INTERNACIONAL
Hezbollah disarmament deadlock risks civil war, analysts say, as US prepares for Israel–Lebanon talks
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As Israel and Lebanon return to U.S.-brokered talks Thursday in Washington, the central question is the one that has derailed every previous attempt at a lasting deal: What happens to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terror organization?
An Israeli official told Fox News Digital that the meeting, hosted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, will include senior U.S. officials — U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa and Counselor Michael Needham — alongside Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh.
A State Department spokesperson called the initial April 14 meeting «productive.» «We will continue to facilitate direct, good-faith discussions between the two governments,» the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The meeting comes as a fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire, reached in mid-April, is holding for now, offering what officials describe as a narrow window for diplomacy after weeks of cross-border fighting.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH TRUCE IN JEOPARDY AFTER ROCKET BARRAGE KILLS 6
From left, Michael Needham, counselor for the U.S. Dept. of State, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter pose for a photo before a meeting at the State Department in Washington, April 14, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)
But the truce has not resolved the underlying conflict — only paused it.
The latest escalation began March 2, when Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel’s northern border, opening a new front in the regional war days after U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran Feb. 28, according to prior reporting.
Israel responded with sustained air and ground operations across southern Lebanon aimed at pushing Hezbollah forces away from the border, while Hezbollah continued firing rockets and drones into northern Israel.
The fighting displaced more than a million people in Lebanon and forced Israeli civilians into shelters, underscoring the scale of the escalation.
MACRON UNDER FIRE OVER IRAN, HEZBOLLAH POLICY AS TRUMP ADMIN HOSTS ISRAEL-LEBANON TALKS
The truce has not resolved the underlying conflict — only paused it. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)
Now, even as the guns have temporarily quieted, the core conditions that led to the war remain unchanged — leaving negotiators to grapple with the same unresolved question at the heart of the conflict.
A senior U.S. official familiar with the negotiations described the core dilemma: Hezbollah will not agree to disarm without a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, while Israel will not withdraw without Hezbollah disarming.
International mechanisms — including the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and a multilateral coordination group — have been working to bridge that gap since late 2024, without success.
The same official also indicated that Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, is not necessarily the decisive factor in these discussions, but Nabih Berri, speaker of the nation’s House, is the one with true authority, not Aoun.
At the same time, Hezbollah has remained opposed to any contact with Israel and continues to exert significant influence over Lebanon’s political and security decisions, complicating U.S. efforts to advance talks.
Inside Lebanon, however, frustration with Hezbollah appears to be growing.
ISRAEL ‘MOVING FORWARD’ ON POSSIBLE HEZBOLLAH CEASE-FIRE, OFFICIAL SAYS
An explosion erupts from a building following an Israeli strike in central Beirut, Lebanon, March 18, 2026. (Hussein Malla/AP Photo)
«There is a growing sense across Lebanon that any U.S.-brokered negotiation track could be a rare opportunity to restore balance to the state,» said Rami Naeem, a Lebanese journalist and analyst with Jusoor News.
«Hezbollah’s continued military and political dominance is widely seen as a central driver of the collapse, and even a gradual or indirect opening with Israel could help rebuild state institutions and their role.»
Mariam Kasrawani, a Lebanese analyst at Jusoor News, said criticism is becoming more explicit.
«It is becoming harder to ignore the depth of the crisis,» she said. «Some are now saying it plainly: Hezbollah has taken Lebanon as a whole — and Shia in particular — to a very bad place.»
«I’m not at all optimistic,» said Barak Seener of the Henry Jackson Society think tank.
«Lebanon is far too weak and divided to force Hezbollah to disarm. And Hezbollah … is so enmeshed in Lebanon’s political system. Any attempt to disarm Hezbollah risks civil war.»
CARTEL CONNECTION: HEZBOLLAH AND IRAN EXPLOIT MADURO’S VENEZUELA FOR COCAINE CASH
As Israel and Lebanon return to U.S.-brokered talks Thursday in Washington, the central question is the one that has derailed every previous attempt at a lasting deal: What happens to Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terror organization? (Fadel Itani/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Instead, Seener said, the talks are focused on limited, tactical goals.
«Talks are focused on ceasefire expansion, Hezbollah withdrawal from border zones, and an expanded presence of the Lebanese army … talks are not at all focused on disarmament.»
That gap underscores what he described as the real nature of the process.
«I think that these talks are doomed to failure,» Seener said. «I think Israel is currently engaged in conflict management.»
Adding to the uncertainty are reports from the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat that the U.S. may press Lebanon to repeal its 1955 Israel Boycott Law, which bans contact with Israelis.
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The meeting comes as a fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire, reached in mid-April, is holding for now, offering what officials describe as a narrow window for diplomacy after weeks of cross-border fighting. (Adri Salido/Getty Images)
The report frames such a move as a step toward normalization but provides no details and has not been confirmed by U.S. or Lebanese officials.
Fox News Digital reached out for comment from the State Department and the Lebanese Embassy in D.C. but did not receive a response in time for publication.
middle east foreign policy, lebanon, counter terrorism, israel, state department
INTERNACIONAL
Johnson’s strategy to bypass Democrats’ SAVE Act blockade survives key vote, handing GOP big win
President Trump urges lawmakers to pass the SAVE America Act
President Trump used his nationwide address to demand Congress pass the Save America Act, believing it will tighten election security. Chad Pergram, Chief Congressional Correspondent, reports on the legislation’s challenging path forward. While most House Republicans are on board, some GOP Senators remain skeptical, highlighting concerns about its implementation and potential impact on election integrity.
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Speaker Mike Johnson’s latest bid to skirt Democrats’ opposition to an election integrity bill backed by President Donald Trump survived a key hurdle on Monday evening.
The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act has faced significant headwinds in Congress despite having Trump’s full-throated support. While it passed the House, the legislation has struggled in the Senate where at least several Democratic votes are needed to break a filibuster and advance to final passage.
But the new plan by Johnson, R-La., which would allow key parts of the bill to skirt Democrats entirely, is one step closer to getting a House-wide vote sometime this week.
TRUMP INTERVENES AS HOUSE GOP REVOLT PUTS SAVE AMERICA ACT AT CENTER OF SPENDING SHOWDOWN
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., attend the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s National Commemoration of the Days of Remembrance ceremony in Emancipation Hall on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Republicans would erase the need for any Democratic buy-in by putting key elements of the SAVE America Act into a larger budget reconciliation bill. The reconciliation process allows the party in power to pass sweeping fiscal policy reforms without input from their opposition by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage to line up with the House’s simple majority requirement.
But there are strict guidelines for what can be in a reconciliation bill. Such legislation must deal with yearly federal spending and revenues, meaning issues that do not directly affect fiscal policy are generally excluded.
House Republicans are aiming to use this reconciliation bill to fund states’ election integrity efforts, replenish military funding amid the U.S. war with Iran, and dole out aid to American farmers.
GOP’S $95B DEFENSE PACKAGE SURVIVES CRITICAL HURDLE AMID FISCAL HAWK REVOLT
In total, the legislation would set the stage for $95 billion in new federal spending across the next 10 years.
The first chamber-wide step in the reconciliation process is to pass a framework that directs the relevant committees to then craft details dealing with their allocated budgets. Those details are then put back into a single sweeping bill that must pass the House and Senate before getting to Trump’s desk for his signature.
Passing the House Rules Committee means the bill will see a chamber-wide test vote that, if adopted, will set the stage for lawmakers to debate the bill before a final vote.
GOP CIVIL WAR ERUPTS OVER TRUMP’S LATEST AGENDA PUSH AS KEY REPUBLICANS THREATEN TO SINK MEGABILL
That vote is expected to occur Tuesday afternoon, with the final vote taking place the following day at 3:30 p.m., according to a preliminary schedule obtained by Fox News Digital.
Trump urged Republicans to advance the bill earlier Monday, arguing it would «get AS MUCH of THE SAVE AMERICA ACT as possible in a Budget Bill, along with aid to our incredible Farmers, and funding for our Military.»
Democrats, meanwhile, have accused Republicans of trying to unfairly sway elections with their SAVE America Act push.
«This is a phony issue that Donald Trump is creating. What’s amazing to me is that Donald Trump had the nerve to say to the Speaker of the House, who apparently didn’t object, that the most important thing that Republicans should focus on is voter suppression legislation, and that housing doesn’t matter, healthcare doesn’t matter, grocery bills don’t matter,» House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said earlier this year.
Voting booths are seen at Glass Elementary School’s polling station in Eagle Pass, Texas, on November 8, 2022. (MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has repeatedly referred to the legislation as «Jim Crow 2.0.»
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«While the specific policies may have changed since the days of the Jim Crow South, the goal of the SAVE Act is the same: disenfranchising American citizens and making it harder for eligible people to vote, particularly low income Americans and people of color,» he said in February.
Republicans argue that the SAVE America Act — which would implement federal voter ID requirements and a proof of citizenship mandate in the voter registration process — would make American elections safer and more secure.
elections, congress, voting, mike johnson, politics
INTERNACIONAL
Basado en hechos reales: cuando el dolor se transforma en un libro capaz de iluminar a sus lectores
Las tres parten de una tragedia íntima. Y las tres de circunstancias distintas: un aborto clandestino, la supervivencia al Holocausto y la muerte de un ser amado. ¿El punto de contacto? la escritura como forma de procesar lo vivido y encontrar un sentido que trascienda lo personal.
En El acontecimiento, la francesa Annie Ernaux, Premio Nobel de Literatura, reconstruye el aborto clandestino al que debió someterse en la Francia de 1963, cuando interrumpir un embarazo era un delito. Y lo hace con una honestidad brutal. Ernaux no pretende despertar compasión ni hacer un alegato sentimental. Solo escribe y, de esa forma, rescata de la oscuridad una experiencia compartida por miles de mujeres, demostrando cómo la memoria individual puede convertirse en colectiva.
“Una tarde salí decidida a encontrar un médico que aceptara ayudarme a abortar. Ese ser tenía que existir en algún lugar. (…) Las chicas como yo estropeábamos el día a los médicos. Sin dinero y sin relaciones – de lo contrario no hubiéramos ido a parar a ciegas a su consulta- les obligábamos a recordar la ley que podía llevarles a la cárcel y prohibirles para siempre el ejercicio de su profesión. No se atrevían a decir la verdad: que no iban a arriesgarse a perderlo todo por la cara bonita de una señorita lo bastante estúpida como para haberse dejado preñar. (…) Y como de costumbre, era imposible determinar si el aborto estaba prohibido porque estaba mal, o si estaba mal porque estaba prohibido. Se juzgaba con relación a la ley, no se juzgaba la ley”.
Diferente es la travesía de la sicóloga húngara Edith Eger, con La bailarina de Auschwitz. Deportada al campo de concentración nazi, con solo 16 años, pudo sobrevivir al horror después de perder a sus padres y de convivir con el hambre, el miedo y la muerte.
“El doctor Menguele es un asesino refinado y amante de las bellas artes. Por las noches busca entre los barracones a presas con talento para que lo entretengan. Esta noche entra con su séquito de ayudantes y lanza una mirada sobre las recién llegadas. (…) Permanecemos inmóviles, con las espaldas pegadas a las literas de madera que rodean la habitación. Nos examina. (…) Los ojos de Menguele me miran fijamente. (…) ¡Baila! Me ordena. (…) Puedo oír su voz por encima de la música. Habla con el otro oficial acerca de cuáles de las cien chicas presentes serán las próximas en morir. Si doy un mal paso, si hago algo que le desagrade, podría ser yo”.
Décadas más tarde, convertida en psicóloga clínica, encontró en la escritura una manera de integrar el pasado y de transmitir una enseñanza que atraviesa todo el texto: incluso después del sufrimiento más extremo, siempre está la posibilidad de elegir cómo vivir con eso que nos pasó. Su relato evita el resentimiento y apuesta por la resiliencia como una forma de libertad interior. La historia real que escribe Eger, es un análisis exhaustivo del alma humana y de cómo recuperarla luego de un episodio traumático. Y es posible. Al menos así lo asegura.
“Estamos abrumados por la pérdida y creemos que nunca recuperaremos el sentido de identidad y de realización, que nunca mejoraremos. Pero, a pesar de las dificultades y las tragedias de nuestras vidas y, en realidad, gracias a ellas, todos tenemos la posibilidad de adoptar una perspectiva que nos transforme de víctimas en triunfadores. Podemos elegir asumir la responsabilidad de nuestras dificultades y nuestra curación. Podemos elegir ser libres.”
En línea con la pérdida y el duelo, en El año del pensamiento mágico, la periodista y escritora norteamericana Joan Didion enfrenta una tragedia diferente pero igualmente devastadora: la muerte repentina de su esposo, el escritor John Gregory Dunne. Con la lucidez que la caracteriza, Didion registra el desconcierto del duelo, “la vida cambia en un instante, Te sientas a cenar y la vida que conocías se acaba”, esa etapa en la que la razón convive con la idea irracional de que el ser querido pueda regresar.
“Todavía no estaba preparada para enfrentarme a los trajes camisas y chaquetas, pero sí pensé que podía encargarme de los zapatos que quedaban, lo cual era un principio. Me detuve en la puerta de la habitación. No pude dar el resto de los zapatos. Me quedé allí un momento plantada y entonces me di cuenta de por qué: si John quería volver, le iban a hacer falta zapatos. El ser consciente de esta idea no la erradicó en absoluto. (…) Cómo podía volver John si le sacaban los órganos, ¿cómo iba a volver si no tenía zapatos?”.
La obra es una exploración minuciosa de la pérdida, pero también un testimonio contundente sobre los mecanismos con los que la mente intenta sobrevivir cuando el mundo conocido se derrumba.
Final. Más allá de sus diferencias, las tres obras comparten una convicción: contar la verdad, incluso cuando duele, puede ser un acto profundamente transformador. Y que el medio para ese relato sea la literatura pone de relieve la función catalizadora que puede llegar a tener la acción de contarlo, pero por escrito.
Las tres autoras eligieron escribir desde la herida, convirtiéndose en protagonistas y narradoras de su propia tragedia. Esa condición les permitió construir textos reflexivos y de alto impacto emocional a la vez. En tiempos en que las fronteras entre ficción y realidad son cada vez más difusas, Ernaux, Eger y Didion demuestran que la experiencia propia puede alcanzar una dimensión universal. Sus relatos hablan de ellas, pero también de cualquier persona que haya atravesado la pérdida, la incertidumbre o el miedo. Porque, al final, estas lecturas celebran algo valioso: la capacidad humana para encontrar sentido en medio del dolor y transformar una vivencia límite en una obra capaz de acompañar, consolar e iluminar la vida de los lectores.
INTERNACIONAL
Sinaloa Cartel boss ‘El Mayo’ sentenced to life, ordered to pay $15B in drug trafficking profits
Mexico questions FBI role in Sinaloa Cartel abduction
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum strongly criticizes the U.S. government for its alleged involvement in the 2024 abduction of former Sinaloa Cartel boss ‘El Mayo’ Zambada. Sheinbaum explicitly states the U.S. lied about its participation, claiming a violation of Mexican sovereignty. This incident raises serious questions about diplomatic relations between the two nations and American intervention in Mexico.
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Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael «El Mayo» Zambada Garcia, of Mexico, was sentenced on Monday to life in a U.S. prison and ordered to forfeit $15 billion in drug trafficking profits, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan said that while he had no choice but to give a life sentence since the charges carried a mandatory term of life imprisonment, he believed it was the right punishment.
«The almost unimaginable amount of drugs attributable to him and the number of murders that we can document is enough to justify Congress’s decision to make this a mandatory life sentence,» the judge said.
He is one of the most high-profile Mexican drug traffickers to be sentenced by a U.S. judge since fellow Sinaloa leader Joaquin «El Chapo» Guzman was sentenced to life in prison in 2019.
ICE RENEWS HUNT FOR EL CHAPO’S ;AST TWO FUGITIVE SONS WITH MASSIVE REWARD
A photo of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael «El Mayo» Zambada Garcia being detained by federal agents is displayed next to a Beechcraft King Air aircraft, used in July 2024 to transport Garcia and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of notorious narco leader «El Chapo» Guzman, to the U.S., at the War Eagles Air Museum, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. (REUTERS/Paul Ratje)
Garcia, 76, agreed to plead guilty in August 2025 to multiple charges, including racketeering conspiracy and continuing criminal enterprise, after the DOJ said it would not pursue the death penalty.
He was arrested in July 2024 alongside Joaquin Guzman Lopez, one of Guzman’s sons, after their plane landed in the U.S. Guzman Lopez has since pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including drug trafficking and a July 2024 kidnapping.
Joseph Nocella, a federal prosecutor, told reporters after Garcia’s sentencing that Guzman Lopez had admitted to kidnapping Garcia in an attempt to secure leniency and credit from U.S. law enforcement.
A reward sign for former Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael «El Mayo» Zambada Garcia standing next to a Beechcraft King Air aircraft, used in July 2024 to transport Garcia and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of notorious narco leader «El Chapo» Guzman, at the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. (REUTERS/Paul Ratje)
«The United States made perfectly clear that we do not condone kidnapping and that he would receive no credit,» Nocella said.
Guzman Lopez has not yet been sentenced.
Garcia told the court during his sentencing on Monday that he took responsibility for the harm he had caused.
«No one wins in a war like this. To the next generation, I say, choose a different path,» he said.
US CHARGES MEXICAN GOVERNOR, TOP OFFICIALS IN CARTEL CONSPIRACY AS MEXICO FIRES BACK OVER PROOF
Cogan suggested that Garcia be placed in a facility where he would receive adequate medical care since he was suffering from several progressive health ailments.
«Ismael Zambada Garcia spent nearly four decades poisoning American communities to make billions of dollars in profit and ordering the murders of anyone who stood in his way. Today, that chapter closes for good,» Nocella said in a statement.
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael «El Mayo» Zambada Garcia was sentenced to life in a U.S. prison. (REUTERS/Gustavo Graf)
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«He will spend the rest of his life in a U.S. prison, exactly where he belongs,» he added. This sentence was made possible by the tireless bilateral cooperation between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement, who refused to let El Mayo’s years of evading justice become a permanent state of affairs. We hope that today’s sentence brings some measure of justice to the countless victims of the Sinaloa Cartel’s narcotics trafficking and violence.»
Reuters contributed to this report.
mexican cartel violence, mexico, world, crime, justice department, us
“Nuestros campeones eternos”: la emotiva historia detrás del primer saludo a la Selección al llegar a Argentina tras el Mundial
“La Misa”, desde adentro: el ritual del “Gordo Dan” que fanatiza a la militancia digital de Javier Milei
Johnson’s strategy to bypass Democrats’ SAVE Act blockade survives key vote, handing GOP big win
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