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GOP zeros in on South Texas Dem who urged Trump to ‘allow people to cross freely’
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FIRST ON FOX: A Democratic congressman representing a South Texas district that Donald Trump carried by double digits is emerging as a top Republican target, with the GOP arguing Rep. Vicente Gonzalez’s shifting border record has left him politically exposed at home.
Though traditionally a Democratic stronghold, heavily Hispanic South Texas has trended sharply Republican in recent election cycles. Gonzalez narrowly won his 2023 election over former Rep. Mayra Flores by less than three percentage points. Additionally, the Texas redistricting push last year made Gonzalez’s district seven points more Republican. The race is widely considered a toss-up leaning Republican — one of the few pickup opportunities for the GOP in an unfavorable political climate.
Republican National Committee spokesperson Zach Kraft told Fox News Digital that Gonzalez’s record on border security and former President Joe Biden has come back to bite him, leaving him «like a fish out of water» in his district.
Gonzalez, however, dismissed these criticisms as Republicans «grasping at straws.» He emphasized that «If you look at my record, you’ll see I was one of the toughest Democrats in the country on President Biden’s approach to our southern border, and I continue working to fix our broken immigration system, support CBP and Border Patrol, and rid our streets of criminals.»
HOUSE CANDIDATE PREDICTS HISTORIC RISE OF ‘NEW GENERATION’ IN CONGRESS AS PARTIES TARGET KEY DEMOGRAPHIC
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (left), D-Texas, is facing a difficult reelection race against Republican challenger Eric Flores (right). (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Eric Flores campaign)
Under the redrawn Texas congressional map, Gonzalez’s district in the Rio Grande Valley is one that President Donald Trump won by 10 points in 2024, according to the Texas Tribune.
Highly optimistic about the GOP’s chances, Kraft said that South Texans «do not want to go back to the Biden days where cartels controlled the border and endangered the lives of farmers, families, and Border Patrol agents.»
Gonzalez opposed construction of a border wall in 2019, calling it a «4th-century solution to a 21st-century problem,» according to CBS News.
The outlet also quoted Gonzalez denying there was a crisis at the border in 2019, saying, «When people talk about violence streaming across the border, it’s just nonsense.»
During the Biden administration, Gonzalez took a mixed approach to border policy, at times urging the White House to curb «disorderly» crossings while also pushing for expanded asylum pathways and a more «humane process» for migrants. In 2023 he was critical of Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to secure the border, accusing him of «grandstanding … about the way he is treating brown people,» according to the Rio Grande Guardian.
DEM CANDIDATE BLASTED BY GOP OPPONENT OVER JOKE ABOUT BANDMATE CONVICTED OF CHILD SEX ABUSE
An aerial image shows migrants waiting along the border wall to surrender to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United Staes on the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on May 10, 2023. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Image; Mandel Ngan – Pool/Getty Images)
At the same time, Gonzalez said that by adding additional penalties to crossing illegally after the end of Title 42, Biden and then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas «positively impacted our border,» adding, «and that’s a fact.»
«People could point fingers and say things, but the reality is, undocumented crossings are down by 70 percent,» he said.
Border crossings briefly dropped by roughly 65% to 70% after the end of Title 42, a COVID-era public health order that allowed authorities to quickly expel illegal border crossers. However, crossings climbed to record highs later that year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Approximately 11 million border encounters occurred over the course of Biden’s four years in office, according to DHS.
In Biden’s final year in office, Gonzalez voted for a House resolution condemning the «national security and public safety crisis» at the southern border, warning that migrants were arriving in «historic numbers.» He has also said the border was «out of control» under the Biden administration.
Since Trump returned to the Oval Office, Gonzalez has also gone on the record, saying, «I’m happy to see that the border is under control,» according to the Rio Grande Guardian.
In an unearthed interview last year, Gonzalez urged Trump to «lighten up» enforcement and «allow people to cross freely» if vetted, arguing such migrants are «a very important part of our economy.»
DEM CANDIDATE’S UNEARTHED ‘WINTER TEXAN’ COMMENT COULD HAUNT CAMPAIGN
A Border Patrol agent apprehends illegal immigrants shortly after they crossed the border from Mexico into the United States on Monday, March 26, 2018 in the Rio Grande Valley Sector near McAllen, Texas. (Loren Elliott/AFP via Getty Images)
During the same interview, Gonzalez asserted, «We need to find a pathway» for illegal immigrants who have been in the country for decades to «be here legally, pay taxes, pay social security and really get them out of the shadows.»
Gonzalez’s Republican opponent, Eric Flores, an Army veteran and former prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that «South Texas has paid the price for his total failure.»
«Vicente Gonzalez built his record on policies that opened the border and tied the hands of the very federal agents sworn to protect us,» he went on. «I’ve worked alongside Border Patrol and law enforcement on the front lines, both as a Soldier and as a federal prosecutor. I will always stand with them.»
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In response, Gonzalez told Fox News Digital that «Eric Flores and the NRCC [National Republican Congressional Committee] are drowning and grasping at straws.»
«If you look at my record, you’ll see I was one of the toughest Democrats in the country on President Biden’s approach to our southern border, and I continue working to fix our broken immigration system, support CBP and Border Patrol, and rid our streets of criminals — something this Administration claims it is doing, but instead let DHS shutdown and fixates on targeting law-abiding individuals and their families,» he said.
«The truth is, Republican voters in South Texas are turning away from the extreme mass deportation policies Rubber Stamp Eric will support. The same ones that have led to American citizens being murdered on our streets and labor shortages that are making housing and other essentials more expensive.»
Fox News Digital also reached out to a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for comment.
elections, texas, democrats elections, immigration, republicans elections, border security, greg abbott
INTERNACIONAL
Estados Unidos presiona a la industria automotriz para fabricar armamento tras el conflicto con Irán
En su columna en Infobae al Mediodía, Andrei Serbin Pont describió el escenario de máxima alerta que atraviesa el gobierno norteamericano tras el conflicto con Irán, con stocks de misiles y municiones en mínimos históricos y un Pentágono decidido a movilizar la industria civil para evitar el desabastecimiento en futuros choques militares.
En diálogo con Maru Duffard, Jimena Grandinetti, Fede Mayol y Facundo Kablan, el analista internacional fue contundente: “El Departamento de Defensa o Departamento de Guerra, como le dicen ahora, ha estado hablando con General Motors, con Ford, con varias fábricas importantes del sector automotor, porque están muy preocupados sobre cómo viene funcionando la cadena logística norteamericana para la defensa”.
El Pentágono alerta sobre el agotamiento de municiones tras el conflicto con Irán
Serbin Pont precisó: “Se han disparado 850 misiles Tomahawks, que son aproximadamente el 17% del stock que tenían los Estados Unidos. Se han gastado 40% de los misiles interceptores THAAD y Patriot”. De acuerdo a los datos expuestos, el gasto en Tomahawks alcanzó USD 1.900 millones, una cifra que refleja la magnitud de la crisis logística.
El eje del debate se desplazó hacia los riesgos de enfrentar un conflicto de mayor escala con inventarios tan comprometidos. “Si esto pasó con Irán, ¿qué pasaría el día de mañana si tuviésemos un conflicto con Rusia o con China?”, planteó el analista. “Ahí ya no dependés de lo que podés producir en el momento, sino de lo que tenés stockeado y eventualmente de esa producción”.
Serbin Pont citó la advertencia de un referente clave de la industria: “Estados Unidos se quedaría sin municiones inteligentes en siete días de guerra”. Este diagnóstico, según explicó, obliga a revisar toda la estructura productiva nacional para recuperar una flexibilidad que permita responder en días y no en años.
Estrategias industriales y el recuerdo del “arsenal de la democracia”
La columna recuperó la memoria histórica estadounidense: “Resuena mucho con el famoso arsenal de la democracia”, destacó Serbin Pont, al recordar cómo Ford y Chrysler reconvirtieron sus fábricas para producir bombarderos y tanques durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. “Se logró una reconversión muy rápida de toda la estructura industrial existente para alimentar el esfuerzo de guerra”.
El contexto actual es completamente distinto. “Ya no podemos seguir dependiendo de una fábrica hiperespecializada que fabrica un tipo de avión específico, y que cuando queremos aumentar la producción, duplicar esa producción tarda cinco años”, describió. “Cuando vayamos a la guerra con China, no vamos a tener cinco años, vamos a tener días para poder recuperar esos stocks”.
El Pentágono, según la columna, presiona para que la Casa Blanca utilice herramientas legales como la Ley de Producción para la Defensa. “El presidente Trump está emitiendo ciertas órdenes en el marco de la Ley de Producción para la Defensa, en el cual están tratando de que se priorice restablecer capacidades industriales dentro de los Estados Unidos”, explicó el analista.
Chips, reconversión y la advertencia a la industria automotriz
Serbin Pont subrayó: “Taiwán es el principal fuente de chips y todos los sistemas de armas modernos tienen algún tipo de chip”. La estrategia de Washington es clara: “Desde la administración de Biden se viene enfatizando: necesitamos empezar a producir chips en Estados Unidos. Va a ser caro, requiere un montón de inversión, pero necesitamos que estas empresas lo empiecen a hacer acá y también prepárense, industria”.
La advertencia oficial no deja margen de maniobra a los gigantes automotrices. “Si entramos en guerra y aplicamos la Ley de Producción de Defensa, tenemos la potestad como gobierno de ir a Ford y decir: ‘Ya no te estoy pidiendo autos, me voy a quedar con toda tu producción, tu stock de chips, para producir lo que yo necesito: misiles crucero, interceptores, drones’”.
El análisis de Serbin Pont recordó que este engranaje industrial existió en Estados Unidos hasta hace poco más de veinte años, pero fue desmantelado. “Los arsenales del ejército iban a una fábrica y decían: ‘Quiero que ustedes puedan fabricar este fusil. Les voy a pagar la maquinaria y quiero que la guarden. El día de mañana, cuando los movilice para una guerra, les voy a pedir dos millones’. Eso se desmanteló también”.
La presión oficial apunta a reconstruir esa base industrial. “Estados Unidos está muy convencido de que dentro de la próxima década puede enfrentarse a un conflicto armado con China o con Rusia”, advirtió Serbin Pont.
En la parte final de la columna, el analista conectó la problemática global con la realidad argentina: “Da también para discutir mucho en otros contextos, como en Argentina, qué pasa cuando los procesos de desindustrialización impactan de lleno sobre nuestra propia capacidad a futuro de desarrollar o proveernos de material para la defensa de forma soberana”.
—
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War,North America,Military Conflicts
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South African ex-police chief gets tissue stuck on forehead while sweating during corruption inquiry
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Testimony at a major South African corruption inquiry was briefly overshadowed Tuesday by an unscripted moment — a suspended police chief with a tissue stuck to his brow.
Julius Mkhwanazi, the former deputy chief of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department, was testifying before the Madlanga Commission when the awkward moment unfolded.
Mkhwanazi, who was suspended in November 2025 amid misconduct allegations, had been wiping sweat from his face after answering questions from the commission.
Part of the tissue, however, remained stuck to his head.
PRO GOLFER HOSPITALIZED AFTER FALLING DOWN ELEVATOR SHAFT IN FREAK ACCIDENT IN SOUTH AFRICA
Julius Mkhwanazi, the former deputy chief of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department, testifies at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry at Brigette Mabandla Judicial College on April 14, 2026 in Pretoria, South Africa. (SABC News)
The slip didn’t go unnoticed for long. Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga halted proceedings as the room took in the scene.
Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC and Mbuyiseli Madlanga attend the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry at Brigette Mabandla Judicial College in Pretoria on April 14, 2026. The commission was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lt. Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that South Africa’s criminal justice system was compromised. (Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images)
«Oh, you have a tissue stuck on your forehead,» Madlanga tells the ex-police chief.
«I’m sweaty,» Mkhwanazi says. «Thank you, thank you.»
Julius Mkhwanazi testifies at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry at Brigette Mabandla Judicial College in Pretoria, South Africa, on April 14, 2026. (Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images)
SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT THANKS PUTIN AFTER 17 MEN ‘LURED’ TO RUSSIAN FRONT LINES BEGIN RETURNING HOME
The Madlanga Commission is a public inquiry probing allegations of corruption and political interference in South Africa’s justice system. The current inquiry has been hearing testimony from current and former law enforcement officials.
Former deputy police chief Julius Mkhwanazi testifies at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry at Brigette Mabandla Judicial College in Pretoria, South Africa, on April 14, 2026. The commission was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lt. Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi about compromises in South Africa’s criminal justice system. (Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images)
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Mkhwanazi has been under scrutiny since an internal audit recommended his suspension as part of a broader probe into alleged misconduct.
south africa, corruption, investigations
INTERNACIONAL
Harris stops in key presidential primary state after leaving door wide open to 2028 run
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Former Vice President Kamala Harris is sparking more speculation about whether she will launch another presidential run in 2028 by making stops this week in a crucial presidential primary state.
Harris is in Columbia, South Carolina, on Thursday after making stops Wednesday in Greenville. For more than two decades, South Carolina has been one of the key early-voting states in the Democratic Party’s nominating calendar, and visits by potential presidential contenders generate buzz about their national ambitions.
The South Carolina swing by the former vice president comes less than a week after she dropped a tantalizing comment at the first major cattle call of Democratic presidential contenders.
HARRIS DROPS BIGGEST HINT YET ABOUT 2028
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, right, is questioned by National Action Network founder the Rev. Al Sharpton, on April 10, 2026 in New York City (AP)
«I might. I might. I’m thinking about it… I’ll keep you posted,» Harris said last Friday at the National Action Network’s 35th Anniversary Convention last Friday, when asked by the event founder Rev. Al Sharpton if she would seek the presidency in 2028.
Harris, who replaced then-President Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee but later lost the election to President Donald Trump, was greeted by the crowd with chants of «run again.»
The civil rights organization’s gathering gave Harris and eight other Democratic White House hopefuls an opportunity to speak directly to an influential group of Black leaders and activists who are key members of the Democratic Party’s base.
Black voters are also key players in South Carolina’s Democratic Party electorate. And Harris, the first female and Black vice president in the nation’s history, received a warm welcome when she arrived Wednesday at a South Carolina Democratic Party fundraiser and reception in Greenville.
HARRIS, NEWSOM, STIR 2028 SPECULATION AT MAJOR DEMOCRATIC PARTY MEETING
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, center, speaks with patrons during a stop at Crave restaurant ahead of a South Carolina Democratic Party fundraiser on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in Greenville, S.C (Meg Kinnard/AP Photo)
Harris is holding a book tour event on Thursday for her memoir, «107 Days,» her look back at her abbreviated 2024 campaign.
Harris was mostly out of the headlines for a couple of months after the end the Biden administration. She began stepping back into the political spotlight last spring and summer, including headlining Democratic National Committee fundraisers.
Her decision last summer to pass on launching a 2026 gubernatorial campaign in her home state of California was seen as clearing the runway for a 2028 presidential bid. Her nationwide book tour has helped keep her visible while building email lists and boosting donor interest.
The former vice president’s current southern swing also includes fundraising appearances for the state Democratic Parties in Georgia and North Carolina, two crucial general election battlegrounds.
Harris narrowly lost both those states and the five other key battlegrounds to Trump in the 2024 election.
Pointing to Harris’ schedule, a veteran strategist in the former vice president’s political orbit recently told Fox News Digital, «of course we are reading tea leaves.»
21 DEMOCRATS WHO MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028
The strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said «no one knows what she is planning to do for 2028, but until she tells us herself, she is going to continue to travel, speak up about the issues she cares about the most.»
If she does run again in 2028, Harris would be considered one of the early frontrunners in what’s expected to be a crowded and competitive race for the Democratic nomination.
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The Republican National Committee (RNC) is giving thumbs down to the White House hopefuls.
«Democrats are kicking off the 2028 primary by parading Kamala Harris and a roster of failed governors trying to outrun their own records,» RNC national press secretary Kiersten Pels told Fox News last week as she pointed to potential contenders who appeared at Sharpton’s convention.
democrats elections, kamala harris, joe biden, presidential primaries, donald trump, south carolina, elections
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