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Al Jazeera
4 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Why has the US issued a ‘terrorism' travel alert for Mexico?
The US State Department has issued an updated travel warning for Americans visiting Mexico, citing risks of 'terrorism, crime, and kidnapping'. The move follows months of intense pressure from President Donald Trump over issues such as immigration and the activities of criminal gangs involved in drug smuggling and human trafficking. Here is what we know: What happened? On Tuesday, the United States government issued a new travel alert for Mexico, warning of 'terrorist' violence in 30 of its 32 states. It's the first time Washington has ever sounded the alarm on Mexico for terrorism risk. The advisory paints a grim picture: soaring rates of homicide, kidnapping, carjacking and robbery, alongside a new warning of possible terrorist attacks and terrorist violence. 'There is a risk of terrorist violence, including attacks and related activities,' it warned, urging Americans to take precautions. The travel alert was raised to Level 2 – 'exercise increased caution' on a scale of four levels. Which places did the US warn about and why? The alert warns Americans not to travel to Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas provinces due to 'terrorism, violent crime, and kidnapping.' These states are marked red on the map and classified as Level 4 — the most unsafe, per the US. Travellers are advised to reconsider visiting Baja California, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, and Sonora for the same reasons; these appear in orange and are rated Level 3, or marginally safer. Another 16 states – including Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Quintana Roo, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Morelos, Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Durango, Hidalgo, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Puebla, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz – fall under 'exercise increased caution'. While there are no outright travel bans, the advisory notes that both violent and non-violent crimes are common. These areas are shown in yellow and are listed under Level 2. Only Yucatan and Campeche remain at Level 1, the lowest risk level, highlighted in blue. What is the backdrop for this advisory? According to experts, these actions follow increased pressure from Trump, which has prompted the Mexican government to take a range of measures. Earlier this week, Mexico extradited 26 alleged cartel members to the US, in what appeared to be an effort to ease Trump's demands for stronger action against fentanyl smuggling and organised crime. In a statement, the US embassy said those extradited included key figures from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, Mexico's two most powerful organised crime groups. We recognize @GabSeguridadMX for its dedication and commitment. This action reflects the strength of our bilateral cooperation as sovereign partners and our shared commitment to ensure our people's security and well being. — Embajador Ronald Johnson (@USAmbMex) August 13, 2025 This marks the second mass transfer of the year; in February, Mexican authorities sent 29 alleged cartel leaders to the US, a move that stirred debate over its political and legal merits. Among them was Caro Quintero, a founding member of the Guadalajara Cartel, accused of murdering DEA agent Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena in 1985. US officials had requested the extraditions, pledging not to seek the death penalty. Mexico described the suspects as high-risk criminals tied to drug trafficking and other serious offences. While extraditions are not uncommon, they are typically carried out in ones and twos. But this year alone, Mexico has already handed over 55 people. The transfers follow months of US pressure, reinforced by tariff threats, and reports that Trump directed the Pentagon to consider military action against Latin American cartels. According to those reports, the order would permit direct military operations on foreign soil and in corresponding territorial waters against organised criminal groups. Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum has said the US and Mexico are close to finalising a security agreement to boost cooperation against cartels, but she has firmly rejected the idea of unilateral US military operations on Mexican soil. How has Mexico responded to the new alert? Sheinbaum downplayed the updated travel advisory. She argued the change stems from Washington's decision to label cartels as terrorist organisations – done through an executive order earlier this year – rather than from any new security reality. Sheinbaum stressed that Mexico remains the top destination for US travellers, with about a million Americans living in the country, and noted that popular areas such as the Southeast, Baja California Peninsula, Pacific coast, and Mexico City continue to attract visitors despite the warning. How bad is Mexico's violence problem? Bad, but it's improving. According to a 2024 report from Human Rights Watch, violent crime in Mexico has risen sharply since the government began its 'war' on organised crime in 2006. However, this year, Sheinbaum can report a 25.3 percent drop in daily homicides over her first 11 months in office, from 86.9 per day in September 2023 to 64.9 now – the lowest monthly figures since 2015. While Mexico remains one of the world's most violent countries, the decline is seen as a significant improvement, credited to her administration's security strategy, but also US pressure. When Trump took office, he quickly warned Mexico that it had to show real progress in stopping the flow of fentanyl, a drug that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, or face steep trade tariffs. He promised to push Mexico harder to curb drug trafficking and illegal migration, making it clear there would be serious economic consequences if it didn't act. In Sheinbaum's first year in office, authorities have seized more than 3.5 million fentanyl pills and arrested at least 29,000 suspects, including high-level cartel leaders with local and national reach. Security chief Omar Garcia Harfuch credited the success to the crucial work of specialised intelligence and investigative units. However, in places like Sinaloa, the bloodshed escalated sharply after the arrests of major figures, including Ismael Zambada, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, in August 2024. During the first six months of this year, authorities recorded 883 homicides in the state, up from just 224 in the same period last year, with most killings concentrated in Culiacan. The violence may be only part of the toll. Since Zambada's arrest, more than 1,500 people have gone missing in Sinaloa. Security officials believe criminal groups are behind many of these disappearances, suggesting the real cost of the crackdown could be even higher. Zambada, one of Mexico's most notorious accused drug lords, was captured at an airfield near El Paso, Texas, alongside Ovidio Guzman, a son of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman – the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel who is serving a life sentence in a US prison. Zambada claims Guzman Lopez kidnapped him and handed him over to US authorities.
Al Jazeera
5 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
What are H-1B visas and how might the Trump administration change them?
President Donald Trump's administration wants to overhaul the nation's visa programme for highly skilled foreign workers. If the administration does what one official described, it would change H-1B visa rules to favour employers that pay higher wages. That could effectively transform the visa into what one expert called 'a luxury work permit' and disadvantage early-career workers with smaller salaries, including teachers. It could also upend the current visa programme's lottery system used to distribute visas to eligible foreign workers. 'This shift may prevent many employers, including small and midsize businesses, from hiring the talent they need in shortage occupations, ultimately reducing America's global competitiveness,' said David Leopold, a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association whose practice includes representing employers in the H-1B process. It's hard to find US workers in certain types of specialty fields, including software engineers and developers and some STEM positions. A White House office proposed the change on August 8, Bloomberg Law reported. Once the proposal appears in the Federal Register – the daily public report containing notices of proposed federal rule changes – the plan will become subject to a formal public comment period. It could be finalised within months, although it is likely to face legal challenges. Joseph Edlow, the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, told The New York Times in July that H-1B visas should favour companies that plan to pay foreign workers higher wages. The proposal Bloomberg Law described was in line with that goal. PolitiFact did not see a copy of the proposal, and the White House did not respond to our questions. But the Department of Homeland Security submitted the proposed rule to a Trump administration office in July, the Greenberg Traurig law firm wrote. Trump sought to reform the H-1B program during his first term but made limited progress. In January 2021, near the end of Trump's term, the Department of Homeland Security published a final rule similar to the current proposal, but the Biden administration did not implement it. Work visas were not a central part of Trump's 2024 immigration platform, but it was a point of debate in the weeks before he took office, with billionaire businessman Elon Musk – a megadonor to Trump who would briefly serve in his administration – speaking in favour of them. What are H-1B visas? The H-1B visa programme lets employers temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty fields, with about two-thirds working in computer-related jobs, according to the Congressional Research Service. Most H-1B visa holders come from India, followed by China. Currently, prospective H-1B employers must attest that they will pay the H-1B worker actual wages paid to similar employees or the prevailing wages for that occupation – whichever would result in the highest pay. To qualify for the non-immigrant visa, the employee must hold a specialised degree, license or training required by the occupation. The status is generally valid for up to three years and renewable for another three years, but it can be extended if the employer sponsors the worker for permanent residency, which includes permission to work and live in the US. Leopold said that the proposed change goes beyond the law's current wage mandate. 'This statutory mechanism is designed to prevent employers from paying H-1B workers less than their American counterparts, thereby protecting US workers from displacement,' Leopold said. Congress caps new H-1B visas at 85,000 per fiscal year, including 20,000 for noncitizens who earned advanced degrees. The government approved 400,000 H-1B applications, including renewals, in 2024, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Amazon has led the nation's employers since 2020 in its number of H-1B workers, Pew found. The New York metro area received more H-1B application approvals than any other metro area; College Station, Texas had the highest concentration of approvals. What could change with H1-B visas? The proposed policy favours higher-paid employees, experts said. Malcolm Goeschl, a San Francisco-based lawyer, said the rule will likely benefit tech companies, including many specialising in artificial intelligence. Such companies pay high salaries, including for entry-level positions. He said it will harm traditional tech companies' programmes for new graduates. 'There will likely be plenty of lottery numbers available at the top of the prevailing wage scale, but very few or none at the bottom,' Goeschl said. 'You may see young graduates shy away from the US labour market early on because of this. Or you could see companies just pay entry-level workers from other countries much higher salaries to get a chance in the lottery, leading to the perverse situation where the foreign workers are making a lot more money than similarly situated US workers.' The prevailing wage requirements are designed to protect US jobs from being undercut by lower paid foreign workers. David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, said the change would likely make it nearly impossible for recent immigrant college graduates, who tend to earn lower wages, to launch their careers in the United States on an H-1B visa. 'The short-term benefit would be the people who get selected are more productive, but the long-term cost might be to permanently redirect future skilled immigration to other countries,' Bier said. 'It would also effectively prohibit the H-1B for many industries that rely on it. K-12 schools in rural areas seeking bilingual teachers, for instance, will have no chance under this system.' Amid a nationwide teacher shortage, some school districts have hired H-1B visa holders, including smaller districts such as Jackson, Mississippi, and larger districts, including Dallas, Texas. Language immersion schools also often employ teachers from other countries using this visa programme. Why is there a debate about H-1B visas? The debate around H-1B visas does not neatly fall along partisan lines. Proponents say the existing visa programme allows American employers to fill gaps, compete with other countries and recruit the 'best minds'. Critics point to instances of fraud or abuse and say they favour policies that incentivise hiring Americans. In December, high-profile Republicans debated the visa programme on social media. MAGA influencer Laura Loomer denounced the programme and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon called it a 'scam'. On the other side, billionaire Elon Musk, a former H-1B visa holder whose companies employ such visa holders, called for the programme's reform but defended it as an important talent recruitment mechanism. Trump sided with Musk. 'I have many H-1B visas on my properties,' Trump told the New York Post in late December. 'I've been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It's a great programme.' Senator Bernie Sanders disputed Musk, saying corporations abuse the programme as a way to get richer and should recruit American workers first. Such visa debates have continued. When US Representative Greg Murphy, a urologist, argued on X August 8 that the visas 'are critical for helping alleviate the severe physician shortage', thousands replied. Christina Pushaw, a Republican who works for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, pushed back: 'Why not figure out the causes of the domestic physician shortage and try to pass legislation to address those?'
Al Jazeera
12 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Ukraine, EU, US leaders speak ahead of Trump-Putin meeting: Key takeaways
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived on Wednesday in Berlin for a virtual summit with European officials and United States President Donald Trump, convened by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The call was meant to bring European leaders together with Trump before the planned August 15 Alaska meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Those on the call included Merz and the US president, as well as US Vice President JD Vance, Zelenskyy, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, among others. Here are the key takeaways: What happened on Wednesday? The prospect of Trump meeting alone with Putin has left European leaders uneasy. Since the Alaska summit was announced, they have worked to secure Trump's ear one last time, and on Wednesday, that effort resulted in a series of high-level calls. About 12:00 GMT, European leaders and NATO members held a video conference with Zelenskyy. Roughly an hour later, Trump and Vice President JD Vance joined the discussion. Chancellor Merz and President Zelenskyy then delivered joint statements, followed by a separate address from Trump at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Later in the day, the 'Coalition of the Willing', a group of 31 countries committed to strengthening support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, met in a separate virtual session, issuing a statement. What were the key takeaways from all these talks? Here is a breakdown. Following the talks with other European leaders and Trump: Merz said that European and Ukrainian security interests must be respected at Friday's Alaska summit. He underlined the importance of Ukraine having a seat at the table in any peace discussions, with a ceasefire as the essential first step. 'We have made it clear that Ukraine will be at the table as soon as there is a follow-up meeting,' Merz told reporters in Berlin alongside Zelenskyy. 'President Trump wants to make a ceasefire a priority,' he added. Any territorial exchange in Ukraine 'must only be discussed with Ukraine', French President Macron told reporters in Bregancon, France, following the call. 'Trump was very clear on the fact that the US wants to obtain a ceasefire at this meeting in Alaska,' Macron said. 'We must continue to support Ukraine, and when I say 'we', I mean Europeans and Americans,' he added. Ukraine needs credible security guarantees as part of any peace deal, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Starmer said following the virtual summit. The United Kingdom's support for Ukraine is 'unwavering', he added. Zelenskyy, during the news conference with Merz, said Putin is 'bluffing' about being interested in peace. 'Russia is attempting to portray itself as capable of occupying all of Ukraine. That is undoubtedly what they want,' Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian leader also warned that 'talks about us, without us, will not work'. 'Everything concerning Ukraine must be discussed exclusively with Ukraine. We must prepare a trilateral format for talks. There must be a ceasefire,' Zelenskyy added. He also said 'there must be security guarantees – truly reliable ones'. Among the agreed principles, Zelenskyy said, is that Russia must not be allowed to block Ukraine's path to joining the European Union or NATO, and that peace talks should go hand in hand with maintaining pressure on Russia. The Ukrainian leader also emphasised that sanctions should be strengthened if Russia fails to agree to a ceasefire during the Alaska summit. 'These are effective principles. It is important that they work,' Zelenskyy added. Thank you for your support! — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 13, 2025 Following the call, Trump spoke at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC: 'We had a very good call. I would rate it a 10, very friendly,' Trump explained. The US leader then went on to discuss potential next steps ahead of Friday's meeting. 'There's a very good chance that we're going to have a second meeting, which will be more productive than the first. Because the first is: I'm going to find out where we are and what we're doing,' he said. Trump also mentioned the possibility of a later meeting 'between President Putin and President Zelenskyy and myself, if they'd like to have me there', after the first meeting between him and Putin. Trump also said he plans to call Zelenskyy and other European leaders after Friday's discussions with Putin. The US president also said there will be 'very severe consequences' for Russia if Putin doesn't agree to end the war after Friday's meeting. 'Do you believe you can convince him to stop targeting civilians in Ukraine?' one journalist asked Trump. 'I've had that conversation with him,' Trump said. 'Then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home or a rocket hit an apartment building and people are laying dead in the street. So I guess the answer to that is no, because I've had this conversation,' he added. However, he reaffirmed his intention to find a solution: 'I want to end the war. It's Biden's war, but I want to end it. I'll be very proud to end this war, along with the five other wars I ended,' he said, without explaining which other conflicts he was referring to. He has claimed credit for ceasefires between India and Pakistan in May and Israel and Iran in June, and helped mediate truce pacts between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. Trump has also repeatedly made it clear that he covets a Nobel Peace Prize and believes he is deserving of one. The coalition issued a statement outlining four key requirements they believe should form the basis of Friday's talks. They said 'meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or a lasting and significant cessation of hostilities'. Second, if Russia refuses a ceasefire in Alaska, sanctions and other economic measures should be intensified to further strain its war economy. Third, 'international borders must not be changed by force'. Fourth, Ukraine should receive strong security guarantees, with the Coalition of the Willing ready to help, including a reassurance force after hostilities end. 'No limitations should be placed on Ukraine's armed forces or on its cooperation with third countries,' the statement said. And Russia cannot veto Ukraine's path to EU or NATO membership. Will the European intervention influence the Alaska summit? It's unclear, but analysts say that Wednesday's calls show how Europe has managed to make sure that Trump can't ignore the continent. 'Even if certain commitments are given, we don't know what will happen once Putin and Trump find themselves in a room,' Lucian Kim, a senior analyst for Ukraine with the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera. 'The Europeans have quite a lot of power and even more than they realise themselves,' he said, adding that it was an 'achievement' for European leaders to get Trump's attention, and there is now a difference in tone. 'It was not a given when Trump first got into office that he would listen to the Europeans,' he said. Kim also noted that Europe has used its power and influence to pressure Russia over the war. 'Russia was heavily dependent on Europe, not the United States, and this lack of trade is hurting Russia,' he said. 'Also, you have European banks that are holding hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian government assets.' 'Trump has realised that without the Europeans, it will be very hard to reach any solution in Ukraine.' What has Russia said so far about any peace agreement? On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Alexey Fadeev told a press conference that Moscow's position remained unchanged since President Putin outlined it in June 2024. At the time, Putin had said that a ceasefire would take effect immediately if the Ukrainian government withdrew from four Ukrainian regions partially occupied by Russia — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. He also insisted that Ukraine must formally abandon its bid to join the NATO military alliance. Russia currently controls about 19 percent of Ukraine, including the entirety of Crimea and Luhansk, over 70 percent of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, as well as small portions of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
