AFP USA

President Donald Trump’s bid to lock in Republican rule in next year’s US elections with an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting sweep could be coming undone — and threatening to gift Democrats an unexpected advantage.Breaking with political tradition, the president has pressed conservative states to redraw their congressional maps years before the next census, arguing that Republicans are “entitled” to grow their thin majority in the US House of Representatives.His party initially seemed well positioned — they control more state legislatures and map-drawing processes — but the strategy has stumbled.Democrats, once bracing for losses in a redistricting arms race, are now hopeful of netting around five seats — and possibly more — as courts and state officials weigh in.The biggest blow came last week when a federal court struck down Texas’s new map, which would have generated up to five additional Republican-friendly seats for the 2026 midterm elections.Democrats’ momentum was partially checked Friday when the conservative-majority US Supreme Court allowed Texas to put its disputed map back into effect while justices review the case. But the effort remains mired in uncertainty.”No one is going to win the redistricting battle,” said Republican political writer Patrick Payton, a pastor and business leader who has served as the mayor of the Texan city of Midland.”It’s a zero-sum game where the executive and legislative branches both seek to manipulate outcomes by re-drawing maps rather than leading and governing in such a way as to gain trust and votes.”The Texas ruling followed a court defeat in Utah and resistance from Republican lawmakers in Indiana, Kansas and New Hampshire who have balked at White House pressure. – Playing with fire? -Frustration is rising, with some arguing Republicans should be concentrating on campaigning, not cartography.”Donald Trump and (Governor) Greg Abbott played with fire, got burned — and democracy won,” California Governor Gavin Newsom declared after the Texas map began running into problems.The Lone Star State’s quick appeal could be viewed favorably by the US Supreme Court, which has previously overturned some rulings that blocked Trump policies.But for now, Democrats are advancing.Voters approved a new map drawn by the party in California, adding as many as five US House seats. In Virginia, Democratic leaders are pushing a plan that could yield two or three more.Combined with the Utah ruling, analysts believe Democrats could be up by nine seats when the maps are all finalized, if Texas goes their way.Republicans have logged their own successes — North Carolina may have added a conservative-leaning seat, and Missouri redrew its map, at Trump’s urging, to eliminate a Democratic district. But both face legal challenges.Elsewhere, progress is slow. Florida’s legislature meets December 4 to consider whether to begin redistricting, and Governor Ron DeSantis has urged voters to “stay tuned.” But the tit-for-tat is accelerating, prompting Democratic countermeasures in blue states.”They started this redistricting fight. We’ll end it,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed to reporters.Time is short, as candidates need boundaries before party primaries early next year. The Supreme Court’s full ruling on Texas could still come within weeks. Filing deadlines begin December 8, and primaries start in March.- ‘Years of litigation’ -Meanwhile, the high court is weighing a major Voting Rights Act challenge from Louisiana that could shrink the number of Black and Latino majority districts nationwide, potentially giving Republicans a dozen seats.Whether that drama affects the midterms will depend on timing.Lower courts are reviewing maps in multiple states, and voters in New York have sued to change a Staten Island–based district that could hand Democrats another seat.Tensions are also rising in Republican-led states. In Indiana, after Trump attacked local officials over their hesitancy to act, state Senator Greg Goode was “swatted” — a dangerous hoax that summoned armed police to his home.With control of the US House at stake — Republicans hold a narrow 219–213 majority — the risks are enormous. Mid-decade redistricting is unusual, and both parties fear each aggressive move provokes another.”Betting on maximal maps in as many states as possible made sense if courts kept to the sidelines, but… there is a line on racial gerrymandering,” political analyst Michael Ashley Schulman said.”And once you cross it you invite years of litigation that can boomerang into less favorable redistricting.”

The Trump administration announced on Monday that it was ending temporary protections shielding immigrants from Myanmar from deportation from the United States.The move affects around 4,000 people from the Southeast Asian nation who have been living in the United States under what is known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS).TPS protects its holders from deportation and allows them to work.It is granted to people deemed to be in danger if they return to their home countries, because of war, natural disaster or other extraordinary circumstances.President Donald Trump, as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown, has removed TPS for nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, South Sudan and Venezuela.Trump announced on Friday that he would also withdraw TPS from Somalis.TPS was extended to Myanmar nationals after a 2021 military coup. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the decision to withdraw it was made after a review of conditions in the country.Myanmar continues to face “humanitarian challenges due in part to continued military operations against armed resistance,” Noem said.But, she added, there have been improvements in “governance and stability at the national and local levels.”Noem noted the July lifting of a state of emergency and the announcement that “free and fair elections” will take place beginning in December.The move drew fierce criticism from nongovernmental advocacy organizations like Human Rights Watch (HRW). “Homeland Security’s misstatements in revoking TPS for people from Myanmar are so egregious that it is hard to imagine who would believe them,” John Sifton, HRW’s Asia advocacy director, said in a statement.The group noted that “Myanmar’s supposedly revoked state of emergency in July was immediately replaced with a new state of emergency and martial law in scores of townships across nine states and regions.”Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has said it is “unfathomable” for Myanmar to hold free and fair elections under current circumstances.”How can anyone say that they’re free and fair,” Turk said in a recent interview with AFP.”And how can they even be conducted when considerable parts of the country are actually not in anyone’s control, and with the military being party to the conflict and having suppressed its population for years?” he added.Rights groups have said the election cannot be legitimate, with democratic figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi deposed and jailed in the coup, and her popular National League for Democracy party dissolved.The junta seized power making unsubstantiated claims of fraud in a 2020 election that the NLD won in a landslide.A many-sided civil war has since consumed Myanmar, with the junta having lost swathes of the country to pro-democracy guerrillas and powerful ethnic-minority armed factions.The US State Department currently advises Americans not to travel to Myanmar due to “armed conflict, the potential for civil unrest” and “wrongful detentions.”  

Elon Musk’s X erupted in uproar after the rollout of a feature revealing an account’s location, exposing what users describe as global troll farms and influence operations on the platform — including in support of Donald Trump.X’s head of product Nikita Bier launched the feature over the weekend, allowing users “to see the country or region where an account is based,” in a bid to boost transparency on a platform that tech experts say is rife with disinformation.”This is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square,” Bier wrote on X.The launch triggered a wave of online sleuthing.Almost immediately, the platform flooded with posts flagging dozens of right-wing internet personalities — promoters of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) or “America First” political slogans — whose location data showed they were in Nigeria, Bangladesh, or Eastern Europe.Influential pro-Trump accounts that present themselves as US-based but actually operate overseas have circulated 31 false claims over the past 15 months — including allegations of Democratic corruption — according to a NewsGuard analysis using the location feature.The feature also seemed to vindicate researchers who warned during last year’s US presidential election that a network of MAGA accounts — posing as “Trump-supporting independent women” and using stolen photos of European models and influencers — was operating overseas.”X’s new account info showed many of these ‘American’ women were actually based in Thailand, with some tied to Myanmar,” Benjamin Strick, the London-based director of investigations at the Centre for Information Resilience, told AFP.”Before this change we could show these profiles were fake, but we had almost no visibility on where they were run from, and often had to rely on ‘slip ups’ posted by the accounts, time posting patterns and irregularities in language.”Now we can see that many of the accounts in this specific network are linked to Southeast Asia, which brings us closer to understanding who might be behind them,” Strick added.- ‘Rough edges’ -Reflecting a hyperpolarized political climate, some right-wing personalities also pointed fingers at left-wing users seemingly posting from suspicious locations.X, however, cautioned that the location data “may not be accurate and can change periodically.”When users clicked on an account’s location, a pop up noted: “The country or region that an account is based can be impacted by recent travel or temporary relocation.”Some users may also be connected via a VPN that can mask their real location.”There are a few rough edges that will be resolved by Tuesday,” Bier wrote after the feature’s launch.Late Sunday, Bier said an “upgrade” was upcoming that will ensure “accuracy will be nearly 99.99%”Some users criticized the launch, warning that it could expose the locations of dissidents and protestors in autocratic states. Bier, however, said that for users in countries “where speech has penalties,” the feature includes privacy toggles that reveal only the region.Soon after the launch, some apparent imposter accounts with vast followings were suddenly taken down.One X handle posing as a fan account for Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, was suspended after users noted that its location was listed as Nigeria.The account, which had amassed one million followers, regularly posted pro-Trump content as well as Islamophobic and anti-immigration messages.As tech platforms scale back content moderation and reduce their reliance on human fact-checkers, disinformation researchers warn of a growing threat from Russian and Chinese actors seeking to sow political chaos in Western countries — as well as from overseas influencers driven by the prospect of monetary gain.The new feature “shines a light on a fundamental problem with social media today: paid actors are deliberately inflaming difficult issues because controversy attracts attention,” Amy Bruckman, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, told AFP.”It’s a difficult situation, and I believe we need more trustworthy platforms that don’t allow people to behave badly.”Last month, X laid off half of its engineering team responsible for fighting influence operations, spam, and illegal content on the platform, reflecting a push to replace staff with artificial intelligence, The Information reported on Monday.X did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.burs-ac/jgc

Elon Musk’s X erupted in uproar after the rollout of a feature revealing an account’s location, exposing what users describe as global troll farms and influence operations on the platform — including in support of President Donald Trump.X’s head of product Nikita Bier launched the feature over the weekend, allowing users “to see the country or region where an account is based,” in a bid to boost transparency on a platform that tech experts say is rife with disinformation.”This is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square,” Bier wrote on X.The launch triggered a wave of online sleuthing.Almost immediately, the platform flooded with posts flagging dozens of right-wing internet personalities — promoters of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) or “America First” political slogans — whose location data showed they were in Nigeria, Bangladesh, or Eastern Europe.”Why are so many MAGA influencers from outside the U.S.? It’s almost as if they are working for foreign governments,” liberal influencer Ed Krassenstein wrote in a post.The feature also seemed to vindicate researchers who warned during last year’s US presidential election that a network of MAGA accounts — posing as “Trump-supporting independent women” and using stolen photos of European models and influencers — was operating overseas.”X’s new account info showed many of these ‘American’ women were actually based in Thailand, with some tied to Myanmar,” Benjamin Strick, the London-based director of investigations at the Centre for Information Resilience, told AFP.”Before this change we could show these profiles were fake, but we had almost no visibility on where they were run from, and often had to rely on ‘slip ups’ posted by the accounts, time posting patterns and irregularities in language.”Now we can see that many of the accounts in this specific network are linked to Southeast Asia, which brings us closer to understanding who might be behind them,” Strick added.- ‘Rough edges’ -Reflecting a hyperpolarized political climate, some right-wing personalities also pointed fingers at left-wing users seemingly posting from suspicious locations.X, however, cautioned that the location data “may not be accurate and can change periodically.”When users clicked on an account’s location, a pop up noted: “The country or region that an account is based can be impacted by recent travel or temporary relocation.”Some users may also be connected via a VPN that can mask their real location.”There are a few rough edges that will be resolved by Tuesday,” Bier wrote after the feature’s launch.Late Sunday, Bier said an “upgrade” was upcoming that will ensure “accuracy will be nearly 99.99%”Some users criticized the launch, warning that it could expose the locations of dissidents and protestors in autocratic states. Bier, however, said that for users in countries “where speech has penalties,” the feature includes privacy toggles that reveal only the region.Soon after the launch, some apparent imposter accounts with vast followings were suddenly taken down without any explanation.One X handle posing as a fan account for Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, was suspended after users noted that its location was listed as Nigeria.The account, which had amassed more than one million followers, regularly posted pro-Trump content as well as Islamophobic and anti-immigration messages.X did not respond to AFP’s request for comment on the suspension.As tech platforms scale back content moderation and reduce their reliance on human fact-checkers, disinformation researchers warn of a growing threat from Russian and Chinese actors seeking to sow political chaos in Western countries — as well as from overseas influencers driven by the prospect of monetary gain.The new feature “shines a light on a fundamental problem with social media today: paid actors are deliberately inflaming difficult issues because controversy attracts attention,” Amy Bruckman, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, told AFP.”It’s a difficult situation, and I believe we need more trustworthy platforms that don’t allow people to behave badly.”burs-ac/sms/sla

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, dealing a blow to US President Donald Trump’s efforts to prosecute his political opponents.District Judge Cameron Currie threw out both cases on the grounds that the US attorney handpicked by Trump who brought the charges was unlawfully appointed.Comey, 64, was charged in September with making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding in what was widely seen as retribution by the Republican president against a political opponent.James, 67, a Democrat who successfully prosecuted Trump for fraud, was indicted the following month on one count of bank fraud and a second one of making false statements to a financial institution.Both indictments were brought by interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who was described by Currie in her dismissal rulings as “a former White House aide with no prior prosecutorial experience.”Top federal prosecutors are subject to Senate confirmation and Currie said Halligan had been unlawfully appointed because her predecessor was also serving in an acting capacity and US law does not allow two successive interim prosecutors.”All actions flowing from Ms Halligan’s defective appointment, including securing and signing Mr Comey’s indictment, were unlawful exercises of executive power,” the judge said.”And because Ms Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr Comey’s motion and dismiss the indictment without prejudice.”She made a similar ruling in James’s case.The Comey and James indictments came after the interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, stepped down after reportedly telling Justice Department leaders there was insufficient evidence to charge them.Attorney General Pam Bondi replaced Siebert with Halligan, and she secured the indictments.Dismissing the indictments without prejudice leaves open the possibility of the charges being filed again, although the statute of limitations in the Comey case may have since expired.Comey and James also sought to have the indictments tossed on the grounds they were a vindictive prosecution. Those arguments were heard by a different judge.- ‘Stand up’ -Comey, in a post on Instagram, welcomed the dismissal of a case that he said was “based on malevolence and incompetence.””This case mattered to me personally, obviously, but it matters most because a message has to be sent that the president of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies,” he said.Comey urged Americans to “stand up and show the fools who would frighten us, who would divide us, that we’re made of stronger stuff, that we believe in the rule of law.”White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Justice Department will appeal the rulings “so maybe James Comey should pump the brakes on his victory lap.”James also welcomed the dismissal of the indictment and said she will “remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges.”After Trump left the White House in 2021, James won a civil fraud case against him, alleging he and his real estate company had unlawfully inflated his wealth and manipulated the value of properties to obtain favorable bank loans or insurance terms.Comey was appointed to head the FBI by president Barack Obama in 2013 and was fired by Trump in 2017 amid a probe into whether any members of the Trump presidential campaign had colluded with Moscow to sway the 2016 vote.The charges against Comey came just days after Trump publicly urged Bondi to take action against the former FBI director and others he sees as enemies — a stunning departure from the principle that the Justice Department must be free from White House pressure.Since taking office in January, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against perceived enemies, purging government officials he deemed to be disloyal, targeting law firms involved in past cases against him and pulling federal funding from universities.Another Trump critic, his former national security advisor John Bolton, has been indicted for allegedly transmitting and retaining classified information.In another development, the Pentagon said Monday that it was considering a court-martial against Democratic senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly for appearing in a video urging troops to refuse unlawful orders.

Venezuela on Monday rejected the US terrorist designation of an alleged drug cartel on its territory as a “ridiculous lie” aimed at paving the way for an “illegitimate” military intervention.A major US military build-up near Venezuela has led to speculation that President Donald Trump is planning to try to topple Venezuela’ Socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.Washington accuses Maduro of heading an alleged Venezuelan drug cartel, “Cartel de los Soles” (Cartel of the Suns), which the United States on Monday designated a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).Venezuela’s foreign ministry on Monday rejected what it called “the new and ridiculous lie from Secretary of State Marco Rubio” which it said aimed “to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela.”On Tuesday, the top US military officer, Dan Caine, will visit the small Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, a US ally situated a few miles from Venezuela that recently hosted US troops for training exercises.The US embassy said that the visit by the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff would focus on “countering illicit trafficking and transnational criminal organizations.”The visit is part of a months-long campaign of maximum pressure on Maduro, whose reelection last year was widely dismissed by the international community as fraudulent.The US has deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier and other military forces to waters near Venezuela as part of a stated campaign to dismantle Latin American drug trafficking routes.The Trump administration claims that the Cartel of the Suns is a drug trafficking syndicate run by Maduro and has issued a $50 million reward for the president’s capture.But Venezuela and countries that support it insist no such organization even exists. Several Venezuela experts say what Washington calls the Cartel of the Suns refers to the corruption of senior officials by criminal gangs.- Flights cancelled -US forces have killed at least 83 people in strikes on boats accused of ferrying drugs from Latin America towards the United States since September, according to an AFP tally of publicly released figures. No evidence has been made public that drugs were on board, and experts say the strikes are likely illegal even if the targets were proven to be drug traffickers.The terrorism designation will give Washington legal cover for more pressure on the Venezuelan authorities.The Trump administration has been vague about how far it is willing to go in Venezuela, but the huge military build-up and regular killings of people in small boats have rattled nerves — and prompted concerns in Washington that the US military may be breaking the law.On Saturday, six airlines announced they were canceling flights to Venezuela due to safety concerns.The US Federal Aviation Administration on Friday urged civilian aircraft in Venezuelan airspace to “exercise caution” due to the “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela.”burs-cb/aha

The US military said on Monday it was weighing a court-martial against Democratic senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly for appearing in a video urging troops to refuse unlawful orders.The Pentagon’s probe marks an extraordinary escalation in the Trump administration’s backlash against six Democrats with military or intelligence service backgrounds who made the viral video.Kelly — a decorated Navy combat pilot and former astronaut who commanded the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s final flight — fired back that he would not be intimidated or “silenced by bullies.”The Pentagon had threatened to recall the Arizona senator back to active duty in order to face a court-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.Officials indicated that Kelly may have undermined the “loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces,” citing laws barring interference in military cohesion.It is highly unusual for the Pentagon — long allergic to overt politics until President Donald Trump’s return to power this year — to publicly threaten a sitting member of Congress.The video posted on Friday called on the military to “refuse illegal orders” and featured Kelly alongside Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin and four members of the US House of Representatives.Trump initially accused the group of “seditious behavior, punishable by death.” Over the weekend, he wrote in an all-caps social media rant that the “traitors” who told troops to disobey him “should be in jail.”- ‘Acting like fascists’ -The Democrats did not specify which orders they meant, but Trump has ordered the National Guard into multiple US cities — often against local objections — to curb what he calls rampant unrest.Overseas, Trump has ordered strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean that killed more than 80 people and which experts say are illegal.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth branded the Democrats the “Seditious Six” and called their video “despicable, reckless, and false.”He accused Kelly of bringing “discredit” on the armed forces, saying his remarks were addressed directly at troops while invoking his rank — giving them an air of authority.But analysts and Kelly’s supporters warned the move could backfire by elevating him ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run.Kelly posted a photo of his many military medals, and recapped his Navy and NASA career. “If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work,” he said.”I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution.”In a blistering, expletive-laced video, fellow Arizona senator Ruben Gallego, an Iraq War veteran, called the Pentagon announcement “insane” and suggested Hegseth and others were “acting like fascists.””Mark Kelly is a patriot. There’s no reason why they’re going after him,” he said. “He was doing his duty and just reminding people about their rights as service members.” 

Chinese leader Xi Jinping pressed the ever-sensitive issue of Taiwan in a phone call Monday with US President Donald Trump, as he stressed the need to build on a fragile trade truce between the two superpowers.China’s foreign ministry said the call touched on other issues like Ukraine, but Taiwan featured prominently with China embroiled in a weeks-long diplomatic row with key US ally Japan over the self-governing island.China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and Xi told Trump that its return was an “integral part of the post-war international order” forged in the joint US-China fight against “fascism and militarism”, according to the department.”Given what is going on, it is even more important for us to jointly safeguard the victory of WWII,” Xi told Trump.The bitter dispute between Tokyo and Beijing was triggered by new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting this month that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan.While the United States does not officially recognise Taiwan’s claim to statehood, Washington remains the island’s most important partner and arms supplier.Trump praised “extremely strong” US-China relations in a social media post after the call, but made no mention of the contentious issue of Taiwan.According to China’s foreign ministry, Trump told Xi during their discussion that the United States “understands how important the Taiwan question is to China.”The US president’s statement also confirmed that he will visit China in April and that Xi will come to Washington later in 2026.- Trade talks momentum -Their call came after the pair met in late October for the first time since 2019, engaging in closely watched trade talks between the world’s top two economies.The Washington-Beijing tussle, which encompasses everything from rare earths to soybeans and port fees, has rocked markets and gummed up supply chains for months.A tentative deal reached in October’s meeting in South Korea saw Beijing agree to suspend for one year certain export restrictions on critical minerals.China is hugely dominant in the mining and processing of rare earths, which are essential for sophisticated electronic components across a range of industries including auto, electronics and defence.Meanwhile, the United States said it will cut back tariffs on Chinese products, and Beijing will buy at least 12 million metric tons of American soybeans by the end of this year, and 25 million metric tons in 2026.Xi told Trump on Monday that their two countries should “keep up the momentum”, according to the foreign ministry.He added that the “successful” meeting in South Korea “recalibrated the course of the giant ship of China-US relations and provided more momentum for it to sail forward steadily”.Since the meeting, China–US ties have “generally maintained a steady and positive trajectory, and this is welcomed by the two countries and the broader international community”, Xi said.Trump struck a similarly optimistic tone in his statement. “This call was a follow up to our highly successful meeting in South Korea, three weeks ago. Since then, there has been significant progress on both sides in keeping our agreements current and accurate. Now we can set our sights on the big picture,” he said.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Washington hoped to finalise a deal with Beijing for securing supplies of rare earths by the Thanksgiving holiday, which falls on Thursday.The two leaders also discussed the war in Ukraine — an issue high on Trump’s agenda as he pushes for an end to the war with a fresh deal that critics say largely satisfies Russian demands at the expense of Kyiv.China has positioned itself as a neutral party and, in Monday’s call, Xi reiterated his backing to end the nearly four-year conflict.”President Xi emphasized China’s support for all efforts that are conducive to peace, and expressed the hope that the various sides would narrow their differences, reach a fair, lasting and binding peace agreement at an early date, and resolve the crisis at its root,” China’s foreign ministry said. 

Venezuela on Monday rejected the US terrorist designation of an alleged drug cartel on its territory as a “ridiculous lie” aimed at paving the way for an “illegitimate” US military intervention.Over the past two months, President Donald Trump has progressively ramped up pressure on his leftist Venezuelan arch-foe, President Nicolas Maduro.The US has deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier and other military forces to waters near Venezuela as part of what it calls a campaign to dismantle Latin American drug trafficking routes.Officials in Caracas suspect that the United States is mounting an operation to topple Maduro, whose re-election last year was widely rejected by the international community as fraudulent.On Monday, Washington’s listing of the Venezuelan “Cartel de los Soles” (Cartel of the Suns) as a foreign terrorist organization officially took effect, opening the door to new forms of US pressure on Maduro’s administration.”Venezuela categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous lie from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who designates the alleged Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization… to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela,” Venezuela’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.The Trump administration alleges that the Cartel of the Suns is a drug trafficking syndicate run by Maduro and has issued a $50 million reward for the president’s capture.The Cartel of the Suns is responsible for “terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere,” Rubio said on November 16.But Venezuela and countries that support it insist no such organization even exists. Several Venezuela experts say what Washington calls the Cartel of the Suns refers to the corruption of senior officials by criminal organizations, including drug traffickers.- Flights cancelled -The designation is part of a US campaign against drugs from Latin America.US forces have killed at least 83 people in strikes on boats accused of ferrying drugs from Latin America towards the United States since September, according to an AFP tally of publicly released figures. Most of the vessels targeted set out from Venezuela.No evidence has been made public that drugs were on board. With a major military presence now deployed in the Caribbean, including an aircraft carrier, the FTO designation will give legal cover for more pressure on the Venezuelan authorities.The Trump administration has been vague about how far it is willing to go in Venezuela, but the huge military build-up and regular killings of people in small boats have rattled nerves — and prompted concerns in Washington that the US military may be breaking the law.On Saturday, six airlines announced they were canceling flights to Venezuela due to safety concerns.The US Federal Aviation Administration on Friday urged civilian aircraft in Venezuelan airspace to “exercise caution” due to the “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela.”

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty Monday to alleged involvement in Mafia-linked illegal gambling schemes that rocked the NBA, US media reported.Billups, a former Detroit Pistons star and  NBA Hall of Famer, was arrested in connection with rigged illegal poker games tied to Mafia crime families.He was targeted along with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in an FBI-led investigation into the scam that allegedly saw players cheated with the use of sophisticated methods including an X-ray table and barcoded card decks.Dozens of other suspects were arrested as part of the FBI probe.Rozier and Billups were placed on indefinite leave by the NBA after being arrested in the gambling investigation.Rozier and a former NBA player and assistant coach, Damon Jones, were among six people arrested in a separate sports betting case.Billups was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, to which he pleaded not guilty Monday, CBS News and USA Today reported.Billups was released on bond after initially appearing in federal court in Portland, Oregon, and was represented by attorney Marc Mukasey at a brief hearing in a Brooklyn court on Monday.Prosecutors say Billups’s celebrity helped lure players to high-stakes games that used “high-tech cheating technology.”That tech included shuffling machines that could read cards, hidden cameras and barcoded decks.NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last month he was “deeply disturbed” by the far-ranging FBI probe into illegal gambling.”My initial reaction was I was deeply disturbed,” Silver said in an interview with Amazon Prime.”There’s nothing more important for the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition.”Silver expressed regret that the allegations had taken attention away from the start of the season.”I apologize to our fans that we are all dealing with, now, this situation,” Silver said.