A civil war in Chile and a president's death by suicide inspired Isabel Allende's new novel
MEXICO CITY — A bloody civil war and the tragic death by suicide of an ousted president served as inspiration for Isabel Allende's new novel, 'My Name is Emilia del Valle.'
The story centers on Emilia del Valle, a young Californian journalist who is dispatched to Chile to report on the confrontation between congressmen and those loyal to President José Manuel Balmaceda in 1891.
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San Francisco Chronicle
8 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Newsom blasts Trump's arrest threat as ‘unmistakable step toward authoritarianism'
President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed the idea of arresting California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the state's resistance to federal immigration enforcement efforts in Los Angeles, intensifying a clash that has already drawn legal challenges and fierce rebukes from Democratic leaders. 'I would do it if I were Tom,' Trump said, referring to Tom Homan, his border czar, who over the weekend suggested that state and local officials, including Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, could face arrest if they interfered with immigration raids. 'I think it's great. Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing,' Trump added. Trump's remarks signal a sharp escalation in the administration's crackdown on sanctuary jurisdictions and a willingness to target political opponents in unprecedented ways. Newsom responded swiftly, calling Trump's words a chilling attack on American democratic norms. 'The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor,' Newsom wrote on X. 'This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.' Tensions escalated sharply after Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles following days of civil unrest related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. The deployment marked the first time a president has federalized a state's National Guard without the governor's consent since 1965. Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced plans to sue Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, alleging the deployment was unlawful. 'Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the President's authority under the law,' Bonta said at a press conference. 'There is no invasion. There is no rebellion.' Meanwhile, David Huerta, president of SEIU California, was charged with felony conspiracy to impede an officer after his arrest during the L.A. protests. Despite the furor, legal experts note that Homan lacks the authority to arrest elected officials, and his role remains advisory. Still, Trump's rhetoric has raised alarms among critics who view his comments as part of a broader pattern of undermining democratic institutions. 'This is a preview of things to come,' Newsom warned in an interview with Brian Taylor Cohen that he shared on social media. 'This isn't about L.A., per se,' the Democratic governor added. 'It's about us today, it's about you, everyone watching tomorrow. This guy is unhinged. Trump is unhinged right now, and this is just another proof point of that.' At a news conference held by lawmakers in Sacramento to discuss the protests in Los Angeles, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, said Trump's threat to arrest Newsom is a 'direct assault on democracy and an insult to every Californian.'
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump LA protest response risks turning US military into political force, veterans warn
The Trump administration's deployment of national guard troops to Los Angeles to intervene in civilian protests in the face of opposition from the Californian governor is a major escalation that risks the politicisation of the US military, armed service veterans are warning. Former top military figures have told the Guardian that the decision to put up to 2,000 troops under federal control and send them into the streets of LA is a violation of the military's commitment to keep out of domestic politics in all but the most exceptional circumstances. The last time a US president federalised the national guard against the wishes of a state governor was in 1965, when Lyndon Johnson deployed them to protect civil rights marchers in Alabama. 'This is the politicisation of the armed forces,' said Maj Gen Paul Eaton. 'It casts the military in a terrible light – it's that man on horseback, who really doesn't want to be there, out in front of American citizens.' Eaton, who commanded the training of Iraqi troops during the invasion of Iraq, predicted that the LA deployment would lead to the eventual invocation of the Insurrection Act. The 1807 law empowers the president to deploy the full US military against insurrection or armed rebellion. 'We are headed towards the invocation of the Insurrection Act, which will provide a legal basis for inappropriate activity,' he said. The largely peaceful protests in LA against Trump's deportation efforts have entered their fourth day. National guard troops began arriving in the city on Sunday, with authorisation to protect federal personnel and buildings but not to engage in law enforcement activities. This deployment was made counter to what the governor wanted, so it seems like a political forcing A retired senior US army office Trump's move in the absence of a genuine civil emergency has sent alarm through military circles, which have long prided themselves on being above politics. 'This deployment was made counter to what the governor wanted, so it seems like a political forcing – a forced use of the military by Trump because he can,' said a retired senior US army officer who requested anonymity in order to preserve their lifelong non-partisanship. Trump's memo federalising the national guard for deployment in LA is written in sweeping terms, effectively casting it as a nationwide mobilisation. It says that regular military troops, as well as national guard forces, can be employed by the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to protect federal functions anywhere in the country where protests are occurring. Most troublingly, the memo also acts pre-emptively – an action never seen before in the US – authorising the military to be deployed against anticipated protests. It says that troops can be sent to 'locations where protest against [federal] functions are occurring, or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments'. On Sunday, Trump signaled that LA was just the start of a much wider deployment. 'We're gonna have troops everywhere,' he said. Janessa Goldbeck, a Marine Corps veteran who is CEO of Vet Voice Foundation which advocates for veterans and military families participating in American democracy, said that the executive order was an invitation to Hegseth to 'mobilise as many troops as he wants anywhere within the US. That's a massive escalation across the country.' Geoffrey DeWeese, a former US army judge advocate who is now a legal director within the National Institute of Military Justice, expressed concern about how the national guard would be used in LA. Under the memo, they can act as protection for ICE agents, which potentially means that troops could accompany Ice in immigration deportation raids on homes and businesses. 'Ice and the national guard are [both] wearing camouflage, carrying automatic weapons – so how do civilians differentiate them? And what message does it send, when all you see are men and women in uniform, with guns and helmets and goggles and maybe gas masks?' The military mobilisation that is now unfolding is far from unexpected. Military and constitutional experts who were convened by the law and policy institute the Brennan Center last summer to wargame what Trump might do in a second administration predicted precisely the current train of events. Trump himself made no attempt to disguise his intentions, repeatedly telling his supporters during last year's election campaign that if re-elected he would use the military against 'the enemy within'. Concerns about the deployment have been heightened by Trump's previous actions which already pointed towards a politicisation of the armed services. In February he fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and several other top brass without giving just cause. Retired lieutenant general Jeffrey Buchanan, the former commander of the US Army North, said the dismissals also had a politicising effect. 'It will lead to Biden's generals, and Trump's generals – or generals who are 'my guys' and generals who are 'not my guys'. That erodes confidence in the military, because the people will think that the military are now politicians.' Buchanan added: 'The military's ultimate loyalty is to our constitution, not to a particular leader. We've had plenty of tensions between military leaders and presidents in our history, but we've always maintained this tradition.' There are also worries about Trump's upcoming military parade to be staged in Washington DC on 14 June to mark the 250th anniversary of the US army. The date happens to coincide with the president's 79th birthday. 'Tanks are rolling into DC, $40m is about to be spent, in a giant function to celebrate one man. That's deeply unAmerican,' said Vet Voice's Goldbeck. She added that while the military celebrated its birthdays, street parades were avoided 'because that is the action of a dictator. This is all in line with how Trump views the military as a tool at his personal disposal, not as a professional fighting force made up of men and women whose oath is to the constitution.'
Epoch Times
10 hours ago
- Epoch Times
LA Protests Turn to Riots Over Arrests of Illegal Immigrants
Riots erupted amid protests in Los Angeles at the weekend over immigration authorities' arrests of illegal immigrants. Cars were burned out and shops were looted, as protests reached their third day on June 8. Police tried to prevent protesters from pouring out onto the 101 Freeway, a major motorway system that runs through the city. The National Guard was sent to the streets to protect federal buildings, which escalated conflicts as protesters taunted them and tensions were raised amid occasional breakouts of police firing tear gas in response to objects being thrown at them. U.S. Northern Command issued a notice on June 8 stating that about 500 Marines were on standby. The protests that began on June 6 were sparked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations resulting in the arrest of more than 118 illegal immigrants last week. Related Stories 6/8/2025 6/6/2025 President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops, which sparked a row between him and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The National Guard is an army reserve belonging to each state, operating under the jurisdiction of that state's governor, and would normally require the governor's consent for its use. Trump has talked about invoking an 18th-century law called the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to take control of state-based National Guard units in times of crisis. In response, Newsom issued a request to rescind the order, accusing Trump of inflaming tensions. Trump has criticised Californian governance during previous times of unrest, namely the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots over the death of George Floyd and the Los Angeles fires at the start of this year. In 2020, the streets were filled with violence over the death of Floyd, which sparked racial tensions nationwide and has fuelled comparisons to this weekend in terms of civil unrest driven by public outrage over perceived systemic injustice. Part of the Trump administration's agenda has been to curb the illegal immigration crisis that escalated in recent years. Los Angeles County, because of its proximity to the southern border, is often a hub for illegal immigration. Immigrants make up 34 percent of the city's population, which has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, and 800,000 of them are undocumented, according to a 2023 SOILA LA Mayor Karen Bass called for a stop to the violence on June 8, alluding to the Trump administration causing chaos. 'As a result of immigration raids, parents are afraid to take their kids to school, workers are unsure if they should go to work tomorrow, and young people are worried about their future.' she Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded in a statement, 'Why do Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass care more about violent murderers and sex offenders than they do about protecting their own citizens?' 'These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers, and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets. Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer.'
