Un hecho estremecedor sacudió a la ciudad de Itumbiara, en Brasil. El secretario de Gobierno local, Thales Naves Alves Machado, le disparó en la cabeza a sus dos hijos, de 12 y 8 años, y luego se suicidó en su departamento. Todo ocurrió después de que el funcionario publicara una carta en sus redes sociales donde anticipó sus intenciones.

“Nos vamos, yo y mis hijos, que ahora son ángeles. Por desgracia, ellos se van conmigo”, escribió el hombre en un largo posteo.

Leé también: La terrible carta que le escribió un funcionario brasileño a su mujer después de dispararle a sus hijos

Según detalló el sitio Metrópoles, la publicación encendió las alarmas entre vecinos y parientes, que corrieron desesperados hasta la casa para intentar evitar la tragedia.

Al ingresar al departamento, encontraron una escena desgarradora: Thales estaba acostado en la cama, con una pistola sobre el pecho, y los dos chicos, gravemente heridos, también sobre la cama,

El dramático intento de rescate y los primeros auxilios

Según el testimonio de las personas que llegaron primero al lugar, cada una asistió de inmediato a uno de los chicos. Ambos presentaban heridas de bala en la sien y el costado cabeza y fueron trasladados con vida al Hospital Municipal Modesto de Carvalho.

El mayor de los chicos, Miguel Araújo Machado, murió en el hospital, mientras que el de 8, Benicio, sigue internado en estado crítico.

Según la policía, en el departamento se sentía un fuerte olor a nafta. Los rescatistas hallaron dos bidones vacíos de cinco litros, lo que indica que el combustible fue esparcido por el ambiente antes del ataque.

Pocos minutos después, arribaron equipos del Servicio de Atención Móvil de Urgencia (Samu), que constataron la muerte de Thales Machado. La policía aisló la zona y la Pericia Técnico-Científica realizó los peritajes en el interior del inmueble.

La pistola utilizada, una Glock G25 calibre .380, fue secuestrada para su análisis. Tras los procedimientos, el cuerpo del funcionario fue retirado y el departamento quedó bajo custodia policial.

La carta en redes sociales y el trasfondo familiar

Antes de cometer el crimen, Thales Machado publicó una carta en la que contó sus problemas de pareja tras 15 ños de matrimonio, habló de una presunta infidelidad de su esposa, pidió disculpas a familiares y amigos y aseguró que actuaba en “el límite de lo improbable”.

“Todo tiene un final y, hoy, lo nuestro ha llegado a su fin, por desgracia, dice el texto en el que afirma que llegó al ”límite de lo improbable» después de que su esposa se fuera presuntamente a conocer a alguien a San Pablo.

Leé también: Le sumergió la cabeza bajo el agua a su hija porque no había ordenado la habitación

También mencionó su respeto por su suegro, Dione Araújo, el intendente de la ciudad, y pidió perdón a todos.

La noche anterior, el funcionario había hecho otra publicación dedicada a sus hijos: “Que Dios bendiga siempre a mis hijos. Papá los ama mucho”, escribió.

Investigación en marcha

La Policía Civil de Goiás abrió una investigación para esclarecer las circunstancias del caso y determinar los motivos que llevaron a Thales Machado a tomar una decisión tan extrema.

Conmoción en el funeral del hijo del funcionario

El entierro de Miguel Araújo Machado estuvo marcado por una profunda emoción en Itumbiara.

Miguel fue enterrado en el Cementerio de la Avenida da Saudade. Su velatorio se celebró en casa de su abuelo.

Durante el velatorio y el funeral, familiares y amigos se declararon devastados por la tragedia familiar. “Nos ha conmocionado profundamente a todos los que éramos amigos cercanos de la familia; lamentablemente, es una tragedia “, dijo un amigo de la familia.

Según un reporte de TV Anhanguera, el ataúd estuvo abierto unos minutos, lo que permitió a amigos y familiares despedirse de Miguel.

Durante el velatorio y el funeral, familiares y amigos se declararon devastados por la tragedia familiar.“ Nos ha conmocionado profundamente a todos los que éramos amigos cercanos de la familia; lamentablemente, es una tragedia”, dijo un amigo de la familia

“Me parte el corazón “, comentó el empresario Diones Silva, que conocía a Thales desde la infancia

En un comunicado, la Alcaldía de Itumbiara decretó tres días de luto oficial a partir de este jueves.

EXCLUSIVE: Industry experts warn the United States is «one crisis away» from losing access to the rare earth elements that power everything from fighter jets to electric vehicles — a vulnerability President Donald Trump’s new $12 billion «Project Vault» aims to address.

The initiative, backed by $1.67 billion in private seed money and a $10 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank, would create a federally supported stockpile of rare earth elements and other critical minerals. The U.S. currently imports much of those materials from China.

Executives from Graphite One, one of the country’s largest critical mineral developers, told Fox News Digital the effort could mark a turning point in the battle over China’s dominance of global supply chains.

«The Chinese are willing to weaponize access to … semiconductor materials like gallium and uranium,» Graphite One advisor Dan McGroarty said. «Then they turn off the tap and sort things out, give us a one-year reprieve, you know, it’s a leash, and they can yank that leash anytime they want.»

TRUMP SAYS ‘YOU’LL SEE’ WHEN ASKED HOW FAR HE’LL GO ON GREENLAND TAKEOVER

CEO Anthony Huston compared the concept to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, established after the 1970s oil crisis to safeguard U.S. energy security, arguing that critical minerals now play a similarly vital role in powering modern defense systems, advanced electronics and electric vehicles.

«For years, American businesses have risked running out of critical minerals during market disruptions… Project Vault [will] ensure that American businesses and workers are never harmed by any shortage,» Trump said in his announcement last month.

Graphite One recently made news with its «truly generational» Graphite Creek site in Alaska, which is the U.S.’ largest asset of that particular critical mineral, in Huston’s words.

As of 2024, the U.S. was at least 93% import-dependent on rare earth elements and graphite, according to the International Energy Agency, and remains heavily reliant on foreign suppliers for dozens of other critical minerals.

TRUMP KNOWS GOOD REAL ESTATE — AND HE KNOWS GREENLAND’S VALUE TO NATIONAL SECURITY

«The United States really relies on China and Africa for graphite. China, as we understand, is our adversary,» Huston said.

A buried lede in the Project Vault news, he added, is a little-reported counter-terror aspect.

Huston said some African mineral deposits, including in parts of Mozambique, are located in areas where ISIS-linked groups have operated. By onshoring development of critical minerals, the U.S. will not only work to unseat Chinese dominance but also deal a blow to operations in areas run by people who want to kill us, he argued.

McGroarty added that Project Vault reminds him of the idea of «dual-use technologies» during the Cold War, where computers of the time had technology that could not be exported – but could be used for both manufacturing and nuclear weapons design, for instance.

«On another level, we’re going to have to balance it across 20, 30, 40 different metals, minerals, compounds, and composites, not just oil,» he said.

TRUMP CHALLENGES CARNEY AT DAVOS, ASSERTS CANADA SHOULD BE ‘GRATEFUL’ FOR GOLDEN DOME MISSILE DEFENSE

McGroarty said the U.S. is «one crisis away» from having REEs «cut-off» by adversaries like China.

Huston also spoke of why Project Vault fits the 2020s more than any other time.

In the prior century, there were no cell phones, no EVs and graphite and the like were being used in analog tools like pencils and primitive computers.

The Graphite Creek site supplied materials for World War II-era steel production, a far cry from its potential role in today’s high-tech economy. Huston reiterated that the U.S. needs its own «strategic petroleum reserve» of critical minerals rather than relying on adversarial nations.

«As they say when you’re flying, put the oxygen mask on yourself first before turning to help those around,» he said.

TRUMP SAYS GREENLAND’S DEFENSE IS ‘TWO DOG SLEDS’ AS HE PUSHES FOR US ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY

Asked about any nexus between Project Vault, the Senate’s renewed focus on Arctic national security amid foreign incursions and Trump’s overtures toward Greenland, McGroarty suggested there may be one — but it’s not yet clear.

He quipped that sometimes it’s better to look at the globe from the top rather than the side, which places North America in the center of everything.

«See what nations have a presence in the Arctic, you’ll see the importance of Greenland; you’ll also see that the U.S. is an Arctic nation only because of Alaska,» he said.

Of the 60 critical minerals on the U.S. government’s official list, Alaska has known resources of at least 58, he added.

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«It’s the same sort of thing with Greenland. In the case of Greenland, I think there’s a phrase that I use from time to time: resource denial — That is to say, you might try not to be interested in Greenland’s resource potential in critical minerals. If you wake up one day, and the Chinese and the Russians are engaging in economic relationships in Greenland and directing those metals and minerals into their supply chains, you will have to be concerned about what goes on.»

China-based experts, on the other hand, were dismissive of Project Vault, with rare-earths analyst Wu Chenhui telling the state-owned Global Times that while Trump’s move is novel, it «functions more as a short-term buffer than a fundamental solution,» and other officials in the Communist nation were similarly bearish on the news.

A partial government shutdown is all but certain after Senate Democrats rejected attempts to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offered by Republicans on Thursday afternoon.

But it will not look like the record-long 43-day full shutdown that paralyzed Congress last year, nor will it look like the shorter four-day partial shutdown that hit Capitol Hill earlier this month. That’s because Congress has already funded roughly 97% of the government through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2026 on Sept. 30.

When the clock strikes 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, just DHS will be affected by a lapse in its federal funding. While it’s a vastly smaller scale than other recent fiscal fights, it will still have an impact on a broad range of issues given DHS’s wide jurisdiction.

SCHUMER, DEMS CHOOSE PARTIAL SHUTDOWN AS NEGOTIATIONS HIT IMPASSE

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

Disruptions to the TSA, whose agents are responsible for security checks at nearly 440 airports across the country, could perhaps be the most impactful part of the partial shutdown to Americans’ everyday lives.

Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told lawmakers at a hearing on Wednesday that around 95% of TSA employees — roughly 61,000 people — are deemed essential and will be forced to work without pay in the event of a shutdown.

McNeill said many TSA agents were still recovering from the effects of the recent 43-day shutdown. «We heard reports of officers sleeping in their cars at airports to save money on gas, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second jobs to make ends meet,» she said.

TSA paychecks due to be issued on March 3 could see agents getting reduced pay depending on the length of the shutdown. Agents would not be at risk of missing a full paycheck until March 17.

If that happens, however, Americans could see delays or even cancellations at the country’s busiest airports as TSA agents are forced to call out of work and get second jobs to make ends meet.

SHUTDOWN CLOCK TICKS AS SCHUMER, DEMOCRATS DIG IN ON DHS FUNDING DEMANDS

Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard is the only branch of the Armed Forces under DHS rather than the Department of War, and as such would likely see reduced operations during a shutdown.

That includes a pause in training for pilots, air crews, and boat crews until funding is restarted.

Admiral Thomas Allan, Coast Guard Vice Commandant, warned lawmakers that it would have to «suspend all missions, except those for national security or the protection of life and property.»

A lapse in its funding would also result in suspended pay for 56,000 active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel, which Allan warned would negatively affect morale and recruitment efforts.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at a press conference following the passage of government funding bills, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30, 2026.  (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Secret Service

The U.S. Secret Service (USSS), which is critical to protecting the president and key members of the administration, is also under DHS’s purview. 

While its core functions would be largely unaffected by a shutdown, some 94% of the roughly 8,000 people the service employs would be forced to work without pay until the standoff is resolved.

Deputy USSS Director Matthew Quinn also warned that a shutdown could also hurt the progress being made to improve the service in the wake of the July 2024 assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.

«The assassination attempt on President Trump’s life brought forward hard truths for our agency and critical areas for improvement — air, space, security, communications and IT infrastructure, hiring and retention training, overarching technological improvements,» Quinn said. «We are today on the cusp of implementing generational change for our organization. A shutdown halts our reforms and undermines the momentum that we, including all of you, have worked so hard to build together.»

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

ICE operations would largely go on unimpeded during a shutdown, despite Democrats’ outrage at the agency being the main driver of the current standoff.

Nearly 20,000 of ICE’s roughly 21,000 employees are deemed «essential» and therefore must work without pay, according to DHS shutdown guidance issued in September 2025.

But even though it’s the center of Democrats’ funding protest, ICE already received an injection of some $75 billion over the course of four years from Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). It means many of its core functions retain some level of funding even during a shutdown.

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

CISA is responsible for defending critical U.S. sectors like transportation, healthcare, and energy from foreign and domestic threats.

The agency would be forced to reduce operations to an active threat mitigation status and activities «essential to protecting and protecting life and property,» according to Acting CISA Director Madhu Gottumukkala.

That means a shutdown would significantly reduce CISA’s capacity to proactively monitor for potential threats from foreign adversaries.

«We will be on the defensive, reactive as opposed to being proactive, and strategic in terms of how we will be able to combat those adversaries,» Gottumukkala said.

Operations like «cyber response, security assessments, stakeholder engagements, training, exercises, and special event planning» would all be impacted, he said.

A U.S. Secret Service police officer stands outside the White House the day after President Donald Trump announced U.S. military strikes on nuclear sites in Iran on June 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

FEMA, one of the largest recipients of congressional funding under DHS, would also likely see reduced operations if a shutdown went on for long enough.

The bright spot for the agency is that past congressional appropriations have left its Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), the main coffer used to respond to natural disasters throughout the U.S., with roughly $7 billion.

The DRF could become a serious problem if the DHS shutdown goes on for more than a month, however, or in the event of an unforeseen «catastrophic disaster,» an official warned.

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FEMA is also currently working through a backlog of responses to past natural disasters, progress that Associate Administrator of the Office of Response and Recovery Gregg Phillips said could be interrupted during a shutdown.

«In the 45 days I’ve been here…we have spent $3 billion in 45 days on 5,000 projects,» Phillips said. «We’re going as fast as we can. We’re committed to reducing the backlog. I can’t go any faster than we actually are. And if this lapses, that’s going to stop.»