El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, protagonizó este miércoles una llamativa escena durante una visita a la Biblioteca Presidencial Theodore Roosevelt, en Dakota del Norte.

Frente a un avatar impulsado por inteligencia artificial que recrea al exmandatario estadounidense, Trump mantuvo una conversación sobre el Canal de Panamá, una de las obras de infraestructura más importantes del siglo XX.

En un video difundido en redes sociales, Trump se acerca a la representación virtual de Roosevelt y le hace una pregunta directa: “¿Considera que el Canal de Panamá es su mayor logro?”

La respuesta del avatar, desarrollado con tecnología de Microsoft y la empresa LemonSlice AI, fue extensa y reivindicó tanto la construcción del canal como otras políticas impulsadas durante la presidencia de Roosevelt.

“Bueno… sí, en cierto sentido. El Canal de Panamá es, sin duda, uno de los logros de los que me siento más orgulloso. Pero la grandeza es algo curioso. No siempre se trata del proyecto más grande o del más visible», respondió la inteligencia artificial.

Luego agregó: “El Canal de Panamá demostró de lo que Estados Unidos era capaz cuando decidía actuar con rapidez y determinación. Sin embargo, si hablo de mi legado, pienso también en las reformas que mejoraron la vida de la gente. Protegimos nuestros recursos naturales, impulsamos la salud pública, combatimos enfermedades y procuramos que los beneficios del progreso alcanzaran a todos, y no solo a unos pocos».

El discurso concluyó con una referencia al impacto histórico de la obra: “Recuerdo sentarme a observar el Canal y ver pasar aquellos enormes barcos. Saber que estaban conectando océanos y cambiando para siempre el mapa del comercio mundial me hacía sentir que había contribuido a construir una obra que perduraría durante generaciones».

Tras escuchar la respuesta, Trump asintió y contestó: «Sí, realmente lo hizo“, antes de retirarse del lugar.

La conversación no fue casual. Durante el mismo acto, el presidente volvió a defender el papel de Estados Unidos en la construcción del Canal de Panamá y aprovechó para insistir con uno de los argumentos que viene repitiendo desde el inicio de su segundo mandato: el supuesto avance de China sobre esa infraestructura estratégica.

«China está intentando tomar el control del Canal de Panamá, y no vamos a permitir que eso ocurra“, aseguró durante su discurso ante los presentes.

Además, definió al canal como «la obra más cara que hemos construido jamás, pero también la más rentable» y cuestionó a las administraciones estadounidenses que impulsaron la transferencia del control de la vía interoceánica a Panamá.

Trump ya había anticipado esa postura durante su discurso de asunción, en enero de 2025, cuando afirmó que buscaría recuperar la influencia de Washington sobre el paso marítimo al considerar que Panamá cobra tarifas excesivas y que existe un creciente riesgo de influencia china en la región.

Leé también: Trump dejó de lado sus amenazas a Cuba y aseguró que el gobierno de Díaz-Canel “se está acercando” a EE.UU.

El Canal de Panamá fue inaugurado el 15 de agosto de 1914, durante la presidencia de Woodrow Wilson. Sin embargo, su desarrollo quedó estrechamente ligado a Theodore Roosevelt, quien impulsó el proyecto desde el inicio. En 1903, Estados Unidos apoyó la independencia de Panamá de Colombia y, poco después, obtuvo los derechos para construir y administrar el canal.

Durante más de ocho décadas, Washington controló la vía y el territorio circundante. Recién tras los tratados firmados en 1977 entre ambos países comenzó un período de administración conjunta que culminó en diciembre de 1999, cuando el canal pasó definitivamente a manos panameñas.

Hoy, el paso interoceánico continúa siendo una pieza clave para el comercio global. Cada año lo atraviesan cerca de 14.000 embarcaciones y por allí circula alrededor del 2,5% del comercio marítimo mundial. La ruta resulta fundamental para el transporte de mercancías entre Asia y la costa este de Estados Unidos, además de las exportaciones estadounidenses de productos agrícolas y gas natural licuado.

A coalition of blue states and jurisdictions is suing the Trump administration over new Medicaid work requirements designed to prevent fraud, arguing the policy unlawfully restricts access to health care coverage.

The lawsuit, filed by at least 25 states and the District of Columbia, alleges the newly implemented Interim Final Rule (IFR) — issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) — violates federal law and departs from Congress’ original intent and early CMS guidance. 

The IFR requires certain individuals to provide documentation proving they are exempt from Medicaid rules requiring enrollees to work, volunteer or attend school due to severe medical conditions. 

Before the rule was issued in early June, highly vulnerable Medicaid recipients were set to be automatically exempt from such requirements. Agencies would have granted those exemptions by reviewing existing health records, without requiring individuals to complete additional paperwork ahead of the requirements taking effect in January 2027.

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The lawsuit names Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which issued the IFR, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), as defendants.

Oz previously argued that such guardrails are designed to prevent programs from being «defrauded into a turmoil,» adding that able-bodied enrollees receiving American tax dollars should contribute to society. 

«If you can work, you should get up and work,» Oz said. 

«If we put guardrails around these programs, we’ll allow them to thrive. I’m here because I love Medicaid. The president has already said he loves and cherishes Medicaid and Medicare. … We cannot allow these programs to be defrauded into a turmoil that they cannot pull up from. If we love these programs, we will make the difficult decisions.»

The new rule would require able-bodied individuals to work 20 hours a week, volunteer, or pursue education while enrolled in free healthcare coverage.

Fox News reached out to the White House and HHS for comment. 

FED AUDIT, EMERGENCY MEDICAID UNDERCUT DEMS ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTH COVERAGE

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during an interview. ((Photo by Jason Mendez/Getty Images))

The plaintiffs involve California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin and Kentucky. 

«People with disabilities, patients in the middle of cancer treatment, or those struggling with another serious or complex health condition, shouldn’t be at risk of losing the care that helps maintain their health,» the suit stated. 

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According to the suit, CMS’s own projections estimate that 2.3 million enrollees will lose Medicaid coverage in the first year alone. 

The agency also estimates that 7% of enrollees who are working or qualify for an exemption will lose coverage due to confusing paperwork requirements, strict deadlines or missing documentation, according to the document. 

Beginning in 2028, enrollees who do not have immediate medical records on file would be limited to a single opportunity to submit a «self-attestation» form declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they are too sick to work.

Under previous guidance, enrollees were allowed to use self-attestation multiple times as their medical needs evolved.

An examination bed sits inside a medical clinic. (AP Photo/Matt York)

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In addition, plaintiffs said the new rules would force states to abandon automated systems they have already invested in and instead build more complex and costly manual review processes. 

As the Aug. 31 deadline to mail notices to Medicaid enrollees approaches, the plaintiffs are seeking a temporary stay and a preliminary injunction to block CMS and HHS from enforcing the rules. 

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is facing a new legal challenge in the United States after the families of five Venezuelan men filed a civil lawsuit accusing him of overseeing a Venezuelan police unit responsible for extrajudicial killings and torture during his presidency.

The complaint alleges Maduro created Venezuela’s Special Action Forces, known as FAES, and exercised command over the unit as it allegedly carried out a campaign of extrajudicial killings between 2017 and 2021. The families are seeking compensatory and punitive damages under the Torture Victim Protection Act.

The lawsuit opens a second legal front for Maduro in the United States, where he is already awaiting trial on federal drug trafficking and weapons charges. The complaint says venue is proper in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York because Maduro is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

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According to the complaint, FAES officers routinely entered homes before dawn wearing black clothing and face coverings, separated young men from their families, forced many to their knees, executed them and then staged crime scenes to make it appear the victims had «resisted authority.» Plaintiffs also allege officers looted homes, planted weapons and transported victims to hospitals after they had already died in an effort to conceal the alleged killings.

The lawsuit details five incidents between 2017 and 2021 involving six victims and also accuses FAES officers of torturing three relatives by beating, detaining or forcing them to witness the killings before they were denied justice through Venezuela’s judicial system.

Attorneys representing the plaintiffs, Maduro’s attorney Barry Pollack and Amnesty International did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

STATE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES ‘TOTAL COMPLIANCE’ FROM VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT IN RELIEF EFFORTS AFTER MADURO ARREST

A courtroom sketch shows ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with his wife, Cilia Flores, Flores’ lawyer, Mark Donnelly, and Maduro’s lawyer, Barry Pollack, as they attend a hearing in a narco-terrorism case accusing him of running a cartel of Venezuelan officials that flooded the U.S. with cocaine, at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Court House in New York City, U.S., March 26, 2026. (Jane Rosenberg)

The lawsuit alleges Maduro established FAES in 2017 as a special tactical unit within Venezuela’s National Bolivarian Police and later publicly defended the force despite criticism from the United Nations and other human rights organizations. It cites reports from the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and the U.S. State Department documenting allegations of widespread human rights abuses by the unit.

The families argue they have been unable to obtain justice in Venezuela because prosecutors either refused to pursue investigations or failed to hold senior officials accountable, leaving them without an effective legal remedy in their home country.

Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is arrested. (Fox Nation)

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The Torture Victim Protection Act allows civil claims in U.S. courts over alleged torture and extrajudicial killings committed under the authority of a foreign government.

Maduro served as Venezuela’s president from 2013 until 2026, according to the complaint. He has pleaded not guilty in his criminal case and has previously described himself as a «prisoner of war.»