From breaking up a fight or identifying a suspected robber to picking up trash and removing graffiti, National Guard forces are on an unusual deployment mixing security and cleanup in the US capital.Now such unorthodox assignments may soon be replicated elsewhere, with President Donald Trump on Monday signing an order sending troops to Memphis, Tennessee.Trump deployed the military in Washington a little over a month ago to help crack down on what he claimed was out-of-control crime, despite police statistics showing violent offenses were down in the city.The contentious move — which the Washington attorney general’s office said amounts to an “involuntary military occupation” — offers a preview of what the National Guard may do not only in Memphis, but also in Baltimore and Chicago where Trump has threatened to send troops.”Fighting crime in this manner is very unusual,” Mark Cancian, a retired US Marine colonel and senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said of the Washington deployment.Guard members have been called in for particular incidents that last a few days, “but this longer-term policing function” is not typical, Cancian said.There are currently some 2,300 troops in Washington, more than half of them from eight Republican-led states and the rest from the city’s National Guard.Federal law enforcement personnel have also increased their presence on Washington’s streets, and Trump threatened overnight Monday to declare a national emergency and federalize the city because Mayor Muriel Bowser said local police would no longer help with immigration enforcement.            – ‘Visible crime deterrent’ -A spokesperson for Joint Task Force-DC (JTF-DC) — to which the National Guard troops in the city are assigned — said they are tasked with “monument security, community safety patrols, protecting Federal facilities, traffic control posts, and area beautification.””Guard members will provide a visible crime deterrent, not arrest, search, or conduct direct law enforcement actions,” the spokesperson said.JTF-DC statements provide a snapshot of troop activities.On September 12, for instance, they responded to a potential active shooter situation at a Metro station, cordoning off the area. Five days earlier they broke up a fight near another station.In late August they identified and followed a suspected robber until police arrived and made an arrest, and protected a family that was being harassed by a man who said he had a gun.National Guard forces are also involved in projects aimed at city cleanup — another of Trump’s stated goals.As of September 15, troops cleared some 900 bags of trash, spread more than 700 cubic yards (535 cubic meters) of mulch, removed five truckloads of plant waste, and painted nearly 100 yards (90 meters) of fencing, according to JTF-DC.- ‘Shame and alarm’ -Cancian said that while these are not typical jobs for the Guard, troops have “been used for all kinds of things,” from handing out leaflets during the pandemic to shoveling snow or driving buses.However, “if you want to do landscaping, hire a landscaping company,” he said, as they are “much, much better at it, and cheaper, faster.”The deployment has been controversial — something JTF-DC is well aware of, according to a document mistakenly sent to journalists this month.The document, a daily summary gauging media and online sentiment, said social media mentions “from self-identified veterans and active-duty commenters expressed shame and alarm” about the deployment.”Trending videos show residents reacting with alarm and indignation,” it said, also referring to “mentions of fatigue, confusion, and demoralization — ‘just gardening,’ unclear mission, wedge between citizens and the military.”The open-ended nature of the mission in Washington could also be an issue, Cancian said, noting that “strain increases” as the deployment goes on, especially if “people don’t think that they’re doing something that’s particularly important.”There could eventually be “pushback from the Guard saying, you know, either we get a real mission… which doesn’t seem to be there, or send us home.”

Lower US tariffs on Japanese autos are set to take effect this week, a Commerce Department notice confirmed Monday, as Washington implements a recent trade pact it had negotiated with Tokyo.Starting Tuesday, Japanese autos entering the United States will face a 15-percent tariff instead of 27.5 percent, providing manufacturers some reprieve from President Donald Trump’s fresh duties this year.Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has targeted specific sectors with tariffs, and imported automobiles and parts face a 25-percent duty.This dealt a blow to Japanese automakers, for whom the 25-percent duty piled atop an existing 2.5-percent tariff — bringing the overall level to 27.5 percent.For goods falling outside specifically targeted sectors, Trump has also imposed a separate 10-percent duty on imports from nearly all trading partners since returning to the presidency.In early August, he hiked the 10-percent rate to various higher levels for goods from dozens of economies, including the European Union and Japan.The move left Japanese products facing a 15-percent US tariff tacked onto existing duties for many goods.While the two countries had initially unveiled a trade pact in July, they appeared to diverge in their understanding of its details, such as whether the duties would generally stack on existing tariffs for certain products.Japan’s tariffs envoy Ryosei Akazawa previously told reporters that Washington was expected to revise the rule.The new US order taking effect Tuesday will see a 15-percent tariff cap instead for many products, applying retroactively to August 7.Under the terms of the US-Japan tariff deal, Japan is also expected to make investments worth $550 billion in the United States, according to the White House.

President Donald Trump said a US new strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat from Venezuela killed three people Monday, as the South American country’s president Nicolas Maduro vowed to resist Washington’s “aggression.”Trump’s administration has faced questions over the legality of deadly military strikes on suspected drug boats since the first such attack earlier this month which killed 11 people.The fresh attack also comes amid spiraling tensions in the Caribbean as a large US naval build-up sparks speculation that Washington may be seeking regime change in Caracas.Trump posted a video of a boat bobbing in the sea before exploding in a ball of orange flame as he announced the strike on social media, adding that it resulted in “3 male terrorists killed in action.””The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics (A DEADLY WEAPON POISONING AMERICANS!) headed to the U.S,” he said.The strikes have raised questions about whether they are within international law or effectively amount to extrajuducial killings, but Trump insisted the United States was confident that the dead men were traffickers.”We have proof,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “All you have to do is look at the cargo that was, like, it’s spattered all over the ocean. Big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place.”Tensions between longtime foes the United States and Venezuela reached new heights in recent weeks after Trump dispatched eight warships to waters near Venezuela to pressure Maduro.The United States accuses the leftist of heading a cocaine trafficking cartel and recently doubled its bounty for his capture to $50 million. Much of the international community rejected his July 2024 re-election, with the opposition claiming widespread fraud.- ‘Lord of death’ -Maduro hit back on Monday, branding US Secretary of State Marco Rubio the “lord of death and war” over his tough rhetoric on Latin American cartels.Referring to the US naval build-up and the earlier boat attack, Maduro told reporters that Caracas would “fully” exercise its “legitimate right to defend itself.”Maduro often accuses the United States of attempting regime change in his country.Speculation has been swirling that the Trump administration could be preparing targeted strikes against Latin American drug cartels, including in Venezuela.Trump refused to deny it was a possibility on Sunday.”We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters when asked if strikes on the Venezuelan mainland were possible. “Venezuela is sending us their gang members, their drug dealers and drugs. It’s not acceptable.”Earlier this month Washington dramatically upped the ante by blowing up a speedboat with 11 people on board that it claimed was smuggling drugs from Venezuela.In an interview with Fox News during a visit to Jerusalem on Monday, Rubio defended the attack on the boat traveling in international waters, amid questions over its legality.”We have 100 percent fidelity and certainty that that boat was involved in that trafficking of those drugs,” Rubio said.- Military build-up -Maduro said communications with the Trump administration had broken down over the US “aggression,” adding his country would “confront it.”He leveled much of the blame at the hawkish Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants to the United States who has been a vehement critic of left-wing authoritarian governments in Latin America.Although most of the cartels on the terrorism list are Mexican, Washington has focused its attacks on Venezuela.Maduro said the “bomb threats” had caused a complete collapse in relations between the two countries, which broke off diplomatic ties in 2019.In the face of the US pressure, he has deployed 25,000 troops to Venezuela’s border with Colombia, a transit point on the Latin American drug trafficking route, and along the Caribbean coast.Thousands of people have also joined a civilian militia intended as backup for the military.Over the weekend, they thronged training camps where they learned to handle and fire weapons.”If they (the United States) try to attack the homeland, the entire population will defend it!” said Jenny Rojas, a 54-year-old lawyer who was among the recruits.burs-dk/jgc