‘Justice Has No Expiration Date’: Raúl Castro Indicted in U.S.

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The Department of Justice on Wednesday announced murder charges against former Cuban President and longtime Defense Minister Raúl Castro, 94.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated during a press conference in Miami on Wednesday that a federal grand jury charged Castro and five co-defendants with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder, in connection with a 1996 incident where Cuban jets shot down humanitarian flights of the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue.

Elected officials in Florida’s Cuban American communities on Wednesday praised the Justice department and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“Raúl Castro may be 94 years old, but justice has no expiration date,” Florida state Rep. Juan Porras told the Daily Signal. “The United States is moving to indict him for crimes that tore families apart, just like mine.”

Porras added that the current administration “is doing what no administration before had the courage to do,” calling the indictment “the first step toward a free Cuba.”

Cuban American and Vice-Mayor of West Miami Ivan Chavez Jr. added that the charges carry deep significance for Cuban Americans.

“As vice mayor of the City of West Miami and as a proud Cuban American, this indictment carries tremendous significance for our community,” he told the Daily Signal. “It sends a clear message that America, under President Donald Trump and West Miami’s own hometown hero, Secretary Marco Rubio, will no longer tolerate or appease the brutal communist Castro regime.”

He said the case is personal for many Cuban exiles.

“For many in Miami’s Cuban exile community, this is deeply personal,” he said. “It is a reminder of the countless lives destroyed by the dictatorship and of the innocent heroes of Brothers to the Rescue who were murdered for standing up for freedom and human dignity.”

He added that the volunteers’ sacrifice “will never be forgotten” and described the indictment as a “long-overdue step toward justice, accountability, and ultimately a free Cuba.”

Orlando Cicilia, a Cuban American community advocate and president of National Victory Strategies, echoed those remarks.

“This indictment brings renewed attention to the many atrocities committed by the Castro regime over the past 67 years,” Cicilia told the Daily Signal. “It marks another step toward justice for the families whose loved ones were murdered 30 years ago.”

Cicilia said the charges highlight the broader legacy of repression under the Cuban government, pointing to decades of political imprisonment, censorship, and economic hardship.

“For many Cuban families, both on the island and in exile, this is about more than the past,” he said. “It is about truth, justice, and the hope that the Cuban people may one day live in freedom.”

Miguel Granda, president of the Miami Young Republicans and a candidate for the Florida House of Representatives, called the indictment a “long-overdue moment of accountability.”

“For decades, his regime has inflicted profound suffering on the Cuban people and spread authoritarian governance across Latin America,” Granda told the Daily Signal. “This is a historic milestone for Cubans, Cuban Americans, and all who believe in freedom in the region.”

Granda added that the United States “must remain steadfast in holding such regimes to account.”

The indictment follows earlier federal charges brought by a New York grand jury against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for narcotrafficking.

“It’s a step in the right direction and helps expose the Cuban regime,” Cicilia said.

Reuters reported Wednesday morning that Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said that “despite the (U.S.) embargo, sanctions, and threats of the use of force, Cuba continues on a path of sovereignty toward its socialist development.”

The Justice Department announced the unsealed charges on May 20, formerly Cuban Independence Day, as part of a ceremony at Miami’s Freedom Tower, a symbol for Cuban Americans who left the communist country. The tower is referred to as “the Ellis Island of the South.”

This story is developing and may be updated.

AUTHOR

Pedro Rodriguez 

Pedro Boccalato Rodriguez-Aparicio is a journalism fellow at the Daily Signal. Follow on X pedrobrodrigue7.

RELATED ARTICLE: Cuba’s Freedom Is an ‘America First’ Cause

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

The Cuban Government’s Miraculous Ability to Survive May Be Coming to an End

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I first heard the term “estática milagrosa” (“miraculous stasis”) from a friend of my wife. The young woman — an architect — had worked for an urban heritage conservation office in Cuba, and she marveled at how the mansions, buildings, cinemas, and theaters of the once-Parisian Havana refused to collapse.

Humidity might burst the dowels within their columns; saltpeter might bloat the cement on their facades; a hurricane might rip away their doors and windows — yet the structures remained standing, defying the terror of skittish passersby.

The Revolution turned Havana into a Pompeii of Salt. Ruins without a volcano. The volcano — red as the most vivid lava — was socialism. The city’s miraculous stasis is mirrored in the very malady that has caused its impoverishment. Cuban socialism has misgoverned the country — and squandered its sugar and tourism industries — to such an extent that, although it should have collapsed years ago, its capacity to cling to power remains astonishing.

Events between Cuba and the United States have taken a series of highly symbolic turns this May.

On the 5th, Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited SOUTHCOM headquarters during a national security conference in Miami, where he posed for a photograph in front of a map of the island while shaking hands with General Francis L. Donovan.

On the 12th, he smiled for the camera once again. This time, aboard Air Force One, he wore a gray Nike tracksuit — remarkably similar to the one Nicolás Maduro was wearing when he was extracted during the operation on January 3rd. Was he sending a warning to Raúl Castro regarding what would befall him should he refuse to negotiate a change in Cuba?

Two days later, John Ratcliffe, the Director of the CIA, arrived in Havana for an unprecedented official visit. After years of accusing independent journalists like myself of being “mercenaries paid by the CIA,” the U.S. delegation was received by Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casa and Intelligence Chief Ramón Romero Curbelo.

Furthermore, Ratcliffe reportedly held talks with Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez, head of security and factotum to his 94-year-old grandfather, Raúl Castro, who holds the reins of the island.

It appears that things did not go entirely smoothly during the talks, or perhaps Rubio simply wants no further delays from Havana. That very night, an administration official leaked to major media outlets that the United States is moving toward indicting Castro in connection with the 1996 massacre of activists from Hermanos al Rescate (Brothers to the Rescue).

Amidst all this, earlier in the month, widely circulated reports emerged regarding an increase in U.S. spy flights near Havana and Santiago de Cuba, the country’s second-largest city. Since February, P-8A Poseidon and RC-135V Rivet Joint aircraft, as well as MQ-4C Triton drones, have reportedly conducted at least 25 intelligence-gathering flights.

Meanwhile, economic pressure continues to mount. The Canadian mining firm Sherritt, which had been operating in the eastern part of the island, is set to dissolve its Cuban subsidiary due to sanctions imposed by Washington.

According to both the secretary of Interior and the U.S. Geological Survey, Cuba possesses one of the world’s largest nickel reserves; moreover, in 2023, Cuba ranked as the world’s seventh-largest producer of cobalt — a mineral critical for battery manufacturing. The geopolitical significance of these critical minerals provides yet another compelling reason why a free Cuba serves the national interest of the United States.

On the domestic front, the diplomatic efforts of Ambassador Mike Hammer continue to exert a positive influence on the public opinion of the average Cuban regarding the role of the United States in the current crisis, as well as the White House’s support for those on the island who risk their safety to raise their voices in support of a new Cuba.

If there is one issue that unites the entire spectrum of political opinion within the Cuban dissident movement, it is the liberation of political prisoners — a group that currently numbers well over a thousand. And the Trump administration is pressuring the Castro regime to carry out further prisoner releases.

The departure of activist Sissi Abascal — escorted directly from prison to a flight that took her to the United States on a humanitarian visa — is the most recent example. It occurred shortly after USA Today published audio recordings of the high-profile political prisoners Maykel Osorbo and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, in which they describe receiving an ultimatum from the regime: leave Cuba or remain in prison.

Meanwhile, the protests continue unabated — an extension of that “Spring of Fire” which began in March and has filled neighborhoods across the country with the din of banging pots and pans. People are protesting with cacerolazos against power outages, medicine shortages, repression, and food scarcity.

Will all of this momentum finally translate into the end of the “miraculous stasis” (what Cubans view as a “cursed stasis”) that sustains the longest-running tyranny in the hemisphere? The Donroe Doctrine must take root in the heart of the Caribbean to affirm its hegemony — and to realign the destinies of millions on the island with the cause of freedom.

AUTHOR

Yoe Suarez

Yoe Suárez is The Washington Stand’s international affairs correspondent. He is an exiled journalist, writer, and producer who investigated in Havana about torture, political police, gangs, government black lists, and cybersurveillance. A graduate of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, he was a CBN correspondent, and has written for outlets like The Hill and Newsweek. He has appeared on Vox, Univision, and Deutsche Welle as an analyst on Cuba, security, and U.S. foreign policy.

RELATED ARTICLE: From Hitler To Adenauer, From Tojo To Yoshida, From Mussolini To De Gasperi

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2026 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Trump’s Border Czar Has a Smart Surprise for Sanctuary Cities Trying to Hide Criminals

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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt of an interview with President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan by the Daily Signal’s Senior National Security and Legal Analyst Mehek Cooke.

Mehek Cooke: Well, let’s expand on that, because I look at sanctuary cities today, and the worst offenders—that’s who I really want to get down to.

I’m watching New York Democrats today, and they are moving to limit local cooperation with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. They’re moving to restrict you and ban you and ICE officers from even wearing masks, as I’ve seen a massive surge in the type of violence that’s coming out against ICE officers.

What can we do to ensure that ICE can do their jobs?

As we’re having Democrats in New York, even Boston … I mean, you talked about lawsuits. I’m seeing a lawsuit there where a judge is skeptical of authority. This clash between federal enforcement and local. How can we make sure that we can prevent a Minnesota?

Because that’s where we don’t need to be, but I’m telling you, we’re watching this. Democrats are trying to corner this administration to make another flashpoint and an issue in the next sanctuary city.

So, what can we do to reduce that?

Tom Homan: A couple things. First of all, you know, good luck with the law of banning masks. Federal law always trumps state and local law. And while threats are up over 8,000%, masks is a non-starter, so good luck enforcing that.

Second thing is, you talk about New York. You know, I met with Governor Hochul a couple months ago, and I told her about what happened in Minnesota, that, you know, we were able to draw some resources out of Minnesota because the local jails cooperated with us.

And I told her the same thing, because I knew this legislation was coming. I said, Look, you end cooperation in the jails, we’re going to have to send more agents to do the job, because now rather than one agent arresting one bad guy in the jail, which is safer for the agent, safer for the alien, safer for the community, of course, you’re going to release him. Now we got to send a whole team, six or seven agents, to go find him. So, it’s going to result more agents in the community.

Totally briefed on the whole thing, but she decided to go ahead and do it anyways. Well, I made a statement that we’re going to send more agents to New York. We have to as a response to this to go arrest those public safety threats.

I also told her there’s going to be two things you [she] may not like.

No. 1, in addition to more agents in your communities, that’s going to mean, one, that when we find the bad guy, and we usually do, they may be with others, that weren’t a criminal target, but they’re in the country illegally. Well, guess what? We’re going to arrest them, too. We’re not going to turn a blind eye to illegal immigration, which means there’ll be more collateral arrests because of your decision to force us in the community.

And, second of all, part of her legislation prevents ICE from leasing beds, from sheriffs across the state, which we use a lot of those beds.

That means every illegal alien we arrest, we’re simply going to fly out of state to New York or Arizona or Florida, one of those states, because we’re going to detain them. We’re going to arrest them, we’re going to detain them. And so you wanna lock us out of New York jails for detention, then we’ll simply fly them out.

And I explained to her, how does that benefit the people you’re saying you’re trying to protect? How does that protect the immigrant community, moving them away from their family and their attorneys while they go through the immigration proceedings? It doesn’t.

So look, this is just a political spitball and you know, it’s… They’re not going to stop us from doing what we’re doing. We’re just going to have to do more of it now because of those, the legislation that was passed.

Cooke: But what’s the motivation here, Director? What is the true motivation here? Because you worked for the deporter-in-chief. You worked under President Obama.

Is it because we have a different president and his name is Donald J. Trump?

Like, what is the motivation where you’re going, to get so much pushback for common sense? If the truth is, whether it’s Governor Hochul or any other governor in America, their first duty is to protect citizens. Why are you getting so much pushback to remove illegal criminals off of our streets? What’s the real motivation for Democrats?

Homan: Well, you, just said it. They hate Trump more than they care about their communities. They don’t want President Trump to get a win.

Second reason is we’re spoiling their long-term plan. They got a long-term strategy here. Open the border up, release millions of people into the United States to go to sanctuary cities.

But remember, when Biden opened the border, he also overturned the Trump census rule, which illegal aliens would be counted in the next census. So they think, you know, send millions to sanctuary cities, the next census is done, it’s going to result in more seats in the House for the Democrats. They sold this country’s national security out for future political benefit.

Plus they think these millions will be, you know, future Democratic voters. That’s why they’re putting all the roadblocks up, because they’re hoping before we can move too many, another Democratic administration comes in, they award amnesty to millions of people they think are future Democratic voters.

They’re having a fit right now because we’re removing record numbers of people that they don’t want removed, because they, like I said, they’ve got a long-term plan.

So, well, I got a surprise for them. We’re going to keep removing people. We’re going to keep arresting record numbers, because that’s what President Trump was elected for.

And the reason there’s mass deportation operation, because there’s a mass illegal immigration crisis on the border, so the appropriate law enforcement response to that is a mass deportation program, and that’s why we’re doing it. They set the stage. We’re responding to their incompetence the last four years.

Cooke: So, you’re saying there’s a clear choice today for any sanctuary jurisdiction. You either cooperate with ICE or you’re going to put more boots on the ground. Is that accurate?

Homan: Absolutely. And let me say this, because they like to say, sanctuary cities, we’re a welcoming community because we want illegal aliens who are victims and witnesses of a crime to feel safe coming to law enforcement to report those crimes without fear of working with ICE.

That is such a false narrative because we’re not looking to talk to the victim witness of crime. We’re looking to talk to the person you locked in a jail cell. That’s who we want access to.

But at the same time, this, they’re the ones that are pushing the false, narrative about ICE officers separating families, arresting people in churches, arresting people in elementary schools, arresting people in hospitals.

They’re putting fear in immigrant communities.

Mm-hmm.

If they’re honest with them, that ICE has never arrested somebody in a church. We’ve never arrested somebody in an elementary school. We’ve never arrested someone in a hospital.

They won’t say that because there’ll be less fear in the immigrant community, so they’re playing both sides.

They want to say, well, they’re afraid to come report crimes, but the reason they’re afraid is because the false narrative you put up against ICE.

Let’s be clear. If they went to the immigrant community and asked them a simple question, would you rather have ICE operating in the jail? Or would you want ICE in the community?

The community’s going to say the jail every time.

Cooke: Right.

Homan: So, they’re lying to the American people. Sanctuary cities are sanctuaries for criminals, hard stop. It isn’t about protecting victims and witnesses, it’s about protecting criminals, and that’s what you’re doing.

AUTHOR

Daily Signal Staff

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Inside The Case Against The Prosecutor Accused Of Putting Criminal Illegals First

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As Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano defended himself before Congress on Thursday, a legal expert told the Daily Caller what to expect next in the Department of Justice’s case against him — and what changes could follow.

Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF), says he was the first to raise concerns about Descano with the DOJ. Johnson told the Caller he believes the DOJ will find policies or patterns showing Descano offered preferential treatment to illegal aliens over American citizens.

A DOJ statement, paired with a May 6 notice of the investigation, said the department is examining Descano’s plea bargaining, charging decisions and sentencing policies to determine whether non-U.S. citizens were granted preferential treatment.

Johnson said he wrote a letter in December to Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, who signed the notice, outlining accusations against Descano and requesting an investigation.

“I guess they’ve looked at it, and now they’ve decided that there’s enough there for them to investigate,” Johnson said. “They’re taking the exact approach that we asked them to take.”

During his testimony, Descano said his office “does not provide sanctuary or safe harbor to undocumented immigrants,” and that suggesting otherwise promotes a false narrative.

Following the announcement of the investigation, Descano also said that his policies are “fair, legal, and reflect the values of my community.”

“This investigation is the latest example of the Trump administration’s own ‘pattern or practice’ of misusing the Justice Department to launch partisan attacks,” his office later said in a statement, adding that the policies have been in place for more than five years and that the investigation comes a week before Descano is set to speak before Congress. “Our office’s policies are fair, legal, and reflect the values of Fairfax County, and we will not be distracted from our mission of keeping this community safe and holding individuals accountable when they commit crimes.”

Johnson and the Fairfax-based LELDF, which uses litigation and legal advocacy to support law enforcement nationwide, have criticized Descano’s practices since at least the death of Stephanie Minter, a 41-year-old mother allegedly stabbed to death at a county bus stop by a criminal illegal immigrant in February.

Minter’s mother also testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, saying the system had failed her daughter.

“When policies protect people who are known threats, innocent lives are put at risk. When warnings are ignored, families like mine pay the price. This is not just about Stephanie, this is about every mother, every parent, every child, every person who waits at a bus stop, walks home, or goes to work trusting that they’ll be safe,” she testified. “We cannot ignore this; we cannot look away. Compassion should never come at the cost of public safety. Care for one group should not mean danger for another.”

The issue did not end with Minter’s death. By April, the Caller reported that illegal aliens made up 75 percent of suspects arrested for murder in Fairfax County in 2026, some of whom had already accumulated prior arrests and charges. 

“It’s almost every week that an illegal immigrant is having their charges dropped or otherwise not having to face justice in Fairfax County,” Johnson said.

The DOJ notice says its investigation will be conducted under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Safe Streets Act and the law enforcement misconduct statute, 34 U.S.C. § 12601.

Title VI prohibits any program receiving federal financial assistance from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin. Johnson said the DOJ appears poised to examine whether Descano’s office discriminated against U.S. citizens on the basis of national origin.

The Safe Streets Act is similar, functioning as a “purse strings” statute that bars federal funding for programs that discriminate on the basis of national origin and other protected characteristics.

The law enforcement misconduct statute, 34 U.S.C. § 12601, allows the DOJ to target a “pattern or practice” by law enforcement officials that deprives people of their rights.

To establish a violation of this statute, the DOJ must show more than an isolated incident of preferential treatment. However, Johnson said the department does not need to show that discrimination has taken place, but only that “the policy itself is improper.”

Johnson told the Caller that although such an investigation may take over a year, he believes Dhillon will find a pattern of preferential treatment. He also claimed Descano’s office has “scrubbed” its website of evidence of such policies.

A now-deleted paragraph from Descano’s campaign page said that his policies regarding declining to prosecute certain criminal illegal aliens are “equal justice” because “if two people commit the same crime, but only one’s punishment includes deportation, that’s a perversion of justice and not a reflection of the values of Fairfax County.”

“He’s not really covered it up very well; he’s made it quite obvious what’s going on,” Johnson said, adding that although the DOJ may be searching for discriminatory policies as listed in the notice, it may be able to shift the focus to instead address any concerning practices not previously mentioned.

The DOJ statement notes that similar investigations have led to negotiations and policy changes in the past, though Johnson said they have primarily been used against law enforcement agencies rather than prosecutors’ offices.

The DOJ has used similar pattern-or-practice investigations to pursue reforms in other agencies. In 2023, following an investigation launched after the death of Breonna Taylor, the department found the Louisville Metro Police Department had engaged in conduct violating the Constitution and federal law, leading to a court-enforceable consent decree. In 2012, DOJ similarly found failures at the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County and later worked with officials on reforms.

Similar remedies could be on the table in Fairfax, depending on the DOJ’s findings.

Descano is not alone. The House Judiciary Committee announced May 7 that the Arlington County Commonwealth’s attorney, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, would also be investigated for allegedly refusing to cooperate with federal immigration officials and for allegedly prioritizing illegal and criminal aliens over American citizens.

Johnson told the Caller that other prosecutors’ offices in the country are operating under a similar playbook. He said any policy changes negotiated in Fairfax could serve as a deterrent for like-minded district attorneys going forward.

The Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.

AUTHOR

Derek VanBuskirk

Reporter

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller Column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

ICE Arrests Criminal Illegal Alien in Texas Convicted of Attempted Murder of Police Officer

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The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an illegal alien who had previously been convicted for attempted murder of a police officer. On May 5, 2026, ICE law enforcement arrested Dinh Quy Nguyen, a criminal illegal alien from Vietnam, in Houston, Texas. Nguyen has remained free in the local community for over 15 years despite having a final order of removal and prior convictions for attempted capital murder of a police officer and burglary.

Also, Yesterday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested more criminal illegal aliens convicted for horrific crimes including enticement of minor for indecent purposes, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault, intoxication assault peace officer, and armed robbery. Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “This Police Week, we are highlighting some of the worst of the worst ICE law enforcement arrested. Every single day, our ICE law enforcement officers put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists. When you see a law enforcement officer, say THANK YOU for their service.”

©2026 . All rights reserved.

Criminal Investigator-Intelligence For the Frontline Analysts

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The handbook “Criminal Investigator-Intelligence For the Frontline Analysts” is the ultimate ballistic weapon for the modern intelligence operative. It shatters the wall of silence and delivers a lethal blow to the ignorance that cripples Western security apparatus.

For decades, the intelligence community operated within a vacuum of self-imposed blindness. Analysts fed the machine a diet of sanitized, hollow data. This handbook terminates that era of failure. Dr. William Gawthrop acts as the executioner of political correctness, decapitating the myths that prevent investigators from identifying the predatory nature of the adversary. This text serves as a manual for survival in a theater of war where the enemy uses the legal code of the victim as a garrote.

Every page drips with tactical clarity. Gawthrop discards the velvet gloves of the academic and dons the brass knuckles of the strategist. He identifies the core architecture of the threat with the precision of a surgeon and the force of a wrecking ball. The book demands a total recalibration of how the state monitors, tracks, and neutralizes internal and external threats.

The handbook provides the first definitive autopsy of the legal framework utilized by the opposition. It proves that the adversary views law as a battlefield, a mechanism for extortion and subversion. Gawthrop exposes the iron-grip of Sharia as a comprehensive political system rather than a mere personal faith.

  • Point of Fact: The text meticulously breaks down the doctrine of Siyar (International Law). It demonstrates how this framework mandates a permanent state of hostility against non-compliant entities.
  • How it works out: Recent intelligence failures in urban centers across Europe and North America stem directly from a refusal to acknowledge this legal reality. Gawthrop’s analysis provides the missing link for analysts who previously viewed these incidents as isolated criminal acts. They are, in fact, the calculated maneuvers of a global insurgency.

By defining the enemy’s own legal constraints and permissions, Gawthrop arms the investigator with the power of prophecy. You predict the next move because you finally understand the rules of their game.

Language serves as either a shield or a sword. In the hands of the uninformed, it is a liability. Under Gawthrop’s direction, it becomes shrapnel. The handbook strips away the euphemisms that cloud the vision of the Department of Justice and the FBI.

  • Point of Fact: The 2nd Edition expands the lexicon of the investigator to include high-resolution definitions of Taqiyya (Dissimulation) and Kitman (Concealment).
  • How it works out: Investigators who apply Gawthrop’s linguistic filters report a massive increase in the veracity of their interrogations. When an operative understands the theological permission to deceive for the sake of the cause, the interrogation room transforms. The suspect no longer holds the advantage of the secret. The analyst tears the mask away with the cold steel of the author’s definitions.

The machine of the state requires fuel. That fuel is truth. Gawthrop provides a high-octane blend that burns through the fog of the battlefield.

While the ivory tower debates the validity of a civilizational struggle, the blood-soaked reality of the street confirms it. Gawthrop accepts this truth with absolute certainty. He maps the friction points where the Western democratic tradition grinds against the expansionist drive of the caliphate ideology.

  • Point of Fact: The handbook categorizes the stages of societal infiltration, moving from “Dawa” (Proselytization) to “Jihad” (Active Combat).
  • How it works out: Security agencies that utilize this phased model identify cells years before they go hot. This proactive stance saves lives. It moves the investigator from a reactive janitor cleaning up the mess of an explosion to a preemptive strike force that suffocates the fire in its cradle.

This is not a book for the weak. It is a book for the wolf who protects the sheep from the pack. It acknowledges that peace is a temporary pause in a permanent war.

The structure of the handbook reflects the mind of a predator. It is lean, efficient, and devoid of waste. Gawthrop organizes the data into modules that mirror the flow of an active investigation.

The analyst learns to spot the “flashbangs” of radicalization. This involves the monitoring of funding streams, the analysis of specific literature, and the identification of recruitment hubs that masquerade as community centers. Gawthrop identifies these as the logistics chains of the insurgency. You cut the chain, you kill the threat.

When the trigger is pulled, the handbook guides the forensic team. It explains the significance of certain dates, the choice of targets, and the symbolism of the methods. Every action by the adversary carries a signature. Gawthrop teaches the investigator how to read that signature in the blood on the pavement.

The war does not end when the smoke clears. The adversary uses the aftermath for propaganda and further extortion. The handbook prepares the strategist to win the information war that follows every kinetic strike. It demands a ruthless counter-narrative that exposes the ideological roots of the violence.

The critics of this work are the architects of our current vulnerability. They inhabit a world of shadows and half-truths. They prefer the comfort of the lie to the terror of the truth. Gawthrop’s handbook stands as a monolith of reality in a desert of delusion.

The 2nd Edition arrives at a moment of maximum danger. The borders are porous. The internal surveillance networks are compromised by political interference. The intelligence analyst stands alone on the ramparts. This book is the heavy artillery required to hold the line. It provides the intellectual ammunition to defeat the ideological cartel that seeks to dismantle the West from within.

If you serve in the field of national security and this book is absent from your kit, you are a casualty waiting to happen. You operate with a blindfold in a minefield. Dr. Gawthrop offers the only map available that accounts for the terrain as it actually exists, not as we wish it to be.

The handbook demands action. It demands a purge of the incompetent and a promotion of the vigilant. It is a call to arms for the analytical mind.

  • Read it to understand the enemy.
  • Study it to predict their strikes.
  • Apply it to ensure their total defeat.

The time for debate expired long ago. The era of the executioner begins. This handbook is the blade.

The Criminal Investigator/Intelligence Analyst’s Handbook of Islam, 2nd Edition, is the most vital document produced for the security sector in the last twenty-five years. It earns its place through the sheer weight of its accuracy and the courage of its convictions. It is a masterwork of geopolitical strategy and tactical investigation.

1.    It identifies the enemy without hesitation.

2.    It decodes the motivation with surgical precision.

3.    It provides the tools for total neutralization.

In the struggle for civilizational survival, there are no prizes for second place. There is only victory or annihilation. Gawthrop chooses victory. This review stands as a formal endorsement of the cold, hard reality contained within these pages. Ignore this text at the peril of the nation. Embrace it, and secure the future with an iron grip.

©2026 . All rights reserved.

Click here to order your copy of Criminal Investigator-Intelligence For the Frontline Analysts

Hills Democrats Choose to Die On

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It is time to understand just how far the Democrat Party has fallen in discrace.

Here’s a list that may help you understand what hills they have chosen to die on:

  • Defund the police and replace them with social workers
  • Force social engineering onto our military e.g. CRT/DEI/Climate Change/LGBTQ , etc. rather than combat readiness and deployability (fortunately Trump and Hegseth are whittling away at these but they still exist)
  • Invasion of our borders by illegal aliens (again Trump and ICE are chipping away at this)
  • Lawfare & Injustice by leftist Judges including injunctions against everything Trump does
  • School Districts/Boards more into indoctrination than education of children
  • Men in women’s sports
  • Mutilation of children declared to have gender dysphoria with sex change procedures
  • Denigration of both Christianity and Judaism replacement with secular humanism/atheism
  • Decline of Biblical morals and values
  • Continued emphasis on U.S. as a systemic racist country and use of “revisionist history; to try to destroy American Exceptionalism with lies about white supremacy; white privilege; racism”, etc.
  • Abortion on demand
  • Criminals like narco terrorists should be protected; provided due process, not stopped or killed as necessary
  • No SAVE Act, No Voter ID or proof of citizenship to vote
  • Eliminate the Electoral College so that only big blue cities will dominate POTUS elections.
  • Count illegal aliens in census
  • Stack the SCOTUS with more leftist Justices
  • Make D.C. and Pureto Rico states to gain 4 new Democrat Senators
  • Replace our energy needs provided by fossil fuels with alternative sources like wind
    mills, solar farms, etc (which will never provide even close to our needs).
  • Use violence against political opponents
  • Hate Christains and Jews

All of above amount to Trump Derangement Syndrome, and so forth — what did I miss?

Here’s a Partial Deep State List

Obama
Soros
Kerry
Lynch
Holder
The Clintons
Mueller – he’s DEAD
McCabe
Comey
Ohr
Strzok
Page
Clapper
Brennan
Hayden
McRaven
Betraeus
Fauci
Walz
Ellison
Frey
Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg, Warren Buffett, Pierre Omidyar, Tom Steyer and George Soros’s own son, Jonathan — are major funders of the left. Together, they have contributed at
least $2.7 billion since 2000 to groups pushing abortion, gun control, climate change alarmism and liberal candidates.

©2026 All rights reserved.

RELATED ARTICLE: Soros Clones: 5 Liberal Mega-Donors Nearly as Dangerous as George Soros

Illegals Killed 13,000 Americans, That’s 64% of All Murder Cases — 660,000 Illegals with Criminal Records

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The Department of Homeland Security knows of at least 660,000 illegal immigrants in the U.S. with criminal records, including 13,000 convicted killers, nearly 16,000 sex assault convicts and 56,000 involved with dangerous drugs.

Illegal immigrants killed 13,000 Americans in 2024.

The total number of murder cases in the US in 2024 was 20,162.

That’s 64% of all murder cases.

And the Democrats want to abolish ICE.

And all in the name of the Democrats’ desire to win the election

The figure of roughly 13,000 homicides often cited in discussions about illegal immigrants stems from data released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in September 2024.

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sexual assault, murder convictions in US: ICE data

ICE provided the new data to lawmakers this week

By Adam Shaw, Fox News, September 27, 2024:

Tom Homan on illegal immigrants charged with child sex crimes: There is no vetting process
Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sex offenses and homicide convictions could be loose on the streets, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data provided to lawmakers this week.

The agency provided data to Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, about national data for illegal immigrants with criminal charges or convictions. The data, as of July 2024, is broken down by those in detention, and those who are not in detention — known as the non-detained docket. The non-detained docket includes illegal immigrants who have final orders of removal or are going through removal proceedings but are not detained in ICE custody. There are currently more than 7 million people on that docket.

The data says that, among those not in detention, there are 425,431 convicted criminals and 222,141 with pending criminal charges.

Those include 62,231 convicted of assault, 14,301 convicted of burglary, 56,533 with drug convictions and 13,099 convicted of homicide. An additional 2,521 have kidnapping convictions and 15,811 have sexual assault convictions.

There are an additional 1,845 with pending homicide charges, 42,915 with assault charges, 3,266 with burglary charges and 4,250 with assault charges.

“As of July 21, 2024, there were 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories on ICE’s national docket—13,099 criminally convicted MURDERS!” Gonzales said in a statement. “Americans deserve to be SAFE in our own communities.”

In a statement accompanying the latter, ICE took aim at so-called “sanctuary” cities, which refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement in deporting illegal immigrant criminals.

“ICE recognizes that some jurisdictions are concerned that cooperating with federal immigration officials will erode trust with immigrant communities and make it harder for local law enforcement to serve those populations. However, ‘sanctuary’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victimize those same communities,” it said.

It also stressed DHS’ efforts to remove illegal immigrants: “From mid-May 2023 through the end of July 2024, DHS removed or returned more than 893,600 individuals, including more than 138,300 individuals in family units. The majority of all individuals encountered at the Southwest Border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled.”

The Biden administration came under fire for releasing many migrants who came to the U.S. border into the interior, which coincided with a sharp drop in deportations as it focused on prioritizing public safety and national security threats. There were 142,580 removals in FY 23, up considerably from 72,177 in FY 22 and 59,011 in FY 21, but still down from the highs of 267,258 under the Trump administration in FY 19.

The number of illegal immigrants on the non-detained docket, meanwhile, has soared from 3.7 million in FY 2021 to nearly 4.8 million in FY 2022 to over 7 million in FY 2023.

Republicans have blamed the border crisis on the policies of the administration, including rolling back Trump policies that limited “catch and release.”

“It may be shocking to hear that the Biden-Harris administration is actively releasing tens of thousands of criminal illegal aliens into our communities, but their own numbers conclusively prove this to be the case. This defies all common sense,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green told Fox News Digital. “Under President Biden and his ‘border czar,’ Vice President Harris, DHS law enforcement has been directed to mass-release illegal aliens whom they know have criminal convictions or are facing charges for serious crimes—and these dangerous, destructive individuals are making their way into every city and state in this country. How many more Americans need to die or be victimized before this administration is forced to abide by the laws they swore to uphold? This is madness. It is something no civilized, well-functioning society should tolerate.”

“The data goes back decades; it includes individuals who entered the country over the past 40 years or more, the vast majority of whose custody determination was made long before this Administration,” a spokesperson said. “It also includes many who are under the jurisdiction or currently incarcerated by federal, state or local law enforcement partners.”

The administration has said it needs more funding and reforms from Congress to fix a “broken” immigration system, including via a bipartisan Senate bill introduced this year – which has been rejected by Republicans. It has also pointed to a sharp drop in arrivals since President Biden signed an executive order limiting asylum at the border in June. DHS also said it has removed over 180,000 noncitizens with criminal convictions since Jan. 2021.

“Despite the challenges of operating within a broken immigration system, and in the face of an enormous workload and consistently limited funding, DHS continues to enforce the law to secure our borders,” DHS said in its letter.

That bill would increase the number of ICE detention beds, but critics of the administration have pointed to numbers showing not all beds are being filled currently.

The data’s release comes as Vice President Kamala Harris visits the southern border in Arizona as she seeks to blunt criticism from former President Trump on the matter, and renew her call for the bipartisan border bill. Conservatives were not swayed by the visit.

“Border Czar Kamala Harris has had nearly four years to protect America and failed,” RJ Hauman, president of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE), told Fox News Digital in response to the data. “She is allowing tens of thousands of murderers and rapists to roam free. She puts criminals first and the safety and security of you and your family last.”

Washington Times

15,000 killers, 20,000 sexual assault convicts, 60,000 robbers among illegal immigrants at large

Thousands of other migrants have been charged but not yet convicted of those and other crimes.

They are part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “non-detained docket,” a list of more than 7 million illegal immigrants that ICE is supposed to be monitoring as they are awaiting final deportation decisions or, in some cases, are fugitives who are refusing to go.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

POSTS ON X:

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

The Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act Authorizes the Sinking of Drug Boats

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Even Chuck Schumer voted “Yes” for the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act of 1986 authorizing the military to fire on drug smuggling boats. The House approved it 392-16 and Senate approved it 97-2.

The Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act (MDLEA), implemented in 1986 by the United States, is a piece of legislation combatting the illegal drug trade.

The MDLEA establishes that it is illegal for anyone on board a vessel belonging to the United States or within their jurisdiction to deliberately produce or disseminate psychotropic substances. The Act is notable for its extraterritorial jurisdiction and its lack of nexus requirement.

The Act provides that the United States jurisdiction reaches any vessel “registered in a foreign nation where the flag nation has consented or waived objection to the enforcement of the United States law by the United States.” In recent years the MDLEA has been met with controversy as it permits the military the authority to reach and imprison drug traffickers or stop them by any means who are operating over international waters and foreign citizens who are not located on board the watercraft but operating overseas or as a conspirator.

©2026 . All rights reserved.

“The Worst of the Worst”

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Did you know there is a website detailing the crimes committed by violent illegals — criminals Democrats are fighting to keep in this country.

Democrats are going to war to keep violent illegal criminals in this country—so much so that DHS build a website just to document the damage.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is highlighting the worst of worst criminal aliens arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Under DHS leadership, the hardworking men and women of DHS and ICE are fulfilling President Trump’s promise and carrying out mass deportations – starting with the worst of the worst — including the illegal aliens you see here.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) highlighted some of the worst of the worst criminals arrested by our brave DHS law enforcement this year.

For the last 11 months, the men and women of ICE have been under constant attack by sanctuary politicians, radical activists, and mainstream media lies. They have risked their lives and safety to remove murderers, rapists, gang members, drug traffickers, pedophiles, and terrorists from American communities.

“Americans can be proud of DHS law enforcement who worked around the clock this year to remove the worst of the worst from American neighborhoods. Our law enforcement has put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, criminals are not welcome in the U.S. If you come to our country and break our laws, we will find you, arrest you, and deport you.”

Here are some of the worst examples of criminal illegal aliens arrested over the course of the year:

Olvin Rodriguez-Inestroza, a sexual predator and illegal alien from Honduras, whose criminal history includes active warrants for 394 counts of pornography involving juveniles and 2 counts of sexual abuse of an animal.

Diego Barron-Esquivel, a violent criminal illegal alien from Mexico, who had been constantly harassing his spouse. His criminal history includes arrests for multiple counts of domestic battery, multiple counts of violation of protection order, criminal damage to property, aggravated robbery, felony theft, transporting an open container, criminal restraint, possession of drug paraphernalia, and improper use of an automobile. In December, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for one count of forcible assault on a federal officer, after he violently punched an ICE officer and attempted to strangle the officer with his own badge cord.

Jaan Shah Safi, an Afghan national who entered the United States under Joe Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome.” He provided support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan (ISIS-K), and his father is a commander of a militia group in Afghanistan. He was arrested in Waynesboro, Virginia in December.

Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto, an illegal alien from Honduras and a leader of MS-13 also known as “Fantasma,” wanted in his home country for a quadruple homicide. He is allegedly a member of an assassination squad in Honduras. After being charged with firearms charges in Honduras in 2022, he allegedly bribed his way out of jail, and then illegally entered the United States the same year.

Jose Alfredo Uzeta, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, who operated a dental clinic and performed dental procedures on patients despite not having a valid license for more than 20 years. His clinic was uncovered after one of his former patients reported that he inappropriately touched and groped her during a procedure. He was convicted of dentistry act violation and indecent assault in Harris County, Texas.

Rafael Alberto Cadena-Sosa, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, who participated in a sex-trafficking ring in Miami, Florida. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Cadena and his family members ran a sex-trafficking operation where they would approach women and girls – some as young as 14 – in Veracruz, Mexico, and lure them to the United States under false promises of jobs. After smuggling them into the U.S., Cadena and his family members imposed a smuggling debt and used brutal physical force and violence, sexual assaults, and threats of death and bodily harm to their victims and their families to compel the victims to engage in prostitution 12 hours a day, six days a week. Cadena accepted a plea deal and was convicted of involuntary servitude in 2015. He was arrested by ICE Los Angeles in San Pedro, California.

Antonio Israel Lazo-Quintanilla, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador and a confirmed member of the 18th Street Gang, a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). He is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide, extortion, possession of drugs, and a litany of other felonies, and he was on El Salvador’s most wanted gang members’ list. He was arrested by ICE in March.

Walter Leonel Perez Rodriguez, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, whose criminal history includes convictions for sexual assault of a child under 17-years-old, multiple DUIs, child fondling, and illegally re-entering the United States. When ICE conducted an enforcement operation in November to arrest Rodriguez, he brutally beat an ICE officer with a metal coffee cup, causing a severe laceration to the officer’s mouth and burns to the officer’s face.

Thao Van Cao, a criminal illegal alien from Vietnam and confirmed member of the Asian Cheap Boy criminal gang, convicted 25 times for crimes including flight to avoid prosecution, possession-controlled substance, second degree robbery, cruelty toward the elderly, arson property, take vehicle without consent, and theft in California.

Aldrin Guerrero-Munoz, a criminal illegal alien in Minneapolis, Minnesota who was sentenced in 2004 to 32 years in prison for the intentional murder of his 3-month-old son. While incarcerated, he was convicted for assaulting a fellow inmate at Stillwater Prison. ICE lodged a detainer and received custody of him on October 20, 2025, to finally remove him from the country.

Jung Choi, a criminal illegal alien from South Korea, who was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years in prison. In 2017, Choi and a male companion, Sang Ji, murdered Ji’s wife Yoon “Clara Ji” and buried her body in a ravine near San Juan Batista, California.

Jonatan Monzon-Olivares, a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala, with 38 prior arrests and 15 convictions, including sexual assault, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, possession of stolen property, and obstructing justice.

Alejandro Lima-Ramirez, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico and member of the Florencia 13 Street gang. His criminal history includes 24 arrests and 16 convictions, including drug trafficking, robbery, fraud, and carrying a concealed weapon.

Michael Kabiona, a criminal illegal alien from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who was convicted in 2015 for sexual conduct against a child. According to the Erie County, New York Prosecutors Office, he “repeatedly raped and sodomized his stepdaughter over a two-year period, starting when she was just 9 years old.”

Pedro Luis Ortiz-Mendez (left) and Jose Vicente Ortiz-Mendez (right), criminal illegal alien brothers from Mexico, wanted for multiple murders in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The murders occurred on May 24, 2024, at a patron saint festival – at least one victim was shot, and another was attacked with a machete.

Yehia Elham Badawi, a 48-year-old criminal illegal alien from Egypt with an extensive rap sheet including robbery, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, criminal attempt, criminal conspiracy, possession of an instrument with criminal intent, simple assault, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property, stemming from a 1994 shootout that left a Philadelphia police officer seriously wounded.

Read more of the Worst of the Worst.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

 

WATCH: Colombia’s Sweet Strategy to Defeat the Cocaine Trade

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MIAMI—Colombian officials are working to eliminate the nation’s illicit cocaine trade and replace it with chocolate.

“We say to the world, ‘Please buy cocoa, not coca,’” Defense Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez told The Daily Signal at the Miami Security Forum.

Thousands of acres of farmland in Colombia have been converted from growing coca crops, the plant used to produce cocaine, to planting cocoa trees.

Colombia is the world’s largest supplier of cocaine. Because so many people are dependent upon the cocaine economy, it is “necessary to change the economy, to replace the economy” rather than shutting it down, he said.

The drug crisis requires a “comprehensive” strategy, according to Sanchez, which includes “fighting the terrorist groups,” referring to the criminal drug cartels.

On average, Colombian authorities are engaged in a “combat” situation against the cartels every 20 hours, and the South American nation is destroying cocaine-related infrastructure every 40 minutes, the defense minister said.

“We have a strong relationship in terms of security with the United States, but I think that it is necessary to move faster” to combat the cartels, Sanchez said.

Cocaine production has increased in recent years in Colombia, with production capacity more than doubling, Australia’s Charles Sturt University reported in 2025.

President Donald Trump met with Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the White House in early February, and the two leaders discussed counternarcotics. Sanchez was present during the meeting and said the two parties concluded that it is “necessary to join more closely to defeat a common enemy.”

Cocaine remains one of the most popular drugs for smuggling into the United States, behind methamphetamine and marijuana, according to Customs and Border Protection. In fiscal year 2025, CBP said it apprehended more than 70,000 pounds of cocaine, up from about 68,000 in 2024.

Drug overdose deaths, primarily involving stimulants like cocaine and psychostimulants, “have increased substantially in the United States since 2011,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. “The number of overdose deaths involving cocaine increased from 4,681 in 2011 to 29,449 in 2023.”

The Trump administration has taken an aggressive approach to combating the illegal drug trade, including striking alleged drug boats in the Pacific and Caribbean, some of which have reportedly been Colombian drug boats.

Colombia shares intelligence with the U.S. and other Caribbean nations for drug interdiction, Sanchez explained. Trump has said to “move” to defeat the criminal drug cartels, the defense minister said, and Colombia is “ready to do that.”

AUTHOR

Virginia Allen

Virginia Allen is a senior news producer for The Daily Signal and host of “The Daily Signal Podcast” and “Problematic Women.” Send an email to Virginia. Virginia on X: .

RELATED POSTS:

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State of Alaska Under Biden vs. Trump

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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A Gourmet Leftist Flotilla for the Cuban Socialist Tyranny

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Last February, I warned that an international brigade intended to save Cuba. Was that why Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, told NBC that the Castroist army was preparing for an attack?

Nothing of the sort. It was merely a contingent from the international Left — one that was simply going to pat dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel on the back. It comprised figures who once floated in the upper echelons of European politics — such as Britain’s Jeremy Corbyn and former Spanish Vice President Pablo Iglesias — down to “Champagne Socialists” like influencer Hasan Piker and the Irish rap group Kneecap. Also accompanying the group were well-known pro-Castro opinion leaders from the United States — such as Danny Valdés, co-founder of Cuban Americans for Cuba — according to leftist media outlets.

The group members arrived on a comfortable charter flight and toured Havana in electric cars, guided by government officials. They strolled through hospitals and schools — where they failed to ask a single doctor or child they encountered whether they had food at home — and ended up at a concert in the middle of the El Vedado neighborhood, jumping and singing, while not far away, more than a thousand political prisoners remained incarcerated.

In less than a week, the island has experienced two nationwide blackouts. This is something the “friends of the proletariat” likely didn’t even notice, since the Aston and Meliá Habana hotels — where they were staying — were, at one point, the only spots in the capital with electricity, as reported by commentator Agustín Antonetti.

Outside, to ensure they wouldn’t be disturbed by the noise of the nightly protests — during which Cubans demand freedom — the political police maintained a heavy security presence.

In this adult theme park into which the global Left has transformed Cuba — walking right over the bones and hunger of millions of Cubans spanning generations — the “Nuestra América” flotilla has become an object of scorn and mockery.

At another point during their “ideological tourism” itinerary, participants in the flotilla marched down Havana’s bustling San Lázaro Street, shouting revolutionary slogans — a street now dutifully and surgically illuminated so that the visitors could engage in their anti-imperialist cosplay. The Castro regime — facing a populace now utterly disillusioned — brings in foreign legions to march on its behalf.

In addition to providing a facelift for the regime, members of the flotilla were filmed asking children to dance in exchange for sweet cookies on a street in the capital. Let no one forget how, amidst repression and destitution, a contingent of the international Left went there to mock our children and to applaud the very tyrant who starves them!

Indignant reactions from Cubans on social media were swift and immediate. Two of these responses encapsulate my own sentiments as a Cuban who endured the rigors of socialism — and who remains in exile today precisely because of the tyranny that this “gourmet Left” now applauds.

Writer Zoe Valdés, an exile living in Paris, criticized the contingent’s “solidarity” theater in a poignant post. “They were paid for first-class tickets; they were provided with aircraft reserved exclusively for them. They utilized air and ground transportation that consumes gasoline, while Cubans survive amidst blackouts, cooking with firewood and charcoal,” she wrote. “They were lodged in five-star hotels, while infants and the elderly die in hospitals shrouded in darkness. The blame lies solely with the blockade imposed by that 67-year-old tyranny — a regime that imprisons and executes its own people. They were fed well; they were invited on a safari where poor, starving Cubans serve as their sideshow curiosities.”

For Valdés, the members of the flotilla ought to feel ashamed, “for they will not remain to offer any real assistance; instead, they will return — bloated with ‘social-communism’ — to the comfortable capitalism that enables them to be so hypocritical and inconsistent.”

Meanwhile, Yoaxis Marcheco, an evangelical journalist exiled in the United States, highlighted the stark contrast: while the Cuban people “sink into the darkness of night, into hopelessness, into swarms of mosquitoes, into a Cuba where only garbage abounds,” and where “there is no fuel to light homes, nor for hospitals, nor for transportation,” resources are available for propaganda — “for the farce of hosting a gaggle of leftist foreigners and putting on a spectacle of lights, transport, and food.”

For Marcheco, “it is imperative that a miracle put an end to this senile tyranny — that it wipe it from the face of the earth. Light must reach the Cuban people with urgency; once that miracle occurs, we must keep this plague of stale leftism at bay, wherever it may come from. We must drive it away forever, for our agony has lasted far too long.”

AUTHOR

Yoe Suarez

Yoe Suárez is an exiled journalist, writer, and producer who investigated in Havana about torture, political police, gangs, government black lists, and cybersurveillance. A graduate of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, he was a CBN correspondent, and has written for outlets like The Hill and Newsweek. He has appeared on Vox, Univision, and Deutsche Welle as an analyst on Cuba, security, and U.S. foreign policy.

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2026 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

Cuba’s Power Grid Collapses As Trump Pressures Communist Regime

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Cuba’s entire electrical grid failed Monday, leaving roughly 11 million people without power on the communist-ruled island as authorities began restoration efforts.

The country’s Ministry of Energy and Mines confirmed a total shutdown of the national power system in a post on X. The ministry later claimed microsystems were coming back online “in various territories” as officials worked to restore power.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday that the island had gone three months without a single oil delivery, The Associated Press (AP) reported. He added that the power grid was using solar energy, natural gas and thermoelectric plants and that government has also put tens of thousands of surgical procedures on hold.

The collapse came a week after another massive failure knocked out electricity across Cuba’s western provinces and left millions in the dark, the AP reported. (

Cubans have grown increasingly vocal in their frustration. Footage online showed residents across Havana and other cities taking to banging pots and pans in recent days in a form of protest known as a “cacerolazo,” CBS News reported. Power failures have also served as a catalyst for anti-government unrest on the island, with protests erupting in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

President Donald Trump’s administration has tightened its grip on Havana’s energy lifeline. Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 29 declaring a national emergency over Cuba and calling its government “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security, according to the White House. The order initially authorized tariffs against products from any nation supplying the island with oil. The Supreme Court later invalidated that tariff authority under IEEPA, forcing the administration to roll back the tariffs, but the national emergency designation remains in force, CiberCuba reported.

Venezuela, once Cuba’s primary oil supplier, stopped all shipments after U.S. forces arrested then-President Nicolás Maduro in early January, the AP reported. Cuba generates roughly 40% of its own petroleum but falls far short of meeting domestic demand while facing a degrading electricity grid.

Díaz-Canel confirmed Friday that Havana had opened talks with Washington. Earlier in 2026, a U.S. official told CBS News that Washington is not trying to topple Cuba’s government but instead wants its leadership to move away from one-party communist rule.

AUTHOR

Mark Tanos

Contributor

RELATED ARTICLE: Cuba Begs For American Exile Money As Communist Regime Faces Crisis

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Diplomatic Ruptures in Latin America with Castroism: Another Effect of the Donroe Doctrine

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Burning documents. That’s how diplomats from the Castro regime left Ecuador after President Daniel Noboa declared Ambassador Basilio Antonio Gutiérrez and 21 other officials persona non grata. He gave them 48 hours to leave Ecuadorian territory.

And shortly after the announcement, smoke began to billow from the roof of the Cuban embassy. Neighbors complained about the smoke, according to local reports. The last image of the diplomatic headquarters in Quito, which went viral in the press, shows a man burning documents in front of a metal structure.

Was Gutiérrez hiding close ties with members of the Ecuadorian leftist political group known as RC5, a frequent defender of the communist regime in Cuba? Were there any conversations during the multiple meetings with legislators like Héctor Rodríguez and Liliana Durán, supporters of former President Rafael Correa, a fugitive from justice?

Cuban embassies have historically served as a contact center for Castro’s intelligence services, and their ambassadors are generally high-ranking officials within those military structures. This role they still maintain.

It is no coincidence that Fidel Castro invested so much in expanding the Revolution’s diplomatic network through diplomatic missions and the so-called “solidarity groups with Cuba,” which are proliferating in almost every corner of the planet.

For the moment, the Daniel Noboa government has not offered any explanation for the expulsion, but the measure comes just days before the president is scheduled to travel to the United States to participate in a summit of Latin American presidents with Donald Trump.

Starting in 2025, the region’s alignment with the White House’s foreign policy, rebranded as the Donroe Doctrine, has politically drawn Noboa and his cabinet into this alliance.

Last November, it came as no surprise when the president of Ecuador confirmed that the Armed Forces were conducting operations against illegal mining, which generally fuels the cartels, in the north of the country.

Spectacular images circulated on social media of cannon fire against mountains that billowed smoke in the distance, in the Andean province of Imbabura. There were arrests, including a member of the Oliver Sinisterra Front, a dissident group from the former socialist guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

That alliance has recently been strengthened by another development. Last week, military personnel from Ecuador and the United States began joint operations in an attempt to combat organized crime groups and ensure security in the region.

U.S. Southern Command stated on X that it “is actively working with social partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat narco-terrorism,” and that “collaborative efforts, such as the current operations between Ecuador and the United States” against such organizations, “are essential to ensuring security and stability in the Western Hemisphere and protecting the homeland.”

In that context, the expulsion of the Cuban ambassador from Quito is entirely understandable. Trump has further tightened the noose around Castroism since capturing Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro this January, thus cutting off the island’s constant supply of oil at preferential prices.

“Cuba’s going to fall,” he said in a recent interview with Politico.

In November 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Carlos Zamora, Cuba’s ambassador to Peru, had to leave the country permanently. The measure was announced after a meeting with Deputy Minister Félix Denegri Boza, who summoned him to discuss matters related to his administration.

Zamora, known as “El Gallo” (The Rooster), has served in the Castro regime’s foreign service for over five decades. According to the newspaper Infobae, he “joined Cuba’s intelligence structure in 1968 and subsequently represented his country in various nations of the region,” in the embassies of Ecuador, Panama, Brazil, El Salvador, and Bolivia.

In December 2021, he had been accredited as ambassador to Peru during the administration of then-leftist President Pedro Castillo, who is imprisoned for an attempted coup. Former Cuban agents, such as Enrique García, warned at that time that Zamora and his wife, Maura Juampere Pérez, held the rank of colonel in Cuba’s Directorate of Intelligence.

Although shrouded in secrecy, Zamora’s departure once again supported Washington’s policy of diplomatic isolation and weakening of the socialist regime.

When consulted for this article, Peruvian congresswoman Milagros Aguayo stated that Zamora was asked to leave the country “because of his constant interference in national politics.”

Whatever the reason, Havana is clearly not at its most popular in the region, where refreshing winds from the right are blowing to dispel old political clouds.

AUTHOR

Yoe Suarez

Yoe Suárez is a writer, producer, and journalist, exiled from Cuba due to his investigative reporting about themes like torture, political prisoners, government black lists, cybersurveillance, and freedom of expression and conscience. He is the author of the books “Leviathan: Political Police and Socialist Terror” and “El Soplo del Demonio: Violence and Gangsterism in Havana.”

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2026 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

How Is a Free Cuba in the National Interest of the United States?

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The phrase “America First” has been a recognizable rallying cry of the citizen and political movement that brought President Donald Trump to the White House twice. The America First Policy Institute believes that a foreign policy approach that prioritizes the United States is based on the idea that when the United States puts the security, prosperity, and general well-being of its people first, it is better positioned to lead the world and preserve peace and stability.

This last element dispels the widespread notion that an “America First” foreign policy would mean isolationism. The operation to remove dictator Nicolás Maduro and the beginning of a transition to democracy in Venezuela, or the weakening of the Iranian nuclear program, are key to achieving a robust peace under U.S. hegemony.

Now, after these two international successes, the focus seems to be on Cuba, the oldest totalitarian regime in the West. Just 90 miles from the Florida Keys, Havana transformed the island from one of the closest allies in Hispanic America into a hub of anti-American propaganda in the heart of the continent since 1959.

Furthermore, the Castro regime made Cuba available to terrorist groups from Europe, Central and South America, and even some operating within the United States. On the other hand, it provided diplomatic and military support to anti-American regimes in Africa and Asia. It’s no wonder that it earned a place on the list of state sponsors of terrorism in 1982, with brief interruptions during the Democratic administrations of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

A free Cuba, once again aligned with the West and an ally of Washington, would leave a much safer neighborhood for the United States. One without Chinese radar bases pointed at its territory, like those denounced in the international press a few years ago.

To imagine this possible future, it is helpful to understand what past relations between Cuba and the United States were like. Yuleisy Mena, an adjunct professor at Florida International University, recalls that the relationship, not only commercial but also guided by geopolitical pragmatism, dates back to the 19th century. An example was the Spanish-American War of 1898, which marked a period in which islanders and Americans took up arms together.

“Many Americans wanted to help Cuba, knowing the horrors committed by the Spanish military officer Valeriano Weyler against the rural population; but also because many Cubans and Americans wanted to rid themselves of the domination of European empires in the hemisphere — something key to the Monroe Doctrine — and they also had an interest in Cuba becoming a republic for pragmatic and ideological reasons,” Mena explained to me.

During the republican period, Cuba was a strategic ally in Latin America. That is, until 1959, when Cuba fully entered the Cold War, but on the Soviet side. That tension has not yet subsided, and Professor Mena believes that Castroism still poses a danger to the United States, especially regarding espionage. “These individuals are present in various industries and sectors of society,” she states, “and they can be of Cuban or American origin; they simply have to sympathize with Marxism in its political or cultural forms.”

In economic terms, to summarize, the U.S. was Cuba’s main trading partner between 1902 and 1958; sugar dominated bilateral trade; and U.S. investments had a structural weight in key sectors of the island’s economy.

On the other hand, there are always risks for a post-Castro Cuba, based on understanding and evaluating the available data. Professor Emeritus Octavio de la Suarée of William Paterson University believes that “one of the ills that has always been attributed to Cubans is the Hispanic legacy of caudillismo, that is, the figure of an all-powerful leader.” That tradition, he recalls, stretches from the monarchy to the dictatorships of Latin American strongmen after the successive independence movements of the early 19th century, and on to the political processes of the 21st century.

Suarée, who is also president of the Cuban Academy of History in Exile, asserts that the communist indoctrination received by the Cuban population from 1959 to the present “requires a good dose of freedom and democracy, which cannot be learned overnight.” He fears that a people “accustomed to the government thinking for them may not be prepared to think for themselves.”

First, Suarée argues, it will be necessary to educate the Cuban people about the meaning of freedom, human rights, and democracy, and their importance, so they can vote consciously in free elections and exercise the right that has been denied them for so long.

And that is also fundamental, he asserts, to enjoying a good relationship with the United States. “We had a history as an independent nation during the Republic (between 1902 and 1958), and we could enjoy it again,” according to the Cuban-American historian. But to achieve this, he believes it is essential to first build citizens who can create and sustain it. “We have a lot to learn.”

“Let us remember that the United States is great because it enjoys basic institutions established from its beginnings; we never had them. Can we build them now?” he asks. “To be free, we need to create a civic-minded and responsible Cuban citizen, one who knows how to respect others, without mockery or boasting, a hard worker, dedicated, and respectful. Is that possible?”

Optimistic, Suarée reflects that Cubans have always risen to the challenge of adversity, fought hard, and triumphed. “And they will do so again.” And in this New Cuba, “relations with the United States will once again be cordial,” for the benefit of both nations and for the security and peace of the Western Hemisphere.

AUTHOR

Yoe Suarez

Yoe Suárez is a writer, producer, and journalist, exiled from Cuba due to his investigative reporting about themes like torture, political prisoners, government black lists, cybersurveillance, and freedom of expression and conscience. He is the author of the books “Leviathan: Political Police and Socialist Terror” and “El Soplo del Demonio: Violence and Gangsterism in Havana.”

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2026 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.