El secretario de Estado de Estados Unidos, Marco Rubio, se reúne este viernes con los ministros de Relaciones Exteriores de la OTAN en la ciudad sueca de Helsingborg, en un encuentro atravesado por las tensiones entre Washington y sus aliados europeos por la guerra con Irán, la incertidumbre sobre el despliegue militar estadounidense en Europa y el sorpresivo anuncio del presidente Donald Trump de enviar 5.000 soldados adicionales a Polonia.

La reunión en la ciudad sueca de Helsingborg comenzó con la expectativa de que los aliados europeos puedan conocer de primera mano, a través de Rubio, los planes de Washington sobre su presencia militar en el continente y el futuro de su compromiso con la alianza, en momentos en que la relación atraviesa uno de sus períodos de mayor tensión desde el regreso de Trump a la Casa Blanca.

Antes de partir hacia Suecia, Rubio dejó en claro el malestar de Washington con varios miembros de la OTAN por su postura durante el conflicto con Irán. “El presidente no les está pidiendo que envíen sus aviones de combate. Pero se niegan a hacer cualquier cosa. Estamos muy molestos por eso”, declaró ante periodistas.

Rubio también cuestionó a España por haber restringido el uso de bases militares para operaciones vinculadas a la guerra. “Tienen países como España negando a Estados Unidos el uso de estas bases; entonces, ¿por qué están en la OTAN? Esa es una pregunta muy justa”, afirmó. “Para ser justos, otros países de la OTAN han sido muy útiles. Pero necesitamos discutir eso”, agregó.

Las declaraciones del jefe de la diplomacia estadounidense llegaron en medio de una nueva escalada verbal de Trump contra varios aliados europeos, a quienes acusó de no respaldar suficientemente la campaña militar de Estados Unidos e Israel contra Irán. El mandatario incluso deslizó en los últimos días que podría reconsiderar la permanencia de Washington dentro de la OTAN.

Horas antes de la reunión en Suecia, Trump sorprendió además a los socios de la alianza con el anuncio de un nuevo despliegue militar hacia Polonia.

“Basado en la exitosa elección del ahora presidente de Polonia, Karol Nawrocki, a quien tuve el orgullo de respaldar, y en nuestra relación con él, me complace anunciar que Estados Unidos enviará 5.000 tropas adicionales a Polonia”, escribió Trump en Truth Social.

El anuncio representó un giro después de semanas de incertidumbre por decisiones contradictorias de Washington sobre su presencia militar en Europa. A comienzos de mes, Estados Unidos había comunicado el retiro de 5.000 soldados de Alemania, una medida que generó preocupación entre los aliados europeos por su impacto sobre la capacidad de disuasión frente a Rusia.

Diplomáticos y funcionarios europeos señalaron que el nuevo compromiso con Polonia no despejó las dudas, ya que no estaba claro de dónde saldrían esos efectivos adicionales ni cómo se integran en los planes militares previamente anunciados por Washington.

La confusión se profundizó además con otros cambios en la estrategia estadounidense, incluida la cancelación del despliegue previsto de misiles Tomahawk de largo alcance en Alemania y la intención de reducir el volumen de capacidades militares que Estados Unidos pone a disposición de la OTAN en caso de crisis.

En Helsingborg, los aliados europeos esperan aprovechar la presencia de Rubio para intentar reducir la tensión con Washington y enviar señales de que Europa está dispuesta a asumir mayores responsabilidades en materia de seguridad.

Varios gobiernos ya hicieron saber que están preparados para colaborar en la protección de la libertad de navegación en el Estrecho de Ormuz cuando las condiciones lo permitan, después de que Irán restringiera el tráfico marítimo durante la guerra.

Un diplomático europeo citado por Reuters explicó que la reunión también apunta a medir el estado real de la relación con la Casa Blanca de cara a la cumbre de líderes de la OTAN prevista en Ankara. “Uno de los objetivos en Helsingborg es ver si hemos pasado página o no antes de la cumbre de Ankara”, señaló.

El secretario general de la OTAN, Mark Rutte, buscó bajar el tono sobre la reducción de tropas estadounidenses y defendió que cualquier cambio debe preservar la capacidad defensiva de la alianza. “Apoyamos eso, pero tiene que hacerse de una manera en la que la disuasión y la defensa en general sigan siendo fuertes”, afirmó.

Rutte también volvió a reclamar mayores compromisos de apoyo a Ucrania por parte de los miembros de la alianza. “También hay muchos que no están gastando lo suficiente cuando se trata del apoyo a Ucrania”, dijo.

(Con información de REUTERS y AFP)

Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is courting powerful Wall Street leaders after months of attacking wealthy New Yorkers and pushing higher taxes on corporations.

Given New York City’s outsized role in U.S. banking, investing and corporate headquarters, business leaders warn financial instability in the Big Apple could reverberate nationwide.

Mamdani’s meetings this week with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon underscored growing concerns that the mayor’s push to tax wealthy individuals and businesses could clash with the financial sector that underpins the city’s economy.

And critics tell Fox News Digital that they view the sit-downs as part of a growing contradiction at the center of his economic agenda in the world’s largest business and finance hub.

BLUE-STATE TAX BURDEN FUELS AMERICANS FLEEING TO REPUBLICAN-LED SOUTHERN STATES

«The Mamdani administration has come to recognize that so much of their agenda depends on having successful businesses and wealth creators in the city,» Manhattan Institute economic policy expert Adam Lehodey told Fox News Digital.

«Simply alienating them isn’t going to solve any of New York’s problems,» he added.

Lehodey argued the city cannot fund progressive priorities like free childcare and subsidized housing without strong tax revenue and a healthy private sector. He warns that a «tax-the-rich strategy» could worsen the city’s economic challenges because it might discourage investment in New York.

«It’s a good thing that he’s meeting with them, but now he needs to follow up and deliver something substantive,» Lehodey said. «The current tax-the-rich strategy is only going to worsen the problems unless he follows up and says, ‘Let’s look at what we can do to make it easier to invest in New York State and New York City.’»

Mamdani’s outreach has also extended beyond major banking executives.

The socialist mayor recently reached out to Citadel founder Ken Griffin after previously criticizing the billionaire hedge fund manager over his Manhattan penthouse and personal wealth. Mamdani stood outside Griffin’s multi-million-dollar property in the city to tout his proposal for higher taxes on second homes in NYC worth more than $5 million.

CHICAGO KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN KEN GRIFFIN TURNS ON A CITY, NOW MAMDANI MAY FIND OUT

Citadel told FOX Business that Griffin «welcomes thoughtful, serious conversations about the policies that can grow the city’s economy and create more opportunity for all New Yorkers,» while cautioning that «reckless political theater serves no purpose.»

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos supported Griffin when on Wednesday he criticized Mamdani’s rhetoric toward wealthy business leaders. The world’s fourth-richest person accused politicians of using an «age-old technique» of «picking a villain and pointing fingers.»

FROM FREE BUSES TO CITY-OWNED GROCERY STORES, HERE ARE MAMDANI’S KEY ECONOMIC PROMISES

«It isn’t right… to stand in front of Ken Griffin’s house and act like he is some kind of villain,» Bezos told CNBC. «Ken Griffin isn’t a villain, he hasn’t hurt anybody, he’s not hurting New York, in fact quite the opposite.»

While Bezos said debates over raising taxes on top earners are legitimate, he criticized what he described as the «vilification» of wealthy Americans and argued that overspending — not insufficient tax revenue — is the root of the nation’s fiscal problems.

The tensions underscore the difficult balancing act facing the mayor of the nation’s financial capital: Wall Street and high-income taxpayers generate a major share of New York City’s tax revenue, even as progressive activists push for a more aggressive redistribution of wealth.

The Citadel founder is clashing with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over taxes targeting the ultra-wealthy and intensifying crime, reviving the same tensions that drove him to pull his business and billions out of Chicago. (Spencer Platt/Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Nicole Huyer, a senior policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, characterized the meetings with Dimon and Solomon as an effort to repair strained ties with New York’s business community after Mamdani’s «tax the rich» campaign rhetoric.

She cautioned that policies perceived as hostile to corporations and wealthy taxpayers could accelerate corporate and capital flight from New York, pointing to Griffin’s relocation to Florida as one example.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

«Jamie Dimon and David Solomon lead two of the nation’s most influential financial institutions and have enormous influence over the financial sector and labor market,» Huyer told Fox News Digital. «If policies drive major firms or wealthy taxpayers out of New York City, the impact on tax revenue, jobs and broader economic activity could be significant.»

Huyer added that «pitching class warfare and then pivoting to court Wall Street executives risks appearing politically performative.»

An Ebola treatment center in the epicenter of the deadly outbreak in eastern Congo was set on fire Thursday after angry residents clashed with authorities over the body of a suspected victim.

Rwampara Hospital was attacked by local youths attempting to retrieve the body of a friend who had reportedly died of Ebola, a witness told The Associated Press.

«The police intervened to try to calm the situation, but unfortunately they were unsuccessful,» Alexis Burata, a local student who said he was in the area, told the outlet. «The young people ended up setting fire to the center. That’s the situation.»

The AP reported that people broke into the center and set fire to objects inside. A reporter also witnessed what appeared to be the body of at least one suspected Ebola victim being burned inside the facility.

EBOLA OUTBREAK REPORTED IN AFRICAN COUNTRY — HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) said two tents used to treat Ebola patients were set on fire at the hospital. The organization said six people were receiving treatment for Ebola at the center.

Patrick Muyaya, a government spokesperson for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said medical care was continuing normally and all six patients were accounted for.

He called for calm while condemning violence against health facilities and medical staff.

WHO DECLARES EBOLA OUTBREAK IN CENTRAL AFRICA A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY AFTER 80 SUSPECTED DEATHS

Flames and smoke rise from an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)

Deputy Senior Commissioner Jean Claude Mukendi, head of the public security department in Ituri Province, said the individuals who burned the tents did not understand the protocols surrounding Ebola burials.

The incident underscored growing tensions between health officials enforcing strict Ebola containment measures and local customs surrounding funerals and burial rites.

«His family, friends, and other young people wanted to take his body home for a funeral even though the instructions from the authorities during this Ebola virus outbreak are clear,» Mukendi said. «All bodies must be buried according to the regulations.»

‘DISEASE X’ HAS KILLED DOZENS IN THE CONGO — HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE MYSTERY ILLNESS

Charred hospital beds stand in smoldering Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026, after it was set fire by people angry at being stopped from retrieving a body, according to a witness and police. (AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)

In its statement, ALIMA condemned the spread of «incorrect or unconfirmed information on social media and the internet,» warning that misinformation could fuel fear and mistrust toward health facilities.

The violent clash comes as Congolese health officials reported 160 suspected deaths and 671 suspected Ebola cases across two provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The United Nations said earlier this week that neighboring Uganda had reported two cases, including one death.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency Sunday, and the U.S. issued an urgent travel warning for the DRC shortly afterward.

US ISSUES URGENT TRAVEL WARNING AS DEADLY EBOLA OUTBREAK SPREADS OVERSEAS

Congolese police personnel and civilians stand near the burning Ebola treatment center, as aid agencies intensify efforts to contain a new Ebola outbreak involving the Bundibugyo strain outbreak, in Rwampara general hospital in Rwampara outside Bunia, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo May 21, 2026. (REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere)

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this week he was «deeply concerned about the scale and speed of the epidemic.»

Officials said the outbreak was caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, a rarer variant for which existing vaccines may be less effective.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Nearly $4 million in emergency funding has been approved by the WHO to support national authorities responding to the outbreak.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.