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Post-Maduro, pressure builds on Mexico over Cuba’s new oil lifeline

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Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s regime was crucial to propping up America’s closest Communist neighbor, Cuba, for many years — but with the despot now in a New York prison, U.S. lawmakers and analysts are turning their attention to Mexico, a top U.S. ally and trading partner that has quietly taken Venezuela’s place.
As of January, Mexico reportedly accounted for 13,000 barrels per day, or 44%, of Cuba’s 2025 oil imports, the top factor keeping what some lawmakers describe as a teetering economy barely afloat. With renewed trade talks approaching in July, Republican lawmakers and conservative analysts are calling for increased pressure on Mexico to cut off Cuba’s oil lifeline.
The Trump administration is also weighing instituting a maritime blockade on oil imports to Cuba, according to Politico. The outlet noted that the move would be an escalation of its previously-stated plan to cut off imports from Venezuela, where Maduro’s former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is now acting president. Such a blockade could spur crisis in the country and lead to the economic collapse of the Castro/Diaz-Canel regime for which much of the U.S. diaspora has long hoped.
«The Cuban government was, even before this action with Maduro, probably at the weakest point that the regime has been in the last 65 years,» said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., the only Cuban-born member of Congress.
AS TRUMP URGES DEAL, CUBAN PRESIDENT WARNS THAT THE COUNTRY WILL DEFEND ITSELF ‘TO THE LAST DROP OF BLOOD’
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, left; Cuban dictator Miguel Diaz-Canel, right. (Sergio Morales/Getty Images; Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
«This just makes them weaker. My one concern is that it appears that Mexico is now trying to prop them up. And so, the oil that they were receiving from Venezuela is now being supplanted by oil being received by Mexico.»
The Florida Republican said Mexico is in such a position in part because it is «governed by a Marxist,» casting criticism of socialist-party-aligned President Claudia Sheinbaum.
«The oil that they were receiving from Venezuela is now being supplanted by oil being received by Mexico,» he said.
«It doesn’t matter that [the Miguel Diaz-Canel] regime [in Cuba] has been suppressing and oppressing its people for 65 years, as long as they have the right ideology.»
MARCO RUBIO EMERGES AS KEY TRUMP POWER PLAYER AFTER VENEZUELA OPERATION
Gimenez said that Congress could use upcoming intracontinental trade talks over the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to pressure Sheinbaum to stop supporting the dictatorship just 90 miles from Fort Zachary Taylor, at the southern tip of his district.
Cuba is already experiencing rolling blackouts, inability to feed its people, medical shortages and a nosedive in tourism due to those developments, he said.
«Would it be okay for us to kind of nudge them over the edge? I don’t know a problem with that,» he quipped.
SENATE REPUBLICAN PREDICTS THE FALL OF THE CUBAN REGIME
Andres Martinez-Fernandez, a Latin America and national security policy analyst who leads the Heritage Foundation’s research on the region, told Fox News Digital that U.S. tolerance for Mexico’s new position may not last.
«It’s a major issue,» he said, adding the Mexico-Cuba relationship got to «worrying levels» under Sheinbaum’s predecessor and now involves a Cuban medical program he called «forced slavery for revenue» involving Cuban doctors arriving in Mexico and sending remittances home – much of which can get funneled to the regime.
If Mexico City wants to continue aiding Havana, it had better prepare for «severe pushback,» he said, similarly citing the USMCA negotiations that Gimenez mentioned.
CUBA’S PRESIDENT DEFIANT, SAYS NO NEGOTIATIONS SCHEDULED AS TRUMP MOVES TO CHOKE OFF OIL LIFELINE
Those aspects, along with President Donald Trump’s discontent with Sheinbaum’s resistance to U.S. action against cartels could come to a head, he suggested, calling Mexico’s attitude «mendacious and duplicitous.»
«It says nothing good if they decide, to maintain this overt support for the Cuban regime as we continue to see this inadequate action on the cartel front.»
Trump declared earlier this month that there will be «no more oil or money going to Cuba – Zero» and the Department of War has been seizing sanctioned «shadow-fleet» oil tankers.
A White House official said Cuba is failing of its own volition and that its rulers suffered a major setback in losing support from the ousted Maduro regime. Trump believes Cuba should make a deal «before it is too late.»
Meanwhile, the aforementioned USMCA talks are scheduled to take place in July, when the trilateral trade deal undergoes a scheduled review.
The U.S. is likely to seek additional concessions from Mexico and Canada amid trade disputes, the Center for Strategic and International Studies predicted last year, with the interceding Mexico-Cuba development likely to further invigorate such demands.
VENEZUELA’S ACTING LEADER WAS ONCE A DEA ‘PRIORITY TARGET’: REPORT

A man waves a Cuban flag at a protest. (Yamil Lage/Getty Images)
The Sheinbaum administration, which did not respond to a request for comment, has reportedly painted its shipments as «humanitarian aid» for the Cuban people.
If Mexico continues oil shipments, it may lead to additionally tense relations between the U.S. and its southern neighbor, already frayed by Trump’s disdain for Sheinbaum’s steadfast refusal to allow American intercession against drug cartels.
If the shipments slacken, that may portend well for the aforementioned upcoming trade negotiations.
As for Cuba, many pro-democracy voices, particularly among the South Florida diaspora, hope the 66-year Castro/Diaz-Canel regime is not long for this world.
Martinez-Fernandez added the regime is likely facing one of the most difficult moments in its history; Mexico’s role aside.
RUBIO LAYS OUT THREE-PHASE PLAN FOR VENEZUELA AFTER MADURO: ‘NOT JUST WINGING IT’
In the 1990s, Cuba lost its larger «patron,» the Soviet Union, he said, and hit a rough patch until Hugo Chavez took power in 1999.
He added that while there has been Western concern about a Chinese foothold there, Beijing appears to have largely «cut ties» and said «there’s nothing new here.»
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«I do think that there is a likely need for additional developments before we see… That kind of next step collapse of the regime itself,» he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, Commerce Department and the Palacio Nacional for comment.
venezuelan political crisis,cuba,mexico,location mexico,donald trump,energy
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Salchichas, mojitos y perros: la carrera de trineos más animada de Alaska

La fiesta del Bootie Alley se celebra aquí desde hace 18 años. Mientras los conductores de trineo, conocidos como mushers, y sus equipos de doce perros cada uno pasaban zumbando, los espectadores gritaban: “Botín, botín, botín”, con la esperanza de que arrojaran los botines de los perros a la multitud.
“Mi amigo y yo vinimos aquí para ver a los mushers con nuestros hijos pequeños para que pudieran verlo bien, y simplemente se transformó en esto”, dijo Shawn Silverthorn, uno de los fundadores del evento.
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Bajo un par de carpas, Silverthorn y su familia cocinaron y sirvieron comida gratis a quien pasara por allí. Cientos de hot dogs, burritos, palomitas de maíz, rollos de canela, chili, 19 litros de chocolate caliente y 38 litros de café donados por tostadores locales llenaron las mesas plegables de plástico de la fiesta en el estacionamiento. Un bar de Bloody Marys con elaboradas guarniciones en escabeche fue un detalle culminante.
Esta fiesta fue una de las muchas que surgieron por toda la ciudad el sábado en honor de la 54° salida ceremonial de la carrera de perros y trineos Iditarod Trail, que se celebra oficialmente a lo largo de una ruta de cerca de 1600 kilómetros desde Willow hasta Nome. Una ruta preliminar de 18 kilómetros a través de Anchorage permitió a los mushers celebrar la carrera con la comunidad previo a la salida oficial del domingo.
A partir de las 10 am, los mushers partieron cada dos minutos de la Cuarta Avenida Oeste, en el centro de la ciudad, guiando a sus equipos por calles y senderos de la ciudad cubiertos de nieve. Los espectadores convirtieron la ruta en una cadena de fiestas informales que conmemoraban la cultura de comunidad y el jolgorio invernal de Alaska.
“Puedes chocar manos con la gente y disfrutar de una salchicha o una cerveza”, dijo Thomas Rosenbloom, quien participó en la carrera Iditarod en 2017. “Aquí se trabaja muy, muy duro para llegar a la línea de salida, así que es una gran oportunidad para celebrarlo con todo el mundo”.
A lo largo del sendero de Chester Creek, en Anchorage, las fiestas se mezclaban unas con otras. Zonas de asientos tallados en la nieve albergaban a grupos que sorbían café caliente y cerveza barata. Carly McNeil se mantuvo abrigada con un abrigo de piel de castor hasta las rodillas, guantes de piel de oso negro y orejeras de piel teñida, todo comprado de segunda mano. “Nos ponemos un poco tontos en invierno”, dijo.
La ropa y los accesorios de piel son habituales. La carrera y sus fiestas son los actos culminantes del Festival Fur Rendezvous, de dos semanas de duración, también llamado Fur Rondy. Desde mediados de la década de 1930, Fur Rondy aportó nuevos ingresos y animados acontecimientos deportivos a la región que crecía. Rememora la historia del comercio de pieles del estado, cuando los habitantes de Alaska se reunían para vender y comprar provisiones tras meses de oscuros días en medio de la naturaleza.
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La Iditarod es conocida como una prueba de resistencia extrema. Algunos dirían que el invierno en Alaska también lo es. La gente está lista para la fiesta cuando llega marzo, dijo Kelsey Schober. Durante cerca de una década ha ayudado a organizar una de las mayores fiestas en el parque Eastchester de Anchorage, donde mucha gente se reúne para beber mimosas en una barra serpenteante hecha de nieve, comer perros calientes y bailar al ritmo de un DJ local.
“Todo lo lindo que ocurre en una comunidad es porque la gente simplemente lo hace”, dijo Alex Troutman después de cocinar y servir 250 hot dogs para los asistentes a la fiesta de Eastchester Park.
La carrera también conmemora la Carrera del Suero de 1925, un relevo de trineos tirados por perros que suministró antitoxina contra la difteria que salvó vidas a lo largo de 965 kilómetros hasta Nome y evitó un brote mortal.
En Eastchester Park, Tara Wheatland -conocida por los asistentes como Dr. Balto- deambulaba entre la multitud con una jeringa de plástico para fiestas y una jarra con la etiqueta “Suero contra la difteria RX – Tome una dosis anual durante el Trailgate“. Llenando la jeringa con una mezcla de whisky y aguardiente de menta, “inoculaba” a la gente echándoles la bebida en la boca.
Año tras año, la carrera alterna los senderos del norte y del sur para distribuir la inyección económica entre los pueblos a lo largo de la ruta. El cambio climático ha obligado a la carrera a adaptarse en los últimos años. El año pasado la salida fue 482 kilómetros al norte, en Fairbanks, debido a la falta de nieve.
El domingo, en la salida oficial de la carrera en Willow, cientos de personas se reunieron en el lago Willow para ver a los 37 equipos caninos iniciar su largo camino hacia Nome. Los vendedores de comida se instalaron a lo largo del sendero, que cruza el lago helado, y muchos de los participantes celebraron picnics para compartir bocados y bebidas con familiares, amigos y cualquiera que pasara por allí.
Al otro lado del lago, desde la línea de salida, Jonathan Michaud asó bratwurst de Cheddar de Mat Valley Meats; sus costillas “Maui Wowie” marinadas con teriyaki y cortadas finamente, y hot dogs.
“Nos gusta comer comida de verdad”, dijo. “Los hot dogs son para los niños”.
Michaud, cuyos amigos y familiares le llaman “el Guy Fieri del trailgate“, lleva saliendo cerca de una década. Los miembros de su grupo tiran de los niños en un pequeño trineo y ofrecen mojitos enlatados y tragos de Jell-O caseros a todos los que pasan por allí.
Más allá del lago Willow, las reuniones continúan durante toda la semana alrededor de cada uno de los puntos de control de la carrera, a medida que los mushers llegan y parten de pueblos remotos.
Silverthorn y su familia, quienes organizan la fiesta Bootie Alley en Anchorage, ven la tradición como una forma intrínsecamente alaskeña de mostrarse unos a otros.
“Es la Alaska de la vieja guardia”, dijo Deanna James, voluntaria de la Bootie Alley. “Se trata de unir a la gente. No importa quién seas, si quieres algo caliente para beber o comer, estos chicos te lo darán”.
*Siga a New York Times Cooking en Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok y Pinterest. Reciba actualizaciones periódicas del New York Times Cooking, con sugerencias de recetas, trucos de cocina y consejos para ir de compras.
The New York Times, Alaska
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Trump warns of Iranian ‘sleeper cells’ as Canada accused of harboring regime operatives

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As President Donald Trump warned this week about Iranian «sleeper cells» potentially operating in North America, Canadian opposition lawmakers are accusing their government of allowing operatives linked to Tehran’s regime to remain in the country.
Speaking on Wednesday, Trump said U.S. authorities were monitoring Iranian networks believed to have entered the United States in recent years.
«I have been [briefed], and a lot of people came in through Biden with his stupid open border,» Trump said in response to a question from Fox News’ Peter Doocy. «But we know where most of them are. We’ve got our eye on all of them.»
The remarks come amid growing concern among Western security officials about Iranian intelligence activities targeting critics abroad.
FROM HOSTAGE CRISIS TO ASSASSINATION PLOTS: IRAN’S NEAR HALF-CENTURY WAR ON AMERICANS
A counter-protester holds an image of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei near a rally by people supporting the Israel-U.S. conflict with Iran, in front of the U.S. consulate in Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 7, 2026. (Kyaw Soe Oo/Reuters)
In Canada, senior Conservatives say the government has failed to act against Iranian regime officials despite identifying individuals linked to Tehran.
In a statement released in Ottawa, Deputy Conservative leader Melissa Lantsman, immigration shadow minister Michelle Rempel and Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative Québec Lieutenant, called upon the Liberal government to table a plan within one week to take immediate action to stop Iranian regime activities in Canada.
«The Liberals have known for years that there are hundreds of Iranian regime officials in Canada, 239 of whom have had their visas cancelled,» the lawmakers said.
NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERT URGES DHS TO RAISE TERROR THREAT LEVEL, WARNS OF SLEEPER CELL RISKS IN US

A counter-protester holds signs against the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran near a rally by people supporting the war, in front of the U.S. consulate in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, March 7, 2026. (Kyaw Soe Oo/Reuters)
They added that government officials told a parliamentary immigration committee earlier this week that only one person has been deported so far, citing legal obstacles including asylum claims, the absence of direct flights to Iran and privacy protections.
Maryam Shariatmadari, one of the faces of the «Girls of Revolution Street» protests against Iran’s mandatory hijab laws who fled Iran after being imprisoned and now lives in exile in Canada, told Fox News Digital that «The presence of agents of the Islamic Republic in Canada is not a new issue. For years, the people of Iran have expressed concern about the presence of these individuals and their children in Canada.»
«A clear example is Mahmoud Reza Khavari and Marjan Al-Agha, who are known embezzlers. What is striking is that an economic magazine that introduces entrepreneurs has presented the son of Mahmoud Reza Khavari — the former CEO of Bank Melli and a convicted criminal in Iran — as an ‘inspiring businessman’ in Canada and has described him as ‘a young leader,’» she said.
«But these days we are seeing more of these individuals,» Shariatmadari added. «Their presence has become more visible, and they are organizing gatherings under the slogan ‘No to War,’ while expressing support for Hamas and Hezbollah. Meanwhile, they remained completely silent about the killing of Iranians.»
DHS REMAINS UNFUNDED AS IRAN SLEEPER CELL FEARS SPIKE NATIONWIDE AMID SECURITY WARNINGS

Anti-Israel protesters gather outside of the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue on March 7, 2024. The place of worship was one of three synagogues shot in the first week of March, 2026. (Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Exiled Iranian journalist Mehdi Ghadimi who now lives in Canada told Fox News Digital that individuals linked to Iran’s regime often arrive in Western countries through several different channels. «Some arrive as students, academics or ordinary immigrants but were already connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps through family ties or ideological affiliation», he said, «They often try to identify activists and critics so those individuals can face legal or judicial problems either in Iran or even abroad,» he said.
Ghadimi said another category operates primarily through financial networks tied to the regime. «Another group includes people who used to be members of the IRGC or other state institutions and later enter countries like Canada as private investors,» he said. «When someone brings several million dollars for investment, it raises questions about where that money came from.»
He added that wealthy business figures who move capital abroad may also do so with the approval of Iran’s security establishment. «If someone is moving large amounts of money out of Iran and investing abroad, it is very difficult to do that without the approval of the IRGC and the security institutions of the Islamic Republic,» he said.
Ghadimi also pointed to past corruption scandals involving Iranian officials who moved large sums of money overseas, including the case of former Bank Melli CEO Mahmoud Reza Khavari, who fled Iran after a major banking scandal and later settled in Canada.
The criticism comes as Canadian police investigate the disappearance of Iranian dissident Masood Masjoody, a mathematician and critic of Iran’s clerical leadership who vanished earlier this year in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Investigators with Canada’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team say evidence suggests Masjoody was likely the victim of murder, though authorities have not publicly identified suspects and the investigation remains ongoing, according to The Guardian.
Police say investigators are reviewing Masjoody’s background and personal history as part of the probe, and Canadian media reports have noted aspects of his past that authorities are examining as they work to determine a possible motive.
The case has heightened concerns among Canada’s Iranian diaspora, many of whom have warned for years that Tehran monitors and intimidates critics abroad.
Conservatives argue weaknesses in immigration enforcement have allowed individuals linked to the Iranian regime to remain in the country despite visa bans and sanctions imposed by Ottawa.
They are calling on the government to urgently enforce deportation orders against Iranian regime officials, disrupt financial networks linked to Tehran and establish a long-delayed foreign influence registry aimed at exposing agents working on behalf of foreign governments.
«The Liberals can take action against the Iranian regime today, at home within our own borders. Too much is at stake. We expect a plan within the week,» they said in the statement.
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«It’s not complicated, Iran’s regime must not find safe haven in Canada,» Lantsman said.
The Canadian government directed Fox News Digital to the Canada Border Services Agency, which did not respond to a request for comment.
canada,war with iran,terrorism,donald trump
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Manchin rips Cornyn for filibuster flip as Texas GOP runoff looms

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Sen. John Cornyn’s reversal on scrapping the Senate filibuster is sparking backlash among some supporters of the 60-vote rule, with one leading proponent, former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., accusing the Texas Republican of ditching his longstanding position for political expediency.
«When I was a U.S. Senator, there was not another person more committed to keeping the filibuster than Senator John Cornyn,» Manchin wrote in a scathing social media post Thursday. «He understood the incredible political pressure I faced from my former party to get rid of the filibuster and give Democrats complete power — and at the time, he understood why neither party should take our country past this point of no return.»
«These extreme election-year politics that put party power over everything else are why Americans are sick and tired of the duopoly of the two-party system of Democrats and Republicans,» Manchin added.
Cornyn, who is locked in a heated run-off election to win a fifth Senate term, called on Republicans in an op-ed Wednesday to consider ditching the filibuster Wednesday to pass a Trump-backed election bill. The measure, known as the (Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility) SAVE Act, is facing an uphill battle in the Senate due to expected unanimous opposition from Democrats. Under Senate rules, most legislation is subject to a 60-vote threshold to cut off debate and move on to final passage.
Former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., sharply criticized Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, over his reversal on the Senate filibuster Thursday. (Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images; Sara Diggins/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
The editorial was a notable shift for the Texas Republican, who previously defended the merits of the filibuster.
«For many years, I believed that if the U.S. Senate scrapped the filibuster, Texas and our nation would stand to lose more than we would gain,» Cornyn wrote. «But when the reality on the ground changes, leaders must take stock and adapt.»
Cornyn is currently vying in a two-man race against State Attorney General Ken Paxton, R-Texas, during which President Donald Trump’s endorsement could prove decisive. The president has repeatedly called on Senate Republicans to abolish the 60-vote requirement or pursue a rarely-tried talking filibuster and send the SAVE America Act to his desk. Paxton has previously come out in support of ending the Senate filibuster.

Cornyn is currently running in a two-man race against State Attorney General Ken Paxton, R-Texas. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
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Manchin, a former Democrat-turned-Independent who passed on running for re-election in 2024, alleged that Cornyn personally reached out to him after he defeated Democrats’ gambit to nix the 60-vote rule under former President Joe Biden.
In early 2022, Manchin supplied the critical vote alongside former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Republicans to tank a Democratic-led effort to abolish the filibuster and pass so-called voting rights legislation.
«It’s deeply disappointing to see that Senator Cornyn is now willing to scrap the very rule he once praised and personally thanked me for defending,» Manchin wrote.
At that time, Cornyn urged Democrats to preserve the filibuster while Republicans were serving in the minority.
«Power is fleeting and at some point the shoe will always be on the other foot,» Cornyn said in a floor speech. «Liberal activists may like the idea of nuking the filibuster today, but they’ll soon find themselves ruing the day their party broke the Senate.»
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Cornyn denied Manchin’s account Thursday. He has also argued that his reversal on the Senate filibuster was not aimed at winning Trump’s endorsement.
«There’s no Joe Manchins left in the Democratic Party and no Kyrsten Sinemas …this is an entirely different circumstance, dealing with Democrats who will not negotiate or consider anything that President Trump or Republicans want,» the Texas Republican told reporters. «We can either accept that or we can fight back, and I think we should fight back.»
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who has come under significant pressure from Trump and conservative influencers to pass the SAVE America Act, indicated Wednesday that the filibuster is here to stay regardless of Cornyn’s pleas.
«Senator Cornyn is one of 53 Republican senators, and the opposition to nuking the filibuster runs very, very deep in our conference,» Thune told reporters.

Congressional Republicans, President Donald Trump and the GOP base want voter ID turned into law, but one barrier stands in the way: the political reality of the Senate. (Leon Neal/Getty Images; Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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Manchin has continued to sing the filibuster’s praises in his retirement, arguing that the 60-vote threshold protects the minority party and forces legislation to be bipartisan.
«The filibuster — the soul of the Senate — has preserved the Senate’s role for nearly 250 years as the institution that cools passions, protects minority voices, and demands consensus,» Manchin said. «America was built on institutions designed to resist political convenience, not surrender to it.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Cornyn’s office for comment.
senate,texas,donald trump,john thune
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