El Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos condenó este miércoles la presión ejercida por China sobre tres naciones africanas para que bloquearan el espacio aéreo al avión del presidente de Taiwán, Lai Ching-te, lo que obligó a cancelar su visita oficial a Eswatini —el único aliado africano de la isla—. Un portavoz de la secretaría de Estado calificó la maniobra de abuso del sistema de aviación civil internacional y exigió a Beijing que cese su presión militar, diplomática y económica contra Taiwán. Fue la primera vez en la historia que un presidente taiwanés debió suspender un viaje al exterior por la negativa de terceros países a abrir su espacio aéreo.

Seychelles, Madagascar y Mauricio revocaron sin previo aviso los permisos de sobrevuelo concedidos al avión presidencial de Lai, que tenía previsto partir el miércoles hacia Mbabane para asistir a los actos del 40º aniversario de la coronación del rey Mswati III. El secretario general de la Oficina Presidencial de Taiwán, Pan Meng-an, anunció la cancelación en una rueda de prensa y precisó que la revocación fue unilateral y sin notificación anticipada. Habría sido el primer viaje de Lai al exterior desde noviembre de 2024, cuando visitó las Islas Marshall, Tuvalu y Palau con escalas en Hawái y Guam.

El portavoz del Departamento de Estado afirmó, según Reuters, que los países implicados actuaron “a instancias de China al interferir en la seguridad y la dignidad del viaje rutinario de funcionarios taiwaneses”. El funcionario subrayó que la responsabilidad de gestión del espacio aéreo internacional que ejercen esas naciones existe “exclusivamente para garantizar la seguridad de la aviación, no para servir como herramienta política de Beijing”. Varios legisladores estadounidenses también condenaron la maniobra. El Comité de Asuntos Exteriores de la Cámara de Representantes publicó en X que el Partido Comunista Chino “una vez más intenta intimidar a Taiwán”. El senador Ted Cruz fue más allá y advirtió que Mauricio “parece decidido a aliarse con el Partido Comunista Chino a expensas de los intereses de Estados Unidos”.

Un alto funcionario de seguridad de Taiwán declaró a Reuters que Beijing amenazó a los tres países con sanciones económicas, incluida la revocación de alivios de deuda, si permitían el paso del avión presidencial. Bloomberg, citando la misma fuente, precisó que la coerción incluyó también la paralización de fondos de financiamiento. China negó haber ejercido presión alguna. Su Oficina de Asuntos de Taiwán rechazó las acusaciones, aunque expresó reconocimiento a las tres naciones por adherirse al principio de una sola China. El portavoz del Ministerio de Exteriores chino, Guo Jiakun, felicitó a esos gobiernos y afirmó que “apoyar la reunificación es el lado correcto de la historia”.

Las respuestas de los países africanos implicados fueron dispares. Madagascar confirmó haber denegado la solicitud de sobrevuelo: un funcionario de su cancillería declaró que “la diplomacia malgache solo reconoce una China” y que la decisión se tomó “en pleno respeto de la soberanía” del país sobre su espacio aéreo. El ministerio de Exteriores de Seychelles indicó que el avión presidencial taiwanés no recibió autorización, en línea con su “política de larga data de no reconocer la soberanía de Taiwán”, y añadió que la decisión “se tomó de forma independiente y de acuerdo con los procedimientos establecidos”. Mauricio no respondió a las solicitudes de comentario. Eswatini, por su parte, lamentó que Lai no pudiera visitar el reino, aunque aclaró que el incidente “no cambia el estatus de nuestras relaciones bilaterales de larga data”.

Eswatini, conocido hasta 2018 como Suazilandia y con una población de aproximadamente 1,3 millones de habitantes, es uno de solo doce países en el mundo que mantienen relaciones diplomáticas formales con Taipéi. La última visita de una presidenta taiwanesa al reino fue en 2023, cuando Tsai Ing-wen realizó el trayecto sin incidentes. China tiene una animadversión particular hacia Lai, a quien llama “separatista” por rechazar las pretensiones de soberanía de Beijing y defender el derecho de los taiwaneses a decidir su propio futuro. El bloqueo aéreo de esta semana marca un salto cualitativo en esa estrategia: ya no basta con presionar a los aliados directos de Taiwán, sino que Beijing extiende su influencia a terceros países para cerrar físicamente las rutas por las que viajan sus líderes. Si esa táctica prospera, el margen diplomático de Taiwán —ya reducido a una docena de reconocimientos formales— podría verse limitado incluso en el plano logístico.

Iran reportedly opened fire upon three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre noted that a container ship was fired upon by an IRGC gunboat near Oman Wednesday, causing «heavy damage to the bridge.»

«No fires or environmental impact reported. All Crew reported safe,» the notice said.

Another UKMTO warning said «an outbound cargo ship» west of Iran reported «having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water.» The notice said the crew was safe and accounted for.

«There is no reported damage to the vessel,» it added.

IRAN FIRES ON 2 SHIPS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ AFTER TRUMP EXTENDS CEASEFIRE

Iranian media said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was bringing two ships to Iran after seizing them in the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Associated Press.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) command claimed in an X post that the two vessels, the MSC-Francesca and Epaminodes, «had endangered maritime security by operating without the necessary permits and tampering with navigation systems.»

It said the vessels «were seized by the IRGC Navy and escorted to Iran’s coast,» according to a translation.

«Disruption of order and safety in the Strait of Hormuz is our red line,» the command wrote.

It also claimed the MSC-Francesca is «linked to the Zionist regime.»

IRAN’S REVOLUTIONARY GUARD SIDELINES PRESIDENT AS MILITARY GRIP EXPANDS

Motorists ride past the Imam Sadiq mosque with a giant Iranian flag installed on its front at the Palestine Square in Tehran on April 19, 2026. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Iranian media also reported that the IRGC attacked a third ship, identified as the Euphoria, according to the AP.

The development comes after President Donald Trump announced Tuesday afternoon that the United States was extending a ceasefire.

«Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,» the president wrote on Truth Social..

ISRAEL UNVEILS GAME-CHANGING ARTILLERY AGAINST IRAN-BACKED HEZBOLLAH AMID FRAGILE CEASEFIRE

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the Oval Office of the White House on April 13, 2026. (Salwan Georges/Bloomberg)

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«I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,» he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

EXCLUSIVE: A coalition of pro-life groups, including Lila Rose’s Live Action, Students for Life, CatholicVote and others, is urging the Senate to take urgent action to enact a decade-long ban on federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers before a July 4 deadline.

Senate Republicans hope to nail down the first step of their party-line funding package for immigration operations this week. 

The current prohibition on federal tax dollar funding for abortion businesses, which President Donald Trump signed as part of last year’s budget bill, is set to expire this Independence Day. With the deadline fast approaching and congressional majorities subject to change this November, the groups stressed in a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune that the lives of unborn children — and hundreds of millions in annual tax dollars — are at stake.

In their letter to Thune, the pro-life leaders wrote that extending the prohibition is a matter of urgent fiscal responsibility, saying the «financial stakes are significant» and that a 10-year extension «would represent one of the most meaningful pro-taxpayer reforms Congress can enact.»

PRO-LIFE GROUPS WARN TRUMP HYDE AMENDMENT IS ‘NON-NEGOTIABLE’ AFTER FLEXIBILITY REMARKS

Before the big, beautiful bill’s provision took effect, Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion business in America, received nearly $800 million annually in taxpayer funding, primarily through federal health programs.

The letter asserts that «at a time of historic federal debt and growing budgetary pressure, continuing to subsidize the abortion industry is neither fiscally responsible nor defensible.»

Though federal law bans taxpayer money from covering most abortions, many Republicans have long argued that abortion businesses such as Planned Parenthood use Medicaid money for other health services to subsidize abortion. Under the tax provision in Trump’s 2025 spending bill, Medicaid payments are barred from going to abortion businesses, including Planned Parenthood.

The letter states that this prohibition «reflected longstanding concerns that many of the nation’s largest abortion businesses engage in activities that extend beyond traditional healthcare services.» 

These services, the letter says, include «providing and promoting abortion as a core organizational activity,» offering or referring for gender transition interventions, including for minors, and delivering sex education programs that «promote inappropriate content to minors while denying parents meaningful transparency.»

The letter states that the budget reconciliation process «remains the appropriate and proven legislative vehicle to achieve this objective» and that «defunding provisions fall squarely within reconciliation’s fiscal and policy scope.»

«As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of American independence,» the pro-life leaders argue that «Congress has an obligation to ensure that federal spending reflects fiscal discipline, accountability, and respect for life.»

PRO-LIFE ORGANIZATION CALLS ON HHS AND FDA TO SUSPEND ABORTION PILL APPROVAL, TIGHTEN SAFETY RULES

Activists opposing funding for Planned Parenthood demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 2, 2025.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, via Getty)

They further framed a ten-year extension as consistent with longstanding bipartisan precedent separating abortion from federal spending. Such an extension, the letter says, would also «provide long-term policy stability, protect taxpayers, and prevent future administrations from restoring funding through executive action alone.»

In response, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood shared a statement in which the organization slammed Republicans for including a provision to make the prohibition permanent in a 2026 reconciliation package framework released by the Republican Study Committee.

Planned Parenthood has said that 23 of its health clinics have been forced to close due to Trump’s spending bill. More than 50 clinics closed in 18 states last year, with most located in the Midwest.

The organization called the 2025 budget bill’s bar on federal dollars for abortion businesses «unconstitutional,» adding that the closure of its locations has left «thousands of patients with fewer options, higher costs, and less freedom to make their own decisions about their lives, bodies, and futures.»

Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said that «any member of Congress who supports this proposal is choosing to sacrifice our health care system and Planned Parenthood health center patients who already struggle to get care, just so they can score points for their anti-abortion agenda,» adding that «people’s ability to get the health care they need is on the line.»

«President Trump and his backers in Congress have already caused irreparable harm when they passed a law ‘defunding’ Planned Parenthood,» said Johnson, concluding that «Planned Parenthood Action Fund will never stop fighting to protect everyone’s access to sexual and reproductive healthcare.»

SENATE GOP READYING PARTY-LINE FUNDING BILL DESPITE DIVISIONS, ANGER AT THE HOUSE

Left: Live Action President and founder Lila Rose. Right: Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill-Johnson (Live Action; Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images; Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Rose emphasized in a statement to Fox News Digital that «if Congress does not act, the abortion industry will once again have access to hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.»

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«This letter makes clear why that cannot be allowed to happen,» wrote Rose, adding, «Planned Parenthood’s core business is abortion. It exists to kill preborn children for profit. It has also become a major promoter of gender ideology, including puberty blockers and cross sex hormones for minors.»

«The Senate should use reconciliation again and enact the strongest defunding measure possible under the law,» she added. «American taxpayers should never be forced to subsidize an industry that distributes cross sex hormones to vulnerable kids and kills millions of preborn American babies through abortion every year.»

In addition to Rose, the letter was signed by Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins, Catholic Vote President Kelsey Reinhardt, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser and 34 other pro-life leaders from across the country.