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Mexico rejects Trump’s reported military plan against Latin American drug cartels

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Mexico has said US military would not be entering its territory following reports that President Donald Trump had directed the Pentagon to target Latin American drug cartels.

“The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday. “We co-operate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out.”

The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump had secretly signed a directive to begin using military force on foreign soil.

In a statement to the BBC, the White House did not address the directive but said that Trump’s “top priority is protecting the homeland”.

The reported directive appears to follow an executive order signed by Trump earlier this year formally designating eight drug cartels as terrorist entities – six of which are Mexican.

Speaking to reporters, Sheinbaum said the Mexican government was informed that an order on the cartels was coming, and “that it had nothing to do with the participation of any military personnel”.

“It is not part of any agreement, far from it. When it has been brought up, we have always said ‘No’,” she said.

Earlier this year, Sheinbaum told reporters that Trump’s decision to designate cartels as terrorists “cannot be an opportunity for the US to invade our sovereignty”.

On Thursday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the designation would help the US target cartels, including through intelligence agencies and the Department of Defense.

“We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organisations, not simply drug dealing organisations,” Rubio said.

The New York Times report says the directive signed by Trump provides “an official basis for the possibility of direct military operations” against cartels, both at sea and on foreign soil.

In recent months, Mexico has worked with the US to curb the illegal flow of both migrants and drugs through the US-Mexico border.

June saw the lowest border crossings on record, according to data by the US Customs and Border Protections, and last week, US Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said fentanyl seizures at the border were down by over half.

In a post on X, Johnson celebrated the collaboration between Sheinbum and Trump, writing that their leadership had resulted in cartels “going bankrupt and our countries are safer because of it”.



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Charlie Kirk shooting: new video of suspect released by FBI amid urgent appeal for help from the public | Charlie Kirk shooting

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US officials have issued an urgent appeal for help from the public as they continue to search for the shooter of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, releasing new videos and photos from the scene of the attack in Utah.

More than 24 hours after Kirk was shot while speaking in front of thousands of people at a Utah university, the state’s governor, appearing alongside FBI director Kash Patel and other officials, said “we need as much help as we can possibly get.”

“We cannot do our job without the public’s help,” Utah’s governor, Spencer Cox said, adding that the FBI had received more than 7,000 leads and tips so far.

The newly released video showed a person wearing a hat, sunglasses and a long sleeve black shirt running across a roof, climbing off the edge of the building and dropping to the ground. The suspect is believed to have fled into the local neighbourhood after firing the one shot and has not yet been identified.

Investigators said they had obtained clues, including a palm print, a shoe impression and a high-powered hunting rifle found in a wooded area along the path the shooter fled. But they were yet to name a suspect or cite a motive in the killing.

This combination of image released by the FBI shows photos of a person of interest in the investigation into the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. Photograph: FBI/AFP/Getty Images

The direct appeals for public support at the night-time news conference, appeared to signal law enforcement’s continued struggles to identify the shooter and pinpoint the person’s whereabouts. Authorities didn’t take questions, and Patel did not speak at the news conference. The FBI is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person.

The death of Kirk – a close ally of President Donald Trump – has drawn renewed attention to the escalating threat of political violence in the United States which, in the last several years, has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation from political leaders.

In appealing for information, Cox said on Thursday, “there is a tremendous amount of disinformation” online.

“Our adversaries want violence,” Cox said. “We have bots from Russia, China, all over the world that are trying to instil disinformation and encourage violence. I would encourage you to ignore those, to turn off those streams.”

Cox also pledged to find the killer and pursue the death penalty.

Kirk’s casket arrived in his home state of Arizona aboard Air Force Two, accompanied by vice-president JD Vance. Vance’s wife, Usha, stepped off the plane with Kirk’s widow, Erika.

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Vance helped carry Kirk’s casket with a group of uniformed service members as it was loaded on to the plane. Kirk’s conservative youth organisation, Turning Point USA, was based in Phoenix.

“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote on social media, referencing Kirk’s role in getting Donald Trump elected last year. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”

Kirk was a provocateur and a divisive figure who is credited with helping bring young people, especially men, into the US president’s Make America Great Again (Maga) movement.

In a statement on Thursday, TPUSA wrote: “All of us have lost a leader, a mentor, and a friend. Above all, our hearts are with Erika and their two children. Charlie was the ideal husband and the perfect father. Above all else, we ask you to pray for the Kirks after the incomprehensible loss they have suffered.”

Kirk’s killing drew bipartisan condemnation of the rise in political violence in the US.

Trump, who said he would award the Medal of Freedom posthumously to Kirk, spoke to Kirk’s wife on Thursday.

He said that authorities were making “big progress” towards tracking down the suspect and that in regards to a motive, he has an “indication … but we’ll let you know about that later”.

Just hours after Kirk had been declared dead after being rushed to a nearby hospital on Wednesday, Trump delivered a video message from the Oval Office, vowing to track down the suspect.

A photo of Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA who was shot and killed, stands at his vigil. Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP

“My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it,” Trump said.

One day after his inflammatory address, blaming “the radical left” for Kirk’s death, Trump appeared to strike a more conciliatory tone, agreeing with a suggestion from a reporter that his supporters should not respond with violence.

The White House quickly posted the exchange on social media, perhaps hoping to tamp down anger that has already spilled into violence, with the beating of a critic of Kirk in Boise, Idaho, during a vigil on Wednesday night.

Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska who is retiring after this term, told NBC News that he wished Trump would unite the country after the shooting, “but he’s a populist, and populists dwell on anger”.

“I have to remind people, we had Democrats killed in Minnesota too, right?” Bacon added, in reference to the murder of Minnesota’s former house speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in June by a gunman with a hitlist of 45 people, all Democrats.

With Reuters and the Associated Press



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Packers defeat Commanders, 27-18, on Thursday Night Football

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Packers dispatch Commanders 27-18, improve to 2-0

Parsons blew through a Josh Conerly Jr. block and Jeremy McNichols chip to flush Daniels from the pocket and into a 1-yard run. Washington responded with an 11-yard pass to McLaurin on third-and-9 and a Zach Ertz score off a 20-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-10 Packers with 13:45 remaining.

Green Bay opened with an 11-yard pass to Wicks on an out after coming across in motion. A holding penalty on Marshon Lattimore moved Green Bay across midfield.

On third-and-6, Kraft fought through illegal contact by Commanders safety Will Harris to pick up eight yards to the Washington 37 on a pass from Love.

Green Bay motioned Williams to the backfield on second-and-8 and he took a direct snap and ran the ball 16 yards to the Washington 19. Matthew Golden gained nine yards on a sweep on the next play.

On first-and-goal, Washington bit hard on the play fake to Jacobs and Kraft came free for an 8-yard touchdown to make it 24-10 Packers with 8:57 remaining.

Green Bay’s defense got a four-and-out on its next stand with Quay Walker hitting Daniels on third-and-4 to force and incompletion and Nixon getting his fourth breakup of the evening to give the offense the ball back at the Washington 41.

The Packers picked up two yards on a Jacobs run before McManus made a 56-yard field goal to push Green Bay’s lead to 27-10 with 6:42 remaining. That field goal ties Mason Crosby for longest make in a regular-season game by a Packers player.

Washington moved the ball down the field while Green Bay was playing prevent on its next series, with Nixon registering his fifth breakup.

The Commanders reached the end zone on a 10-yard slant to Samuel for a touchdown with 2:53 left. Daniels converted the two-point conversion with a pass to Luke McCaffrey, cutting the Packers’ lead to 27-18.

Wicks recovered the onside kick at the Green Bay 48. Love was sacked for a 13-yard loss on second down and Jacobs gained 10 back on third-and-21 as the game reached the two-minute warning.

Washington took over at its 20 with 1:47 remaining and no timeouts. The Commanders gained 13 yards before turning the ball over on downs and the Packers kneeled out the win.



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Packers deliver statement win over Commanders behind Jordan Love, Micah Parsons, Tucker Kraft

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If the Packers used a Week 1 domination of the Lions as a major statement, they backed it up and then some in Week 2. The Packers (2-0) defeated the Commanders (1-1), 27-18, fueled by an explosive, efficient offense and a tremendous defense that seemed to move at a completely different speed than Washington’s offense.

Love finished with 292 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns, with six completions for 124 yards and a score going to Kraft. Micah Parsons officially recorded a half-sack, but his impact was much larger than that, and Green Bay sacked Jayden Daniels four times while smothering would-be pass catchers.

After a slow start — Jayden Reed’s shoulder injury being the main development — Green Bay’s offense got rolling on its second drive, fueled by a 57-yard completion from Love to Kraft after Kraft broke free down the middle. Love connected with Romeo Doubs for a 5-yard touchdown shortly thereafter.

Washington did not manage a single first down in the first quarter — a first since Daniels’ arrival — and Green Bay embarked on another long drive early in the second quarter, highlighted by a remarkable, twisting 37-yard catch from Malik Heath.

Josh Jacobs powered in from two yards out to make it 13-0. Commanders defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr. got carted off after trying to block the extra point (which was successful), adding to Washington’s woes. He was later ruled out with a quad injury.

Washington finally got on the board with a 51-yard Matt Gay field goal, but Gay missed a 58-yarder that could have cut the deficit further just before the half. But Green Bay’s Brandon McManus then doinked a 48-yard try as time expired.

Down 17-3 after a McManus field goal, Washington finally found the end zone via a 20-yard Zach Ertz catch-and-run. Green Bay answered, though, with another touchdown drive, this one capped by Love’s 8-yard touchdown toss to Kraft.

McManus nailed a 56-yard field goal shortly thereafter to extend the lead to three scores. Daniels found Deebo Samuel Sr. for a touchdown late, but it proved to be only window dressing — and a costly one at that: Austin Ekeler suffered a non-contact Achilles injury and was carted off the field.

Washington will hope to use the mini-bye to recuperate before hosting the Raiders in Week 3. Green Bay will hope to carry momentum over to a Week 3 visit to the Browns.





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