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State Dept.: U.S. vessels can travel through Panama Canal without paying fees

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The State Department announced that U.S. government vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without paying fees, a move that could save millions annually. The decision comes amid ongoing concerns from President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over China’s influence in Panama.

Key Details:

  • The State Department confirmed Wednesday that U.S. government ships are exempt from transit fees when passing through the Panama Canal.
  • President Donald Trump has criticized Panama for imposing “exorbitant” fees on U.S. ships and has floated the idea of retaking control of the canal.
  • Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that the Trump administration could seize the Panama Canal if Panama is found to be violating its control agreement.

Diving Deeper:

The U.S. Department of State announced that American government vessels can now pass through the Panama Canal without being charged transit fees, a move expected to save the U.S. millions of dollars annually. The announcement, made via X on Wednesday, comes as tensions between the U.S. and Panama over canal control continue to escalate.

“U.S. government vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without charge fees, saving the U.S. government millions of dollars a year,” the State Department wrote.

President Donald Trump has long been vocal about Panama’s handling of the canal, accusing the country of overcharging American vessels while allowing Chinese influence to expand in the region. In December, Trump threatened to retake control of the Panama Canal, arguing that Panama has been “ripping off” the U.S. with excessive transit fees.

Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino has firmly rejected Trump’s claims, stating, “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent zone belongs to Panama, and will continue to do so.” However, with mounting concerns over Chinese involvement in Panama, the issue has gained further attention within the Trump administration.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has echoed Trump’s concerns, suggesting that the U.S. could reclaim control of the canal if Panama is found to be in violation of the 1977 treaty that transferred authority over the waterway. Rubio recently indicated that the Trump administration is exploring its options regarding Panama’s management of the canal, particularly in light of China’s growing influence in the region.

The State Department’s move to eliminate transit fees for U.S. government vessels is the latest step in reinforcing America’s strategic interests in the Panama Canal. While the decision will ease financial burdens on U.S. government operations, broader geopolitical tensions surrounding the canal’s control remain unresolved.

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illegal immigration

ICE raid proves Tren de Aragua illegals in US—despite denials

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An ICE raid in Aurora, Colorado, confirms the presence of the Tren de Aragua gang—despite repeated denials from Democrats and their media allies. The operation comes just months after Governor Jared Polis dismissed concerns as unfounded.

Key Details:

  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 100 suspected Tren de Aragua gang members in Aurora, Colorado, during a predawn raid.

  • The operation contradicts previous claims from Democratic officials, including Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who downplayed the gang’s presence.

  • The raid follows years of border security failures under President Biden, with President Trump’s renewed crackdown already showing results.

Diving Deeper:

  1. For months, Democrats and their media allies insisted that Tren de Aragua was a myth, dismissing concerns as right-wing fearmongering. But as the New York Post Editorial Board pointed out, “Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a cross-section of federal law enforcement agencies just went after a full 100 Tren gangbangers in the Denver suburb, nabbing suspects in predawn raids.”

This comes just five months after Colorado Governor Jared Polis suggested fears over Tren de Aragua were baseless. Despite videos and reports showing otherwise, officials and the mainstream press denied the gang’s existence, parroting the Biden administration’s claims of a secure border.

The Post’s editorial board slammed the media’s complicity, writing, “A compliant media echoed that lie loud and long, even as gangbangers and traffickers, dealers and pimps crossed the border and began to ply their ugly trades stateside.” The reality of unchecked illegal immigration has repeatedly vindicated Americans who raised concerns, only to be dismissed as alarmists.

Meanwhile, President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have insisted that little could be done to address the border crisis. But as the Post notes, “President Trump’s border crackdown is already producing results, after years of Biden and his border henchman-in-chief Alejandro Mayorkas pretending nothing at all could be done to stem the tide or send the millions home.”

The raid underscores the failures of Biden’s open-border policies and the deception used to cover them up. The Post editorial board summed it up succinctly: “Much of what makes federal action on the border catastrophe—raids on gang beachheads, funding cutoffs to sanctuary cities and so on—seem so dramatic is that it’s all about waking up from fake ‘reality’ painted by the big lies of the Biden years.”

While Democrats focused on pushing DEI initiatives and taxpayer-funded media subscriptions, criminal gangs like Tren de Aragua were entrenching themselves in American communities. The latest ICE raid shatters the illusion that the border crisis is a manufactured issue—something the American people have known all along.

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Trump’s FBI questionnaire exposes shocking conspiracy

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Mary Rooke’s recent op-ed in The Daily Caller highlights how President Trump’s administration has uncovered what she terms as a major conspiracy within the FBI, where agents were allegedly reassigned from critical child pornography investigations to pursue cases against January 6 protestors.

Key Points:

  • The FBI diverted resources from a child pornography investigation to focus on January 6 riot cases.

  • Trump’s questionnaire to FBI employees revealed that approximately 5,000 agents were dedicated to Capitol riot investigations.

  • Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee for FBI Director, aims to cleanse the agency of personnel working against its mission.

  • The op-ed questions the prioritization of law enforcement efforts under previous administration.

Diving Deeper:

In her commentary published on February 6, 2025, for The Daily Caller, Mary Rooke delves into what she describes as a shocking revelation within the FBI, facilitated by a straightforward questionnaire from President Donald Trump. According to Rooke, this has exposed a disturbing shift in priorities under the previous administration.

Rooke references an investigation initially reported by The Daily Wire in November 2023, which exposed an incident from January 2021. She details how the FBI, allegedly under Biden’s administration, redirected its focus from a significant child pornography case involving Brogan Welsh to prosecute those involved in the January 6 Capitol riot. “Despite overwhelming evidence proving that Welsh was a danger to children, the FBI decided to drop the investigation in order to go after Trump supporters,” Rooke asserts, highlighting what she calls a “major conspiracy the left has demonized conservative media for covering.”

She provides specifics on Welsh’s case: “The Washington Bureau tracked Brogan Welsh through the IP address he used to send their undercover agent explicit messages expressing his intent to rape a young boy. Welsh apparently sent a video of ‘a prepubescent minor male being anally penetrated by an adult male’s erect penis,'” according to the Daily Wire’s report.

Further, Rooke notes that Welsh’s activities were uncovered by the FBI’s Alaska bureau after they found evidence suggesting he might have been sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy. She quotes, “On October 24, 2023, after coming across troubling chats from Welsh on a phone they seized from a different alleged pervert, Alaska FBI agents went into his house and ‘located items including sex toys that are very small in size and apparently consistent with the body size of an approximate 10-year-old boy,’ as well as children’s underwear.”

Rooke criticizes the FBI’s decision to abandon this investigation, particularly when it was revealed through Trump’s questionnaire that 5,000 FBI employees were involved in January 6 cases. “How many child rapists went without prosecution so the FBI could send armed agents to terrorize American grandmothers in their homes? How many criminals came across the southern border? How many of the cyber attacks we experienced during the Biden administration could have been prevented had the FBI focused on protecting our country?” she questions, underscoring the potential neglect of other serious crimes due to this shift in focus.

She also discusses the contentious confirmation hearings for Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee for FBI Director, who has vowed to “purge the agency of personnel who have worked against the mission to keep America safe.” Democrats have been criticized for their attempts to delay his confirmation, which Rooke sees as an obstruction to necessary reforms within the FBI.

Rooke concludes her op-ed by emphasizing the broader implications of these actions, suggesting that the Trump administration’s efforts are part of a larger movement to restore accountability and integrity to federal law enforcement. She posits, “For decades, the federal government has operated as if it wasn’t accountable to the American people. The Trump administration has been working diligently to clean out the rot… If Trump keeps up this pace, we might actually get our country back.”

This detailed analysis by Rooke paints a picture of political manipulation within one of America’s key law enforcement agencies, stirring significant debate on the balance between national security, justice, and political motivations.

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