The War in the Middle East, Seen from Mexico
Also in this edition: Stories from Cuba. Nearly 4,000 immigrant children jailed by Trump. What comes after the death of El Mencho? A trip to the Prado Museum.
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In the first three days of the Israeli-American military offensive against Iran, lies flew faster than the missiles. “From any angle, the joint aggression launched against Iran by the governments of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu places the world in a far more sinister and dangerous situation than the one that prevailed until last weekend,” wrote La Jornada in an editorial after the second day of the war.
Contradictory messages, shifting objectives, and warnings that the Trump administration could extend the U.S. war against Iran for weeks are generating growing opposition within the United States—even among the president’s own ranks—and in other countries, including Mexico. The president and senior Pentagon officials have offered no concrete evidence that the United States faced any immediate threat from Iran that would justify acting jointly with Israel to remove the leadership of that Islamic republic.
Trump declared that the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader was necessary because of the “ideology of evil” he had promoted for 47 years and said, “I got him before he got me.” But experts and observers emphasize that what is even more alarming is that there appears to be no plan, much less a strategy, defining objectives and a path to conclude what they describe as an unnecessary and illegal war. They also say there are signs Washington has already lost control of the conflict, since it was forced to issue an official alert asking all Americans to flee 14 countries—every one of them allies—in the Middle East. In other words, its actions have endangered its own citizens and even led to the closure of embassies and consulates.
“Trump and Netanyahu’s endless war,” was the headline of the first editorial in La Jornada, which concluded: “As in every war, it is impossible to know how it will end, but it can be taken for granted that the resulting Middle East will not be safer, more peaceful, or more just.”
For its part, Tehran called on the United Nations to intervene and halt the conflict, and in Mexico the Iranian ambassador said he hopes Mexico will condemn the aggression. But for many observers, the fact that Melania Trump presided over a meeting of the Security Council just as the conflict erupted—together with the unilateral decision to wage war without prior consultation with allies—demonstrated Washington’s absolute disregard and even mockery of the multilateral system and international law.
“Mexico will always advocate for world peace, which is very necessary,” declared President Claudia Sheinbaum, highlighting Mexico’s historic principles regarding international conflicts and non-intervention. Meanwhile, Spain’s socialist leader Pedro Sánchez said that “Spain’s position can be summed up in four words: no to war,” and his government rejected the United States’ request to allow the use of two military bases for Washington’s intervention in the Middle East.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that the United States apparently intends to manage Iran in the same way it has tried to manage Venezuela, and that there could be similar plans for Cuba and Palestine, according to correspondent Juan Pablo Duch. Meanwhile, the international chorus condemning the war continues to grow. France, for its part, announced that it will expand its nuclear arsenal.
All indications suggest the world is allowing an increasingly dangerous game to unfold. As irrational as it may seem, some analysts, such as economist Jeffrey Sachs, believe there is a logic behind it: “The United States is fighting to this moment for global hegemony… This is part of a world war that the United States is waging— and the war comes in Venezuela. The war is going to come to Cuba… That war is in the Middle East. Europe is already a vassal region of the United States. So this is the United States attempting, even in what is actually a multipolar world, to maintain its global hegemony.”
The Quote:
“Who is speaking up? Look at how the 4,000 migrant children imprisoned by ICE are suffering!”
—Rayuela, La Jornada
In Case You Missed It
◻️ Telling the Stories of Cuba. Even though the country is under the worst attacks from the United States in decades, what stands out most is the resilience of the Cuban people, explain La Jornada correspondents Luis Hernández Navarro and photographer Jair Cabrera Torres after returning from the island. In the midst of a difficult and dark moment, Cabrera captured not only images of daily hardships but also people facing the moment with dignity, dancing and even laughter. VIDEO: ▶️ A visit to the thermoelectric power plant Antonio Guiteras.
◻️ Nearly 4,000 Immigrant Children Jailed by Trump. Since Trump arrived at the White House, his administration has jailed more than 3,800 children—some as young as two months old—along with their parents in immigration detention centers run by ICE. Many have been detained longer than the 20-day limit allowed by a court agreement. They face unsanitary and inhumane conditions, according to investigative journalists and lawmakers who have visited the facilities, many of which are operated by private companies. Pediatric associations warn the children may suffer lifelong psychological and physical trauma. Most were seized while their families were at home, pulled from cars, or detained on the street while returning from school.
◻️ 40-Hour Workweek. Despite protests from business leaders, a new constitutional reform gradually reducing the weekly work schedule from 48 to 40 hours by 2030 has taken effect in Mexico. The reform also maintains that for every six days of work, employees must receive at least one day of rest with full pay.
◻️ $500,000 Pesos a Month as Pension. While the first retirees under Mexico’s individual retirement accounts system receive an average pension of about 5,000 pesos a month, a group of former officials and former union leaders receives up to 500,000 pesos monthly. President Claudia Sheinbaum described such pensions in the millions as an “abuse.”
◻️ What Comes After the Death of El Mencho? The death of cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, represents both a military and political victory, writes analyst Gustavo Gordillo. However, he warns that real success will require completely rethinking current strategies for confronting organized crime. Experts also argue that the fall of one drug trafficker will not end drug trafficking unless the United States addresses its domestic demand for drugs and takes much stronger action to stop the flow of weapons south across the border.
◻️ Mexico Should Trade More with Asia. The United States is demanding that China have no presence in Mexico at any level, including economic and commercial relations. Yet imports from Asia, especially China, have already become a key strategy that reduced Mexico’s imports from the United States from 75% in 1996 to just 38% in 2025. Today, imports from Asia and China represent nearly 45% of Mexico’s total imports. Economist Enrique Dussel Peters asks: “In the ‘Plan México,’ would we try to replace imports from the United States, the Vatican, or Switzerland?”
◻️ The World Cup Comes to Mexico. “The jewel of soccer never sleeps alone,” writes journalist Miguel Ángel Velázquez in a chronicle. Guarded with the highest technology, this coveted golden object travels without regard for ideology. One hundred days before kickoff, Mexico City inaugurated the “Temple of Soccer,” a massive project tied to the country’s role as co-host of the global tournament.
◻️ A Journey Through the Prado Museum. Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez, Saturn Devouring His Son by Francisco Goya, works by Anthony van Dyck and Hieronymus Bosch, and many others from the permanent collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid can now be enjoyed from anywhere in the world through a virtual visit using cutting-edge technology and “new audiovisual languages,” reports our correspondent in Madrid Armando Tejeda.
🎧 What We Are Listening To
Journalist Javier Aranda speaks with singer-songwriter Vivir Quintana about the song Canción Sin Miedo.
Edited by David Brooks and Jim Cason in the United States, Tania Molina Ramírez in Mexico City, of La Jornada, and Elizabeth Coll in Tokyo. More information here.