Arizona governor vetoes ‘Alien Invasion Act’ allowing police to arrest illegal border crossers
Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed a Republican-sponsored bill that would have authorized police to arrest illegal immigrants, saying the legislation was anti-immigrant and likely unconstitutional. The veto was criticized by Republicans who say the bill would have helped curb a plethora of crimes linked to illegal immigration in the Grand Canyon State. The bill, called the Arizona Border Invasion Act, would have made it a misdemeanor state crime for anyone to illegally cross the border at any location other than a lawful port of entry. It would also have made it a felony for illegal migrants who cross the border after being deported, as well as those who have been ordered to leave the state but refused to comply. Local, county and state law enforcement officers would have been granted authority to arrest such individuals. TEXAS WILL APPEAL RULING TO BLOCK LAW ALLOWING POLICE TO ARREST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, ABBOTT SAYS “Anti-immigrant legislation to score cheap political points has no place in our state,” Hobbs said in a video posted to X before she vetoed the bill. With narrow majorities in the state House and Senate, it’s unlikely Republicans would be able to get Democratic support for a veto override, which normally requires a two-thirds vote. “This bill does not secure our border. On the contrary, it will be harmful for businesses and communities in our state and a burden for law enforcement personnel,” said Hobbs, although she did not say how the bill would have negatively impacted businesses and communities. “I know there’s frustration about the federal government’s failure to secure our border, but this bill is not the solution.” Hobbs also said the bill would have potentially violated the U.S. Constitution, arguing that the federal government has the exclusive power to arrest and deport immigrants. Therefore, Hobbs said her veto would avoid a long and costly litigation effort involving the state. The move was slammed by Arizona Republicans, who said the border crisis has led to an abundance of criminal activity in the state’s communities. The bill was passed without any Democratic support. ARIZONA GOV. KATIE HOBBS VETOES A BILL BANNING FOOD TAX “From human smuggling to child sex trafficking, rapes, murders, drug trafficking, fentanyl overdoses, high-speed chases, subsequent deadly crashes, and other atrocities, local law enforcement personnel have reached their breaking point trying to protect the lives of our citizens from this invasion,” the Arizona Senate Republican Caucus said in a statement. “The heart-wrenching February 22 murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley happened at the hands of a criminal who entered our country illegally. Arizona families are being torn apart by similar devastation,” said Sen. Janae Shamp, who sponsored the bill. “Vetoing the Arizona Border Invasion Act is a prime example of the chaos Hobbs is unleashing in our state while perpetuating this open border crisis as Biden’s accomplice. Arizonans want and deserve safe communities.” Hobbs’ veto was her first of the 2024 legislative session, following a record-breaking 143 issued last year, thumping former Gov. Janet Napolitano’s single-year veto record of 58 in 2005. Hobbs took office in January 2023 after winning the gubernatorial election against Kari Lake, who never conceded her more than 17,000-vote defeat and repeatedly and unsuccessfully challenged the results in court. The Arizona Border Invasion Act mirrors Texas Senate Bill 4, which was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in December, making illegal immigration a state crime. SB 4 gives Texas authorities the ability to arrest anyone they believe has crossed into the U.S. illegally. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of enforcement of the law. Nearly 7.3 million migrants have illegally crossed the southwest border on President Biden’s watch, a number greater than the population of 36 individual states, a Fox News analysis has found.
Barrasso announces bid for GOP Senate whip amid leader speculation
Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, announced Tuesday he is seeking the number two position in Republican Senate leadership come November – the role of GOP whip. The role is currently occupied by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who is expected to announce a bid for the Republican leader to succeed outgoing Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. MITCH MCCONNELL STEPPING DOWN AS REPUBLICAN LEADER “I have had time to reflect on how I might best serve the Republican Conference and our country,” Barrasso said in a statement. “After a lot of thought, I will ask my colleagues for their support and help to work for them as the Assistant Republican Leader.” GOP SENATOR TARGETS FORCED ELECTRIC VEHICLE RENTALS His decision to seek the number two job comes as Barrasso was speculated to throw his hat in the ring for the leader position. As the race begins to take shape, the Wyoming Republican is considered an alternative choice for leader over more McConnell-aligned candidates. “John Barrasso is certainly one of the leadership candidates who cares a lot about where the broader conservative movement is,” said Sen. JD Vance, R–Ohio, in a recent interview with Punchbowl News. “But I don’t know that he actually wants to run.” Vance is notably often a part of the GOP faction opposed to McConnell and his leadership decisions. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is the only senator to have formally announced his candidacy to succeed McConnell. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Louisiana becomes nation’s 28th state with constitutional carry law on the books: ‘landmark victory’
Louisiana became the 28th state in the nation to enshrine into law the right of its residents to carry concealed firearms without a permit. “Today, we join 27 other states in passing Constitutional Carry. I promised the folks of Louisiana that I would champion Constitutional Carry into law, and within two months, I have honored that commitment,” Republican Gov. Jeff Landry told Fox News Digital. “It’s fundamentally clear — law-abiding citizens should never have to seek government permission to safeguard themselves and their families. Today, we have secured an incredible victory for liberty in Louisiana. I want to thank Louisiana’s NRA members for their great work.” Landry signed the NRA-backed Senate Bill 1 into law Tuesday, which allows eligible residents 18 and older to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. SB 1’s primary author, Republican state Sen. Blake Miguez exclusively told Fox News Digital that the governor’s signature “marks a key milestone in our enduring quest for liberty.” CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY: 2023 SAW NEW MILESTONE FOR GUN RIGHTS “Today, Louisiana asserts its unwavering commitment to the Second Amendment by enacting Constitutional Carry, a move that embodies the absolute right of law-abiding citizens to bear arms. Governor Landry’s pivotal role, combined with the steadfast support from legislators across both chambers, has been crucial in reaffirming our dedication to the rights of law-abiding citizens. Our success owes much to the tireless efforts of NRA members and Second Amendment defenders throughout the state, whose advocacy has been indispensable,” Miguez said. Supporters of the legislation in the state say constitutional carry will drive down crime, as armed law-abiding Americans are better equipped to fend off criminals and defend themselves, with some GOP lawmakers in the state recently arguing “evil is everywhere” and “police alone can not protect us.” LOUISIANA GOV. LANDRY DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY OVER POLICE SHORTAGE Violent crime skyrocketed in Louisiana’s top tourist city of New Orleans, for example, in 2022, when the city recorded a homicide rate of 70 per 100,000 people. Violent crimes have since dropped in the city. Landry, who was sworn in as governor just this year, has urged the passage of tough-on-crime policies to further drive down crime in the state, and he vowed on the campaign trail last year to pass constitutional carry if elected governor. The law comes just 57 days after Landry was sworn into office following Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ two terms in office. NRA-ILA Executive Director Randy Kozuch touted that Landry made a campaign pledge to pass the legislation and “remarkably delivered on this promise within a mere 57 days in office.” DESANTIS’ SIGNATURE TIPS US INTO MAJORITY ‘CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY’ NATION WITH NEW FLORIDA GUN RIGHTS LAW “This victory is a shining example of what can be achieved when freedom-loving legislators in both the House and the Senate work in unison. Our deepest gratitude goes to Sen. Blake Miguez and House Speaker Pro Tempore Mike Johnson for their pivotal roles in spearheading this life-saving legislation and expeditiously moving it to the Governor’s desk,” Kozuch said. “The NRA celebrates Louisiana’s momentous step in becoming the 28th state to enact the pivotal NRA Constitutional Carry legislation. This swift and decisive action, a testament to the NRA’s unwavering advocacy, empowers Louisianians to exercise their Second Amendment rights free from government permission, solidifying our right to self-defense,” Kozuch added in comment to Fox. REPUBLICANS FLIP DEMOCRAT-HELD LOUISIANA GOVERNOR SEAT IN FIRST MAJOR CONTEST AHEAD OF 2024 ELECTIONS Both Kozuch and NRA Interim Executive Vice President and CEO Andrew Arulanandam joined Landry in Baton Rouge for the signing on Tuesday. Opponents of the bill argued that the law could make the state less safe and drive up the rates of those killed by guns. Louisiana’s Fraternal Order of the Police spoke out against the bill, while the Louisiana Sheriffs Association did not take a position, local media reported. Louisiana’s House Speaker Pro Tempore Mike T. Johnson, however, argued earlier this year that residents of the state are “fearful” of even running errands due to criminals on the streets, and that the law will offer “law-abiding citizens their God-given right” to defend themselves. Johnson added in a comment to Fox News Digital that Landry’s signature on the bill marks “a landmark victory.” “The Second Amendment’s 27 words underscore that law-abiding citizens should never require government permission to exercise their right to bear arms—a principle that Louisiana has proudly reaffirmed today. I extend my deepest thanks to Governor Landry for signing this critical bill, as well as to my colleagues in both the Louisiana House and Senate. Most importantly, I express my heartfelt gratitude to NRA members and gun owners across Louisiana for their unwavering dedication to freedom,” he said. PROUD CAJUN CANDIDATE SOUNDS ALARM OVER STATE’S BLEEDING POPULATION, SAYS IT’S TIME TO END DEMOCRAT RULE Residents who wish to obtain a permit may still do so in the state. The bill also restricts residents from carrying in certain areas, such as schools and the state Capitol. The Pelican State is already an open carry state, meaning eligible residents can openly carry without a permit. Louisiana now joins a list of 27 other states across the nation that have constitutional carry laws on the books. The U.S. officially became a constitutional carry majority nation last spring, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his state’s version of permitless carry. Arulanandam told Fox News Digital that Louisiana’s passage of the law is testament to “the unwavering dedication of NRA members and the resolve of leaders like Gov. Landry and pro-self-defense legislators.” “These men and women champion our Second Amendment rights and help ensure that law-abiding Americans have the means to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities,” Arulanandam said. “This rapid 57-day turnaround is a powerful message that NRA members are not just participating in the fight for gun rights; they are leading it. Rest assured, we are on a mission to bring NRA Constitutional Carry to every state in the nation, one victory at a time.” The law will
Kentucky House votes to remove governor’s choice in filling Senate vacancies
The Republican-dominated Kentucky House voted Monday to remove any role for the state’s Democratic governor in deciding who would occupy a U.S. Senate seat if a vacancy occurred in the home state of 82-year-old Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The legislation calls for a special election to fill any Senate vacancy from the Bluegrass State. The measure won overwhelming House passage to advance to the Senate, where the GOP also holds a supermajority. Republican House Majority Floor Leader Steven Rudy has said his bill has nothing to do with McConnell, but instead reflects his long-running policy stance on how an empty Senate seat should be filled. MCCONNELL IN TALKS TO ENDORSE TRUMP IN 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE: REPORT The House action comes several days after McConnell announced he will step down from his longtime leadership position in November. The decision set off a wave of speculation back home in Kentucky about the future of his seat. In his speech from the Senate floor, McConnell left open the possibility that he might seek another term in 2026, declaring at one point: “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.” Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear — who won a resounding reelection victory last November over a McConnell protege — has denounced the Senate succession bill as driven by partisanship. “If we are just dominated by trying to create a result of what letter someone would have behind their name if appointed, then we are not performing or engaging in good government,” the governor said last week. “Last November, people said ‘knock it off. We are tired of the rank partisanship, and we don’t want a candidate or a General Assembly that just sees ‘Team R’ or ‘Team D,’ or red or blue.’” The governor could veto the measure if it reaches his desk, but Republicans have used the political muscle from their supermajority status to easily override his past vetoes on a range of issues. Beshear has already seen his influence over selecting a senator greatly diminished by GOP lawmakers. In 2021, the legislature stripped the governor of his independent power to temporarily fill a Senate seat. That measure limits a governor to choosing from a three-name list provided by party leaders from the same party as the senator who formerly held the seat. Both of Kentucky’s U.S. senators are Republicans. The measure became law after GOP lawmakers overrode Beshear’s veto. On Monday, Rudy said his bill would treat a U.S. Senate vacancy like that of a vacancy for a congressional or legislative seat in Kentucky — by holding a special election to fill the seat. The House tacked on an emergency clause, meaning the bill would take effect immediately if enacted into law. Rep. Derrick Graham, the top-ranking House Democrat, said he has consistently opposed efforts to weaken or strip the governor’s authority in filling a vacant U.S. Senate seat. “We have looked at the history of it, and it’s always been the governor” making the selection, he said. “And I support the idea that the governor should have the responsibility of selecting who that senator will be until the election for that particular seat.” Rudy referred to McConnell last week as a “great friend and a political mentor,” and credited the state’s senior senator for playing an important role in the GOP’s rise to power in the Kentucky legislature. Rudy introduced the bill on Feb. 21 and it cleared a House committee a day after McConnell’s announcement in Washington. Rudy said last week the bill had nothing to do with McConnell, but instead was something he’s talked about for more than a decade since the conviction of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich for crimes that included seeking to sell an appointment to Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. At the time, Republicans were stuck in the Kentucky House minority. The GOP claimed the House majority — cementing the party’s total control of the legislature — after its tidal wave of victories in the 2016 election. Rudy filed a bill calling for a special election to fill a Senate vacancy in 2021, but Republicans instead opted to go with the other measure limiting a governor to choose from a three-name list. “I still think mine was a better version and that’s why I filed it again this year,” Rudy said last week. “It has nothing to do with Sen. McConnell. It just deals with vacancies.”
Dispute over control of state agencies spurs ‘tug-of-war’ between Nebraska Legislature and governor
Barely six months into his term as Nebraska’s attorney general last year, Mike Hilgers released an opinion questioning the legality of offices of inspector general overseeing the state’s prison system and the child services division of the Department of Health and Human Service — two of the state’s largest and most troubled agencies. “That same day, those agencies blocked our access to their online case files,” said Julie Rogers, who heads the state ombudsman’s office. Not only did the agencies block the inspectors general, they blocked her office, even though the ombudsman’s office has a more than 50-year history of oversight of state agencies. And the attorney general’s opinion makes no mention of the office. NEBRASKA BILL WOULD STOP CORPORATIONS FROM BUYING UP HOUSES Since then, Rogers said, neither she nor the inspectors general have been able access reports, case files or complaints or been allowed to inspect the state’s prisons. “Their legal counsels also pretty quickly sent out memos agency-wide to say that employees were not to talk to us.” she said. That means for the past six months, she and the inspectors general — who report their findings to the Legislature — have been kept in the dark about any complaints on the treatment of prisoners and children under state care, such as juvenile offenders and those in the foster care system. The Legislature created the office of inspector general of the state’s child welfare system in 2012 to respond to problems with children in the system being injured, self-harming, dying and being exposed to drugs. The inspector general’s office for the prison system was created in 2015 in response to a deadly prison riot, officials’ miscalculation of prison sentences for hundreds of inmates over years and rampant prison overcrowding and staffing shortages. The agencies they investigate come under the purview of the governor, who appoints their administrators, and several lawmakers have accused the governor’s office of pushing to usurp the Legislature’s oversight of them. Hilgers has denied his office consulted with Gov. Jim Pillen’s office on the opinion. Pillen’s office did not answer questions about whether it advised Hilgers’ office on legislative oversight before the opinion was released. The struggle between the executive and legislative branches of government is far from a new phenomenon. The federal government is rife with examples, as U.S. presidents have increasingly used executive orders to enact policy on everything from military action to immigration. Congress has also sought to make its mark on what have traditionally been presidential decisions, such as when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denied President Barack Obama’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court by refusing to even meet with then-federal Judge Merrick Garland, now the U.S. Attorney General. A number of states have also seen their share of power struggles among their branches. In Kentucky, the GOP-led Legislature has introduced a number of bills to wrest power from the Democratic governor. Those include a bill that would allow the body to call itself into special session and another that would have it appoint the members of the state Board of Education. Both are currently functions of the governor. In Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers sued the Republican-controlled Legislature last year, arguing that it is obstructing basic government functions, including refusing to sign off on approved pay raises for university employees and blocking state conservation programs. In turn, Evers earlier this year went around Republican lawmakers who had blocked a deal to complete the largest land conservation purchase in Wisconsin history by securing federal dollars to do it. The conflict has also likely been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, when governors, lawmakers and agencies saw conflicts over business and school shutdowns and mandatory masking. Over 300 bills in at least 47 states and two U.S. territories were introduced in 2021 alone aimed at the legislature’s ability to oversee executive branch actions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. “It is important to note that a tug-of-war between the branches is a conflict as old as our democracy, and our system was designed in such a way that this conflict is inherent and expected,” NCSL spokesperson Mick Bullock said. “Legislative oversight serves as a fundamental check and balance within our democratic system.” Hilgers’ opinion came as a shock to many Nebraska lawmakers, some of whom had a hand in creating the agency oversight laws. Most of the lawmakers had also served with Hilgers a year earlier, when he was speaker of the Legislature before being elected attorney general. The agencies’ refusal to cooperate with the Legislature’s oversight office was met with fury from Democratic lawmakers in the officially nonpartisan Nebraska Legislature who noted that an attorney general’s opinion does not carry the weight of law. “So, these agencies have decided they’re not going to follow established state law. It’s breathtaking,” said Lincoln Sen. Danielle Conrad, an attorney and the former director of the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. “I’m concerned about the slippery slope where we sit down and we let other branches of government tell us when they’re going to follow the law that we pass on behalf of the people. That’s a dangerous precedent.” In reaction to the standoff, Conrad and others have introduced several bills this session designed to reinforce the Legislature’s role. They range from a proposed constitutional amendment that would have the voters decide on legislative oversight to bills that would have lawmakers — instead of the governor — appoint some agency directors. Even Republican lawmakers and allies of the Republican governor concede that the Legislature has to act to retain its oversight power. Speaker of the Legislature Sen. John Arch has introduced a resolution for the body’s executive board to create a committee to look into legislative oversight functions. Sen. Ray Aguilar, chair of the Executive Committee, said he expected the committee to advance some of the Democratic lawmakers’ proposals on oversight to the full Legislature this session. None had advanced by Monday. In the meantime, the governor’s office
McConnell in talks to endorse Trump in 2024 presidential race: report
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell could endorse former President Donald Trump in the 2024 race as one of his last major actions before leaving leadership. McConnell’s office and Trump’s presidential campaign have been in talks over a possible endorsement, as well as a strategy to unite Republicans just eight months away from the November election, according to The Associated Press, citing a person familiar with the situation. McConnell is currently the highest-ranking Republican in Congress who has yet to back the former president’s bid to return to the White House. Any potential endorsement comes as Trump is competing with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to win the Republican nomination, and as both candidates compete for a whopping 854 delegates at stake on Super Tuesday, March 5. WHAT TO WATCH IN SUPER TUESDAY PRIMARIES AS TRUMP AND HALEY FACE OFF YET AGAIN Fox News Digital reached out to both the Trump campaign and McConnell’s Senate office but did not immediately receive a response. McConnell, who turned 82 last month, announced on Wednesday that he would step down as Republican leader and would pursue “life’s next chapter.” “One of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter,” he said on the Senate floor. “So I stand before you today… to say that this will be my last term as Republican leader of the Senate.” EXCLUSIVE: NO 2 SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER JOHN THUNE ENDORSES TRUMP IN 2024 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY “I still have enough gas in the tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics, and I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm which they have become accustomed,” McConnell added. The decision is likely to set up a leadership election for the GOP conference that could determine the future of the Republican Party in the Senate – and how it could deal with Trump should he defeat President Biden in their November rematch. POWERLESS OVER POWER: AFTER SHIFTS IN GOP LANDSCAPE, MCCONNELL’S LEADERSHIP DRAWS TO A CLOSE McConnell’s potential endorsement comes after he vehemently criticized Trump and called him “morally responsible” for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Following the riot, key Republicans, including McConnell, strongly suggested the party was done with the former president. In a scathing speech, McConnell said Trump incited the insurrection at the Capitol and blamed him for the “entire manufactured atmosphere of looming catastrophe” and “wild myths” about the election. The Senate leader ultimately did not vote to convict Trump on impeachment charges. Despite their differences, endorsements matter to Trump and the two unifying with their bumpy past could help Republicans unite up-and-down the ballot in a must-win election. McConnell, the longest-serving Senate leader, will formally leave the Senate when his term ends in January 2027. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Haiti crisis: Is a gang-led coup next?
Haiti’s government declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday after armed gang members stormed the Caribbean nation’s two biggest prisons, freeing more than 4,700 inmates. In capital Port-au-Prince, wounded corpses lay in neighbourhoods and burning tyres are serving as roadblocks. Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Prime Minister Ariel Henry are unknown, after he visited Kenya last week. Finance Minister Patrick Boivert, as acting prime minister, announced the curfew. How did Haiti get to this point? At least 12 people have been reported dead, four of them being police officers. Gangs have targeted police stations including the national penitentiary, the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, and even the national soccer stadium. A second prison in Port-au-Prince containing around 1,400 inmates was also overrun. Yet the violence has roots in turbulent political history that has shaped — and continues to shape — Haiti. 1959: A failed coup by military officials and foreigners to overthrow President Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, led him to create his secret police force, the Tonton Macoutes, to serve as a counterweight to the army. 1990s: Former parish priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a left-wing champion of the poor, won Haiti’s first free election in 1990. He was removed in a coup in 1991 to be replaced by Rene Preval. 2000: In the early 2000s, Aristide formed his own armed gangs known as the Chimeres, serving as a protection racket and an instrument of political opposition. In 2001, Aristide was sworn in as president again. 2004: A prominent gang, known as the Cannibal Army at the time, also called the Artibonite Resistance Front, seized control of Gonaives, a commune in northern Haiti on February 5. Later that month, they took control of the country’s second-biggest city, Cap-Haitien. As the gang attacked Port-au-Prince, Aristide resigned, amid allegations of French and US support for the coup plotters because of Aristide’s call for reparations — claims that Paris and Washington have denied. 2010: A catastrophic earthquake killed between 100,000 and 300,000 people, according to various estimates. The earthquake also led to former gang members escaping prison and taking over makeshift camps, originally made for earthquake victims. Gender-based violence perpetrated by gangs also began to rise. 2011-14: Michel Martelly won the presidential elections. But amid mounting anger over corruption and poverty, large anti-government protests broke out against his government. 2017: Banana exporter-turned-politician Jovenel Moise was declared the winner of the 2016 presidential election. 2018: Members of the Moise government allegedly helped gangs commit massacres by providing them with money, weapons and government vehicles used in attacks on the capital. 2019: Due to a political gridlock and unrest, Haiti failed to hold new elections, leading to Moise steadily amassing power. 2021: Thousands protested on the streets calling for Moise’s resignation, chanting “No to dictatorship”. Moise was assassinated in July by Colombian mercenaries with unknown paymasters. Ariel Henry was sworn in as prime minister with the help of international backing after Moise’s assassination. How much power do gangs have in Haiti? Gangs hold considerable influence in Haiti. Until recently, they controlled around 60 percent of the capital, and United Nations (UN) officials say that number has grown to 80 percent. Around 200 gangs exist in Haiti, and 23 dominant ones are believed to be operating in the metropolitan capital. Firearms – typically smuggled from the United States, alongside ransom payments to kidnappers – have lent financial independence to gangs. An underfunded and under-resourced police department has also allowed the gangs to amass power that the state has struggled to match. “Present-day gangs enjoy a much higher degree of military capacity than those a decade ago,” according to a report by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, a non-governmental organisation headquartered in Geneva. “This has largely been driven by the gangs’ ability to acquire high-caliber weapons.” A 2023 UN report stated that recovered weapons destined for Haitian ports include “.50 caliber sniper rifles, .308 rifles, and even belt-fed machine guns”. Since the recent outbreak of violence, around 15,000 people have fled the capital, as estimated by the International Organization for Migration. Many of the people who escaped were already previously displaced and in makeshift camps in schools, hospitals and public squares. In 2023 alone, around 200,000 residents fled the kidnappings, looting and sexual violence related to gangs. Around 3,000 people were killed as a result of gang violence and 1,500 were kidnapped for ransom. Why did the violence escalate? Analysts believe the escalating violence is aimed at ousting Henry — it has coincided with the prime minister’s visit to Kenya, where he has pushed for the UN-backed deployment of an international force to help fight the gangs. Henry had repeatedly requested for international intervention in Haiti and in July 2023, Kenya stepped up and volunteered to lead an international force to combat the gang violence. Kenya promised to “deploy a contingent of 1,000 police officers to help train and assist Haitian police”. In January, a Kenyan court blocked the deployment of that force, but during his visit to Nairobi, Henry inked a pact with Kenyan President William Ruto for a reciprocal deal that they suggested could allow the East African nation to send soldiers to Haiti. Separately, on October 2, 2023, the UN adopted a resolution authorising the creation and year-long deployment of a “Multinational Security Support” (MSS) mission to reinforce the Haitian police, restore security and protect critical infrastructure. The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad formally pledged troops to this force, and less than $11m was deposited in its fund. However, a date for when the troops will be deployed is still not set. Could gangs overthrow the government? Gangs already act as de facto authorities in parts of the country. Gang leaders — Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier is the most prominent among them — want to bring down Henry. The country has failed to hold parliamentary and general elections since 2019 and there are no elected officials. The latest round of attacks also came amid Henry’s pledge to hold long-awaited general elections by mid-2025. Cherizier is a
Is Gantz really a danger to Netanyahu’s power in Israel?
Beirut, Lebanon – Benny Gantz – the main opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a member of Israel’s war cabinet and the man touted by his supporters as the next prime minister – is in Washington, DC, invited there by the United States government. Analysts have told Al Jazeera this is a result of its public frustration with Netanyahu and his far-right government, which is leading US President Joe Biden’s administration to turn to Gantz, a former military chief of staff and political centrist, as an ally and he is trying to build on that. While Gantz may be using this trip to strengthen ties with US officials and capitalise on an Israeli political scene in which Netanyahu is increasingly unpopular, his stated aims are boosting support for Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, and pushing for the release of Israeli captives, according to Israeli officials. Gantz met US Vice President Kamala Harris, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Middle East envoy Brett McGurk on Monday and received “sharp and highly critical messages about the humanitarian situation in Gaza”, according to The Jerusalem Post. He is scheduled for talks with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday. ‘A political parking lot’ Gantz currently leads Netanyahu in opinion polls asking Israelis who they want as their next prime minister. [embedded content] Despite Netanyahu’s decreasing popularity, there are analysts who believe the prime minister is not politically dead and buried and Gantz’s approval numbers have more to do with his opposition to the incumbent than on his own strength. “Benny Gantz doesn’t have a lot to offer ideologically,” Eyal Lurie-Pardes, a visiting fellow in the Program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs at the Middle East Institute, told Al Jazeera. “He’s a political parking lot right now for people who are frustrated by Netanyahu.” In July, hundreds of thousands of people marched in Israel in what were described as pro-democracy protests as Netanyahu’s government pushed through legislation that limited the power of the judiciary. In January, the Supreme Court struck it down. In contrast, Gantz is seen as a moderate figure compared with Netanyahu, who leads the most right-wing government in Israel’s history. Netanyahu still has a support base, but many Israelis believe that since 1,139 people died in attacks by Hamas’s Qassam Brigades and other Palestinian armed groups on Israel on October 7, he is prioritising his political survival over the return of the remaining captives taken into Gaza. Netanyahu is also standing trial on several corruption charges, including breach of trust, accepting bribes and fraud in proceedings that will likely continue for several more months. [embedded content] Anti-Netanyahu protests have picked up again in recent months, largely over his handling of the war on Gaza although the numbers of demonstrators have not been large. Despite its disapproval of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition, the White House has steadfastly backed Israel’s war on Gaza – bypassing Congress twice to send additional military aid, refusing to place conditions on the aid and using its veto at the United Nations Security Council multiple times to kill resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Capitalising on Netanyahu’s unpopularity Gantz’s party members have urged him to quit Netanyahu’s war cabinet, but voters are split on the issue. Many believe his presence acts as a counterweight to right-wing elements in the government. Some feel it is time he removes his support from the war cabinet. Others worry he would be replaced by a far-right figure like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir or Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Naming Ben-Gvir and Smotrich to his cabinet caused friction between Netanyahu and the US at the end of 2022, and the coalition he formed then with far-right figures, including members of the settler movement, is seen as one of the reasons the US prefers Gantz. Israeli police hold back protesters demonstrating against Netanyahu’s government in Tel Aviv on February 24, 2024 [Dylan Martinez/Reuters] While Smotrich and Ben-Gvir are often painted as fringe figures, Lurie-Pardes said: “They are not [fringe figures]. They’re very powerful ministers who represent the third largest party in the Israeli parliament.” Many political figures in Israel are looking to capitalise on Netanyahu’s unpopularity and have begun calling for elections. If elections were held now, a recent poll conducted by Israel’s Channel 13 showed, Gantz’s National Unity party would clinch 39 seats in the Knesset, compared with 17 for Netanyahu’s Likud party. But should elections be announced, several other candidates would likely enter the race and take away Gantz’s fire. Tamir Sorek, a Middle East history professor at Pennsylvania State University, told Al Jazeera, that while “Benny Gantz might represent the US interests in the Israeli government”, “Netanyahu doesn’t really need him for his coalition, so he doesn’t have the same leverage as the extreme right parties have.” Netanyahu’s terms Many more Palestinians could die in Gaza as Israel continues to bomb indiscriminately and prevent adequate aid from entering the small, besieged enclave that is home to more than two million Palestinians. Palestinian children wait to get food from an aid distribution team in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza on February 26, 2024 [AFP] The UN is warning of famine for at least half a million people. As protests against the war continue in cities around the world, including many US cities, and voters make their voices heard in other ways, the Biden administration seems to be shifting the blame onto Netanyahu. Biden recently went on a late-night American talk show and said Netanyahu’s “incredibly conservative government” was losing international support. US media have reported that Biden privately described Netanyahu as an “a******” on at least three occasions. There have also been reports that both Biden and Blinken are upset by the destruction and death in Gaza. Meanwhile, pressure is increasing on the US and Israel for a ceasefire. Biden recently said he hopes a ceasefire will be announced soon and Harris called for an immediate ceasefire on Sunday. But as long as the
Who is George Galloway, the British politician who has won Rochdale?
George Galloway, the firebrand veteran British politician, made a triumphant return to Westminster’s House of Commons on Monday after securing a thumping by-election victory in northwest England last week, largely as a result of his opposition to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. Galloway, who represents the hard-left, fringe Workers Party of Britain, which he founded in 2019, took the constituency of Rochdale with 12,335 votes or 39.7 percent of the vote. The constituency was formerly held by Labour’s Sir Tony Lloyd, whose death in January triggered the by-election. In the 2019 general election, Lloyd won 53 percent of the vote in Rochdale. But on February 12, the Labour Party withdrew support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, after he was accused of making anti-Semitic comments and it emerged he had suggested that Israel had deliberately allowed the October 7 attack by Hamas to happen. The shunned Ali, who stood for election anyway, went on to poll just 7.7 percent. In his victory speech after his headline win last Thursday, the Scottish-born legislator, who has a fondness for fedora hats and cutting put-downs, signalled local voters’ disillusion with the mainstream parties when he labelled the United Kingdom’s Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour’s opposition leader, Sir Keir Starmer, “two cheeks of the same backside”. It was a typically provocative statement from the four-times married Galloway, who, stridently pro-Palestinian, has campaigned against Israel’s war on Gaza in the Greater Manchester town which hosts a large Muslim minority. Then-Respect Party member George Galloway, left, with antiwar demonstrators in Manchester on the eve of The Labour Party Conference in September 2006 [Christopher Furlong/Getty Images] Who is George Galloway? Galloway, 69, hails from Dundee on Scotland’s east coast. He has long been a thorn in the side of the British political establishment, not least since 2003 when then-UK Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair expelled him from the party due to his uncompromising opposition to the Iraq War. Galloway had once been viewed as a Labour Party rising star, having become chair of the Scottish Labour Party at just 26 in 1981. Six years later, he made good on his prospects when he won a UK Parliamentary seat in Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, while Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher was prime minister. However, Galloway soon revealed his taste for the outlandish and the controversial when, still a newly elected member of Parliament, a journalist asked him in September 1987 about his attendance at a charity conference in Greece. Bizarrely, he responded, “I travelled and spent lots of time with people in Greece, many of whom were women, some of whom were known carnally to me,” responded Galloway, who was then married to his first wife, Elaine. “I actually had sexual intercourse with some of the people in Greece.” Galloway’s spicy revelations earned him the moniker “Gorgeous George”. His expulsion from the Labour Party in October 2003 over his strong objection to the war in Iraq did not dim his political ambitions. He served as an MP for the antiwar Respect Party in London’s Bethnal Green and Bow from 2005 to 2010, and Bradford West in northern England from 2012 to 2015. Whether Galloway’s decision to imitate a cat and nibble from a fellow contestant’s hands in the 2006 edition of the UK’s popular reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother – described in the Times this week as a “temple of vacuousness” – also added to his electoral appeal in Rochdale is unknown. Why is he so passionate about the Palestinian cause? Galloway attributes his commitment to the Palestinian cause in part to a visit to war-torn Beirut in 1977. He would later recall of the trip, “Although it was a difficult decision for me to make the journey back to Scotland, barely a week after my return, I made a pledge in the Tavern Bar in Dundee’s Hawkhill District, to devote the rest of my life to the Palestinian and Arab cause, whatever the consequences for my own political future.” He kept his word and, in 1980, was involved with the twinning of his native Dundee with Nablus in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank. He has spent time in the Palestinian territories, meeting then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Ramallah in 2002. In August 2014, Galloway was assaulted on a street in west London by a man wearing a shirt with an Israeli military logo, leaving him needing hospital treatment for cuts and bruises to his head and ribs. His assailant, Neil Masterson, was jailed later that year for 16 months. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, right, welcomes British Member of Parliament and peace activist George Galloway, May 8, 2002, in his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah [Hussein Hussein/PPO/Getty Images] What highly controversial positions has he taken? In 1994, Galloway met then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and, in front of the TV cameras, stated, “Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability.” Galloway later claimed that he was saluting the people of Iraq, not Saddam Hussein himself. But his comments prompted the politician’s many political detractors to accuse him of supporting an oppressive Iraqi regime. It also heralded the arrival of “indefatigability” – a hitherto rarely used word – into the British public mainstream where, for many Britons of a certain age, it retains a somewhat comical link to Galloway. In his 2004 book, I’m Not the Only One, Galloway appeared to defend Iraq’s claim over Kuwait, describing the state – which was invaded by Saddam in 1990, sparking the first Gulf War – as “clearly a part of the greater Iraqi whole stolen from the motherland by perfidious Albion”. Galloway’s interest in Iraq led to him being accused by the US Senate of profiting from Iraqi oil sales. The Briton, never one to shirk a challenge, faced down his accusers in 2005 when he appeared before a Senate Subcommittee, and declared, in a clear nod towards Senator Joe McCarthy’s anti-communist witch-hunt of the early 1950s, “I am not now nor have I ever been
Mintu aka Madam Minz: The woman who became dreaded criminal after getting cheated by….
Although they were held in separate prisons, their love endured, with meetings facilitated by their connections.