Cuban civil society in Havana has expressed its total support for the "Sign for the Homeland" movement, denounced the negative impact of the 60-plus years old U.S. blockade, and reiterated the unequivocal decision that defense is a supreme duty of every Cuban.
The International Trade Union Internship, an initiative of the Cuban Trade Unions (CTC), a forum to plan actions for trade union unity and to strengthen their structures across the continent, concluded in Havana.
On February 6, 1959, just one month after the triumph of the Revolution, the National Bank of Cuba informed U.S. authorities, according to records kept by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), that its deposits in U.S. banks totaled $424 million—money stolen by officials of the defeated dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. However, despite the official demand, not a single cent was returned.
The Cuban men's handball team is one step closer to qualifying for the Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo after defeating the Dominican Republic 35-30 in a hard-fought match marked by the persistence of the Cuban players.
Rubén Pino Martínez, Cuba's ambassador to Cyprus, expressed his gratitude on behalf of his people and government for the solidarity aid that will be sent to the Caribbean island as a result of a campaign promoted by the World Federation of Trade Unions and the Cyprus-Cuba Friendship Association.
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Medellín, Colombia – Chihuahua state Attorney General César Jáuregui, resigned on Monday following the death of two CIA agents in a car crash in Mexico on April 19.
In a press conference announcing his resignation on Monday, Jáuregui admitted that there had been “omissions” in relation to the presence of the American agents in the country.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum earlier ordered an investigation into why the U.S. agents – who were apparently working with local authorities – were in the country.
The two spies were returning from a drug raid in the El Pinal area of Chihuahua alongside Mexican security forces when the fatal crash occurred.
Following the crash, Sheinbaum said, “neither had formal accreditation to participate in operational activities” and one had entered the country as a tourist.
Attorney General Jáuregui had initially claimed that the U.S. operatives had been giving drone lessons in the mountains of Chihuahua, and had coincidentally got a ride with the police convoy..
U.S. President Donald Trump has long advocated for Washington’s involvement in Mexican anti-drug operations, but Sheinbaum has been opposed to U.S. forces or agents participating in domestic security operations, though she welcomes intelligence sharing.
Trump has threatened that the U.S. could “go it alone” in the case that Washington deems Mexico’s anti-cartel efforts insufficient.
Jáuregui is not the only Mexican official facing scrutiny for his involvement in covering up the unregulated presence of the CIA agents. The Governor of the state of Chihuahua, Maru Campos, was supposed to meet with the Senate of the Republic on Tuesday to clear up unknown details regarding the presence of the CIA agents in Mexico.
She was expected to explain the level of their participation in the operations, whether there were formal or informal agreements with U.S. agencies, the extent of the knowledge of the Mexican federal government, and if there was a potential exchange of sensitive information.
However, on Tuesday, Campos announced that she would not be attending the meeting, in order to “ensure the proper development of the ongoing proceedings, avoiding at all times the compromising of information of a confidential or classified nature.” She also reiterated that her conduct has “always been under the principles of legality and transparency.”
The deaths of the two agents and the circumstances surrounding it have raised tensions between Mexico and Washington, but Sheinbaum highlighted on Tuesday in her daily press conference that she does not desire “conflict” between the two nations.
Featured image description: Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua
Features image credits: On^ste82 via Wikimedia Commons
The post Chihuahua state attorney general resigns after CIA agents die in Mexico appeared first on Latin America Reports.
The year is 1969, legendary rock and roll band The Velvet Underground is playing at a Vietnam War protest in Texas. It sounds like an iconic moment. The only problem? Back then, people didn't care all that much about The Velvet Underground.
The Mexican military captured Audias Flores Silva, alias ‘El Jardinero’, on Monday – one of the top leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Flores Silva was considered to be one of the key candidates to succeed alias ‘El Mencho’, the former leader of the CJNG who was killed by authorities in February.
The drug lord’s arrest comes amid a wider crackdown by Mexican security forces against organized crime, driven partly by pressure from Washington.
According to authorities, Monday’s operation did not involve any shooting, injuries, or collateral damage. The military deployment included 120 direct action troops, four close air support helicopters, four fixed-wing aircraft, and two troop transport helicopters, with 400 naval personnel providing support.
The CJNG leader’s more than 60-strong escort group dispersed in different directions upon the arrival of security forces, attempting a tactical distraction maneuver, but the target was located through air and ground tracking.
Official footage of the operation shared by Omar García Harfuch, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of Mexico, shows the moment of the capture, with Flores Silva extracted from a roadside drainage conduit, where he was hiding. The arrest happened near El Mirador, a rural community in the western state of Nayarit.
Hours after the news became public, several stores and vehicles were set on fire across Nayarit. While the unrest fell short of the level of retaliation following the killing of ‘El Mencho’ in February 2026, the Government of Nayarit urged citizens to stay in their homes as a preventative measure.
The arrest was praised by the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Ronald Johnson, who congratulated Mexico’s Security Cabinet and Secretary of the Navy.
In 2021, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency offered a US$5 million reward for information leading to Audias Flores Silva’s arrest or conviction. Flores Silva was defined as “closely aligned” with former CJNG leader ‘El Mencho’, whose real name is Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes.
In June 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Flores Silva, identifying him as a CJNG regional commander in charge of significant portions of territory in the states of Zacatecas, Guerrero, Nayarit, Jalisco, and Michoacán.
According to U.S. authorities, Flores Silva was in control of clandestine laboratories producing methamphetamine and other illicit drugs in central Jalisco and southern Zacatecas. In addition, Silva managed the logistics of cocaine trafficking operations from Central America through Mexico to the United States, including the supervision of several clandestine airstrips.
‘El Jardinero’ was also believed to have coordinated a deadly 2015 attack against Mexican police forces in Jalisco that left 15 agents dead.
Flores Silva’s arrest is a hard hit to CJNG, as security analysts considered him a potential successor to the group’s command after the death of ‘El Mencho’ last February.
“Flores Silva was the closest thing the CJNG had to a chief operating officer, the man who once ran Mencho’s personal security, managed the Pacific corridor’s labs and airstrips, oversaw a timeshare fraud network and U.S. money-laundering pipeline, and brokered the alliance with Los Chapitos after the Sinaloa civil war,” Chris Dalby, director of World of Crime and senior analyst at Dyami Security Intelligence, told Latin America Reports.
Authorities dealt a second blow to CJNG yesterday when the Special Forces of the Mexican Army and the National Guard detained César Alejandro N, alias “El Güero Conta”. He was identified as the main financial operator for ‘El Jardinero’ and accused of laundering money through companies and frontmen.
“Losing Silva alongside his financier on the same day hits the CJNG operationally and financially simultaneously. It doesn’t spell an end to the CJNG, however, and may actually help Juan Carlos Gonzalez Valencia secure leadership by removing a rival,” said Dalby.
Featured image description: Wanted poster for Audias Flores Silva, alias ‘El Jardinero’.
Featured image credit: Omar García Harfuch via Facebook.
The post Mexican authorities arrest top cartel leader ‘El Jardinero’ appeared first on Latin America Reports.
Cuba opened its campaign in the Men's Caribbean Handball Cup with a commanding 29-21 victory over Costa Rica in the Dominican Republic, a start that reaffirms its aspirations for Santo Domingo 2026.
The Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations denounced the impact of the United States' economic, commercial, and financial blockade on the development of telecommunications during the 48th session of the UN Information Committee.
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