Drugs

Borg won 66 singles titles, spent 109 weeks as world number one and claimed a record 41 successive wins at Wimbledon.

His retirement at 25 – a time when tennis players are starting to peak – was a shock.

“I had enough. I lost the interest and the motivation,” he said.

“If I knew what was going to happen in the years after, I would continue to play tennis.”

In his autobiography, Heartbeats: A Memoir, co-written with his wife Patricia, the notoriously private Borg speaks about his post-playing career struggles.

“I had no plan. People today, they have guidance. I was lost in the world,” he said.

“There was more drugs, there was pills, alcohol, to escape myself from reality.

“I didn’t have to think about it. Of course it’s not good, it destroys you as a person.”

Borg was hospitalised after an overdose, external in Milan in 1989 – an incident which made him reassess retirement.

He returned to the tennis tour from 1991 to 1993 but failed to win a single match.

“I was close to dying many times,” Borg added.

“I fixed my life. I’m very happy with myself.”

THEY were lovers from opposite ends of society — a runaway aristocrat and a convicted rapist who sparked a nationwide manhunt when they went on the run to hide their secret newborn baby from social services.

Now, in a dramatic twist, Mark Gordon’s sister has lifted the lid on her convict brother’s twisted past that led him on the path to a toxic “Romeo and Juliet” romance – culminating in the tragic death of their child.

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It comes as Marten, 38, and Gordon, 51, were yesterday sentenced to 14 years behind bars after being convicted of gross negligence manslaughter when their newborn baby, Victoria, died, likely of hypothermia.

Gordon got an extended four-year licence as he met the threshold for dangerousness, meaning he has a high risk of reoffending.

It means after serving his sentence, he will remain under state supervision and have certain restrictions.

Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Karen Satchell, 54, from North London, reveals for the first time how her jailbird brother dreamed of a new life – and fathered another child before vanishing off-grid with Marten.

She told how her brother was once dubbed “The Preacher” by other lags because he often quoted from the Bible when he was serving 20 years in a US jail for rape, aged 14.

We can also reveal that he had his first baby just a couple of years after returning to the UK after spending time in an American jail.

The child now lives in Greece with their mother, and Gordon’s family still get sent pictures of how they are doing.

Sister Karen Satchell said the runaway father had ambitions to become a businessman before his life spiralled further after a chance encounter with Constance, a woman closely linked to the Royal Family.

And he became increasingly paranoid in what Karen has called a “Romeo and Juliet” style relationship, with lovers from two wildly different families.

It is understood Gordon met Marten’s relatives shortly after they began dating around 2014, and even went to their house before Marten became estranged from them.

With Constance, 38, Gordon had five children – four of whom were taken off them after concerns over their caring abilities, and the fifth, Victoria.

Gordon grew up as a “shy” lad in Birmingham, attending the state comprehensive Yardley Primary School.

While future-wife Marten – the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II’s former page – reminisced about childhood picnics and naked siestas in hay bales at her country mansion in Dorset, Gordon, the youngest of seven, was digging up dirt in his yard and chasing his sisters around with worms.

Half-sister Karen remembers him as a “good kid”, adding: “A proper naughty little brother but more mischievous than anything bad.”

He went to church weekly with his tight-knit family, and his mum Sylvia was a licensed pastor.

He totally shut down and was in a daze. He wasn’t aware of what was really going on. He looked younger than he was. To think of him with felonies is unbelievable.

Karen Satchell on Mark Gordon’s rape arrest

And while Marten’s family had annual skiing holidays, Gordon’s went to Butlins each year, where he once won some money and flowers in a mother-and-son competition.

Karen said: “They were standing on the stage and Mark was asked a few questions about his mum.

“They thought they were the most bonded.”

But he was described as “a bit of a loner” and preferring instead to play by himself, or hang out with Karen and her friends, following them around and threatening to snitch on her to his mum if she was ever up to no good.

When he was still young, Sylvia moved to America to try to build a better life for them, while Mark and Karen stayed in Britain with a nanny.

They were excited when, aged 11 and 15, they joined Sylvia in New York – but it was a culture shock.

They started off at a run-down school in the Bronx, plagued by bad behaviour and knives. Then moved to a better school, but had to catch two trains and two buses to get there.

A year later, the family relocated to a three-bed, single-storey home in a predominantly white neighbourhood in Florida while their mum studied to be a nurse.

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Karen said: “We became popular – everybody wanted to hear us talk because of our accent.

“The girls loved Mark. They knew where he lived and followed him home.

“They would knock on the door, and he was hiding. He didn’t want to talk to them. He was really shy. I never saw him with a girlfriend.

“When I got to the age when I had a boyfriend, he tended to stay home in his room. I was like ‘come out of your room, talk to some girls’. He said ‘get out, leave me alone’.”

‘He shut down’ after rape arrest

Their happy family life turned upside down, however, when he was arrested for rape in 1989.

They panicked when he failed to return home and spent all evening searching the neighbourhood for him, fearing for his safety.

Mum Sylvia, who was training to be a nurse, was away in Jamaica at the time but flew back in a panic as Mark’s siblings phoned the police to make a missing persons report.

But when Sylvia turned up at the police station, she was devastated to hear her last-born son had made a taped confession to rape.

Karen said: “We were devastated. He never spoke. He stopped speaking.

“He totally shut down and was in a daze. He wasn’t aware of what was really going on.

“He looked younger than he was. To think of him with felonies is unbelievable.”

He was convicted of armed kidnapping, multiple counts of armed sexual battery and other charges in 1994.

His family visited him frequently in prison, but he never spoke about any hardships inside.

He had been nicknamed ‘The Preacher’, thought to have been because he was often quoting the bible to get through.

But Karen said he also became incredibly studious.

He got a degree after studying electrical engineering, IT and business management – and built up the life he wanted to lead in his head.

‘He’s somebody you don’t want to cross’

When he returned to Britain in 2010, Karen says he was different – much more philosophical and a “proper naturalist” who worked out and was into healthy eating.

She often saw him having blended vegetables or raw eggs, and was into herbal tea and holistic healing.

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Karen also described him as cunning, charming, but still incredibly private.

She threw a welcome home party for him at her flat in Palmers Green, but he never went.

In fact, she didn’t hear from him for six months after he landed.

Karen said: “He went quiet and we didn’t know where he was.

“I was ringing, trying to go to prisons and agencies, trying to find out where he went. I had been waiting for him.

“When he was on his feet, he showed up. I was like ‘Where have you been?’.

“He was smiling and laughing, saying: ‘I’m alright, sis.’

There’s a look in his eyes that would make you shut up. You shut up and agree with him. He does these weird stares.

Karen Satchellon her brother’s chilling look

He would often turn up to see his sister wearing smart suits, he went to business conventions and became interested in investments, stocks and bonds. She said he was articulate and productive.

He “never drank, never smoked, never swore, never raised his voice” and told his family he always had different ventures and sales meetings going on.

But she also remembered he sometimes had a strange look in his eyes.

She said: “This is what got him through his jail time. There’s a look in his eyes that would make you shut up.

“You shut up and agree with him. He does these weird stares.

“He’s not a person who had to do anything action-wise. You would look at him and go ‘leave that man alone’.

“He looks like somebody you don’t want to cross with. But when you get past that, he’s quite shy. I think that’s his defence mechanism.”

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He also never told her exactly where he lived, nor exactly what he did.

Within the first year of coming back to Britain, he had his first daughter, who Karen never found out about until she was two.

She went to meet her for the first time when she was three, when Mark was living with her and her mother in Ilford, East London.

Karen said: “We were shocked. We didn’t know he had a daughter. He was a private guy.

“When I met the girl, they had been together for a little while. She was lovely. So beautiful. He took care of his kids really well.”

She added: “I think he always wanted to be a dad.”

They broke up shortly after for unknown reasons, just before Mark met Constance Marten in an incense shop in Tottenham, North London, in 2014.

Paranoid he was being followed

After this, Karen says he became noticeably more paranoid, often talking about people following or tracking him.

He moved around after dark, whispered on the phone and asked to meet his sister in parks at strange hours.

When he visited Karen, he would stay for a few minutes, ask about them and just laugh if asked where he was staying.

He would say: “It’s alright, sis, you don’t need to know.”

He stayed with her in 2015 for around a month, coming in and out regularly at night, before suddenly leaving without a fuss.

Karen remembered: “I’d say Where do you live? Where are you going?

“I want to help like a big sister would. He just said it’s okay, I don’t need it, I’m good.

“They went travelling a lot. I asked him how he could go to all these places.

“He just did a little smirk and said: ‘Don’t worry, you will get there one day.’”

Gordon and Marten’s troubles escalated shortly after they got married in Peru, in a ceremony that is not recognised in the UK.

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They then had their first baby in 2017 after living in a tent together in Wales to escape Marten’s family and their private investigators.

Karen said: “He called me once from Wales and asked me to help him out, and if he could stay at my address.

“He called and said, ‘What are you doing? ‘ but said he couldn’t talk right now because ‘they are listening’. It was weird.

“He said, ‘You can’t help me’. He said he had gone to see his wife. He was hiding out, whispering.

“He said I’m visiting my wife. I asked what was wrong, and he just said ‘Long story, something to do with the baby’.

“He said he was trying to get his wife moved out. He wanted to come back to London.”

His family only knew about his first two babies with Constance.

They never met her, and don’t even know the gender of the second two children and were never told anything about their battle with social services.

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The couple were supposed to spend Christmas 2019 with Karen, but Mark arrived without her, saying she was away and that “It’s complicated”.

Karen said: “I said, ‘Why, who is she? The Queen? Then it turned out she was linked to the Queen!”

She reckons Marten was the “boss” in their marriage, while Mark would have guided her decision-making.

And she insisted the couple just “wanted to be naturalists”.

She last spoke to Mark about a year before he went on the run, which would have been during the time he and Constance were trying to keep the latest pregnancy hidden from everyone.

Days after his arrest, Victoria’s body was found dead in a plastic bag in a disused allotment shed.

Karen concluded: “It went terribly wrong. They made a terrible mistake.”

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WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that the U.S. military again targeted a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing three aboard the vessel.

“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.,” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the strike. “These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests.”

The strike that Trump says was carried out Monday came two weeks after another military strike on what the Trump administration says was a drug-carrying speedboat from Venezuela that killed 11.

The Trump administration justified the earlier strike as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.

But several senators, Democrats and some Republicans, have indicated dissatisfaction with the administration’s rationale and questioned the legality of the action. They view it as a potential overreach of executive authority in part by using the military for law enforcement purposes.

The Trump administration has claimed self-defense as a legal justification for the first strike, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio arguing the drug cartels “pose an immediate threat” to the nation.

U.S. officials said the strike early this month targeted Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. And they indicated more military strikes on drug targets would be coming as the U.S. looks to “wage war” on cartels.

Trump did not specify whether Tren de Aragua was also the target of Monday’s strike.

The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported strike.

The Trump administration has railed specifically against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for the scourge of illegal drugs in U.S. communities.

Maduro during a press conference earlier on Monday lashed out at the U.S. government, accusing the Trump administration of using drug trafficking accusations as an excuse for a military operation whose intentions are “to intimidate and seek regime change” in the South American country.

Maduro also repudiated what he described as a weekend operation in which 18 Marines raided a Venezuelan fishing boat in the Caribbean.

“What were they looking for? Tuna? What were they looking for? A kilo of snapper? Who gave the order in Washington for a missile destroyer to send 18 armed Marines to raid a tuna fishing vessel?” he said. “They were looking for a military incident. If the tuna fishing boys had any kind of weapons and used weapons while in Venezuelan jurisdiction, it would have been the military incident that the warmongers, extremists who want a war in the Caribbean, are seeking.”

Speaking to Fox News earlier Monday, Rubio reiterated that the U.S. doesn’t see Maduro as the rightful leader of Venezuela but as head of a drug cartel.

“We’re not going to have a cartel, operating or masquerading as a government, operating in our own hemisphere,” Rubio said.

Following the first military strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, America’s chief diplomat said Trump was “going to use the U.S. military and all the elements of American power to target cartels who are targeting America.”

AP and others have reported that the boat had turned around and was heading back to shore when it was struck. But Rubio on Monday said he didn’t know if that’s accurate.

“What needs to start happening is some of these boats need to get blown up,” Rubio said. “We can’t live in a world where all of a sudden they do a U-turn and so we can’t touch them anymore.”

Madhani and Garcia Cano write for the Associated Press. AP writer Matthew Lee in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

BLOKES taking sex pills including Viagra have complained of side effects including going deaf, blind and bald.

More than 900 people reported experiencing problems they believed were linked to the medications between 2000 and 2024.

Among them, six men reckoned Viagra-style pills caused them to lose their hearing — just like Hugh Hefner.

The Playboy boss claimed he went deaf from using too much Viagra before he died aged 91 in 2017.

There were also 41 sight problems reported to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, including two claims of blindness and another two of blurred vision.

Four men said they suffered cyanopsia — where everything appears to be covered in a blue sheen.

Another user linked the blue pills to getting the hair-loss condition alopecia.

Four people said they caused changes in their sweat glands and six said they caused rashes.

There were 926 reports of side-effects to the MHRA, with three fellas reporting they suffered priapism — a condition that leaves men standing to attention for four or more hours — while two reported suffering fractured manhoods.

One man said his lips started to swell, another complained of a swollen tongue.

Other reports included dizziness, confusion, anxiety and flatulence.

Reports of suspected side effects are recorded under the MHRA’s yellow card scheme which allows health professionals to monitor any potential dangers.

The watchdog logs cases but says not all were definitely caused by the drugs.

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A DRAGONS’ Den investment winner was caught with cocaine when nicked for punching a restaurant manager over “poor quality service”.

Ross Mendham, 41, struck Connor Humpleby when he intervened in an exchange between the ex-bodybuilder and staff.

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Police were arresting Mendham at The Ivy Norwich Brasserie.

A small plastic bag of white powder then fell to the floor, the city’s JPs were told.

Mendham, of Cringleford, Norfolk, admitted possessing cocaine and assault.

He was fined £373 plus £282 costs.

Read more on Dragons’ Den

He was on BBC’s Dragons’ Den in 2013.

He received £60,000 for instant noodle and pasta venture Barenaked Foods.

He is facing trial next year for allegedly punching his heavily pregnant partner in the face.

He denies assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

AN OAP tried to smuggle £640,000 of cocaine into the UK by stashing it in his mobility scooter.

Canadian Ronald Lord, 71, said he had been on holiday in Barbados and was here for sightseeing when stopped at Gatwick.

Border Force officers put his scooter through an X-ray machine and found 8kg of the Class A drug hidden within the back-panel of his seat.

He denied knowing how the coke got there, but a screw from the panel was discovered in his pocket in the February search.

Lord admitted drug smuggling at Croydon crown court and was jailed for six years.

Richard Wickham, from the National Crime Agency, said: “Organised crime groups need smugglers like Lord to bring class A drugs into the UK.

“They are sold for huge profit by gangs who deal in violence and exploitation.

“He obviously thought that because he was a pensioner he would be less of a target for law enforcement.

“He was wrong.

“I hope this case sends out a message to anyone who would consider doing the same.”

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ON ‘P***head Corner’, a group of worse-for-wear locals tuck into cans of cheap beer while commuters hurry past on their way to work.

Charity shops, boarded up stores and nail salons dominate the high street, while drug deals take place in broad daylight and drunks brazenly swig from bottles of spirits. 

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Yet this scene of deprivation is just yards from the picturesque seafront of South Shields, with a stunning stretch of golden sands and a recently regenerated promenade.

This weekend 60,000 athletes will cross the finish line of the Great North Run, running a mile along the coastline at Sandhaven Beach, after competing the gruelling race from Newcastle. 

But beyond the funfair, restaurants and elegant Victorian park close to sands, the rundown streets tell a story of years of neglect and residents speak of a dark underbelly of crime, alcoholism and drug taking. 

Steven Smith was once a successful painter and decorator but is now a self-confessed alcoholic desperately trying to get sober. 

We speak to him at the town’s transport interchange, dubbed “P***head Corner” due to its popularity among drinkers.

The 42-year-old said: “Having the Great North Run is all well and good but the crime rate is diabolical.

“I got beat up just last night. It was for no reason at all. I was walking through the row of shops in the centre and I ended up in hospital. I woke up there. 

“There were three lads and they jumped me for nothing. They were probably trying to steal from me but it knocked me out.

“I’m walking and talking and that’s the main thing, but it’s not nice. They did it because they are a***holes, and it didn’t surprise me to be honest. 

“South Shields is getting worse for it. The town was given some money a while ago but it hasn’t been spent wisely.

“I don’t take drugs but I’m an alcoholic trying to ween myself off.

“The other day I walked around the corner and saw someone smoking a crack pipe in front of kids.”

Steven believes the town’s younger population are at risk of falling into the same trap.

The other day I walked around the corner and saw someone smoking a crack pipe in front of kids

Steven Smith

He added: “I had some kids ask me last week to go in the shop for them to buy drink. They couldn’t have been older than 13 or 14.

“I told them I wasn’t going to do it. I don’t want to encourage anyone to drink. It ruins lives.”

Addiction crisis

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Damning data from the Office of National Statistics speaks of an alcohol crisis engulfing the town and the surrounding area. 

Across 2022 to 2023, 777 per 100,000 people in South Tyneside were admitted to hospital for an alcohol-related reason. The figure was sky high compared to the rate of 475 across England as a whole. 

During the same time period, 62 per 100,000 under 18s were admitted as a result of consuming booze, while the England rate stood at just 26.

The number of people suffering from alcoholic liver disease in South Tyneside was also nearly double the national rate. There were 304 per 100,000 in the region, compared to 156 in England.

By mid-morning, groups of men and women eagerly waited outside the town’s pubs ahead of opening time. 

Meanwhile, a gaunt couple were handed a package by a furtive-looking man before rushing from the bustle of the interchange. 

People are always on drugs giving you abuse when you walk past. Even if you have a child with you, they do it all the time.

Ex-McDonald’s worker Chloe Mycock

Ex-McDonald’s worker Chloe Mycock used to dread taking breaks during shifts at the nearby fast food restaurant due to unsavoury characters loitering outside.

Chloe, now 21, said: “Alcoholism is a major issue. People are always on drugs giving you abuse when you walk past.

“Even if you have a child with you, they do it all the time. Groups of kids go through the bus station on bikes and they will harass you without a care.

“One hundred per cent it makes me wary of going outside on my own.

“I used to work at McDonald’s and I would come and sit outside on my breaks to get some fresh air. But there would be crowds of people outside and it made me feel unsafe.

“This was during the day so I definitely would not feel safe coming out at night-time.

“I think a lot of these people come from certain parts on the outskirts of the town and they congregate together in the centre.”

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Retired police officer Dave Binding, 81, added: “The place is dirty, although it is the same as anywhere else these days.

“People used to come home after work, get changed, and go for a night out.

“But now they might have a quick drink and then go home and stay there, perhaps due to fear of walking the streets.

“There are places around here that are no-go areas, which common sense dictates you stay away from.

People used to come home after work, get changed, and go for a night out. But now they might have a quick drink and then go home and stay there, perhaps due to fear of walking the streets

Retired police officer Dave Binding

“But I ask, what more can you do? We have a country that we deserve now, not one that we want.

“I’m seeing the problem happen more often with drinks in South Shields. I feel sorry for the staff at A&E because it must be like a conveyer belt.

“They must tell each other ‘I saw him yesterday’ but what more can they do?

“This place suffers from the same rash – the same nail bars, the same barbers and second-hand shops.”

Child poverty

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A recent BBC study ranked a third of the neighbourhoods in South Tyneside among the most deprived in the country.

The child poverty crisis was deemed so severe the council recently announced a four-point plan in a desperate bid to reduce levels.

In 2020 to 2021, around 39 per cent of children in the South Tyneside area were living in poverty according to council data.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators will flock to the town to watch the competitors finish the 42nd Great North Run, which was founded in 1981, when just 12K took part. 

The event was masterminded by former Olympic medallist Brendan Foster who wanted to create a fun run in his home region. Mo Farah dubbed the 2013 race his favourite ever, despite not winning, due to the tremendous support from the sidelines. 

One woman, who didn’t want to be named, said: “The Great North Run is great for the area but people only ever see the nicer part of South Shields at the coast when it’s on TV.

“I don’t think the people who come here for the run will to rush to return.

“People used to come to this area to live but now they try and get out because there’s nothing here.

“Kids these days hang around on their bikes outside of McDonald’s and people don’t feel safe.

I don’t venture out in the town when it’s dark because people are up to no good on their bikes

Anonymous

“Child poverty is definitely an issue in the town. A lot of the younger generation don’t go on to higher education.

“If they’re not lucky enough to grow up in a nicer area, they often get stuck in a poverty cycle.

“There aren’t many jobs and people have to travel elsewhere.

“The foodbank in nearby Hebburn gets really busy.

“I don’t venture out in the town when it’s dark because people are up to no good on their bikes.”

Intoxicated groups

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Sarah Wytcherley, a 40-year-old warehouse worker, said: “Crowds of intoxicated people gather in the town all of the time.

“They sit outside the bus interchange and that’s not what people want to see when they’re visiting the town for the first time.

“It has always been a problem with Shields as far as I’m aware. It doesn’t look very nice.”

One worker at the interchange believes police have been making an effort to move on the hoards of drunks.

He said: “It has been bad. It is has gone downhill as a whole. You see them spiced out of their heads and it puts fear into people.

“There was an incident not long ago where a kid on a bike hurt a disabled guy. It doesn’t look good for town at all.”

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Cllr Tracey Dixon, Leader of South Tyneside Council told The Sun: “The Great North Run showcases the beauty and spirit of our borough.

“But behind the scenes, we’re working every day to make sure that spirit is felt in every neighbourhood – tackling inequality, improving safety, and creating opportunity for all.

“We’ve never shied away from the challenges some of our communities face and we have worked hard to tackle them head on, targeting our support to make things fairer across the borough and redress inequalities.

“We know that issues like child poverty and alcohol-related harm have a real impact on people’s lives, and that’s why we’ve taken bold, proactive steps to address them.

“We’ve launched the North East’s first Child Poverty Strategy, bringing together partners across the region to take coordinated action — from working closely with schools and providing baby boxes to new parents to helping parents with the costs of school uniforms, school meals and holiday activities.

“We’re also refreshing our Alcohol Strategy to confront the borough’s high rates of alcohol-related deaths. This includes improving access to support services, challenging cultural norms around drinking, and tackling health inequalities head-on.

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“To tackle long-term challenges, we’re investing in both our places and our people. Our regeneration plans go beyond the seafront — they’re about creating opportunity across the borough.

“The relocation of South Tyneside College into the town centre, backed by millions in external funding, will breathe new life into South Shields.

“Through the Community Regeneration Partnership, we’re also delivering real improvements in Hebburn, Jarrow and beyond. Programmes like South Tyneside Works and regional skills initiatives are helping residents access training and support.

“And by attracting major employers, we’re creating jobs and helping local people step into them.”

Superintendent Lisa Laverick, of Northumbria Police, said: “Alongside our partner organisations, we strive to make South Tyneside as safe as possible a place for people to live, work and visit.

“As a Force, we fully understand the detrimental impact that crime can have on the lives of residents and always aim to tackle these issues head on using a range of tactics.

“We carry out a number of proactive operations during each year, including Project Shield patrols which aim to reduce anti-social behaviour and serious violence incidents while also engaging with our communities to retain and build their trust in us.

“We also run the Safer Transport Northumbria initiative which allows commuters to raise any issues while using public transport with us, while our dedicated Metro Unit regularly patrols the Metro network to identify any criminality and take the appropriate action.

“This has helped us to achieve a 19 per cent fall in the number of recorded ASB incidents in South Tyneside in the past year, and our focus remains on improving this even further.

“Our teams do their utmost to build on our ever-growing intelligence picture so that we can target offenders and get them before the courts to face justice.

“As ever, we rely on the support and assistance of our community so please continue to work with us by providing information on crime or suspicious activity if you become aware of it in your neighbourhood.

“Together, we can keep South Tyneside the welcoming borough it is.”

A federal appeals court ruled on September 2 that the Trump administration cannot use an 18th-century law to quickly deport suspected gang members.

Its decision largely hinged on the administration’s assertion that the Venezuela-based gang Tren de Aragua had invaded the United States.

“Applying our obligation to interpret the (Alien Enemies Act), we conclude that the findings do not support that an invasion or a predatory incursion has occurred,” the ruling said.

The conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2-1 decision effectively blocks the government from using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act’s fast-track process to deport people it says belong to the gang. Such an invasion or incursion is a necessary condition for the US to deport people using the law.

Here are five things to know about the Alien Enemies Act, the court’s ruling and what could come next:

How did the Trump administration use the law before the ruling?

On March 15, President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, which lets the president detain and deport people from a “hostile nation or government” without a hearing when the US is either at war with that country or the country has “perpetrated, attempted, or threatened” an invasion or raid legally called a “predatory incursion” against the US.

That same day, the Trump administration deported more than 230 Venezuelan men to the Center for Terrorism Confinement, or CECOT, a maximum-security El Salvador prison. An investigation by ProPublica and other news organisations found the vast majority of the men had no criminal records. And none of the men’s names appeared in a list of alleged gang members kept by Venezuelan law enforcement and international law enforcement agency Interpol.

In July, as part of a prisoner exchange between the US and Venezuela, the men deported from the US and held in CECOT were returned to Venezuela.

Several legal challenges followed after Trump’s invocation of the law. But the September 2 appellate court’s ruling is the first to address whether Trump legally invoked it.

What did the appeals court say about an invasion?

The court said Tren de Aragua has not invaded or carried out a predatory incursion against the US.

The appellate court disagreed with Trump’s March assertion that “evidence irrefutably demonstrates that (Tren de Aragua) has invaded the United States.” To determine whether Tren de Aragua had invaded or carried out a predatory incursion, the court had to define what each of those terms meant.

“We define an invasion for purposes of the (Alien Enemies Act) as an act of war involving the entry into this country by a military force of or at least directed by another country or nation, with a hostile intent,” the ruling said.

As for a predatory incursion, the court said the term “described armed forces of some size and cohesion, engaged in something less than an invasion, whose objectives could vary widely, and are directed by a foreign government or nation”.

The court ruled that a country “encouraging its residents and citizens to enter this country illegally is not the modern-day equivalent of sending an armed, organised force to occupy, to disrupt, or to otherwise harm the United States”.

The court said the mass migration of Venezuelan immigrants did not constitute an armed or an organised force.

Was any part of the ruling favourable to the Trump administration?

The court said it does not have the power to rule on the accuracy of the information the Trump administration presented about how closely Tren de Aragua is tied to the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolas Maduro.

But the court ruled that Tren de Aragua can be considered a government or nation for the law’s purposes, assuming Trump’s assertion is true that the group is being led by the Venezuelan government.

Nevertheless, the court ruled, there’s no invasion.

Trump’s assertion about the Maduro administration’s links to Tren de Aragua was contradicted by an intelligence community assessment.

“While Venezuela’s permissive environment enables (Tren de Aragua) to operate, the Maduro regime probably does not have a policy of cooperating with TDA and is not directing TDA movement to and operations in the United States,” the National Intelligence Council said in an April report.

In May, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard fired two National Intelligence Council officials who wrote the assessment, according to The Washington Post.

What did the court say about due process?

The appellate court said, based on available information, an updated process the government is using to inform people they will be deported under the law seemed to follow due process requirements. However, it asked the lower federal court to rule on what constitutes sufficient government notice.

In May, before the government updated its notification process, the US Supreme Court ruled in an unsigned opinion that the Trump administration hadn’t given immigrants who it said it would deport under the Alien Enemies Act enough time to exercise their due process rights.

At the time, the government had given immigrants about 24 hours’ notice that they would be deported without information about how to contest the deportation. The Supreme Court asked the appellate court to determine how much notice is necessary for the government to uphold immigrants’ constitutional due process rights.

While the case was being decided by the appellate court, the Trump administration updated the document it gives immigrants as notice that they will be deported under the law. Part of the change included giving immigrants seven days to challenge the deportation.

What will likely happen next?

The appellate court’s decision stops Alien Enemies Act deportations in the three states in its jurisdiction: Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Other courts could use the ruling as precedent in their decisions.

The Trump administration can appeal the appellate court ruling either to the full appeals court or to the US Supreme Court. The White House didn’t specify whether it would appeal or to which court.

“The authority to conduct national security operations in defence of the United States and to remove terrorists from the United States rests solely with the president,” Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, said. “We expect to be vindicated on the merits in this case.”

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that military attacks on alleged drug traffickers will “happen again”, brushing aside concerns over the legality of such attacks and the sovereignty of Latin American nations.

Speaking during a news conference in Mexico City on Wednesday, Rubio pledged continued security coordination with countries like Mexico, but suggested the US would not hesitate to take extreme measures on its own.

His remarks, in part, were a response to President Donald Trump’s announcement that the US had blown up a vessel in the Caribbean Sea a day earlier.

Trump and Rubio identified the small boat as a drug-smuggling vessel coming from Venezuela, though no details were provided. All 11 people on board reportedly died.

Rubio framed the air strike as part of a shifting strategy in the US’s ongoing “war on drugs”.

“The United States has long — for many, many years — established intelligence that allowed us to interdict and stop drug boats. And we did that. And it doesn’t work. Interdiction doesn’t work,” Rubio said.

“What will stop them is when you blow them up, when you get rid of them.”

Rubio then explained that the attack was authorised personally by Trump. It had been in the south Caribbean Sea at the time of the attack, and Rubio said it was headed for the US.

“Instead of interdicting it, on the president’s orders, we blew it up. And it will happen again,” Rubio said. “Maybe it’s happening right now. I don’t know.”

Rubio’s visit to Mexico City comes as the Trump administration seeks close cooperation with Mexico, but its aggressive foreign policy has spurred concerns abroad.

Latin American nations have struggled to balance the need for working relations with the US and Trump’s increasingly brazen threats.

Experts say that attacks like Tuesday’s boat bombing are likely illegal under international law, which limits military actions on vessels sailing through international waters.

Still, Rubio defended the action as necessary for protecting the wellbeing of the US.

“If you’re on a boat full of cocaine or fentanyl, whatever, headed to the United States, you’re an immediate threat to the United States,” said Rubio.

US military strikes against armed groups around the world have often depended on the idea that such groups, often tied to armed or fighting groups that represent an immediate risk to US national security. That argument has not previously been used as a pretext for military strikes on drug trafficking, deemed a criminal issue.

But Trump’s second inauguration has marked a shift in that approach.

Since taking office in January, Trump has pushed for emergency powers on the premise that Latin American gangs and other criminal groups constitute an “invasion” on US soil.

He has also designated many such groups as “foreign terrorist organisations”.

In August, reports emerged that Trump had signed an order authorising military strikes against cartels and other drug-smuggling operations, fuelling fears that the US would carry out military strikes in Latin America despite concerns about sovereignty.

Such concerns have been particularly prominent in Mexico, the US’s immediate neighbour to the south.

To mark Rubio’s visit, Mexico and the US issued a joint statement emphasising “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has also repeatedly sought to dispel worries that the Trump administration may take unilateral action on Mexican soil. Trump, meanwhile, has not ruled out such a possibility.

Al Jazeera correspondent John Holman explained that Rubio’s visit was aimed at “smoothing the feathers” and lowering tensions in Mexico.

“There was a lot of fulsome praise. But the elephant in the room here really is that President Trump has been saying repeatedly that, if Mexico wants it, then the US is very happy to send its military down into the country to fight drug cartels,” Holman explained.

“That really wasn’t touched on in this meeting apart from the Mexican foreign minister repeatedly saying that, ‘Yes, we’re going to work with the United States’ — in a very diplomatic way, saying everyone in their own jurisdiction.”

Nevertheless, Rubio and other US officials have emphasised that the US would continue to collaborate on security and drug enforcement with Mexico, which the US has pushed to take a more aggressive stance.

“We’ve got assets in the air, assets in the water, assets on ships, because this is a deadly serious mission for us, and it won’t stop with just this strike,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on the TV show Fox and Friends.

Not all countries in the region are apprehensive as the US takes on an increasingly militarised approach to criminal groups.

“I, along with most of the country, am happy that the US naval deployment is having success in their mission,” Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The pain and suffering the cartels have inflicted on our nation is immense. I have no sympathy for traffickers; the US military should kill them all violently.”

THIS is the moment US military forces bombed a drug running boat from the Tren de Aragua gang.

Dramatic footage shows a kinetic strike target and destroy a smuggling vessel in the Southern Caribbean.

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Washington designates Venezuela’s Tren de Agarua gang as a Maduro-backed terror group.

President Donald Trump, 79, confirmed US forces attacked the boat, killing 11.

Speaking from the Oval Office today, Trump said: “Over the last few minutes we just shot out a drug carrying boat, a lot of drugs on that boat.

“You’ll be seeing that, it just happened moments ago, our Great General and head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has been so incredible, including what took place in Iran knocking out potential nuclear power, I think within a month they would have had it if we didn’t do what we did.

“And there’s more where that came from. There’s a lot of drugs pouring into our country. These came out of Venezuela, a lot of things are coming out of Venezuela. We took it out.”

Meanwhile Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X: ” The US military conducted a lethal strike… against a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela and was being operated by a designated narco-terrorist organization.”

A senior defense official confirmed further information on the “precision strike” would “be made available at a later time.”

This comes amid rising tension between Caracas and Washington.

Last week the US leader sent warships to Venezuela as the country’s dictator moved 15,000 troops to the border with Colombia.

Three US destroyers and 4,000 marines are sailing towards the South American coastline as tensions skyrocket.

It comes after after Trump’s administration announced a $50million bounty on the ruthless tyrant’s head.

Trump has accused President Nicolas Maduro of “mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere”.

The White House previously accused the Tren de Aragua of having “unlawfully infiltrated the United States and are conducting irregular warfare and undertaking hostile actions against the United States.”

Trump also invoked the Alien Enemies Act against the Tren de Aragua gang as he continues efforts to speed up deportations.

The 1798 Act was last used to justify the internment of Japanese-American civilians during World War 2.

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 gives gargantuan levels of authority to the Republican to target and remove undocumented immigrants.

It is designed as a law to be invoked if the US is at war with another country or a nation has invaded the US or threatened to do so.

The proclamation called for all of those subject to the measure to be arrested, detained and removed immediately.

Trump said in a proclamation: “All Venezuelan citizens 14 years of age or older who are members of TdA, are within the United States, and are not actually naturalized or lawful permanent residents of the United States are liable to be apprehended, restrained, secured, and removed as Alien Enemies.”

But, a judge quickly blocked Trump from invoking the act and ordered any flights carrying the gang members to turn around with the order now set for a battle through the courts.

Tren de Aragua is a transnational criminal organisation and U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization from Venezuela.

Believed to have over 5,000 members, Homeland Security officials labeled the group “high-threat,” according to US media reports.

In comments after the strike today, the US president wrote on X: “Earlier this morning, on my Orders, Military Forces conduced a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.

“TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere.

“The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States.

“The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No US Forces were harmed in this strike.

“Please let this serve as a notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE! Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

It comes as Trump has laughed off wild online rumours about his death, dismissing them as “fake news” during a primetime address after days of frenzied speculation over his health.

The president appeared on Tuesday to announce that U.S. Space Command headquarters will move from Colorado to Alabama.

He was then asked if he had seen the viral claims that he was no longer living.

“Really? I didn’t see that. That’s pretty serious!” Trump said, before insisting he had been busy behind the scenes.

“I did numerous interviews and had some pretty poignant posts on my social media site. I was very active over the weekend,” he added, noting that he also visited “some people” at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia.

The press conference had been called to announce that U.S. Space Command headquarters will move from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Huntsville, Alabama — a reversal of Joe Biden’s 2023 decision to keep the base in Colorado.

Trump originally reestablished Space Command in 2018, saying its mission was to defend U.S. interests in space.

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FORMER Prem stars who lost tens of millions in failed investments are demanding justice.

TV pundit Danny Murphy, 48, said he was a victim of “financial abuse” — turning to booze, drugs and gambling after losing about £5million.

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He was among up to 200 players who invested with Kingsbridge Asset Management in the 1990s and 2000s.

It attracted up to £417million before failed ventures led to loss of homes and bankruptcy.

Investors were deemed to be “victims of crime” in a police investigation but are still being chased for millions in tax.

Murphy is one of 11 stars, including ex-Arsenal ace Michael Thomas, calling for more protection from tax charges.

David McKee and Kevin McMenamin, who ran Kingsbridge, denied wrongdoing on BBC’s Panorama last night.

Murphy said he feels “shame” over his involvement.

“It’s the shame, embarrassment and guilt of getting yourself in a position that you think you’re better than,” he said.

“I’ve lost four – maybe five – million, roughly.

“The financial abuse I’ve suffered has caused me monumental problems in my life.”

He added: “The financial abuse in football and the dark side of football, is something that has gone under the radar for too long.”

IT was 1984 and newly qualified doctor Daniel Drucker was excited to dive into the world of ­scientific research.

Fresh out of the University of Toronto Medical School, the 28-year-old was working at a lab in Boston in the US when his supervisor asked him to carry out a routine experiment — which proved to be anything but.

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For it led to Dr Drucker’s discovery of a previously unknown hormone, sparking a new era in medicine.

What he modestly calls a “happy accident” then kick-started a series of ­discoveries that made today’s game-changing weight loss jabs a reality.

The hormone was called glucagon-like peptide 1 — or GLP-1, as the world now knows it.

And the drugs that have resulted from its discovery have produced amazing effects — with users losing up to a fifth of their body weight.

So far around 50,000 of us have been prescribed jabs on the NHS for weight loss, but it is ­estimated around 1.5million people here are buying them privately — a figure that is expected to rise sharply.

Dr Drucker, now 69, tells The Sun: “I never felt like I was on the brink of something huge.

“It was just a fantastic stroke of luck to be in the right place at the right time and to be part of an ­innovation that could improve the health of hundreds of millions of people all over the world.”

The drugs are now being hailed as a possible cure for a range of other conditions too, including dementia and migraine.

But Dr Drucker warns: “We need to be cautious, respect what we don’t know, and not rush into thinking these medicines are right for everyone.

‘Full of hope’

“There could be side-effects we haven’t seen yet, especially in groups we haven’t properly studied.”

Some studies have also raised concerns about gallbladder problems and in rare cases, even ­suicidal thoughts.

GLP-1 was found to play a key role in regulating the appetite and blood sugar levels, by slowing digestion and signalling a feeling of fullness to the brain.

Fat jabs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy contain synthetic versions of GLP-1, tirzepatide and semaglutide, which mimic the natural hormone with astonishing, fat-busting results.

Originally these drugs — known as GLP-1 agonists — were licensed to treat Type 2 diabetes, due to their ability to stimulate the body’s production of insulin, which cuts high blood glucose levels.

But over the past 15 years, after studies ­confirmed the potential to tackle obesity, pharmaceutical firms have reapplied to have the drugs approved as weight loss treatments.

And now evidence is emerging almost daily to suggest these drugs could help treat and even prevent other chronic and degenerative diseases.

Hundreds of scientific trials are under way, and Dr Drucker is “full of hope”, adding that he would consider taking the drugs himself, to ward off ­Alzheimer’s disease.

He says: “I think the next five years is going to be massive. These drugs won’t fix everything, but if they help even half the ­conditions we are testing them for, we could finally find ­treatments for conditions once thought untreatable.”

Decades after his discovery, Dr Drucker is now a professor of ­medicine at the University of Toronto, and a senior investigator at the affiliated Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, where GLP-1 research now fills his life.

He says: “Every morning I turn on my phone and check what’s happened overnight — what new ­discovery has been made, what could this hormone cure or treat.”

Even so, in May UK health chiefs warned that the jabs must not be taken during pregnancy or in the two months before conception, after studies of animals found that semaglutide can cause ­pregnancy loss and birth defects.

But with human use, no such ­danger has been ­confirmed, Dr Drucker says, and dozens of women have ­conceived while taking them.

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Some scientists even believe GLP-1 drugs may boost ­fertility, and could become a go-to for infertility treatment.

Dr Drucker, listed in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2024, says: “It wouldn’t surprise me if five years from now, once we have more clinical trial evidence, if we start recommending these medicines to help people get pregnant, and have safer pregnancies.”

It is exciting stuff, but Dr Drucker admits he also worries about people using the drugs for the wrong ­reasons — such as slim, young women in pursuit of unrealistic beauty ideals on social media.

He says: “If I’ve got a 17-year-old who wants to lose another five per cent of her body weight to look like some celebrity, that’s a real concern.

“We haven’t studied 10,000 teenage girls on these drugs over five years. We don’t know how they affect bones, fertility, mental health or development in the long term.”

Last year model Lottie Moss, sister of supermodel Kate, revealed she had ended up in hospital after a seizure linked to high doses of weight loss drug Ozempic.

I think the next five years will be massive. These drugs won’t fix everything, but if they help even half the conditions we are testing for, we could find treatments for conditions thought untreatable

Dr Daniel Drucker

A nurse told her the dose she had been injecting was meant for someone twice her size.

Dr Drucker warned that older adults, people with eating disorders and those with mental health ­conditions may respond differently to the drugs.

He says: “We’re still ­learning, and just because a medicine works well in one group doesn’t mean it is safe for everyone.”

One of the biggest risks is dehydration, which OnlyFans star Lottie blamed for her seizure.

Dr Drucker says: “Some people experience nausea and vomiting, which can lead to dehydration, and that in itself can be dangerous.”
He also warns that losing weight too quickly can reduce muscle mass and bone density, which is especially risky for older people.

He adds: “This is why it is important people only take these drugs when being monitored by medical professionals, so they can be properly assessed for side-effects and receive the safest, most effective care.”

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So far at least 85 people in the UK have died after taking weight loss jabs, according to reports sent to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency watchdog.

While none of the deaths has been definitively linked to the drugs, health bodies noted a “suspicion” that they may have played a role.

Dr Drucker says: “Reports like these can raise flags, but without proper comparison groups they don’t tell the full story.

‘Drugs aren’t candy’

“In fact, large trials show GLP-1 drugs actually reduce death rates in people with Type 2 diabetes and those with obesity and heart disease.

“So far, the evidence looks solid and reassuring.”

With millions of patients treated over the years, GLP-1s have a well-established safety record for diabetes and obesity.

But Dr Drucker warns that for newer uses, such as ­Alzheimer’s, fatty liver disease or sleep apnoea, we need more data.

He says: “I don’t think there are any hidden, terrifying side-effects waiting to be uncovered.

“But that doesn’t mean people should take them lightly. We don’t yet have 20 years of experience ­treating some of these ­conditions.

“We need to approach each new indication with appropriate caution, to really understand the benefits ­versus the potential risks.

“These drugs aren’t candy, they won’t fix everything — and like all medicines they have side-effects.

“I don’t think we should abandon our focus on safety. We need to move carefully and thoughtfully as this field evolves.”

I’m not struggling with Type 2 diabetes or obesity, but I do have a family history of ­Alzheimer’s. I’m watching the trials closely and, depending on the results, I wouldn’t rule out taking them in the future

Dr Daniel Drucker

He continues: “I’m not struggling with Type 2 diabetes or obesity, but I do have a family history of ­Alzheimer’s. I’m watching the trials closely and, depending on the results, I wouldn’t rule out taking them in the future.

“I have friends from college who are already showing early signs of cognitive decline, and there’s hope that in some cases, ­semaglutide might help to slow it.”

Several studies over the years ­support that theory.

A recent study by a US university found that the jabs could prevent Alzheimer’s-related changes in people with Type 2 diabetes.

Separate research from Taiwan found that people on GLP-1 agonist drugs appeared to have a 37 per cent lower risk of dementia.

Dr Drucker now regularly receives messages from people around the world whose lives have been changed by the drugs his lab helped to create.

He says: “I get tons of stories. ­People send me emails and photos, not just showing their weight loss, but how their health has changed in other ways too.”

Some say the jabs have helped their chronic pain, cleared brain fog or improved long-standing health conditions such as ulcerative colitis or arthritis.

Dr Drucker adds: “It’s incredibly heartwarming and I never get tired of hearing these stories.”

But for him there is even deeper meaning attached to his discovery.

His 97-year-old mother Cila, ­originally from Poland, survived the Holocaust, spending months as a child hiding in the family’s attic before they were captured and held in a ghetto, where her mother and sister were later shot dead.

At the end of the war in 1945 she became a refugee in Palestine, then in 1953 she emigrated to Canada, first settling in Montreal then making Toronto her home in the 1990s.

Dr Drucker says his work has helped to ease Cila’s survivor’s guilt which had consumed her for decades.

He says: “She looks at my work and she’s so proud of how many people it could potentially help.”

LOCALS in “Britain’s most dangerous” say it has become overrun with knife-wielding kids who are making their lives hell.

In a children’s playground at 2pm on a weekday afternoon, two masked drug dealers bear down on our photographer, spitting threats.

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The two young men had seen him taking pictures in the town centre park and wanted to make sure they didn’t appear in them, one putting on a balaclava and the second pulling up the hood of his jacket.

After threatening to smash up his equipment, one of them explained the reason they were there.

“We’re here to f*** up your society by selling drugs to the white boys,” he snarls.

It’s an alarming – but perhaps not surprising – welcome to Middlesbrough, the Teesside town which now has the unenviable status of “Britain’s most dangerous”.

New Home Office statistics reveal that the town suffered 158 crimes per 1,000 people – or to put it another way, one person in six was the victim of crime in the past year.

The Community Safety Partnership stats show Middlesbrough was eclipsed only by Westminster (423 crimes per 1,000) and Camden (195) – although both have much higher populations.

Another survey, by Statista, found the Cleveland Police area, which includes Middlesbrough, has the highest per capita crime rate in the UK, followed by West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and the Met.

After encountering the town centre drug dealers, The Sun went to the crime-plagued Hemlington estate on the south western edge of the town to speak to locals.

The hot topic of the day was the suspension of bus routes to some parts of the estate due to stone and brick attacks by children aged as young as 10.

And another community facility, the Cleveland Huntsman pub, had just had its licence revoked after a man was allegedly stabbed and slashed in an altercation following a spate of criminal damage at the premises.

A number of knife-related cases from recent months are heading through the courts, including the murder of 28-year-old Jordan Hogg.

Four men and two youths deny stabbing him to death in the bleak Fonteyn Court.

It was also on Fonteyn Court that a 19-year-old man was stabbed on August 11 at 5.20pm – and within five minutes a 21-year-old man suffered the same fate on nearby Dalwood Court. 

There was a weary acceptance from locals.

“It’s sickening but at the same time it’s just bog standard,” says one elderly woman who stops to chat on Fonteyn Court.

The kids are carrying knives before they’ve left primary school and they learn from the older lads how to use them, the number of stabbings is out of control.

Resident in Fonteyn Court

“The kids are carrying knives before they’ve left primary school and they learn from the older lads how to use them, the number of stabbings is out of control.

“I’d say we need more bobbies, but they have no respect for authority. I mean, just look around you.”

She has a point. The street is split around 50/50 between occupied and boarded up houses. Disconcertingly, voices can be heard coming from behind some of the green shutters.

Mattresses are dumped on pavements and the remains of torched wheelie bins, sofas and shopping trolleys litter the deserted green areas where children might once have played.

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The one rare sign of cheer is that someone has placed a giant paddling pool at the centre of a grassy area, a hosepipe leading through the back gate of a neighbouring house.

People are loath to speak publicly for fear of reprisals, but one shopkeeper tells us “feral” kids are at the centre of the problems.

“You can see them lining up at the side of the road to bomb the buses with bricks,” he says.

“Some of them are tiny little kids, screaming and swearing as they chuck stones.”

Police travelling undercover on buses

The situation became so bad that officers from Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Policing Team travelled undercover on buses in the area, leading to the arrest of a 10-year-old boy on suspicion of four counts of criminal damage and three counts of causing danger to road users. 

He was later referred to the Youth Offending Team while another boy aged 14 was identified and dealt with for separate offences.

Middlesbrough Council identified a further 10 kids involved in nuisance behaviour, with home visits and “diversionary activity referrals” doles out to their parents.

Acting Inspector Des Horton, from Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “This operation not only helps us to identify those involved in these incidents, but also allows us to build up intelligence and provide reassurance to the drivers of the buses that are being targeted.”

In an unconnected incident, two teenagers have been charged with attempted murder after a 17-year-old was stabbed in the estate’s Phoenix Park in May.

And on August 14, a dozen police vehicles swarmed the estate after a police officer was injured as he responded to reports of a man in possession of a knife.

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An arrest was made following a five-hour stand-off in which cups, bricks and chairs were hurled in the direction of emergency workers.

Chinese takeaway owner Wailan Lau, 48, has lived in Hemlington for the past 25 years.

He told The Sun: “It has got worse and worse over the years, the number of stabbings we see now is completely out of control, it never used to be like this.

“Where I live is fine, I have the same neighbours I have had for years and it is a proper community, everyone looks out for each other.

“But some parts of the estate are just dangerous, so much so that buses and taxis will not go down those streets.

“A lot of the problems we face are down to drugs and in a lot of cases it is drug dealers fighting drug dealers, but sometimes innocent people get caught up in that, which is scary.

“Kids seem to carry knives all the time and the ones who do are getting younger. 

“It’s sad to see this town become one of the worst places in the country for crime because it’s a good place full of good people, unfortunately parts of it have become dangerous.”

Asked whether he knew anyone who had recently been a victim of crime, 17-year-old Harvey Wilson initially shook his head and then suddenly remembered: “Oh yeah, I was held at knifepoint.”

The casual way he recounts a terrifying encounter is chilling.

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Harvey, who hopes to become a carpet fitter when he finishes his studies, said: “I’d just gone for a walk near Albert Park in the town and two lads stopped me and pulled a knife.

“Thankfully I’d left my phone at home and didn’t have any money so they just walked away.

“I’ve been able to forget it pretty quickly but I suppose it is quite scary how many people carry knives. I never would but people do.

“There are areas where you know not to go and if you keep yourself to yourself you probably won’t get any trouble, it’s the people who try to make a name for themselves who end up getting hurt.

“If your name gets known you’ll end up getting hurt.”

Things are getting worse and there are way too many young kids getting killed and injured with knives or getting involved with drugs.

John Clark, 82Middlesbrough resident

In the Parkway Centre, just outside Hemlington, John Clark, 82, reflects on the change in his home town over the course of his lifetime.

He started his working life as a hand rammer making sand castings at steel foundry on the river Tees.

John said: “That was my life, working in steel works and foundries and all of that has gone, there’s nothing left of the industry that built the town and that’s a big part of its problems.

“When I was a kid we had prospects and there was work to pay us a wage and keep us occupied, now the young people have nothing.”

He nods down at his young grandson in the buggy he’s leaning on and says: “I don’t worry for myself when I go about in Middlesbrough but I worry for him and younger members of the family.

“Things are getting worse and there are way too many young kids getting killed and injured with knives or getting involved with drugs.

“The brand new sports shop near us got ram raided the other night as soon as it opened by people in flatbed trucks. The place was left in a right mess and he lost all his new stock.”

Rebecca Green, 40, agreed that poverty plays a part in MIddlesbrough’s crime epidemic.

She said: “We live in a part of the world that has high levels of deprivation and that feeds the crime rate, when people are struggling to live they do desperate things.”

Student Shay Thorpe, 18, hopes to be a social worker.

“I’d move away if I could,” she says. “Even though I have always lived here, there are some parts of the town that I wouldn’t go.

“The town centre is scary and you can see from looking round that there’s a major drug problem there.”

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says ready to defend ‘sovereignty’ as US military deploys warships near country’s territorial waters.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said there was “no way” United States troops could invade his country as tension rises with Washington and a US naval force builds up in the Southern Caribbean near Venezuela’s territorial waters.

“There’s no way they can enter Venezuela,” Maduro said on Thursday, stating that his country was well prepared to defend its sovereignty as US warships arrive in the region in a so-called operation against Latin American drug cartels.

“Today, we are stronger than yesterday. Today, we are more prepared to defend peace, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Maduro said in a speech to troops, according to the state-run Venezuela News Agency.

Maduro made his comment as Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to protest the US military build-up.

“It’s a massive propaganda operation to justify what the experts call kinetic action – meaning military intervention in a country which is a sovereign and independent country and is no threat to anyone,” Moncada told reporters after meeting with Guterres.

“They are saying that they are sending a nuclear submarine … I mean, it’s ridiculous to think that they’re fighting drug trafficking with nuclear submarines,” the ambassador said.

Earlier on Thursday, Admiral Daryl Claude, the US Navy’s chief of naval operations, confirmed that US warships were deployed to waters off South America, citing concerns that some Venezuelans were participating in large-scale drug operations.

Seven US warships, along with one nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, were either in the region or were expected to be there in the coming week, a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Reuters news agency.

More than 4,500 US service members, including some 2,200 Marines, were also reported to be on board the ships in an operation that was launched after the Trump administration accused Maduro and other members of his government of links to cocaine trafficking.

Venezuela has responded to the US threats by sending warships and drones to patrol its coastline and launching a drive to recruit thousands of militia members to bolster domestic defences.

Caracas has also deployed 15,000 troops to its borders with Colombia to crack down on drug trafficking and other criminal gangs.

On Thursday, Maduro thanked Colombia for sending an additional 25,000 military personnel to the Colombia-Venezuela frontier to tackle “narco-terrorist gangs”, the Venezuela News Agency reported.

While the US has made no public threats to invade Venezuela, Trump’s threats against the country have focused chiefly on its powerful criminal gangs, particularly the cocaine trafficking Cartel de los Soles, which the Trump administration has designated a terrorist organisation and accused Maduro of leading.

Maduro has, in turn, accused Washington, which is offering a $50m reward for his capture over alleged drug offences, of seeking to implement regime change in Venezuela.

Venezuela’s defence minister says military vessels and drones will be sent to patrol the country’s coastline amid simmering tension with the United States after Washington deployed warships to waters off Venezuela to fight drug trafficking.

In a video on social media on Tuesday, Minister of Defence Vladimir Padrino announced a “significant” drone deployment as well as naval patrols along the country’s Caribbean coast, including “larger vessels further north in our territorial waters”.

The move comes after Washington last week deployed an amphibious squadron of three warships towards Venezuela’s coast in what it said was an operation against Latin American drug cartels.

News agencies reported on Monday that two more US ships – a guided missile cruiser and a nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine – had also been dispatched to the Caribbean, and that some 4,500 US service members, including 2,200 Marines, were part of the deployment.

The US naval build-up comes after the administration of US President Donald Trump last week accused Venezuela’s left-wing president, Nicolas Maduro, of being involved in cocaine trafficking and working with drug cartels.

Washington also announced that it had doubled a reward for the capture or prosecution of Maduro on drug charges from $25m to $50m. The US is also offering a reward of $25m for the arrest or prosecution of Venezuelan Minister of the Popular Power for Interior Diosdado Cabello.

US officials have accused Maduro and members of his government of heading the Venezuelan cocaine trafficking cartel Cartel de los Soles, which Washington has designated a terrorist organisation .

Maduro has dismissed the accusations and accused the US of attempting to instigate regime change in his country.

Military build-up

On Monday, Maduro insisted during a weekly television show that his country, unlike neighbouring Colombia, is “free of coca leaf crops and free of cocaine production”.

Maduro, who has also criticised the US government for not addressing the drug consumption within its borders, has mobilised hundreds of thousands of local militia members to strengthen national security amid the threats from Washington.

Some 15,000 Venezuelan troops have also been dispatched to the country’s border with Colombia to crack down on criminal groups, including those involved in drug trafficking.

In a separate announcement on Tuesday, Defence Minister Padrino said an ongoing operation in Venezuela’s northeastern corner had resulted in the dismantling of shipyards where criminals intended “to manufacture semisubmersibles and boats to transport drugs by sea” to markets in Europe and North America.

The move to deploy US warships and personnel off Venezuela comes as Trump pushes for using the military to thwart cartels he blames for the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into US communities, and for perpetuating violence in some US cities.

Venezuela’s mission to the United Nations denounced the US’s “escalation of hostile actions and threats” in a letter, local media outlet Noticias Venevision reported on Tuesday.

Referring to the imminent arrival of US ships off the coast, Venezuela told the UN that Washington’s actions were “a serious threat to regional peace and security”, while the presence of a nuclear-powered attack submarine was “a clear act of intimidation”.

The letter also demanded “guarantees” that the US would “not deploy or threaten to use nuclear weapons in the region”, Noticias Venevision reported.

Despite the military build-up, analysts have downplayed the possibility of a US invasion or US strikes on Venezuela, while many Venezuelan people have shrugged off the US threat as posturing, the AFP news agency reported.

Maduro, who claimed a third term in office following an election in July 2024, which was described as deeply flawed, has been in Trump’s sights ever since the US president’s first term, from 2017 to 2021.

But the US policy of maximum pressure on Venezuela, including an ongoing oil embargo, failed to dislodge Maduro from power.

“I think what we’re seeing represents an attempt to create anxiety in government circles and force Maduro to negotiate something,” International Crisis Group analyst Phil Gunson told the AFP regarding the building tension.

The United States warships are approaching Venezuelan waters in the southern Caribbean as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to fight drug trafficking, reports said.

The Trump administration has accused Venezuela’s left-wing President Nicolas Maduro of being involved in cocaine trafficking and working with drug cartels. On August 7, the US Departments of State and Justice doubled the reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro to $50m after accusing him of being “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world”.

In response, Maduro has urged millions of Venezuelans to join militias, saying, “No empire will touch the sacred soil of Venezuela.”

On Monday, the Venezuelan government announced that it is sending 15,000 troops to its border with Colombia to fight drug trafficking, amid growing pressure from the Trump administration.

So why are the US warships heading to Venezuelan waters, and how is it being seen in Latin American nations, including Venezuela?

Why is the Trump administration sending navy warships to Venezuelan waters?

Multiple news reports say that the Trump administration has dispatched navy warships to the southern Caribbean, saying that these missions are intended to counter threats to US national security posed by organisations in the region that the US has designated as “narco-terrorist organizations.”

The New York Times reported last month that Trump signed a secret directive ordering the Pentagon to use military force against certain Latin American drug cartels that the US has deemed foreign “terrorist” organisations.

On Monday, the Reuters news agency reported that the US ordered additional ships to the southern Caribbean, citing two sources familiar with the deployment.

The sources told Reuters, on the condition of anonymity, that the USS Lake Erie, a guided missile cruiser and the USS Newport News, a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, will arrive in the region by early next week.

Last week, multiple news agencies reported that three US Aegis-class guided missile destroyers were headed to Venezuelan waters.

According to two individuals briefed on the deployment – who anonymously spoke to Reuters – the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima and USS Fort Lauderdale were headed towards the Venezuelan coast, carrying 4,500 US service members, including 2,200 Marines.

In both the reports, Reuters said that the unnamed sources refrained from disclosing the specific objectives of the deployments but indicated that recent military movements were intended to address threats to US national security posed by designated “narco-terrorist organizations.”

On August 14, the US Fleet Forces Command published a news release saying that sailors and Marines assigned to the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group had departed from Norfolk, Virginia and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The news release does not explicitly state details of the mission or specify where the group is being deployed.

The release says, “More than 4,500 Sailors and Marines from the 22nd MEU comprise the force aboard the ARG’s three amphibious ships: flagship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), and the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships USS San Antonio (LPD 17) and USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28).”

Reporters asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about the possibility of US boots on the ground in Venezuela on August 19. In response, she said, “President [Donald] Trump has been very clear and consistent. He’s prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice.”

Leavitt reiterated that the US does not recognise Maduro’s administration as the legitimate government of Venezuela. Maduro won last year’s disputed election. The US and Venezuela have not had a formal diplomatic relationship since 2019.

How is Trump cracking down on drug trafficking?

On his inauguration day on January 21, Trump signed an executive order designating international drug cartels as foreign “terrorist” organisations.

“In certain portions of Mexico, they function as quasi-governmental entities,” the order says. Mexico opposed the order because it created the threat of US military action against the country.

In response, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her government will cooperate with the US to fight drug trafficking, but opposed US intervention on Mexico’s territory. “What we insist on is the defence of our sovereignty and our independence,” she said back in January.

Trump also accused Canada and Mexico of failing to prevent fentanyl, a highly addictive synthetic opioid, from entering the US –  although he has not furnished proof for his claims.

After Trump threatened tariffs on Mexican imports, Sheinbaum deployed 10,000 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border to help regulate immigration.

On February 20, the US State Department designated eight international cartels as foreign terrorist organisations, including Mexico-based Cartel del Golfo, Sinaloa Cartel, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, Carteles Unidos, La Nueva Familia Michoacana and Cartel del Noreste, California-based Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), and Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua.

Later in February, Mexico handed over 29 drug cartel leaders to the US.

What has the US accused Maduro of?

US officials accused both Maduro and Venezuelan Minister of Popular Power for Interior Diosdado Cabello of collaborating with the Cartel de los Soles (“Cartel of the Suns”), a drug trafficking organisation that Washington has designated as a “terrorist” group. Cabello, like Maduro, is part of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

Maduro has rejected the Trump administration’s accusations earlier. The US government has not provided any evidence linking Maduro to drug cartels.

The US announced earlier this month that it had doubled the reward for Maduro’s capture on drug charges to $50m. In a video on August 7, US Attorney General Pam Bondi also accused Maduro of collaborating with the Venezuelan crime syndicate Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico. “He is one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world,” Bondi said about Maduro.

Today, @TheJusticeDept and @StateDept are announcing a $50 MILLION REWARD for information leading to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro. pic.twitter.com/D8LNqjS9yk

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) August 7, 2025

Earlier this year, the US also raised the reward for the arrest or prosecution of Cabello from $10m to $25m.

During Trump’s first term in 2020, Maduro and his close allies were indicted in Manhattan federal court on federal charges of “narco-terrorism” and conspiracy to import cocaine. Back then, Washington offered a $15mm reward for his arrest. The administration of US President Joe Biden increased this bounty to $25m.

How has the Venezuelan government responded?

On Monday, Cabello announced that Caracas will send 15,000 troops to strengthen security in the border states of Zulia and Tachira, which border Colombia.

“Here, we do fight drug trafficking; here, we do fight drug cartels on all fronts,” the minister said, while also announcing the seizure of 53 tonnes of drugs so far this year.

Cabello stated that the enhanced security measures along the border with Colombia, aimed at “combating criminal groups,” will also include the deployment of aircraft, drones and riverine security, according to local media outlet Noticias Venevision. Cabello urged Colombian authorities to take similar steps to “ensure peace along the entire axis.”

Referring to the deployment of US warships on Venezuelan waters, Maduro said, “From the north, the empire has gone mad and, like a rotten rehash, has renewed its threats to the peace and stability of Venezuela,” Caracas-based news network, Globovision reported.

“We are not fakes nor drug traffickers, and we will defend the dignity of beloved Venezuela,” Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez told a crowd of military recruits over the weekend.

How have Venezuelan opposition leaders responded?

Opposition figure Marina Corina Machado called Maduro the “head of the Cartel of the Sun,” in an X post on Monday. Machado was disqualified weeks before last year’s election.

But opposition leader Henrique Capriles warned against an act of force against Venezuela. “We firmly express our rejection of any act of force against Venezuela, regardless of its origin. The sovereignty of our country is sacred and must be unconditionally respected. The United Nations Charter and International Law clearly establish that no State can attack another, as it would result in the loss of human lives,” he posted on X.

Capriles, who lost to Maduro in the 2013 presidential election, added that regional peace must be defended.

“The government, currently in power, has the duty to open the doors and create the mechanisms necessary to prevent our crisis from worsening further.”

Juan Guaido, the West-backed interim president between 2019 and 2022, supported the actions taken by the United States against Venezuelan cartels. “The Cartel of the Suns and the Tren de Aragua have already been designated as terrorist organizations. Their leader is not hidden in the shadows: his name is Nicolas Maduro, a dictator responsible for this criminal network that drains Venezuela and threatens the entire region,” he posted a statement on X on Monday.

What have other Latin American leaders said?

Mexico’s Sheinbaum said earlier this month that her government does not have any evidence linking Maduro to the Sinaloa Cartel, which is based in her country and is named after the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

On the other hand, the office of the president of Paraguay, Santiago Pena Palacios, posted a statement on X on Friday declaring the “Cartel of the Suns” a foreign terrorist organisation.

Two more US ships said to join amphibious squadron due to arrive off coast of Venezuela in anti-drug cartel operation.

Venezuela has announced the deployment of 15,000 troops to its border with Colombia to fight drug trafficking, as the United States was reported to have sent two additional navy ships to the southern Caribbean as part of an operation against Latin American drug cartels.

Venezuelan Minister of the Popular Power for Interior Diosdado Cabello announced on Monday that Caracas would deploy 15,000 troops to bolster security in Zulia and Tachira states, which border Colombia.

“Here, we do fight drug trafficking; here, we do fight drug cartels on all fronts,” the minister said, while also announcing the seizure of 53 tonnes of drugs so far this year.

Cabello said the increased security on the border with Colombia, to “combat criminal groups”, would also involve aircraft, drones and riverine security, according to local media outlet Noticias Venevision, as he called on Colombian authorities to do the same to “ensure peace along the entire axis”.

The reinforcement of Venezuelan troops on the Colombian border comes after the Trump administration accused Venezuela’s left-wing president, Nicolas Maduro, of being involved in cocaine trafficking and working with drug cartels.

Officials in Washington, DC, have accused both Maduro and Cabello of working with the Cartel de los Soles (“Cartel of the Suns”) drug trafficking organisation, which Washington has designated a terrorist group.

The accusations were made as the US announced last week that it had doubled a reward to $50m for the capture of Maduro on drug charges. The US earlier this year increased a reward for Cabello’s arrest or prosecution from $10m to $25m.

Maduro has accused the US of attempting to foment regime change in Venezuela, and launched a nationwide drive to sign up thousands of militia members to strengthen national security in the country amid the threats from Washington.

“I am confident that we will overcome this test that life has imposed on us, this imperialist threat to the peace of the continent and to our country,” Maduro was quoted as saying in local media on Monday.

The Reuters news agency also reported on Monday that the USS Lake Erie, a guided missile cruiser, and the USS Newport News, a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, will arrive in the southern Caribbean by early next week.

Citing two sources briefed on the deployment, Reuters said the missile cruiser and attack submarine would join the US amphibious squadron that was due to arrive off the coast of Venezuela on Sunday.

The squadron includes the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima and USS Fort Lauderdale, and is said to be carrying 4,500 US service members, including 2,200 Marines, according to reports.

Trump has made the targeting of Latin American drug cartels a central focus of his administration, and has designated Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and other drug gangs, including Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua, as global terrorist organisations.

A MUM received a £3,500 payout after “disgusting” police officers were caught throwing her lingerie around and laughing at her sex toys while raiding her home.

Nichola Corr, 51, claimed the cops were like “children in a playground” as they searched her house as part of a drugs investigation into a family member.

Bodycam footage captured them discovering her £1,000 collection of erotic gadgets and chucking her racy G-string knickers at each other on her bed.

Nichola said: “The male officer that threw the underwear was looking through my whole toy box, laughing, joking, going: ‘Oh, look at this. Jesus Christ, look at this!’

“They were taking the absolute piss! It was like they were children in a playground the way they were acting. It was disgusting.”

She complained after no arrests, charges or prosecutions were brought by Suffolk Police following the raid of her home in Essex in October 2023.

Its Professional Standards Department found the officers’ behaviour was “unacceptable and unprofessional” but formal disciplinary action wasn’t required.

Nichola, who is now getting a divorce from her husband, added: “I don’t trust the police anymore.

“I always used to say if you ever need the police, they’ll be there for you. But no, not in this day and age. They’re using their power over people.”

Suffolk Police claimed the cops were all “very young in terms of service” and their behaviour was “considered to be more due to immaturity than spite”.

One officer had already left the force when the complaint was received but the remaining two were required to apologise and undertake ‘Reflective Practice’.

Last week, Hertfordshire Police cop Marcin Zielinski, 27, was jailed for four months after nicking a woman’s underwear while searching her home.

1

Three US warships to be stationed off the coast of Venezuela in so-called fight against ‘narco-terrorists’, according to reports.

Three United States warships ordered to deploy off the coast of Venezuela by US President Donald Trump could arrive by the weekend, according to reports, as Washington sends its military to curb drug trafficking by Latin American crime cartels.

The reported deployment of the warships comes as the Trump administration increases pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after recently doubling a reward for his arrest to $50m on what the US claims are drug offences linked to cocaine trafficking.

Sources told the Reuters and AFP news agencies on Wednesday that an amphibious squadron consisting of three US Aegis-class guided missile destroyers is heading to the waters off Venezuela and could arrive as early as Sunday.

Two sources briefed on the deployment, and speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima and USS Fort Lauderdale are moving towards the Venezuelan coast and are carrying 4,500 US service members, including 2,200 Marines.

The sources declined to detail the specific mission of the squadron. But they have said that recent deployments are aimed at addressing threats to US national security from specially designated “narco-terrorist” organisations in the region.

Maduro said on Monday that he would be deploying millions of militia members across Venezuela in response to US “threats”, which included the reward for his arrest and the launch of a new anti-drug operation in the Caribbean.

“This week, I will activate a special plan with more than 4.5 million militiamen to ensure coverage of the entire national territory – militias that are prepared, activated and armed,” Maduro said in a televised address.

Washington has accused Maduro of leading the Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) cocaine trafficking gang.

The US Department of the Treasury designated the cartel as a global terrorist organisation last month, accusing it of supporting the Venezuelan crime group Tren de Aragua and Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartels, which were also designated foreign terrorist organisations earlier this year.

“President Trump has been very clear and consistent, he’s prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.

“Maduro, it is the view of this administration, is not a legitimate president; he is a fugitive head of this cartel who has been indicted in the United States for trafficking drugs into this country,” Leavitt said.

Al Jazeera’s Latin America editor, Lucia Newman, reports that Maduro has ordered the grounding of all aerial drones for the next 30 days, “an indication that he might be expecting an attack from the air rather than sea”.

“President Trump’s vow to send warships to the Caribbean and elsewhere in Latin America to stop the flow of drugs to the United States is being seen as more than just a threat to Venezuela. It could apply to many, many countries in this region,” Newman said.

“They say today it may be Venezuela, tomorrow it could be any one of them,” Newman said.

Many in the region are also wondering why Trump has chosen to implement “such an aggressive move in the United States’ backyard while he portrays himself as a global peacemaker”.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has denied reports that her government is teaming up with the United States for a “major new initiative” to combat drug-trafficking cartels.

In her Tuesday morning news conference, Sheinbaum addressed the initiative, dubbed “Project Portero”, which was touted in the US as an effort to “strengthen collaboration between the United States and Mexico”.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had unveiled the initiative only one day prior.

“I want to clarify something. The DEA put out a statement yesterday saying that there is an agreement with the Mexican government for an operation called Portero,” Sheinbaum said.

“There is no agreement with the DEA. The DEA puts out this statement, based on what we don’t know. We have not reached any agreement; none of the security institutions [have] with the DEA.”

Sheinbaum emphasised that only her administration, not individual government agencies, would be announcing such an agreement on behalf of Mexico.

She also emphasised that the DEA needed to follow established protocols for making joint announcements.

Project Portero is part of an ongoing push under US President Donald Trump to stamp out cross-border drug trafficking and aggressively pursue the cartels and criminal networks that profit from such trade.

In its statement on Monday, the DEA called Project Portero its “flagship operation” aimed at shutting down drug-smuggling corridors along the border.

It described its partnership with Mexico as “a multi-week training and collaboration program” that would bring Mexican investigators together with US enforcement officials at an intelligence site on the southwest border.

Part of their task, the statement said, was to “identify joint targets” for the two countries to pursue.

“Project Portero and this new training program show how we will fight — by planning and operating side by side with our Mexican partners,” DEA administrator Terrance Cole said in the statement

“This is a bold first step in a new era of cross-border enforcement.”

But Sheinbaum said no such bilateral action was planned, though she speculated that the DEA might be referring to a small training exercise involving four Mexican police officers.

“The only thing we have is a group of police officers from the Secretariat of Citizen Security who were conducting a workshop in Texas,” she explained.

She did, however, point out that her government was actively working with the Trump administration to cement a border security agreement, based on mutual acknowledgements of sovereignty and respectful coordination.

Since taking office for a second term in January, Trump has repeatedly pressured the Sheinbaum government to stem the flow of immigrants and drugs across their countries’ shared border.

That includes through the threat of tariffs, a kind of tax imposed on imports. In late July, Trump announced he would keep tariffs on Mexican products at their current rate for 90 days.

Previously, he had threatened to hike the tariff rate to 30 percent on the basis that fentanyl was still reaching US soil.

“Mexico still has not stopped the Cartels who are trying to turn all of North America into a Narco-Trafficking Playground,” Trump wrote in a letter to Sheinbaum earlier that month.

Even with the 90-day pause, Mexico still faces a 25-percent tax — which Trump calls a “fentanyl tariff” — on all products that do not fall under the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement (USMCA).

Still, Trump has expressed warmth towards Sheinbaum, and the Mexican leader has largely avoided public confrontations with the US since taking office in October 2024.

Recently, Sheinbaum’s government coordinated with Trump’s to transfer 26 high-profile drug-trafficking suspects to the US for prosecution.

In February, she made a similar deal, sending 29 alleged cartel leaders from Mexican prisons to the US shortly before Trump threatened to impose tariffs on her country’s imports. It was Mexico’s largest prisoner transfer to the US in years.

But Sheinbaum has also faced scrutiny over her handling of Trump’s aggressive foreign policy platform.

Earlier this month, for instance, Trump’s State Department issued travel warnings for 30 of Mexico’s 32 states, warning Americans of “terrorist” activities in those areas.

Trump has also designated multiple Latin American criminal groups as “foreign terrorist organisations”, and he reportedly signed an order authorising military action to combat them.

Critics fear that order could translate into a military incursion on Mexican soil. But Sheinbaum has repeatedly downplayed those concerns, saying, “There will be no invasion of Mexico.”

Still, she has nevertheless asserted that any unauthorised US action on Mexican land would be considered a violation of her country’s sovereignty.