Latest news with #DonaldTrump-supporting
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sex Pistols rocker John Lydon brands Donald Trump a ‘breath of fresh air'
Sex Pistols rocker John Lydon has branded Donald Trump a 'breath of fresh air'. The 69-year-old singer shocked fans when he started championing the widely-hated US president, and has now doubled down on his support for the former reality TV judge. He told when asked for his views on Trump: 'It might be hard for socialist Britain to understand but Donald Trump is like a breath of fresh air, because he's not a politician. That's it. 'I don't like the man, I don't care about the man, but he might create something interesting that as of up to now business as usual in politics has not done. Bring a wrecking ball, by all means, to it. 'A couple of years ago I was asked what I thought of him and I said I thought he was The Sex Pistols of politics. 'Then I tried to take it back and then I thought, 'No, actually Johnny, that sounds f****** right.' John also opened up about his support of the idea of UFC fighter Conor McGregor, 36, getting involved in politics. He said when asked if he agreed with Conor's recent statement the era of the politician is over: 'I'm in total agreement with Conor. 'He's the kind of fella I could sit and talk to for hours because he tells it as he sees it, so there's no (messing around) with him.' His remark comes after John admitted Conor is a 'little on the violent side'. The 'Pretty Vacant' singer appeared on 'The Michael Anthony Show' where he discussed his political views, grieving after the loss of his beloved wife Nora and his rocky childhood. Speaking about the issue of illegal immigrants living in the UK and Ireland, he said: 'Come on Conor' – referring to the Donald Trump-supporting fighter's rants on social media about Ireland's immigration laws. When host Michael asked him: 'Are you serious about the McGregor s***?,' John replied: 'I believe what he's saying when he says, 'The time for politicians has ended'. 'This is a nice slogan, but I'm not quite sure I'd like to follow him into the next situation, because he's a little on the violent side.' The rocker is still grief-stricken over the loss of his wife Nora Foster, who died in April 2023 aged 80, five years after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He said about his last days with her: 'She died so painfully. Gasping. 'They call it the death whistle.' John's band Public Image Ltd are on tour until August and tickets are on sale now, available from all venues and Ticketmaster.
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Sex Pistols rocker John Lydon brands Donald Trump a ‘breath of fresh air'
Sex Pistols rocker John Lydon has branded Donald Trump a 'breath of fresh air'. The 69-year-old singer shocked fans when he started championing the widely-hated US president, and has now doubled down on his support for the former reality TV judge. He told when asked for his views on Trump: 'It might be hard for socialist Britain to understand but Donald Trump is like a breath of fresh air, because he's not a politician. That's it. 'I don't like the man, I don't care about the man, but he might create something interesting that as of up to now business as usual in politics has not done. Bring a wrecking ball, by all means, to it. 'A couple of years ago I was asked what I thought of him and I said I thought he was The Sex Pistols of politics. 'Then I tried to take it back and then I thought, 'No, actually Johnny, that sounds f****** right.' John also opened up about his support of the idea of UFC fighter Conor McGregor, 36, getting involved in politics. He said when asked if he agreed with Conor's recent statement the era of the politician is over: 'I'm in total agreement with Conor. 'He's the kind of fella I could sit and talk to for hours because he tells it as he sees it, so there's no (messing around) with him.' His remark comes after John admitted Conor is a 'little on the violent side'. The 'Pretty Vacant' singer appeared on 'The Michael Anthony Show' where he discussed his political views, grieving after the loss of his beloved wife Nora and his rocky childhood. Speaking about the issue of illegal immigrants living in the UK and Ireland, he said: 'Come on Conor' – referring to the Donald Trump-supporting fighter's rants on social media about Ireland's immigration laws. When host Michael asked him: 'Are you serious about the McGregor s***?,' John replied: 'I believe what he's saying when he says, 'The time for politicians has ended'. 'This is a nice slogan, but I'm not quite sure I'd like to follow him into the next situation, because he's a little on the violent side.' The rocker is still grief-stricken over the loss of his wife Nora Foster, who died in April 2023 aged 80, five years after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He said about his last days with her: 'She died so painfully. Gasping. 'They call it the death whistle.' John's band Public Image Ltd are on tour until August and tickets are on sale now, available from all venues and Ticketmaster.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tattoos of deported Venezuelans don't necessarily signal gang affiliation, experts say
Nike's Jumpman, roses and a popular phrase from a Donald Trump-supporting Puerto Rican rapper: These are some of the tattoos defense lawyers and relatives say helped authorities accuse several Venezuelan men of belonging to Tren de Aragua gang. The men were not deported to their homeland last weekend but were instead sent to El Salvador, where they were jailed in a notorious megaprison, raising questions about whether they were given due process. Lawyers for at least five men have said in court filings this week that the U.S. government apprehended their clients in part because of tattoos that immigration authorities believed signaled ties to the gang. Law enforcement and immigration officials have said in the past they've had a challenging time identifying legitimate members of the Venezuelan criminal organization. Often the only information they do have to identify individuals is alleged gang tattoos. In the case of the recent deportation flights, Robert Cerna, the acting field office director of enforcement and removal operations at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a sworn declaration on Monday that officials did not solely rely on tattoos to identify the deportees as alleged gang members. But family members and attorneys are contesting that assertion, saying the inkings in question merely indicate the men are sports fans or family men, not gang members. They believe their clients and deported relatives were falsely accused and targeted because of their tattoos, and denied the men are connected to Tren de Aragua at all. Other Latin American gangs, such as the Salvadoran group MS-13, are known to use certain tattoos to identify their membership. But that's not the case with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, according to Ronna Risquez, an expert on the group who authored the Spanish-language book 'The Tren de Aragua: The Gang That Revolutionized Organized Crime in Latin America.' Risquez said tattoos are not closely connected with affiliation to Tren de Aragua. When asked if there's a specific tattoo that identifies Tren de Aragua members, Risquez told Noticias Telemundo, 'Venezuelan gangs are not identified by tattoos.' 'To be a member of one of these Venezuelan organizations, you don't need a tattoo,' she said in Spanish. 'You can have no tattoos and still be part of Tren de Aragua. You can also have a tattoo that matches other members of the organization.' Law enforcement and immigration officials across the nation have linked several tattoos to Tren de Aragua: stars on shoulders, crowns, firearms, grenades, trains, dice, predatory felines, gas masks, clocks, the Illuminati sign and the jersey number 23 — which basketball players including Michael Jordan and LeBron James made famous — in addition to tattoos of roses and the Jumpman logo. Other tattooed phrases law enforcement says are associated with the gang include 'Hijos de Dios' (Sons of God), or its abbreviation 'HJ,' and 'Real Hasta la Muerte' (Real Until Death). The government of El Salvador stated this week that hundreds of men deported from the U.S. last weekend were members of Tren de Aragua. In a propaganda-style video, the detainees were shown handcuffed in a crouched position as their heads were being shaved ahead of their transfer to the CECOT megaprison, according to El Salvador's Press Secretariat. The video shows some prisoners who have tattoos: One man sports ink of a rose, an Illuminati symbol and the Jumpman logo, inspired by Michael Jordan — all tattoos previously cited by police and immigration authorities as evidence of ties to Tren de Aragua. But Risquez said that gang members also sport tattoos considered culturally popular at the moment and popular among the general public — such as 'Real Hasta la Muerte' tattoos, a phrase popularized by Anuel AA, the reggaeton singer. 'This guy is loved by many Venezuelans and by many Latin Americans who have adopted this tattoo, and they've gotten that tattoo,' Risquez said. 'So that tattoo can't be associated with Tren de Aragua because there are many people who aren't from the Tren de Aragua, including Anuel, who have that tattoo.' The Trump administration views Tren de Aragua as a national security threat, saying dangerous members have entered the country illegally. In the U.S., law enforcement has accused dozens of people of belonging to the gang in at least 14 states, according to an NBC News analysis. The administration has repeatedly cited Tren de Aragua as the embodiment of the criminal immigrant as part of the president's aggressive immigration enforcement agenda, which has included sending hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to the Salvadoran megaprison, as well as stripping hundreds of thousands more of temporary legal status in the U.S. Targeting Venezuelans because of their tattoos is 'wrong and outrageous,' said Bill Hing, a law professor at the University of San Francisco and co-director of the school's immigration and deportation defense clinic. 'It's very evident that just having a Michael Jordan tattoo does not necessarily mean that a person is a gang member,' said Hing, who has represented hundreds of asylum-seekers from Central America, Colombia and Venezuela. A neck tattoo of the Jumpman logo was allegedly among the reasons one man was detained at Guantanamo along with 176 other Venezuelans, according to documents filed in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups. 'Jordan is popular around the world, and for many Venezuelans he's part of their fashion,' Hing said. He echoed Risquez in saying that most people get tattoos based on pop culture references as well as their geographical or ancestral roots, racial pride and religion. The idea that a Jordan tattoo or jersey would be used to link someone with Tren de Aragua is close to laughable, said Risquez. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment. But on Tuesday, the White House said in a statement in response to the deportation flights to El Salvador that it was 'confident in DHS intelligence assessments on these gang affiliations and criminality.' It added that the Venezuelan immigrants who were removed from the U.S. had final orders of deportation, though some attorneys and family members of the deportees are contesting that. 'This administration is not going to ignore the rule of law,' the statement said. Hundreds of Venezuelans have since been removed from the U.S. under the Alien Enemies Act, which allows the president to expeditiously deport noncitizens during wartime. Trump invoked this law after he claimed the gang was invading the United States. That justification is now the heart of dispute between Department of Justice lawyers and a federal judge. But in assessing the use of tattoos as a main identifier of gang affiliation, Risquez pointed out that as in all parts of the world, the only way to determine that a person is a delinquent or criminal is 'to conduct a police investigation' and 'grant them due process.' This article was originally published on
The Guardian
12-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ecuador's president enlists ex-Blackwater chief in controversial crime crackdown
Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, has announced a 'strategic alliance' with the Donald Trump-supporting founder of the private military firm Blackwater to supposedly reinforce his controversial 'war' on crime. Noboa, the rightwing heir to a South American banana empire, announced the partnership with Erik Prince on social media on Tuesday night. 'We [have] established a strategic alliance to strengthen our capabilities in the fight against narco-terrorism and to protect our waters from illegal fishing,' Noboa tweeted alongside a photograph of the two men sitting together. 'Organized crime has sown fear and believed it can operate with impunity. Their time is running out. International aid is beginning to flow to Ecuador,' added the president, who is seeking re-election in the second round of the country's presidential election next month. Ecuador's president offered no further details of the partnership between his government and Prince, a Navy Seal turned multimillionaire security contractor with close ties to the Trump administration. The announcement appeared designed to bolster Noboa's attempt to portray himself as an iron-fisted anti-crime crusader ahead of the 13 April run-off against his leftwing rival Luisa González. Noboa's administration announced on Sunday a $1m reward for the capture of one of Ecuador's most notorious drug bosses, José Adolfo Macías Villamar, who is known by the nickname 'Fito'. Noboa launched in January 2024 a hardline crackdown on the domestic gangs and foreign cartels that have brought chaos and carnage to what until recently was one of South America's safest countries. Ecuador's highly strategic location between two of the world's top cocaine producers – Peru and Colombia – and its Pacific ports have turned the country into a what experts call a drug 'superhighway' ferrying vast quantities of the illegal substance to the US and Europe. 'We are at war and we are fighting against people who are heavily armed, organised, with domestic and international financial backing and a structure of terror and criminality that reaches far beyond Ecuador's borders,' Noboa said at the time. But Noboa's crackdown has failed to halt the bloodshed and has been plagued with accusations of human rights abuses, including torture and arbitrary arrests. The news that Blackwater's former CEO would join Noboa's campaign prompted outrage and trepidation given the military contractor's track record of involvement in abuses, including the killing of 14 Iraqi civilians in 2007, after the US invasion. 'Does he intend to do the same here?' Ecuadorian lawyer Marlon Martínez Molina asked on X, accusing Noboa of planning to introduce paramilitarism to the South American country by importing foreign mercenaries. 'Noboa is the death of Ecuador … there's no end to the terror in this country,' tweeted the Ecuadorian author Cristina Burneo. Activist Soledad Angus Freré also voiced despair, warning: 'We're going straight off the cliff.'
