1 story credited to Hexbear
2 stories on hexbear.net credited to other publishers
Latest story Apr 21, 2026 · on ChamberLight since Apr 2026
A story can appear as several articles (copies of the same piece), so counts of stories and of articles differ.
Scores for Hexbear
Credibility
An individual writer or an online community, not a news organization, so the newsroom rating does not apply.
Political lean
An individual writer or an online community, not a news organization, so the newsroom rating does not apply.
Scores last checked Sep 24, 2026.
Articles this site reproduces
How provenance is decidedOriginal publishers of articles on hexbear.net
Counted from articles on hexbear.net whose original publisher is verified from the page itself or confirmed by an independent signal.
Stories ChamberLight collected, by month
Stories credited to Hexbear, by publication date. ChamberLight collects articles that mention the officials it tracks, so this shows its own coverage of this source, not how much the source publishes.
- Stories from Hexbear
- Shaded: ChamberLight collected no stories, or almost none, from any outlet (a gap in its collection, not in the outlet’s publishing)
Show as a table
| Month | Stories | All outlets |
|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | 1 | 3,897 |
| May 2026 | 0 | none collected |
| June 2026 | 0 | none collected |
| July 2026 | 0 | none collected |
| August 2026 | 0 | 1 (collection gap) |
| September 2026 | 0 | 598 |
Top topics
Share of this source’s stories tagged with each topic. A story can carry several topics, so the shares do not add up to 100%.
- Defense/Military1
100% of 1 stories · 26% across all outlets
- Foreign Policy1
100% of 1 stories · 30% across all outlets
The thin mark on each bar is the topic’s share across all outlets.
Who they cover
Party of the officials these stories are mainly about, across all 3 officials named. A story counts once for each official it is mainly about, so the split is over 3 story–official pairs, from 1 story.
- Republican67% · 2 pairs
- Independent33% · 1 pair
Most covered
Stories mainly about each official, and their share of the source’s 1 story.
Article tone
ChamberLight’s article analysis assigns each story a tone toward the official it covers. It describes the coverage of that official, not Hexbear’s stance, and reader votes do not change it. 1 story.
- Good Look
- 1 (100%)
- Mixed
- 0 (0%)
- Informational
- 0 (0%)
- Bad Look
- 0 (0%)
Challenges to these scores
No one has challenged a score on this page yet. Anyone can; editors publish every outcome here.
Articles served from hexbear.net
6
U.S. Personnel Who Died in Mexico Were Working For the CIA, Sources Say
submitted by thelastaxolotl to news 10 points | 1 comments https://theintercept.com/2026/04/21/cia-mexico-deaths-drugs/ cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/43970 Two U.S. officials who died in Mexico on Sunday worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, two sources told The Intercept. They are among the first known fatalities of President Donald Trump’s expanding drug war in Latin America. The American personnel died in a vehicular crash in the mountains of the Sierra de Chihuahua following a drug raid, alongside two Mexican officials, including Román Oseguera Cervantes, the director of the Chihuahua State Investigation Agency. The sources said the Americans died after a raid on a synthetic drug lab. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson announced the deaths of the Americans on Sunday, referring to them in a post on X as “two members of staff from the United States Embassy.” The State Department refused requests for additional information on the Americans’ activities or the agencies that employed them. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said during a Monday press conference that she was unaware of “any direct work between Chihuahua state and personnel from the U.S. embassy.” Two U.S. government officials who spoke to The Intercept on the condition of anonymity said the CIA has been running covert operations in Mexico, working alongside vetted Mexican state-level police forces and other government agencies. The sources said the Americans died after a raid on a synthetic drug lab. “You may note that CIA declined to comment,” a CIA spokesperson told The Intercept by email in response to questions about the deaths. Mexican authorities told the press that the Americans were not involved in the raid after earlier stating they died following the operation against the labs. Western Hemisphere Front Trump has turned the Western Hemisphere into a war zone, as part of what he and others have called the “Donroe Doctrine.” This bastardization of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine — which Trump has turned into a unilateral license to militarily meddle in the U.S.’s backyard — has led to strikes on civilian boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean; an attack on Venezuela and the abduction of its president; and increased military operations elsewhere in Latin America. Adm. Frank M. Bradley, the chief of U.S. Special Operations Command, recently referenced the “perceived increase of U.S. support to counter-cartel operations in Mexico” in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations. He said his elite troops “remain postured to provide… support to Mexican military and security forces to dismantle narco-terrorist organizations.” In a little-noticed move in January, U.S. Northern Command – on Trump’s order – established Joint Interagency Task Force – Counter Cartel, or JIATF-CC, to coordinate U.S. government intelligence “to identify, disrupt, and dismantle cartel networks.” Among other things, the task force was established for “developing cartel targets for action by USNORTHCOM’s partners and providing direct support to law enforcement.” Gen. Gregory Guillot, NORTHCOM’s commander, said then that the task force would be operating “via traditional and non-traditional means to deliver accurate, timely, and relevant intelligence to execution elements.” Last week, he told lawmakers that the force would “provide actionable intelligence to the Government of Mexico and federal law enforcement counterparts acting domestically based on leads developed from foreign intelligence operations.” “Trump has reportedly been pushing for U.S. direct action against drug labs and traffickers in Mexico since his first term,” Brian Finucane, a senior adviser for the U.S. Program at the International Crisis Group, told The Intercept. “In his second term, he now has some officials in his administration eager to do a ‘Sicario’ — making Mexico a battlefield in the new GWOT” — global war on terror — “against the narcos.” [ Related U.S. Military Joins Drug War in Ecuador: “It Wasn’t Going to Be Just Boat Strikes Forever”](theintercept.com/…/us-military-ecuador-trump/) Acting Assistant Secretary of War for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs Joseph Humire was unable to tell members of the House Armed Services Committee how many land strikes were being conducted across almost 20 Latin American and Caribbean nations. “I don’t have an exact number,” he replied to a question last month. But when asked by Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking member of the committee, if the War Department would “be moving to a lot more terrestrial strikes,” Humire replied, “Yes, ranking member.” Trump mused last year that he might send U.S. commandos into Mexico to battle cartels. “Could happen,” he said. “Stranger things have happened.” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also threatened military action on Mexican soil. Over the Precipice The Americans died at around 2 a.m. on Sunday morning in the town of Morelos after their multi-vehicle convoy departed from the site of the drug raid. The vehicle reportedly drove off the road and over the side of a ravine, exploding upon impact. The Americans killed in the wreck in Mexico are some of the first known casualties since Trump ramped up military and CIA operations in and around Latin America last year. A number of U.S. military personnel were injured in the U.S. attack on Venezuela in January. In February, Lance Cpl. Chukwuemeka E. Oforah, 21, fell off the USS Iwo Jima while it was conducting operations in the Caribbean and was declared deceased on February 10. The Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office claimed that the Americans in Mexico were only conducting training on drone operations, according to Mexican press reports. Sheinbaum said at a news conference Monday that she would ask Johnson, Washington’s ambassador, to meet with Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco Álvarez to discuss the incident. Sheinbaum has repeatedly said that Mexico will not accept U.S. boots on the ground. “It’s outrageous that U.S. operatives were working to blow up drug labs in Mexico and President Sheinbaum’s security cabinet wasn’t informed of their activities,” said Sanho Tree, the director of the Drug Policy Project at the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies. Last year, the State Department declared eight Mexican drug cartels — the Sinaloa cartel, CJNG, the Northeast cartel, the Michoacán family, the United Cartels, and the Gulf Cartel — to be foreign terrorist organizations. The Salvadoran MS-13 and the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gangs were also named. The designation activates U.S. sanctions, including restrictions on financial transactions and bans on U.S. citizens from providing support to the groups. The drug war deaths in Mexico follow the announcement of new joint counter-cartel operations in Ecuador last month. Humire said that the War Department supported “bilateral kinetic actions against cartel targets along the Colombia-Ecuador border” — Pentagon-speak for March 3 strikes on unnamed “Designated Terrorist Organizations” previously reported by The Intercept. “The joint effort, named ‘Operation Total Extermination,’ is the start of a military offensive by Ecuador against transnational criminal organizations with the support of the U.S.,” he said. The attacks in Ecuador are also part of, and an expansion of, Operation Southern Spear: the U.S. military’s illegal campaign of strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. The U.S. has conducted 53 attacks on so-called drug boats since September 2025, killing more than 180 civilians. The latest strike, on April 19 in the Caribbean, killed three people. Gen. Francis Donovan, the chief of U.S. Southern Command, told lawmakers last month that “boat strikes are not the answer,” but teased an even broader campaign. “What we’re moving for right now might be an extension of Southern Spear, but really a counter-cartel campaign process that puts total systemic friction across this network,” he told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I believe these kinetic [boat] strikes are just one small part of that.” The post U.S. Personnel Who Died in Mexico Were Working For the CIA, Sources Say appeared first on The Intercept. From The Intercept via This RSS Feed.
U.S. Personnel Who Died in Mexico Were Working For the CIA, Sources Say
submitted by thelastaxolotl to news 10 points | 1 comments https://theintercept.com/2026/04/21/cia-mexico-deaths-drugs/ cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/43970 Two U.S. officials who died in Mexico on Sunday worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, two sources told The Intercept. They are among the first known fatalities of President Donald Trump’s expanding drug war in Latin America. The American personnel died in a vehicular crash in the mountains of the Sierra de Chihuahua following a drug raid, alongside two Mexican officials, including Román Oseguera Cervantes, the director of the Chihuahua State Investigation Agency. The sources said the Americans died after a raid on a synthetic drug lab. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson announced the deaths of the Americans on Sunday, referring to them in a post on X as “two members of staff from the United States Embassy.” The State Department refused requests for additional information on the Americans’ activities or the agencies that employed them. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said during a Monday press conference that she was unaware of “any direct work between Chihuahua state and personnel from the U.S. embassy.” Two U.S. government officials who spoke to The Intercept on the condition of anonymity said the CIA has been running covert operations in Mexico, working alongside vetted Mexican state-level police forces and other government agencies. The sources said the Americans died after a raid on a synthetic drug lab. “You may note that CIA declined to comment,” a CIA spokesperson told The Intercept by email in response to questions about the deaths. Mexican authorities told the press that the Americans were not involved in the raid after earlier stating they died following the operation against the labs. Western Hemisphere Front Trump has turned the Western Hemisphere into a war zone, as part of what he and others have called the “Donroe Doctrine.” This bastardization of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine — which Trump has turned into a unilateral license to militarily meddle in the U.S.’s backyard — has led to strikes on civilian boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean; an attack on Venezuela and the abduction of its president; and increased military operations elsewhere in Latin America. Adm. Frank M. Bradley, the chief of U.S. Special Operations Command, recently referenced the “perceived increase of U.S. support to counter-cartel operations in Mexico” in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations. He said his elite troops “remain postured to provide… support to Mexican military and security forces to dismantle narco-terrorist organizations.” In a little-noticed move in January, U.S. Northern Command – on Trump’s order – established Joint Interagency Task Force – Counter Cartel, or JIATF-CC, to coordinate U.S. government intelligence “to identify, disrupt, and dismantle cartel networks.” Among other things, the task force was established for “developing cartel targets for action by USNORTHCOM’s partners and providing direct support to law enforcement.” Gen. Gregory Guillot, NORTHCOM’s commander, said then that the task force would be operating “via traditional and non-traditional means to deliver accurate, timely, and relevant intelligence to execution elements.” Last week, he told lawmakers that the force would “provide actionable intelligence to the Government of Mexico and federal law enforcement counterparts acting domestically based on leads developed from foreign intelligence operations.” “Trump has reportedly been pushing for U.S. direct action against drug labs and traffickers in Mexico since his first term,” Brian Finucane, a senior adviser for the U.S. Program at the International Crisis Group, told The Intercept. “In his second term, he now has some officials in his administration eager to do a ‘Sicario’ — making Mexico a battlefield in the new GWOT” — global war on terror — “against the narcos.” [ Related U.S. Military Joins Drug War in Ecuador: “It Wasn’t Going to Be Just Boat Strikes Forever”](theintercept.com/…/us-military-ecuador-trump/) Acting Assistant Secretary of War for Homeland Defense and Americas Security Affairs Joseph Humire was unable to tell members of the House Armed Services Committee how many land strikes were being conducted across almost 20 Latin American and Caribbean nations. “I don’t have an exact number,” he replied to a question last month. But when asked by Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking member of the committee, if the War Department would “be moving to a lot more terrestrial strikes,” Humire replied, “Yes, ranking member.” Trump mused last year that he might send U.S. commandos into Mexico to battle cartels. “Could happen,” he said. “Stranger things have happened.” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth also threatened military action on Mexican soil. Over the Precipice The Americans died at around 2 a.m. on Sunday morning in the town of Morelos after their multi-vehicle convoy departed from the site of the drug raid. The vehicle reportedly drove off the road and over the side of a ravine, exploding upon impact. The Americans killed in the wreck in Mexico are some of the first known casualties since Trump ramped up military and CIA operations in and around Latin America last year. A number of U.S. military personnel were injured in the U.S. attack on Venezuela in January. In February, Lance Cpl. Chukwuemeka E. Oforah, 21, fell off the USS Iwo Jima while it was conducting operations in the Caribbean and was declared deceased on February 10. The Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office claimed that the Americans in Mexico were only conducting training on drone operations, according to Mexican press reports. Sheinbaum said at a news conference Monday that she would ask Johnson, Washington’s ambassador, to meet with Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco Álvarez to discuss the incident. Sheinbaum has repeatedly said that Mexico will not accept U.S. boots on the ground. “It’s outrageous that U.S. operatives were working to blow up drug labs in Mexico and President Sheinbaum’s security cabinet wasn’t informed of their activities,” said Sanho Tree, the director of the Drug Policy Project at the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies. Last year, the State Department declared eight Mexican drug cartels — the Sinaloa cartel, CJNG, the Northeast cartel, the Michoacán family, the United Cartels, and the Gulf Cartel — to be foreign terrorist organizations. The Salvadoran MS-13 and the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gangs were also named. The designation activates U.S. sanctions, including restrictions on financial transactions and bans on U.S. citizens from providing support to the groups. The drug war deaths in Mexico follow the announcement of new joint counter-cartel operations in Ecuador last month. Humire said that the War Department supported “bilateral kinetic actions against cartel targets along the Colombia-Ecuador border” — Pentagon-speak for March 3 strikes on unnamed “Designated Terrorist Organizations” previously reported by The Intercept. “The joint effort, named ‘Operation Total Extermination,’ is the start of a military offensive by Ecuador against transnational criminal organizations with the support of the U.S.,” he said. The attacks in Ecuador are also part of, and an expansion of, Operation Southern Spear: the U.S. military’s illegal campaign of strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. The U.S. has conducted 53 attacks on so-called drug boats since September 2025, killing more than 180 civilians. The latest strike, on April 19 in the Caribbean, killed three people. Gen. Francis Donovan, the chief of U.S. Southern Command, told lawmakers last month that “boat strikes are not the answer,” but teased an even broader campaign. “What we’re moving for right now might be an extension of Southern Spear, but really a counter-cartel campaign process that puts total systemic friction across this network,” he told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I believe these kinetic [boat] strikes are just one small part of that.” The post U.S. Personnel Who Died in Mexico Were Working For the CIA, Sources Say appeared first on The Intercept. From The Intercept via This RSS Feed.
Calls for 'Full Arms Embargo' Against Israel as Lebanon Massacres Imperil Ceasefire Hopes | Common Dreams
submitted by thelastaxolotl to news 24 points | 0 comments https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-arms-embargo-lebanon cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/41147 Fresh demands for a total arms embargo against Israel emerged Wednesday as the country’s devastating onslaught in Lebanon—leveling apartment buildings and killing more than 250 people—threatened to derail tenuous progress toward a deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran. “The United States and all other countries need to cut off weapons to Israel immediately,” said Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the US-based Center for International Policy. “Full arms embargo.” Avi Lewis, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, wrote on social media that “Canada must bring sanctions against Israel, cancel the Canada-Israel free trade agreement, implement a real two-way arms embargo, and use every diplomatic and economic tool at our disposal to rein in Israel.” “US-Israeli impunity has shredded the international order,” he added. “Canada should lead in rebuilding it.” US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Wednesday that he “will be offering a resolution to stop US military aid to Israel” when Congress returns to session next week. The US is Israel’s chief arms supplier; recent data shows that 99% of Israel’s weapons imports are from the US and Germany. Israel launched its barrage of airstrikes on Lebanon, including busy areas in central Beirut, just hours after US President Donald Trump, Iranian leaders, and Pakistani mediators announced a two-week ceasefire agreement aimed at providing space for a lasting resolution to the war that the US and Israel launched in late February. Pakistan’s prime minister said explicitly that Lebanon was part of the ceasefire agreement, but the Trump White House and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the country was excluded, prompting fury in Iran. “If this isn’t yet another case of the US early reneging, then what is it?” asked Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry. US Vice President JD Vance claimed Wednesday that there was a “legitimate misunderstanding” about the terms of the ceasefire, saying the Iranians “thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t.” “That said, the Israelis have actually offered to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful,” Vance said. More Israeli airstrikes were reported in Beirut as Vance made his comments. More Israeli airstrikes in Beirut #Lebanon just as VP Vance says Israel will show restraint. “Israelis have actually offered to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon …to make sure that our negotiation is successful.” This is in sheyyah area tonight pic.twitter.com/F4ZFrlKS52 — Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) April 9, 2026 Israel’s assault on Wednesday marked the deadliest day for Lebanon during the latest round of bombing, which began days after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. Lebanon held a national day of mourning on Thursday as rescue efforts continued across the country. One woman, identified as Haniya Faraj, told The New York Times that nine of her relatives were wounded in an Israeli attack on a neighborhood in central Beirut. “I don’t know if there are more, my head is about to explode," she said. “I can’t reach all my family members.” The Associated Press reported that its journalists “saw charred bodies in vehicles and on the ground at one of Beirut’s busiest intersections in the central Corniche al Mazraa neighborhood, a mixed commercial and residential area. Using forklifts, rescue workers removed smoldering debris and sifted through ruins for survivors.” Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement that the Israeli government “has an appalling track record of carrying out unlawful attacks in Lebanon and displaying a callous disregard for civilian life, fueled by the impunity Israeli officials feel they enjoy.” “These attacks are a reminder that states must immediately halt the transfer of arms and weapons to Israel, given the overriding risk that they will be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law,” said Morayef. European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, condemned Israel’s massive bombardment of Lebanon and reiterated that the country must be included in the ceasefire agreement. “We condemn these strikes in the strongest possible terms,” said Macron. “They pose a direct threat to the sustainability of the ceasefire that has just been reached. Lebanon must be fully covered by it.” Sánchez, who has vocally condemned the Iran war from the start as illegal and immoral, went further, urging the European Union to “suspend its Association Agreement with Israel.” “There must be no impunity for these criminal acts,” said Sánchez. From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
Calls for 'Full Arms Embargo' Against Israel as Lebanon Massacres Imperil Ceasefire Hopes | Common Dreams
submitted by thelastaxolotl to news 24 points | 0 comments https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-arms-embargo-lebanon cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/41147 Fresh demands for a total arms embargo against Israel emerged Wednesday as the country’s devastating onslaught in Lebanon—leveling apartment buildings and killing more than 250 people—threatened to derail tenuous progress toward a deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran. “The United States and all other countries need to cut off weapons to Israel immediately,” said Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the US-based Center for International Policy. “Full arms embargo.” Avi Lewis, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, wrote on social media that “Canada must bring sanctions against Israel, cancel the Canada-Israel free trade agreement, implement a real two-way arms embargo, and use every diplomatic and economic tool at our disposal to rein in Israel.” “US-Israeli impunity has shredded the international order,” he added. “Canada should lead in rebuilding it.” US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Wednesday that he “will be offering a resolution to stop US military aid to Israel” when Congress returns to session next week. The US is Israel’s chief arms supplier; recent data shows that 99% of Israel’s weapons imports are from the US and Germany. Israel launched its barrage of airstrikes on Lebanon, including busy areas in central Beirut, just hours after US President Donald Trump, Iranian leaders, and Pakistani mediators announced a two-week ceasefire agreement aimed at providing space for a lasting resolution to the war that the US and Israel launched in late February. Pakistan’s prime minister said explicitly that Lebanon was part of the ceasefire agreement, but the Trump White House and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the country was excluded, prompting fury in Iran. “If this isn’t yet another case of the US early reneging, then what is it?” asked Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry. US Vice President JD Vance claimed Wednesday that there was a “legitimate misunderstanding” about the terms of the ceasefire, saying the Iranians “thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t.” “That said, the Israelis have actually offered to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful,” Vance said. More Israeli airstrikes were reported in Beirut as Vance made his comments. More Israeli airstrikes in Beirut #Lebanon just as VP Vance says Israel will show restraint. “Israelis have actually offered to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon …to make sure that our negotiation is successful.” This is in sheyyah area tonight pic.twitter.com/F4ZFrlKS52 — Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) April 9, 2026 Israel’s assault on Wednesday marked the deadliest day for Lebanon during the latest round of bombing, which began days after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. Lebanon held a national day of mourning on Thursday as rescue efforts continued across the country. One woman, identified as Haniya Faraj, told The New York Times that nine of her relatives were wounded in an Israeli attack on a neighborhood in central Beirut. “I don’t know if there are more, my head is about to explode," she said. “I can’t reach all my family members.” The Associated Press reported that its journalists “saw charred bodies in vehicles and on the ground at one of Beirut’s busiest intersections in the central Corniche al Mazraa neighborhood, a mixed commercial and residential area. Using forklifts, rescue workers removed smoldering debris and sifted through ruins for survivors.” Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement that the Israeli government “has an appalling track record of carrying out unlawful attacks in Lebanon and displaying a callous disregard for civilian life, fueled by the impunity Israeli officials feel they enjoy.” “These attacks are a reminder that states must immediately halt the transfer of arms and weapons to Israel, given the overriding risk that they will be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law,” said Morayef. European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, condemned Israel’s massive bombardment of Lebanon and reiterated that the country must be included in the ceasefire agreement. “We condemn these strikes in the strongest possible terms,” said Macron. “They pose a direct threat to the sustainability of the ceasefire that has just been reached. Lebanon must be fully covered by it.” Sánchez, who has vocally condemned the Iran war from the start as illegal and immoral, went further, urging the European Union to “suspend its Association Agreement with Israel.” “There must be no impunity for these criminal acts,” said Sánchez. From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
Calls for 'Full Arms Embargo' Against Israel as Lebanon Massacres Imperil Ceasefire Hopes | Common Dreams
submitted by thelastaxolotl to news 24 points | 0 comments https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-arms-embargo-lebanon cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/41147 Fresh demands for a total arms embargo against Israel emerged Wednesday as the country’s devastating onslaught in Lebanon—leveling apartment buildings and killing more than 250 people—threatened to derail tenuous progress toward a deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran. “The United States and all other countries need to cut off weapons to Israel immediately,” said Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the US-based Center for International Policy. “Full arms embargo.” Avi Lewis, leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, wrote on social media that “Canada must bring sanctions against Israel, cancel the Canada-Israel free trade agreement, implement a real two-way arms embargo, and use every diplomatic and economic tool at our disposal to rein in Israel.” “US-Israeli impunity has shredded the international order,” he added. “Canada should lead in rebuilding it.” US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Wednesday that he “will be offering a resolution to stop US military aid to Israel” when Congress returns to session next week. The US is Israel’s chief arms supplier; recent data shows that 99% of Israel’s weapons imports are from the US and Germany. Israel launched its barrage of airstrikes on Lebanon, including busy areas in central Beirut, just hours after US President Donald Trump, Iranian leaders, and Pakistani mediators announced a two-week ceasefire agreement aimed at providing space for a lasting resolution to the war that the US and Israel launched in late February. Pakistan’s prime minister said explicitly that Lebanon was part of the ceasefire agreement, but the Trump White House and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the country was excluded, prompting fury in Iran. “If this isn’t yet another case of the US early reneging, then what is it?” asked Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry. US Vice President JD Vance claimed Wednesday that there was a “legitimate misunderstanding” about the terms of the ceasefire, saying the Iranians “thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t.” “That said, the Israelis have actually offered to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful,” Vance said. More Israeli airstrikes were reported in Beirut as Vance made his comments. More Israeli airstrikes in Beirut #Lebanon just as VP Vance says Israel will show restraint. “Israelis have actually offered to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon …to make sure that our negotiation is successful.” This is in sheyyah area tonight pic.twitter.com/F4ZFrlKS52 — Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) April 9, 2026 Israel’s assault on Wednesday marked the deadliest day for Lebanon during the latest round of bombing, which began days after the US and Israel launched their war on Iran. Lebanon held a national day of mourning on Thursday as rescue efforts continued across the country. One woman, identified as Haniya Faraj, told The New York Times that nine of her relatives were wounded in an Israeli attack on a neighborhood in central Beirut. “I don’t know if there are more, my head is about to explode," she said. “I can’t reach all my family members.” The Associated Press reported that its journalists “saw charred bodies in vehicles and on the ground at one of Beirut’s busiest intersections in the central Corniche al Mazraa neighborhood, a mixed commercial and residential area. Using forklifts, rescue workers removed smoldering debris and sifted through ruins for survivors.” Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement that the Israeli government “has an appalling track record of carrying out unlawful attacks in Lebanon and displaying a callous disregard for civilian life, fueled by the impunity Israeli officials feel they enjoy.” “These attacks are a reminder that states must immediately halt the transfer of arms and weapons to Israel, given the overriding risk that they will be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law,” said Morayef. European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, condemned Israel’s massive bombardment of Lebanon and reiterated that the country must be included in the ceasefire agreement. “We condemn these strikes in the strongest possible terms,” said Macron. “They pose a direct threat to the sustainability of the ceasefire that has just been reached. Lebanon must be fully covered by it.” Sánchez, who has vocally condemned the Iran war from the start as illegal and immoral, went further, urging the European Union to “suspend its Association Agreement with Israel.” “There must be no impunity for these criminal acts,” said Sánchez. From Common Dreams via This RSS Feed.
Dem Candidate for Rep. Eric Swalwell’s Seat Donated to Far-Right Republicans — Including Laura Loomer
submitted by thelastaxolotl to electoralism 10 points | 1 comments https://theintercept.com/2026/03/04/california-eric-swalwell-rakhi-israni-donations-maga-gop/ cross-posted from: news.abolish.capital/post/32827 A new Democratic candidate in California’s 14th Congressional District primary raised eyebrows when she announced she raised $2 million in the first two weeks of her campaign. Rakhi Israni threw her hat into the race for Rep. Eric Swalwell’s seat in the strongly Democratic leaning district just a few weeks ago and quickly brought in the big cash from donors whose identities are, for now, unknown. The $2 million in donations aren’t the only eyebrow-raising political donations Israni has been involved in. Public filings on her own personal political giving reveal years of support for far-right Republicans. The list of those who have received her cash include MAGA candidates, the Republican head of the evangelical Zionist group Christians United for Israel, anti-abortion candidates, and even far-right pundit Laura Loomer, according to disclosures reviewed by The Intercept. “Let me be unequivocal: I oppose Trump’s attacks on our democracy, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, his assault on reproductive freedom, and the division he has fueled in this country,” Israni said in a statement to The Intercept. “I reject MAGA politics.” Israni, a first-time political candidate with a history of Hindu nationalism advocacy, is challenging a clutch of progressive Democrats: state Sen. Aisha Wahab; progressive Democratic strategist Matt Ortega; BART board president Melissa Hernandez; and immigration attorney Abrar Qadir. Swalwell, who is leaving the seat to run for governor of California, has not yet endorsed a candidate in the primary. With Israni’s past political donations coming to light, Ortega questioned how she came to donate to far-right figures. “There is no version of this story where Rakhi Israni giving money to Laura Loomer is acceptable. None.” “Why did Rakhi Israni give money to Laura Loomer? Was it that Laura Loomer calls herself a ‘proud Islamophobe’? Or perhaps it was Laura Loomer calling Islam ‘a cancer on humanity’ that won her support?” Ortega said in a statement. “There is no version of this story where Rakhi Israni giving money to Laura Loomer is acceptable. None. It’s disqualifying.” Wahab, for her part, suggested Israni might be out of step with voters in the deep-blue district. “Our district wants and deserves a real Democrat — pro-choice, pro-democracy, and firmly against extremism — not someone bankrolling MAGA-extremists and far-right allies, pretending to be something they’re not,” Wahab said in a statement to The Intercept. “People will look closely at who funds a campaign, a candidate’s record, and whether their record matches their rhetoric.” In her statement, Israni said, “Over the course of my professional career, I have engaged broadly and, at times, supported individuals across the political spectrum. Those contributions were not ideological endorsements of every position a candidate has taken, nor do they reflect support for extreme rhetoric or divisive statements.” Donating to the Far Right Israni’s personal political donation history tracks with support for Hindu nationalism and pro-Israel candidates and includes donations to some of the most far-right and MAGA candidates that have run for Congress in recent years. In 2022, she gave $4,200 to Republican Rich McCormick’s successful campaign for a Georgia House seat, according to Federal Election Commission data. McCormick was also endorsed by the Hindu American PAC, where Israni sits on the board. Last year, she donated $3,500 to a Republican candidate in California’s 13th Congressional District, months before the candidate hosted MAGA figure Matt Gaetz at a “Save California” rally. Another far-right candidate Israni gave money to was New York Republican Robert Cornicelli, who ran in the 2022 GOP primary for the 2nd Congressional District in Long Island on a platform that included abolishing the Department of Education. Cornicelli is also president of Veterans for America First, also known as Veterans for Trump. He is vocal about what he calls “radical Islam” and last year self-published a book titled “What is White? A Manifesto on How Elites Erased Your Culture and Made You the Enemy.” [ Related India Lobbies to Stifle Criticism, Control Messaging in U.S. Congress Amid Rising Anti-Muslim Violence](theintercept.com/…/india-lobbying-us-congress/) Israni contributed $260.73 to Laura Loomer’s 2020 Florida congressional primary run. Loomer is a controversial MAGA loyalist and informal Trump adviser who once celebrated the deaths of thousands of Muslim refugee families. She wrote “now it’s time to round up the Muslims before it’s too late” on X late last week. The Hindu American PAC gave Loomer $5,000 that same year, while Israni was on the board. In 2024, Loomer was widely criticized for bigoted remarks about Kamala Harris’s Indian heritage. The Hindu American PAC, with Israni on the board, also gave $5,000 to Devin Nunes in 2020, a former Trump Cabinet member who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Trump the following year. Other personal donations made by Israni to Republicans include $1,500 in 2022 to California Rep. Michelle Steel, who supported overturning Roe v. Wade, and $1,500 in 2024 to a failed campaign by Niraj Antani, an anti-abortion activist and self-proclaimed “pro-Trump conservative warrior.” In 2024, Israni gave $1,000 to Tulsi Gabbard’s leadership PAC, which contributed solely to Republicans that cycle. Today, Gabbard is Trump’s director of national intelligence. Israni also supported the Republican executive director of Christians United for Israel, David Brog, when he ran in Nevada’s 1st Congressional District. One Texas Republican who received $250 from Israni in 2022, Pat Fallon, had voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election. In total, she gave to over 10 MAGA candidates, more than the Democratic candidates she donated to in recent years, which included Mikie Sherrill for New Jersey governor and several Indian American candidates around the country. In her statement, Israni said, “I am a Democrat running for Congress in California’s 14th District because I believe in accountability, protecting fundamental rights, defending democracy, and delivering real economic results for the families who make up our district. As the only attorney in this race, I bring the legal experience necessary to hold Donald Trump, the MAGA movement, and any form of extremism accountable.” (Contrary to Israni’s statement, Qadir is also an attorney.) Israni and Wahab’s Past Irsani and Wahab, one of her House primary opponents, previously found themselves on the opposite sides of a legislative tussle. In Sacramento, Wahab introduced legislation in 2023 that would make California the first state to add caste-based discrimination to non-discrimination law. Proponents of the bill saw it as a way to address alleged discrimination based on someone’s “caste,” their position in a system of inherited social stratification in South Asian societies and diasporas. At the time, Israni testified against the bill at statehouse hearings, calling it an “unconstitutional denial of my community’s rights to fairness and equal protection under the law.” [ Related The Network of Hindu Nationalists Behind Modi’s “Diaspora Diplomacy” in the U.S.](theintercept.com/…/howdy-modi-trump-hindu-nationa…) The law was also opposed by the Hindu American Foundation, a controversial Indian American diaspora advocacy group whose lobbying is aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Israni served as a board member of the Hindu American PAC, a group that shares leadership with the Foundation. Wahab — the first Afghan American woman elected to public office in the U.S. — said she received violent threats in response to the proposed legislation, which was reportedly the target of coordinated opposition from major Democratic Indian American donors and Hindu nationalist networks. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom ultimately vetoed the bill. Israni’s list of campaign donors won’t be publicly filed until mid-April. With ballots mailing out in May, that leaves little time for voters in the district to review her backers. A corporate lawyer who owns a testing preparatory company with her husband, she announced on January 23 that she raised over $1 million in the first 24 hours of her campaign. Less than two weeks later, on February 4, she claimed the total raised was nearing $2 million. Israni has links to American organizations aligned with the Hindutva movement — a Hindu nationalist political tendency. She appeared at recent events hosted by the Hindu American Foundation and spoke on a panel called “Hinduphobia & Antisemitism: Two Sides of the Same Coin” at the group’s conference last year. She also served as an executive at Sewa International USA, an international Indian charity tied to Hindutva groups. And Israni wrote about hosting Modi at a Silicon Valley reception in 2015. A deleted X account reviewed on the Internet Archive that is tied to Israni’s email shared frequent content in support of Modi and the Indian government. The post Dem Candidate for Rep. Eric Swalwell’s Seat Donated to Far-Right Republicans — Including Laura Loomer appeared first on The Intercept. From The Intercept via This RSS Feed.