🇪🇨🇺🇸 Ecuador is preparing for US forces, plans show, as Noboa calls for help battling gangs

Ecuador is laying the groundwork for US forces to arrive, according to plans obtained by CNN – as its president calls on US President Donald Trump to help battle powerful gangs in a country once known as the “island of peace.”

According to a high-level Ecuadorian official familiar with the planning, construction of a new naval facility in the coastal city of Manta is part of that preparation, with barracks-style housing and administration offices designed to support sustained operations and US military personnel. The official requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

“The expectation is that these will be eventually occupied by US troops,” the official told CNN.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has made no secret of his desire for foreign boots on the ground as gangs unleash terror across the country – a request he is expected to reiterate this weekend. Noboa is set to meet Trump in Florida on Saturday to discuss immigration, trade and “security cooperation.”

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/29/americas/ecuador-trump-noboa-gang-intl-latam/index.html

🇺🇸🚢📝 Sal Mercogliano: Remember when US shipyards actually built ships!

The US made the decision to end the symbiotic relationship between the US Navy and the US Merchant Marine.

Instead, they outsourced US commercial shipping and shifted naval construction into private yards like HII and GDNASSCO.

Even now, with calls for reform, we default back to putting naval officers in charge of US maritime reform.

🔗 mercoglianos

🇪🇺💶 "Where will the EU source the funds to re-build its defense base?" - Macro & geopolitical commentators

"Because that's where the money is." -Bank robber Willie Sutton, when asked why he robbed banks.

Where the money is:

🔗 Luke Gromen

🇲🇽🇺🇸 Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called her meeting with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem “fruitful,” saying both nations benefit from a relationship grounded in “respect for each other’s sovereignty.”

🔗 AF Post

🇸🇳🇫🇷 Senegal sees French troops depart as west Africa reassesses colonial ties

France has handed over control to the Senegalese government of two military bases in Senegal’s capital, Dakar that it has used for decades. The move follows an announcement in late 2024 by Senegal’s president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, that all foreign troops would be required to leave the country.

“Senegal is an independent country, a sovereign nation, and sovereignty does not allow for the presence of foreign military bases,” Faye told Agence France-Presse in November.

Unlike in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, where military juntas have expelled French and American troops in recent years, this move comes from a democratically elected leader.

https://theconversation.com/senegal-sees-french-troops-depart-as-west-africa-reassesses-colonial-ties-251978

🇺🇸🇮🇷 Six USAF B-2 Spirit stealth bombers — 1/3 of America’s fleet — forward deployed to Diego Garcia over the last week

The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) continues strike operations against the Houthi. Carl Vinson CSG, en route to the Middle East, is 1-2 weeks out

🔗 Ian Ellis

🇺🇸🇾🇪🇮🇷 Israel Radar: US strikes on Houthi tunnels in Yemen may serve as model for practicing attacks on underground sites in Iran, using stealth bombers & penetrator munitions

🔗 Israel Radar

🇺🇸/🇮🇱 Elliot Kaufman: The Biden State Department and USAID transferred tens of millions of dollars, directly and indirectly, to Israeli NGOs working to bring down the Netanyahu government.

Israel’s coalition government still stands, long after its obituaries were written.

This past week it passed a budget as well as the centerpiece of its judicial reform. None of this was supposed to happen.

https://archive.is/RTM3z

🔗 Elliot Kaufman

🇺🇸✈️ Hundreds of foreign students in the U.S. have been told they must self-deport or they will be forcibly deported for campus activism—including attending protests or posting on social media.

This comes after the launch of AI system "Catch and Revoke", which trawls social media for politically incorrect speech. Speaking to reporters, Rubio said ‘Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas… At some point, I hope we run out.’

There are over 1.1 million international students in the U.S. today.

https://ndtv.com/world-news/us-cracks-down-on-international-students-hundreds-asked-self-deport-over-campus-activism-8038809/amp/1

🔗 WikiLeaks

🇺🇸🇮🇷 U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Iran with bombings and secondary tariffs on Sunday if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program.

"If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing," Trump said in a telephone interview with NBC. "But there's a chance that if they don't make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago."

🔗 Rapid Response 47

🇮🇱🇵🇸 Netanyahu says Trump's plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza is Israel's "strategy" and that he is "ready to discuss it" at any time

https://trt.global/world/article/aeedb97c86c6

🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran has rejected direct negotiations with the US in response to Trump’s letter

Iran’s president said Sunday that the Islamic Republic rejected direct negotiations with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program, offering Tehran’s first response to a letter that U.S. President Donald Trump sent to the country’s supreme leader.

https://apnews.com/article/iran-rejects-direct-negotiations-trump-letter-us-c414743a567c574b6f48f64a2e889f31

🇺🇸Trump won’t rule out seeking a third term in the White House

President Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of seeking a third term in the White House, which is prohibited by the Constitution under the 22nd Amendment, saying in an exclusive interview with NBC News that there were methods for doing so and clarifying that he was “not joking.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-third-term-white-house-methods-rcna198752

🇺🇸🇮🇷 President Trump has warned he’ll impose secondary tariffs on Iran if it doesn’t move toward ending its nuclear program.

“I would prefer a deal to the other alternative, which I think everybody on this plane knows what that is. That’s not going to be pretty.”

🔗 AF Post

🇺🇬🇸🇸 How economic interests pushed Uganda to deploy in S. Sudan

Fear of a blown-out war in Juba saw Uganda deploy its military there with an eye on keeping the peace while securing investments made by Kampala.

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/how-economic-interests-pushed-uganda-to-deploy-in-s-sudan-4982800

🇺🇬🇨🇩 Ugandan Forces enter Bule, a town in Ituri Province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It's in Djugu territory, near the Ugandan border. It's known for being an area affected by conflict, such as those involving the CODECO (Cooperative for the Development of Congo) militia. The Lendu ethnic group is behind this militia and has traditionally been opposed to the pastoralists of the Hema people. - oscarvara

🔗 mkainerugaba

🇺🇬🇨🇩DRC alarmed by Uganda Army Chief's threat to seize Kisangani City

https://youtu.be/pliXB0uB0og