa”, dijo.
“Sabemos que también contamos con el apoyo de los pueblos hermanos de las Américas y con los genuinos líderes democráticos del mundo. ¡Venezuela será libre!“, concluyó.
El Gobierno argentino declaró organización terrorista al “Cártel de los Soles”, que comandan Maduro y Diosdado Cabello. La administración Milei dispuso esta mañana incluir a ese grupo narcocriminal en el Registro Público de Personas y Entidades vinculadas a Actos de Terrorismo y su Financiamiento (RePET).
La declaración de “organización terrorista”, según informó el Gobierno, responde a los compromisos internacionales asumidos por la República Argentina en materia de prevención y combate al terrorismo. Y se enmarca en la normativa vigente y busca fortalecer la protección del sistema financiero nacional.
La resolución fue adoptada tras una coordinación entre el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, que encabeza Gerardo Werthein y el Ministerio de Seguridad, de Patricia Bullrich.
“Declaramos al Cártel de los Soles como organización terrorista y narcocriminal. Maduro y su séquito son narcoterroristas. Ni en la Argentina ni en ningún lugar del mundo van a poder llevar a cabo sus actividades criminales. Para este Gobierno, el que las hace, las paga. Acá o donde sea”, afirmó Bullrich, en un mensaje publicado en su cuenta de X.
El 14 de agosto, días después de que el Tesoro de los Estados Unidos dispusiera una recompensa de 50 millones de dólares para quien aportara información que lleve a la captura de Maduro, el gobierno de Daniel Noboa designó al Cartel de los Soles como organización terrorista.

La disposición se formalizó mediante un decreto ejecutivo y forma parte del estado de “conflicto armado interno” que el mandatario mantiene desde inicios de 2024.
Con la inclusión del Cartel de los Soles en la lista de organizaciones terroristas de Ecuador, el gobierno de Noboa amplía su ofensiva contra las redes criminales que operan en el país.
La estrategia, respaldada por operativos conjuntos de Policía y Fuerzas Armadas, ha implicado detenciones masivas y la ocupación de territorios considerados bajo control de grupos armados. Las autoridades no han precisado el alcance de la presencia del Cartel de los Soles en Ecuador, pero el CNI deberá presentar un informe con sus hallazgos y coordinar acciones con agencias extranjeras.
Por su parte, días después, fue el gobierno de Santiago Peña en Paraguay el que dispuso una medida similar. El decreto presidencial fue firmado el pasado 22 de agosto. En él, Peña señala: “Desígnase a la organización delictiva transnacional denominada ‘Cartel de los Soles’ como organización terrorista internacional. Refréndese el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores“.
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La hiperlujosa villa de verano de la reina Máxima y el rey Guillermo sobre el Egeo pone incómodos a los holandeses
