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Soros v Trump: Socialists targets conservatives in upcoming European nation’s election
A former Albanian ambassador to the U.S. says the country’s upcoming election will be more like a runoff between the policies of President Trump and George and Alex Soros as opposition parties call foul over corruption by the ruling socialists.
«Albania is now effectively a one-party system pretending to hold elections,» Agim Nesho, former Albanian ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, told Fox News Digital. Nesho said May’s election «is a clash between ‘Trump-ists’ and ‘Soros-ists,’ with the latter fighting to keep their grip on corruption and the state in Albania.»
Amid accusations of corruption and the recent arrests of major Albanian political candidates, some critics are voicing concern over the integrity of upcoming elections for the country’s 140-member Parliament, now scheduled for May 11.
Nesho claimed the country’s ruling socialists «led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, is undemocratic and deeply rooted… for over 12 years, it has been supported by rich left-wing donors like Alex Soros, Rama’s close friend, and by projects like the USAID and Open Society [Foundations] judicial reform, which Rama co-opted and twisted to attack the center-right, conservative opposition.» He claimed the prime minister «also oversees a powerful narco-state that spreads fear and exerts controls over elections.»
ALBANIANS RALLY BY THE THOUSANDS AGAINST RULING SOCIALIST GOVERNMENT
Albanian opposition supporters hold a placard showing President Donald Trump and Albanian opposition leader Sali Berisha during an anti-government protest in in Tirana on Feb. 8, 2025. (Adnan Beci/AFP via Getty Images)
President Trump’s former campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, joined the campaign of Sali Berisha, the leader of Albania’s right-wing Democratic Party in February, according to Politico. LaCivita told the publication that Berisha would be «a true friend of the United States and… will successfully work with President Trump and the United States.» He called Rama a «puppet of George Soros.»
Berisha, formerly president and prime minister of Albania, told Fox News Digital that Rama’s government «banned my name and the name of the party in the voting list» during May 2023 elections. «When they failed with these measures,» he said they went further.
Parliament stripped Berisha’s legal immunity in December 2023 and placed him on house arrest under the accusation that he had used his position to help his son-in-law acquire private land. Berisha says that «official documents proved» the land belonged to his son-in-law’s grandfather, and had been confiscated by the former Communist regime.
Last November Berisha was released from house arrest. He was formally charged with corruption in September, the Associated Press reported.
Berisha’s spokesperson, Alfred Lela, told Fox News Digital that Berisha is now awaiting trial.
In addition to Berisha, Centrist Freedom Party leader and former Albanian President Ilir Meta was arrested on corruption charges in October 2024 in what one source told Fox News Digital was a «weaponization of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies.» Once an ally of Rama, Meta has frequently noted the increasing corruption and authoritarianism of the Rama government.
6 POPULIST LEADERS FACING LAWFARE AROUND WORLD
Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama speaks during a Security Council meeting on Ukraine, Sept. 20, 2023, at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) has invested more than $131 million in Albania between 1992 and 2020, effectively «supporting Mr. Rama’s rise to power,» the European Center for Law & Justice reported in 2023. The center alleges that OSF helped to allocate some of the $60 million that USAID spent on judicial reform in Albania between 2000 and 2015, explaining that Rama’s opposition has «denounced this reform as aimed at enabling the government to take control of the judiciary.»
OSF offices in Albania and the U.S. did not respond to numerous inquiries from Fox News Digital about allegations placed by its opponents against it.
According to an OSF website, the group has «earmarked $600,000 to support the process to overhaul Albania’s judicial system» in 2015 as part of Albania’s preparations to join the European Union. OSF claims «the money was used to fund a 20-strong expert panel, conduct public outreach and opinion surveys, establish a dedicated website, and organize conferences.»
Protesters gather in front of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s office in Tirana, Albania, demanding his resignation on Feb. 11, 2025. (Olsi Shehu/Anadolu via Getty Images)
NewsNation reported that Alex Soros often travels to Tirana, and calls it his «second home.» In July 2021, Soros posted a selfie with Rama on Instagram, identifying the prime minister as his «good friend.»
Berisha says he asked eight years ago for the U.S. Congress and European Parliament «to ban [George] Soros’ political activity in Europe because he is an enemy of democracy.»
In a December speech, Berisha said he would ban the OSF from Albania, calling the group a «real national threat,» according to Euronews Albania. Berisha said the Rama government’s mismanagement of resources and failure to mitigate poverty had forced the emigration of 45% of Albanians.
FORMER ALBANIAN PRESIDENT ARRESTED ON CORRUPTION CHARGES, OPPOSITION CLAIMS CHARGES ARE POLITICALLY MOTIVATED
Opposition leader Sali Berisha leaves the Parliament in Tirana, Albania, Dec. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Armando Babani)
Another impediment to Berisha’s run is the sanctions that former Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced against Berisha, his wife, and his children in May 2021. Blinken said Berisha had been «involved in corrupt acts, such as misappropriation of public funds and interfering with public processes, including using his power for his own benefit and to enrich his political allies and his family members at the expense of the Albanian public’s confidence in their government institutions and public officials.»
Berisha claimed that the sanctions against him were «entirely based on corrupted lobbying» by George Soros and Rama. He also said members of the Biden administration «turned [the] U.S. Embassy in Tirana into a huge prosecutorial office,» urging supporters, journalists and business people to stop supporting Berisha and his party, and that the State Department «asked other countries to sanction and to isolate me.»
Berisha said sanctions have hindered his campaign. «Of course it hurts me, because I’m not able to meet with Albanian Americans, which are so numerous, and in this election, for the first time, they have the right to vote for the party and candidate they prefer in their country of origin.»
Then-Albanian President Ilir Meta holds an American flag as he delivers a speech during a rally in Tirana, on March 2, 2020. (Gent Shkullaku/AFP via Getty Images)
A State Department spokesperson said they had no comment about Berisha’s claims that U.S. entities turned supporters against him. The State Department did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital about whether sanctions against Berisha should be upheld, or if they impede free and fair elections in Albania.
A spokesperson for former President Joe Biden did not respond to questions on whether his administration had a role in turning supporters against Berisha.
Nesho noted that sanctions «lack… evidence and had been rejected by Albanian public opinion. It looks like a political move, driven by Rama’s big money allies such as Alex Soros, who benefit both commercially and in influence from keeping Rama in power.» Nesho called on the Trump administration to «lift this ban immediately. It’s stirring anti-American feelings and clashes with the values of democracy and fairness,» he added.
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Nesho claimed that «the last three elections were unfair, full of intimidation and theft. The upcoming May 11, 2025, election shouldn’t just be a fake show – it needs to be truly free and fair. The U.S. and EU must push for this or ask that the vote is delayed until it can meet proper standards.»
Fox News Digital also reached out multiple times to Albanian Prime Minister Rama, the OSF, a member of the Albanian Foreign Ministry, and the Albanian Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment about accusations of corruption and OSF election interference but received no response.
INTERNACIONAL
Estados Unidos reconocerá el control de Crimea por parte de Rusia dentro de un acuerdo de paz para Ucrania
Estados Unidos reconocerá el control ruso de la región ucraniana de Crimea como parte de un acuerdo de paz más amplio entre Moscú y Kiev, según personas familiarizadas con el asunto.
Se trata de la última señal de que el presidente Donald Trump está ansioso por consolidar un acuerdo de alto el fuego, y se produce después de tanto el mandatario como su canciller Marco Rubio indicaran este viernes que la Casa Blanca abandonará sus esfuerzos de mediación si no hay un avance verificable en días en las negociaciones.
Crimea fue tomada por el Kremlin en 2014 tras el levantamiento popular que expulsó al gobierno titere ruso de Viktor Yankóvich en Ucrania. Luego de invadir la peninsula, donde Rusia tiene en Sebastopol su mayor base naval militar, se realizó un referéndum celebrado bajo la ocupación.
La comunidad internacional y las autoridades del país europeo se han resistido a reconocer el dominio ruso para no legitimar la anexión ilegal.
Hacerlo corre el riesgo de socavar las leyes y tratados internacionales que prohíben la toma de territorio mediante el uso de la fuerza. El presidente ucraniano Volodimir Zelenski ha dicho repetidamente que no cederá territorio a Moscú.
Pero la medida sería una bendición para el autócrata ruso Vladimir Putin, quien ha buscado durante mucho tiempo el reconocimiento internacional de la soberanía rusa en Crimea. Hasta el momento, Putin se ha negado a aceptar la propuesta de Trump para un amplio acuerdo de paz. Esta sería una importante moneda de cambio. Moscú pretende una victoria totia total con el desarme de Ucrania y el relevo de Zelenski. La Unión Europea se niega a ese desenlace.
Las fuentes indicaron que aún no se ha tomado una decisión definitiva al respecto. Un funcionario estadounidense familiarizado con las negociaciones, al ser preguntado sobre la posibilidad de reconocer a Crimea, se negó a comentar los detalles de las conversaciones.
Estados Unidos presentó a sus aliados propuestas para facilitar un acuerdo de paz entre Rusia y Ucrania en París el jueves, incluyendo un resumen de los términos para poner fin a los combates y aliviar las sanciones a Moscú en caso de un alto el fuego duradero, según informó Bloomberg anteriormente.
La propuesta congelaría en gran medida la línea de frente, y la mayor parte del territorio ucraniano actualmente ocupado por Rusia permanecería efectivamente bajo control de Moscú, dijeron las fuentes. Las aspiraciones de Kiev de unirse a la OTAN también quedarían descartadas. El costo principal del convenio lo pagaría Ucrania.
Las fuentes se negaron a proporcionar más detalles, alegando la naturaleza confidencial de las negociaciones. Las conversaciones de París incluyeron una reunión entre el presidente francés, Emmanuel Macron, y el enviado estadounidense, Steve Witkoff, así como conversaciones entre Rubio y asesores de seguridad nacional y negociadores de Francia, Alemania, el Reino Unido y Ucrania.
Los aliados se reunirán de nuevo en Londres la próxima semana para dar seguimiento a sus conversaciones.
Aun así, Trump mostró impaciencia el viernes en la Casa Blanca, diciendo que, si bien tenía la esperanza de que ambas partes acordaran avanzar en un alto el fuego, Estados Unidos estaba dispuesto a retirarse si percibía que alguna de las partes carecía de dedicación al proceso.
“Si por alguna razón una de las dos partes lo dificulta mucho, simplemente les diremos que son unos tontos”, declaró Trump a la prensa el viernes en el Despacho Oval. “Son unos tontos, son gente horrible, y simplemente los ignoraremos. Pero esperemos no tener que hacerlo”.
La propuesta de Trump deberá discutirse más en Europa y con Ucrania, que podría oponerse a las concesiones que Trump ha esbozado. El magnate, quien se ha acercado notablemente a Putin, rechaza la ambición ucrniana de unirse a la OTAN, una posibilidad que esa alianza viene descartando aun desde antes de la guerra.
Uno de los funcionarios afirmó que los planes estadounidenses, que deben discutirse más a fondo con Kiev, no constituirían un acuerdo definitivo, y que los aliados europeos no reconocerían ningún territorio ocupado como ruso.
Los funcionarios enfatizaron que las conversaciones serían inútiles si el Kremlin no accedía a detener los combates, y que proporcionar a Ucrania garantías de seguridad para asegurar el cumplimiento de un acuerdo también era parte esencial de cualquier pacto. Este viernes, Rubio afirmó que las garantías de seguridad no son un “deseo ilegítimo” por parte de Ucrania. “Toda nación soberana tiene derecho a defenderse”, afirmó.
Fuente: Bloomberg y Clarín
Guerra Rusia-Ucrania,Crimea,Estados Unidos,Donald Trump
INTERNACIONAL
Sen. Van Hollen pours cold water on ‘margarita-gate’ photo-op after El Salvador trip: ‘Nobody drank any’
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., says the margaritas were fake. The outrage, he says, is real.
Returning from a highly publicized trip to El Salvador to meet with deported illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Van Hollen addressed reporters Thursday after landing at Dulles International Airport in Virginia. He attempted to set the record straight on what’s now being dubbed «margarita-gate,» a viral photo posted by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele that appeared to show the senator and Garcia sitting casually at a table with two salt-rimmed drinks.
«Let me just be very clear,» Van Hollen said. «Neither of us touched the drinks that were in front of us. And if you want to play a little Sherlock Holmes, I’ll tell you how you can know that. … If you sip out of one of those glasses, some of whatever it was — salt or sugar — would disappear. You would see a gap. There’s no gap.
«Nobody drank any margaritas or sugar water or whatever it is.»
KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA SUSPECTED OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN REPORT OBTAINED BY FOX NEWS
Van Hollen claimed the glasses were placed after the meeting began as a staged photo-op, adding that earlier footage shows the table without drinks. Van Hollen accused both El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and the Trump administration of trying to distract from what he described as a constitutional crisis.
«This is a lesson into the lengths that President Bukele will do to deceive people,» Van Hollen said. «And it also shows the lengths that the Trump administration and the president will go to, because when he was asked by a reporter about this, he just went along for the ride.»
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, left, meets with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in El Salvador Thursday. (X/@nayibbukele)
Trump had his own take, posting on Truth Social Friday, «Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland looked like a fool yesterday standing in El Salvador begging for attention from the Fake News Media, or anyone. GRANDSTANDER!!!»
The controversy stems from the case of Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national deported from Maryland last month and placed in the country’s notorious CECOT prison.
WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BLUNTLY SHOWS WHERE PARTIES STAND ON IMMIGRATION AMID ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION
Federal officials have called the deportation an «administrative error» in court. Van Hollen and other Democrats have since argued it violated Garcia’s constitutional right to due process.
But the Trump administration has pushed back, pointing to Garcia’s alleged domestic abuse, gang ties and suspected involvement in human trafficking.
A 2022 Homeland Security Investigations report identified Garcia as a member of MS-13 and a suspected human trafficker. A 2021 domestic violence filing, written by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez, claimed, «I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me.»
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., holds a news conference Friday at Dulles International Airport in Virginia after his visit to El Salvador to meet with deported Maryland illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Pool)
Despite these reports, Van Hollen insists no evidence has been presented in court and that the removal was unlawful. He cited rulings by a federal district court and the U.S. Supreme Court ordering Garcia’s return.
«The government in this case, the Trump administration, is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process,» Van Hollen said, quoting a recent Fourth Circuit decision. «That is the foundation of our constitutional order.»
He added that Judge Paula Xinis, the federal judge who first reviewed the case, found the administration «offered no evidence linking Abrego Garcia to MS-13 or any terrorist activity.»
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, left, meets with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., in El Salvador on Thursday. (Reuters)
Trump, however, fiercely defended the deportation. In a post on Truth Social and X, he said the Democrats were demanding the return of someone with gang ties and a history of violence, while holding a photo allegedly showing Garcia’s fist with MS-13 gang signs tattooed onto his knuckles.
In his post, President Trump wrote: «This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such ‘a fine and innocent person.’ They said he is not a member of MS-13, even though he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles, and two Highly Respected Courts found that he was a member of MS-13, beat up his wife, etc. I was elected to take bad people out of the United States, among other things. I must be allowed to do my job. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!»
Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador this week after the Salvadoran government initially denied him access to Garcia. After press coverage, he said, officials arranged a meeting at a hotel, which was filmed. He said Salvadoran soldiers had previously stopped him from approaching the prison and that he was surprised by the last-minute permission to meet.
He also revealed that the U.S. had committed $15 million to El Salvador to support detention operations and said over $4 million had already been paid. Van Hollen claimed this funding was unauthorized and pledged to oppose future appropriations.
«I won’t support the use of one penny of taxpayer dollars to keep Abrego Garcia illegally detained in El Salvador,» he said.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., holds a news conference Friday at Dulles International Airport in Virginia following his visit to El Salvador this week to meet with deported Maryland illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Pool)
Critics, including Republicans and Trump allies, have questioned why Van Hollen would travel abroad to advocate for someone with alleged gang ties and a record of domestic abuse while remaining silent on victims like Rachel Morin, a Maryland woman murdered by an illegal immigrant in 2023.
The White House drew a sharp contrast, posting side-by-side photos of Trump meeting with Morin’s mother and Van Hollen meeting with Abrego Garcia. The caption: «We are not the same.»
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Asked about the comparison, Van Hollen said his «heart breaks» for Morin’s family but defended his actions as grounded in the Constitution.
«The reason we have courts of law is to punish the guilty, but also to make sure that those who have not committed crimes are not found guilty and arbitrarily detained,» he said.
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf, David Spunt, Greg Norman, Greg Wehner, and Bill Mears contributed to this report.
Politics,Illegal Immigrants,Donald Trump,Migrant Crime
INTERNACIONAL
Al menos 143 muertos y decenas de desaparecidos tras el incendio de un barco en la República Democrática del Congo
Al menos 143 personas perdieron la vida y decenas más se encuentran desaparecidas después de que un barco que transportaba combustible se incendiara y volcara en el río Congo, en el noroeste de la República Democrática del Congo (RDC), según informaron funcionarios el viernes.
El trágico incidente ocurrió el martes, cuando cientos de pasajeros viajaban a bordo de una embarcación de madera. Según Josephine-Pacifique Lokumu, jefa de una delegación de diputados nacionales de la región, el siniestro tuvo lugar en el Congo, cerca de la ciudad de Mbandaka, en la provincia de Equateur, en la confluencia del río Ruki con el vasto río Congo, que ostenta el título de ser el río más profundo del mundo.
La explosión que originó el desastre se produjo por un incendio a bordo, que a su vez fue causado por una explosión de combustible. “Una mujer encendió las brasas para cocinar. El combustible, que no estaba lejos, explotó, matando a muchos niños y mujeres”, explicó Lokumu. A medida que el fuego se propagaba rápidamente, la embarcación volcó en el agua, arrastrando a cientos de personas a las frías aguas del Congo.
Según la información proporcionada por Lokumu, un primer grupo de 131 cuerpos fue hallado el miércoles, seguido por 12 más el jueves y viernes. “Varios de ellos estaban carbonizados”, detalló.
Por su parte, Joseph Lokondo, líder de la sociedad civil local, quien participó en la sepultura de los cadáveres, dijo que el “número provisional de muertos es de 143: algunos quemados, otros ahogados”.
Aunque el número exacto de pasajeros que viajaban en el barco no se conoce, Lokumu indicó que se encontraba en “los cientos”. En los días posteriores al desastre, algunos sobrevivientes fueron rescatados y hospitalizados, según informó Lokondo.
Sin embargo, a medida que avanzaban los días, varias familias aún no tenían noticias sobre sus seres queridos. “Varios familiares aún siguen sin noticias de sus seres queridos”, señaló Lokondo el viernes.
El desastre tiene lugar en un país que, debido a la falta de infraestructuras viales adecuadas, depende en gran medida de los viajes por agua. La República Democrática del Congo es un vasto país de África Central, con una red fluvial que conecta diversas regiones, lo que hace que los viajes por el río Congo y sus afluentes sean esenciales.
Sin embargo, estos viajes conllevan riesgos considerables, ya que los naufragios son frecuentes, y los naufragios en este tipo de embarcaciones de madera suelen ser fatales debido a las condiciones precarias en que se transportan los pasajeros.
Una de las complicaciones más graves de la tragedia es la ausencia de listas de pasajeros, lo que dificulta las labores de búsqueda y rescate. Las autoridades locales han explicado que la falta de registros oficiales contribuye a que el número exacto de personas a bordo nunca se pueda determinar con certeza, lo que agrava aún más la tragedia.
Este naufragio no es un hecho aislado en la región. En octubre de 2023, al menos 47 personas murieron después de que otro barco se hundiera en el Congo, en la provincia de Equateur.
Además, en octubre del año pasado, más de 20 personas perdieron la vida cuando una embarcación se volcó en el lago Kivu, en el este del país, según las autoridades locales.
En 2019, un naufragio similar en el lago Kivu cobró alrededor de 100 vidas. Estos incidentes reflejan un patrón de naufragios frecuentes en el país, con una alta mortalidad debido a las condiciones de seguridad en los medios de transporte acuáticos y la falta de medidas preventivas adecuadas.
(Con información de AFP)
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