AFP USA

It ended not with a bang, but with US President Donald Trump and two top aides writing a social media post.Trump’s decision to pause worldwide tariffs capped an extraordinary week of global panic since he announced the levies on what he called “Liberation Day.” After repeatedly denying that he was considering a halt, the first sign that something was up came as markets braced for another brutal session.”BE COOL!” Trump urged Americans on his Truth Social network at 9:33 am in Washington (1333 GMT) before adding that it was a “GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!”Few seemed to take the 78-year-old Republican seriously, and turmoil started to spread to usually safe bond markets.But Trump later admitted that he had made the decision “early this morning” on Wednesday to pause the tariffs.The author of the “Art of the Deal” is rarely known for his humility, but he appeared to be in a reflective mood as he answered questions about the decision.”Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office as he signed a series of executive orders — including one titled “Maintaining Acceptable Water Pressure in Showerheads.”Trump said he then huddled early Wednesday with Scott Bessent, his bespectacled US Treasury Secretary, and Howard Lutnick, the brash Commerce Secretary and former trader. “It probably came together early this morning,” said Trump. “We didn’t have access to lawyers. We wrote it up from our hearts, right? It was written from the heart, and I think it was well written too.”What emerged was a lengthy post on his Truth Social network at 1:18 pm local time (1718 GMT) saying that Trump had “authorized a 90 day PAUSE” in tariffs, except on China, which he punished with even higher levies of 125 percent.Trump’s administration insisted it was all part of a grand strategy that had brought 75 countries to the negotiating table in his quest to reduce America’s trade deficit.”Many of you in the media clearly missed the art of the deal,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters afterward.Lutnick posted that he and Bessent “sat with the President while he wrote one of the most extraordinary Truth posts of his Presidency.”- ‘Yippy’ -The White House posted a picture of Trump at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, flanked by Lutnick and Bessent, with his mobile phone in front of him.It also posted one of Trump’s own posts from 2014, reading: “Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully or write poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals.”As markets made a turbocharged rebound, Trump hosted a group of racing drivers with their brightly-colored cars at the White House.Trump said the markets had become “a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid — unlike these champions,” as he pointed to the drivers.”Liberation Week” turned out to be a frantic one in which the White House struggled to get its message straight about whether or not it was prepared to negotiate.Trump spent the weekend in Florida playing golf, but appeared touchy as he flew back to Washington, saying that “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something” in reference to the tariffs.Lutnick, who has become one of Trump’s top cheerleaders, repeatedly said there would be no negotiations, as did trade advisor Peter Navarro.But then Bessent was rolled out on Monday to deliver a softer message that, indeed, negotiations might be possible.What followed was the remarkable spectacle of Trump’s tariff-skeptical aide Elon Musk publicly branding Navarro “dumber than a sack of bricks.”But by Wednesday evening it was over — for 90 days at least — and the White House was keen to turn attention towards the stock markets, where the Nasdaq had its biggest single day leap since 2001, while the Dow Jones had its best day since 2020 and the S&P 500 its best since 2008.Trump, who spent most of the week bashing allies and adversaries alike, struck a magnanimous tone about his announcement. “It was written as something that I think was very positive for the world and for us,” he said.

US President Donald Trump ordered extraordinary Justice Department investigations on Wednesday into two members of his previous administration, including one he alleged may have committed “treason.”Trump also stripped the former officials — Miles Taylor, who worked in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Christopher Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) — of their security clearances.Taylor, while serving in DHS during Trump’s first term, penned an Op-Ed piece in The New York Times in 2018 under the pseudonym “Anonymous” that excoriated Trump and caused a sensation at the time.”The root of the problem is the president’s amorality,” Taylor said, accusing the president of making “half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions.”Taylor went on to reveal his identity after leaving the first Trump administration and wrote another book titled “A Warning.”White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf accused Taylor during an Oval Office signing ceremony on Wednesday of leaking classified information while at DHS and making “outrageous claims both about (the Trump) administration and about others in it.”The presidential memorandum signed by Trump targeting Taylor is “going to order the Department of Justice to investigate his activities to see what else might come up in that context,” Scharf said.Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, accused Taylor of saying “all sorts of lies, bad things.””I think it’s like a traitor, it’s like spying,” he said. “We’re going to find out whether or not somebody is allowed to do that.”I think it’s a very important case and I think he’s guilty of treason if you want to know the truth,” Trump said. “But we’ll find out.”Taylor, for his part, reacted to the news on X, writing: “Dissent isn’t unlawful. It certainly isn’t treasonous. America is headed down a dark path.”- ‘Big price to pay’ -Krebs was fired by Trump in November 2020 after he issued a report saying there was no credible evidence of fraud in the election won by Democrat Joe Biden and it was the “most secure in American history.”Scharf told Trump the presidential memorandum on Krebs “instructs your Department of Justice, other aspects of your government, to investigate some of the malign acts that he participated in.””This guy, Krebs, was saying, ‘Oh, the election was great. It was great,'” Trump said.”Well, it’s been proven that it was not only not great,” he said. “It was a very corrupt election.”So we’ll find out whether or not it was a safe election, and if it wasn’t, he’s got a big price to pay, and he’s a bad guy.”Since taking office in January, Trump has targeted a number of former officials he views as his political enemies, stripping them of their government security clearances or their personal security details.This is believed to be the first time, however, that he has directed the nominally independent Justice Department to open investigations into his political opponents — an exceptional move by a US president.Trump, the first convicted felon to serve in the White House, has also moved to settle scores with several large law firms that represented his political foes in the past or helped bring him to court on civil or criminal charges.

US President Donald Trump abruptly paused tariffs on most countries Wednesday after admitting they made the markets nervous, but doubled down on a brutal trade war with superpower rival China.Following days of market turmoil, Wall Street stocks saw historic surges in reaction to Trump’s announcement that he was halting a levy hike for almost all nations for 90 days.But Trump said he was raising tariffs on China to 125 percent because of a “lack of respect.”Trump denied that he had backtracked on the tariffs, telling reporters as he welcomed a group of motor racing champions at the White House that “you have to be flexible.””People were jumping a little bit out of line, they were getting yippy, a little bit afraid,” Trump said. “Yippy” is a term in sports to describe a loss of nerves.He said he had been watching the “very tricky” state of the crucial US bonds market before his decision. “I saw last night where people were getting a little queasy.”Trump however predicted that trade deals will be made with all countries, including China. “A deal’s going to be made with China. A deal’s going to be made with every one of them,” Trump said, adding however that China’s leaders “don’t quite know how to go about it.”Trump insisted that he “can’t imagine” increasing Chinese tariffs more then he has.- China duel -Markets have lost trillions of dollars in value since Trump’s announcement of sweeping global tariffs one week ago on what he called “Liberation Day.”Trump had imposed a 10 percent baseline tariffs on all countries which came into effect on Saturday, and higher rates on key trading partners like China and the European Union that he accused of cheating the United States, which activated on Wednesday.But as markets swayed yet again, Trump said in a surprise announcement on his Truth Social network that “I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE” on the higher tariffs, while the baseline 10 percent would remain.He said that he took the decision after more than 75 countries reached out to negotiate and did not retaliate.At the same time, Trump ramped up his confrontation with China.Beijing had raised tariffs on US imports to 84 percent earlier Wednesday — in retaliation for Trump himself ramping up duties on Chinese goods to 104 percent.China’s finance minister said that “the United States simply piles mistakes on top of mistakes.”The European Union had earlier launched its own counterattack, announcing measures targeting some US products from Tuesday in retaliation for American duties on global steel and aluminum exports.The 27-nation bloc will hit more than 20 billion euros’ worth of US products, including soybeans, motorcycles and beauty products.But the EU notably did not retaliate against the separate “Liberation Day” tariffs of 20 percent that came into effect on Wednesday.- ‘BE COOL!’ -Wall Street stocks rocketed on Trump’s pause announcement.The S&P 500 surged 9.5 percent to 5,456.90, snapping a brutal run of losses over the past week.European and Asian stock markets had earlier tumbled along with oil and the dollar.US bond yields had also risen amid a sharp sell-off  — a major economic red light as American sovereign government debt is normally seen as a safe haven for investors in troubled times.Before his pivot, Trump said world leaders were rushing to negotiate “tailored” deals with the United States, with Japan and South Korea among those sending delegations to Washington.”I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass,” Trump told a dinner with fellow Republicans on Tuesday night.Trump believes his policy will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the United States.The billionaire former property tycoon has particularly raged against China, accusing it of excess production and “dumping” inexpensive goods on other economies.The tariffs have raised tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.China warned tourists on Wednesday to “fully assess the risks” before travelling to the United States.And US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth then warned against Chinese “threats” as he visited Panama, whose canal is at the center of a row between Beijing and Washington.burs-arp/jgc

Republican leaders raced Wednesday to pass a budget that will tee up Donald Trump’s sweeping proposed tax cuts, as a rank-and-file rebellion over spending threatened one of the US president’s signature policies.Both chambers of Congress are Republican-led but right-wing fiscal hawks in the House of Representatives are angry over what they see as insufficient cuts in the blueprint passed Saturday by the Senate.The two sides need to adopt identical versions of the budget before they can move on Trump’s domestic agenda, led by an extension of his expiring 2017 tax cuts.”Republicans, it is more important now, than ever, that we pass THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” Trump posted on social media, with House leadership eyeing an evening vote on the resolution’s final passage. “The USA will Soar like never before!!!”House Speaker Mike Johnson has pledged to get the budget framework to Trump’s desk before Congress breaks for two weeks on Thursday, putting Republicans on the clock. But several of his members have said they will reject the resolution, with many more undecided, a headache for Johnson as he bids to muscle it through his fractious, thin 220-213 majority.”Republicans have a historic, once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver relief to hard working families and set our country back on the path of prosperity,” he told reporters in an appeal for party unity.”The American people desperately need us to take this action, and we will.”- ‘Unserious and disappointing’ -The House produced its own budget plan in February, featuring $1.5 trillion in cuts and raising the national borrowing limit by $4 trillion to cover the cost of renewing Trump’s tax cuts through 2034. Senators made changes when they passed their version, requiring their committees to find as little as $4 billion in reductions and envisioning a $5 trillion hike in the debt ceiling. House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington — one of a number of senior Republicans who have raised eyebrows by breaking with the leadership — called the Senate resolution “unserious and disappointing.” Trump intervened personally on Tuesday, summoning around two dozen holdouts to the White House to bring them into line.US media, citing sources in the room, reported that the president committed to spending cuts that would go far beyond the Senate plans — whatever ends up on the statute books.Johnson said the talks were making “great progress” and added that a lot of skeptical lawmakers had seen their concerns answered.To tee up chamber-wide votes on legislation, lawmakers must first pass what is known as “a rule” — a text governing how the action will play out on the House floor.Johnson scored a qualified victory when the budget passed this key test in the afternoon, although it crossed the line by the narrowest of margins — 216 votes to 215 — with three Republicans voting no.Support for the “rule” does not always translate into votes for final passage and at least two other Republicans have indicated they would toe the line on the preliminary vote but vote no when it counts.

Latin American leaders on Wednesday urged a united front to tackle US President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught and the economic uncertainty it has brought.The calls for unity of purpose were made in Honduras at a meeting of the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), also attended by China — seeking to replace the United States as the main political and economic influence in the region.Eleven CELAC heads of state attended the deliberations, including leftist leaders Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico — Latin America’s biggest economies — as well as Colombia’s Gustavo Petro and host Xiomara Castro. “We cannot continue walking separately when the world is reorganizing,” Castro said as the talks got underway in the capital Tegucigalpa.”The United States is redrawing its economic map without asking which peoples are left behind,” she said.Sheinbaum, for her part, said economies in the region must diversify their markets and focus more on “integration and helping each other.”Trump’s tariffs on imports of non-US products, some of them suspended and altered numerous times, threaten economic disruption for CELAC economies.Mexico is the United States’ biggest trading partner while Brazil is its second-biggest provider of steel.And while Washington is increasingly seen as a volatile associate, China has been making inroads in the region.Two-thirds of Latin American countries have joined President Xi Jinping’s trillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure program, and China has surpassed the United States as the biggest trading partner of Brazil, Peru and Chile, among others.In Honduras, a Chinese delegation led by Qu Yuhui, Beijing’s number two for Latin American Affairs, has been holding bilateral meetings with CELAC delegates since Monday — including envoys from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela and Cuba.Beijing also plans to host a China-CELAC ministerial conference on May 13, to be attended by Xi.”China is set to increase its influence in Latin America; it is a gift from the United States,” Peruvian international relations analyst Francisco Belaunde told AFP. “China wants to appear now as a reliable partner that is in favor of free trade, it wants to take advantage of the mess generated by Trump and the annoyance of all countries over these tariffs,” he added.

The Trump administration said Wednesday that it is appealing a court ruling ordering the White House to restore the Associated Press’s access to official presidential events.The US Attorney’s Office said it was filing the appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on behalf of the three senior White House officials named in the AP complaint.AP journalists and photographers have been barred from the Oval Office and from traveling on Air Force One since mid-February because of the news agency’s decision to continue referring to the “Gulf of Mexico” — and not the “Gulf of America” as decreed by President Donald Trump.On Tuesday, District Judge Trevor McFadden said the “viewpoint-based denial of the AP’s access” was a violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and of the press.”If the Government opens its doors to some journalists — be it to the Oval Office, the East Room, or elsewhere — it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints,” McFadden said.McFadden ordered the White House to “immediately rescind the denial of the AP’s access to the Oval Office, Air Force One, and other limited spaces… when such spaces are made open to other members of the White House press pool.”The judge put off implementation of his order for five days to give the White House time to reply or to file an appeal.AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton welcomed the court order on Tuesday restoring access.”Today’s ruling affirms the fundamental right of the press and public to speak freely without government retaliation,” Easton said in a statement. “This is a freedom guaranteed for all Americans in the US Constitution.”In its style guide, the AP notes that the Gulf of Mexico has “carried that name for more than 400 years” and the agency “will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen.””As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences,” the AP said.The 180-year-old organization has long been a pillar of US journalism and provides news to print, TV and radio outlets across the United States and around the world.

US President Donald Trump abruptly backed down Wednesday in his global trade war with a 90 day tariff pause for most countries — but slapped even more levies against China in what has become a brutal duel between the world’s two largest economies.Following days of global market turmoil, Wall Street stocks surged in reaction to Trump’s sudden announcement on his Truth Social network.”I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE” on higher tariffs that took effect on Wednesday, Trump said, adding that he took the decision after more than 75 countries had reached out to negotiate and did not retaliate against the United States.Only a flat rate of 10 percent tariffs on all countries that took effect on Saturday will remain in place. This marked a stunning reverse from often punishing levies that hit even many of the closest US allies.But Trump accused China of still “ripping off” his country.”Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the World’s Markets, I am hereby raising the Tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125 percent, effective immediately,” Trump said.Trump had only hours earlier ramped up the duties on Chinese goods to a giant 104 percent. China then retaliated by rising tariffs on US imports to 84 percent.”At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” Trump said.US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted that Trump had not backtracked, saying: “This was his strategy all along, and you might even say that he goaded China into a bad position.”- ‘BE COOL!’ -The European Union had earlier launched its own counterattack, announcing measures targeting some US products from Tuesday in retaliation for American duties on global steel and aluminum exports.The 27-nation bloc, which Trump has accused of being created to “screw” the United States, will hit more than 20 billion euros’ worth of US products, including soybeans, motorcycles and beauty products.But the EU notably did not retaliate against the separate 20 percent US tariffs on all goods that came into effect a minute after midnight on Wednesday.Trump announced a week ago on what he called “Liberation Day” that he would impose a 10 percent baseline tariff on all countries, taking effect Saturday.Additional rates kicked in, starting Wednesday, for many individual economies including China and the EU, but also remote islands that barely trade with the United States — and in one case an uninhabited territory near Antarctica.Amid stock market panic, Trump earlier Wednesday urged Americans to “BE COOL!” and said that “Everything is going to work out well”Wall Street stocks rocketed on Trump’s pause announcement.Minutes later, the S&P 500 surged 6.0 percent to 5,281.44, snapping a brutal run of losses over the past week.European and Asian stock markets had earlier tumbled along with oil and the dollar as the confrontation escalated.US bond yields had also risen amid a sharp sell-off  — a major economic red light as sovereign government debt is normally seen as a safe haven for investors in troubled times.- ‘Kissing my ass’ -Before his pivot, Trump said world leaders were rushing to negotiate “tailored” deals with the United States, with Japan and South Korea among those sending delegations to Washington.”I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass,” Trump told a dinner with fellow Republicans on Tuesday night.But China doubled down. “The tariff escalation against China by the United States simply piles mistakes on top of mistakes,” the Chinese finance ministry said.Bessent earlier warned countries at a banking summit Wednesday that aligning with Beijing “would be cutting your own throat.”Trump believes his policy will revive America’s lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the United States.The billionaire former property tycoon has particularly raged against China, accusing it of excess production and “dumping” inexpensive goods on other economies.China warned tourists on Wednesday to “fully assess the risks” before travelling to the United States.And US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth then warned against Chinese “threats” as he visited Panama, whose canal is at the center of a row between Beijing and Washington.burs-dk

The US retail giant Amazon is preparing to launch Wednesday its first full batch of Project Kuiper satellites, marking a crucial milestone in the battle with Elon Musk’s Starlink to provide high-speed internet.The 27 satellites will be launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 7:00 pm (2300 GMT) aboard an Atlas V rocket operated by the United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.Like Starlink, the service is designed to provide internet access to even the most remote and underserved areas around the world, including war zones or disaster-struck areas.The satellites will be positioned hundreds of miles above the Earth, where they will form the foundations of Project Kuiper — a constellation that Amazon says will include more than 3,200 satellites.Amazon, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, has said the internet service will go live this year.The project’s pricing has not yet been revealed, but Amazon has promised it will be in line with its existing reputation as a low-cost retailer.With this launch, Amazon is going into direct competition with SpaceX’s Starlink and other satellite internet providers.The Musk-owned SpaceX launched the first batch of its more than 6,750 operational Starlink satellites in 2019 and is by far the sector’s biggest player, boasting over five million customers worldwide.Starlink has provided internet access to several disaster and war zones, including Morocco after a devastating 2023 earthquake there, as well as on the frontlines in Ukraine in its war with Russia.- High competition -Unlike traditional internet services that rely on fewer satellites that are situated more than 35,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) from Earth, those offered by Musk and soon Bezos use a low Earth orbit of between 550 and 1,300 kilometers (350-810 miles).This allows them to relay data more rapidly to Earth, enabling internet access in areas without landline connections by copper or fiber optic cable.”Cost, complexity, and geography can make it difficult to install traditional, ground-based fiber and wireless connectivity solutions in these areas,” Amazon says.A lower orbit, however, means so-called LEO satellites are only reachable from a smaller area, meaning more are needed for full global coverage and launches are more regular.Still, it provides a large potential market for Amazon — one in which it is hoping to become a key player by catching up with its main competitor.Amazon is planning to boost satellite launches in the coming months and years, with more than 80 flights ordered by firms including ULA, Bezos’s space company Blue Origin and even Musk’s SpaceX. These satellites will be gradually dispatched to the low Earth orbit, which is increasingly populated by Starlink as well as other emerging actors including Europe’s OneWeb and China’s Guowang.Some have voiced fears the growing number of satellites could lead to congestion and possible collisions, as well as disturbances for astronomical observations.The role of private hands in space has also raised political questions, particularly given the role of Musk as a key advisor to US President Donald Trump.Musk has cast doubt on the future of Starlink in Ukraine, where it is essential for military operations in Kyiv’s war with Russia that Trump wants to see ended.He said in March, however, that “no matter how much I disagree with the Ukraine policy, Starlink will never turn off its terminals.”

Delta Air Lines withdrew its full-year profit forecast Wednesday and shelved some planned capacity hikes, pointing to a weakening demand outlook amid recession worries and whipsawing trade wars.The company is among the first to report its quarterly results since President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement of major tariffs on US trading partners that has roiled global markets.The big US carrier’s first-quarter profits edged above those in the year-ago period, but executives said they were adjusting strategy to fly fewer planes due to a more meager consumer environment in light of shifting tariff dynamics.”With broad economic uncertainty around global trade, growth has largely stalled,” said Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian. “In this slower-growth environment, we are protecting margins and cash flow by focusing on what we can control.”Bastian expressed confidence in Delta’s ability to navigate a downturn during a conference call with analysts.The call also touched on travel trends with neighbors Mexico and China, and the impact of tariffs on its dealings with plane maker Airbus.Delta will shelve plans to increase travel capacity in the second half of 2025, which is now projected as flat compared with last year, Bastian said.Profits for the first quarter were $240 million, 18 percent above the year-ago level on a two percent rise in revenues to $14 billion.On Wednesday, the company projected second-quarter revenues of between negative two percent and positive two percent, while profits of between $1.70 and $2.30 per share. Delta isn’t confirming 2025 projections due to the current uncertainty, saying it “will provide an update later in the year as visibility improves.”Company officials said there has been “significant” deterioration in bookings from Canada to the United States while the performance from Mexico has been “mixed.” There has not yet been a big pullback in travel to the United States from Europe or other international markets. But Delta garners only about 20 percent of its international travel revenues from outside the United States, limiting the impact of a pullback, company officials said. Delta executives said they were hopeful a trade agreement between the United States and Europe could remove the threat of tariffs on Airbus planes ordered by the airline.Airbus has “been a great partner,” Bastian said. “But the one thing that you need to know we’re very clear on is that we will not be paying tariffs on any aircraft deliveries we take,” he said.”If you start to put a 20 percent incremental cost on top of an aircraft, it gets very difficult to make the math work,” he said.While the United States has an overall trade deficit with Europe, Europe is by far a net importer in the aircraft and assorted goods category, Delta officials said.Shares of Delta jumped 18.6 percent, with markets rallying aggressively after Trump announced he would suspend new tariffs on countries besides China.

Federal judges in New York and Texas temporarily blocked the Trump administration on Wednesday from deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members without a court hearing.The US Supreme Court on Monday lifted a lower court order barring the deportation of undocumented Venezuelan migrants using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (AEA), but said they must first be given an opportunity to legally challenge their removal.The New York and Texas cases were the first to appear before the federal courts since the ruling by the Supreme Court on the use of the AEA to deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.President Donald Trump invoked the AEA, which has only previously been used during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II, to round up alleged Tren de Aragua members and summarily expel them last month to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.The White House alleges that Tren de Aragua is closely linked to the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and is “perpetrating an invasion” of the United States.Attorneys for several of the deported Venezuelans have said their clients were not members of Tren de Aragua, had committed no crimes and were targeted largely on the basis of their tattoos.In New York, District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, an appointee of president Bill Clinton, issued a temporary restraining order barring the deportation of two Venezuelan men, identified only by their initials, until they receive a court hearing.In Texas, District Judge Fernando Rodriguez, a Trump appointee, issued a similar temporary restraining order in a case brought by three Venezuelans also identified only by their initials.- ‘Irreparable injury’ -In his order, Rodriguez noted that the Supreme Court had ruled that anyone subject to removal under the AEA must first receive notice and an opportunity to appear in court.The immediate removal of the three individuals would cause them “irreparable injury,” the judge said, and if they were “erroneously removed” it was unlikely they could be returned to the United States.The US Supreme Court is currently considering the case of a Salvadoran man who was wrongfully deported last month on the same day as the alleged Tren de Aragua members.A district court has ordered that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 29, be returned to the United States and an appeals court has upheld the decision.The Trump administration, in asking the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s order, called it a “demand that the United States let a member of a foreign terrorist organization into America.”The White House insists that Abrego Garcia, who is married to a US citizen, is a member of the Salvadoran gang MS-13 but has not produced any credible evidence in court.Abrego Garcia had been living in the United States under protected legal status since 2019, when a judge ruled he should not be deported because he could be harmed in El Salvador.