It is always a good idea to make note of things, put them into referenceable context, and then later tell the full story from background details that will surprise everyone else.

Two significant events have taken place within the last few days against the backdrop of Sinaloa government officials beginning to turn themselves in to U.S. federal authorities.

The first event is the Mexican government freezing the bank accounts and financial assets of those who have been named in the U.S. federal indictment.  Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says the seizures are out of her control, merely a process that takes place, yet the motives for her defensive protestations are more than a little transparent.

MEXICO – On May 18, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit froze the accounts of Sinaloa Governor Rubén Rocha Moya, his children, and senior aides. The action followed U.S. federal charges alleging they aided the Sinaloa Cartel through drug trafficking, weapons possession, and accepting multimillion-dollar bribes. Sheinbaum stressed the freeze was a technical, preventive step triggered by U.S. arrest warrants, not a domestic criminal finding.

The freezes come amid heightened U.S.-Mexico tensions over cartel corruption claims that have already strained security cooperation and political trust. Washington has broadened its anti-cartel strategy to target politicians accused of enabling organized crime, while Mexico remains sensitive to perceived foreign interference. Analysts warn the case could further erode institutional trust and complicate cross-border collaboration on security, trade, and migration.  (more)

The second event happened very quietly.

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From the outset of Trump term-2, I have been saying the missing element, the fundamental flaw, was the administration not going full wolverine in opposition to the leftists in congress.  When dealing with a comprehensively corrupt branch of government, a fearless cabinet nominee who confronts the corruption and fails is worth buckets more than a weak cabinet member who acquiesces and succeeds.

We need more direct oppositional confrontation, done from a place of righteous -AND AUTHENTIC- indignation.  That said, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche carries a stronger disposition toward that confrontation than his predecessor.

In this exchange Senator Chris Van Hollen, a man of notoriously corrupt disposition, and AAG Blanche battle over the establishment of a $1.776 billion victim’s compensation fund created to compensate people who have been targeted by a weaponized government.

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The full Senate appropriations hearing is below.  Todd Blanche did a great job confronting the lies, smears and Alinsky tactics of the institutional leftists.

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Earlier today President Trump noted he would be giving an endorsement in the highly contested Texas Republican primary race. President Trump has endorsed Ken Paxton.

(Via Truth Social) – The Highly Respected Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, an America First Patriot, and someone who has always been extremely loyal to me and our AMAZING MAGA MOVEMENT, is running for the United States Senate, to represent a place I love and WON, BIG, three times, with 6.4 Million Votes in 2024 (The Most Votes in the History of the State, BY FAR)!

I know Ken well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and he is a WINNER! Ken is a Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER and, very importantly, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT, something which polls at 87%, including Dumocrats, and yet can’t seem to get approved. Perhaps Ken can help move these important elements of Government forward because with the Filibuster, as an example, the Democrats will terminate it on their First Day in Office, giving us two extra States, D.C. and Puerto Rico, and a greatly enlarged Supreme Court of the United States, probably going with their Dream Number of 21 Justices from the 9 that we currently have — And these new Justices will be Radical Left Lunatics! Two years ago, our Country was DEAD — Now we have the “HOTTEST” Country anywhere in the World — And I want to keep it that way. Ken Paxton will help me do that, MAKING AMERICA BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!

Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate. He will tirelessly fight to continue the Great Growth of our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations (I just delivered the Largest Tax and Regulation Cuts in American History!), and Advance MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Champion Texas Oil & Gas, Advocate for our Amazing Farmers and Ranchers, Promote School Choice, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Support our Incredible Military/Veterans, Safeguard our Elections, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment.

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi greeted Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin upon arrival in Beijing, China, for a summit with Chairman Xi Jinping just days after Xi and President Trump spent two days in personal conference.

There will be more details from this visit that will surface in the next several hours and few days; however, for those who walk the deep weeds the video of the arrival is very interesting.  Russia controls Russian interests in all things, including diplomatic missions.  Foreign Minister Wang Yi greets President Putin and there are customary celebratory festivities on the tarmac that most are familiar with.

Putin is walking briskly, very deliberately and giving warm waves to the assembled children. But Putin is all business, focused and walking fast.  Minister Yi slows his pace in an effort to slow Putin and emphasize the welcome. Putin keeps forward momentum. It’s subtle, but so typically Russian in approach. Nothing extraneous, nothing off script, nothing casual – straight, predictable and forward.

Notice the Russian control and immediate separation at the moment when they reach the end of the red carpet. Wang Yi and the Chinese welcome delegation as well as all security elements just disappear as in typical Russian fashion the Russian security service takes control from there.

It is a subtle difference between the merged casual formality of a U.S-China visit, and the hard lines of a Putin visit.  I find myself thinking about what a difference it would make in relations between our nations if Americans really understood Russians.  Russians are not cold per se’, they just don’t do casual very well.

There’s no “small talk” in Russian culture. There is talking that has a purpose and benefit – or there is silence. It is a facet of cultural distinction that many Americans just don’t understand.  There are no pretenses and everything is deliberate.

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President Trump took the press pool on a tour of the White House ballroom and defense infrastructure that is being incorporated into the design itself. As noted by President Trump the ballroom will sit atop a sub-surface system of hardened rooms, research facilities and military operations that will form a hub of interconnected executive office government defense operations.

The building is being built to withstand missile and drone attacks, with several floors underground that will serve as a defense system for the President and cabinet members. The ballroom that sits atop the underground network will be paid by President Trump and donors; the government funding is for the military defense complex that will sit underground approximately six stories down.  This is a remarkable explanation by President Trump. WATCH:

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Remarkably, many news articles are citing confusion in trying to understand why U.S. Undersecretary of War, Elbridge Colby, announced the suspension of U.S. participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense with Canada. However, the announcement comes immediately after his meeting with U.S. ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, at the Pentagon and the comment, “we’re working closely to ensure every NATO partner, including Canada, reaches the Hague Summit’s 3.5% GDP defense spending target, a vital investment for North American and Arctic defense.”

The issue, as outlined by Undersecretary Colby, centers around Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent statements in antagonism toward the U.S., a public announcement that Canada would not be purchasing U.S. military equipment and the biggest issue of all, that Canada is not living up to the NATO defense spending agreements.

It was in December of 2024, immediately after the November election where Donald Trump won, when then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Mar-a-Lago for dinner with President Trump and told him there’s no way that Canada could meet their NATO obligations.  Canada had relied on the USA to provide all national defense and was 16th in defense spending at 1.1% of GDP. {CITATION}

The issue of NATO compliance was part of a larger discussion around trade imbalances, non-tariff barriers, intellectual property conflicts and legislative hurdles that Canada used as a crutch to retain economic benefit without reciprocity.

Trudeau was arguing that Canada could not change all the points of conflict, drop their non-tariff barriers, comply with NATO demands and simultaneously get into total alignment with the USMCA trade compact (CUSMA to Canada), because their climate policies did not support or match the heavy industrial processing capabilities of both the United States and Mexico.

This triggered President Trump to respond with the 51st state, notation.  Essentially, if you cannot be a partner with equal capabilities; and if you need to retain structural economic dependency; then Canada should just become a 51st state of the USA.

Since that time, things went downhill quickly.  Instead of trying to find ways to eliminate points of conflict, Prime Minister Mark Carney began a campaign of aggressive anti-Trump narrative distribution in order to maximize domestic political benefits.

President Trump then turned toward Mexico and began working with USTR Jamieson Greer to construct what is essentially a bilateral trade agreement between the U.S. and Mexico.

The administration began ignoring Canada, planning instead to announce the upcoming dissolution of the USMCA and then force Canada to negotiate a bilateral.  A jilted Canada then began doubling and tripling down on the anti-Trumpism, with Carney saying the era of trade between the USA and Canada is over.

Carney then reached out to Europe and China for trade replacement value and began making announcements about no longer purchasing U.S. manufactured fighter jets and military hardware.

U.S. Undersecretary of War, Elbridge Colby meets with U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, and obviously the NATO stuff is just the straw that ended the U.S. participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense with Canada.  Not a complicated timeline to figure out.

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Speaking from the White House, President Trump, HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz and various officials from the pharmaceutical industry held an event to deliver information about the latest updates to TrumpRx.   More prescription brands have been added to the exchange, and the website has significant updates allowing price comparison and shopping.   Additionally, Amazon Rx executives were on hand to announce their joining with TrumpRx to offer fast delivery options.

At 19:31 of the video below, President Trump takes questions from the assembled press pool on a variety of current events including the $1.776 billion weaponization compensation fund, the conflict with Iran, the Ebola virus and other issues. WATCH (prompted): 

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Barbara Boyd from Promethean Action PAC gives her take on the current situation.

“Barbara Boyd argues the key outcome of Trump’s China visit was the personal trust between Trump and Xi, symbolized by Xi’s “secret garden” tour previously reserved for Putin, and framed as establishing guardrails for U.S.–China strategic and tech competition amid the Iran war and energy geopolitics. She says London and Democrats are “screaming” because Trump is reshaping global economic relationships while Treasury Secretary Bessent lifts U.S. sanctions on Russian exports. The episode targets Mark Carney and Keir Starmer as City of London figures who tried to capture China finance, advance BRICS as a dollar alternative, promote a synthetic reserve currency via CBDCs, and steer $130T through green finance—efforts Boyd says have failed as Trump reverses “Green New Deal” policies. She highlights DOJ election-rigging probes, renewed scrutiny of “Russiagate,” anti-fraud prosecutions, voter backlash, and insurgent politics in Los Angeles and London.”

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Homeland Security Task Force members from a variety of federal law enforcement agencies announced a major arrest in Puerto Rico taking down a large narcotrafficking network and criminal underground.  [Press Release] According to the DOJ, 23 people were arrested with 14 potentially facing life in prison and death sentence eligible.

Charges range from RICO organization, money laundering, murder, drug crimes, racketeering and firearms violations.  The joint task force effort took down a large network as noted in the press release. “The transnational criminal organization referred to as La Familia Nunca Muere (LFNM), composed of Las FARC (also known as Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Cantera and Las FARC Company), Cantera Nueva Generación (CNG) and other gangs from the areas of San Juan, Bayamón, Comerío, Trujillo Alto and Carolina including its members and associates, constituted an “Enterprise,” as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4) (“the Enterprise”), that is, a group of individuals associated in fact, whose members functioned as a continuing unit for a common purpose of achieving the objectives of the Enterprise. The Enterprise was engaged in, and its activities affected interstate and foreign commerce.”

DOJ – SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On May 12, 2026, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging 23 members of a racketeering enterprise known as La Familia Nunca Muere (LFNM) with racketeering—murder, drug trafficking, and firearms violations. This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.

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I’m not going to spend too much time on this as I suspect most readers are well aware of my predictions on the matter.  Suffice to say Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended the sanctions waiver on Russian oil and gas for another 30-days. {citation}

[SOURCE]

The OFAC waiver targets Russian oil/gas that was loaded onto floating storage platforms as of April 17, 2026.  The destination of the oil/gas will primarily be China, India and Southeast Asia; westbound Arctic supply route. The general license means all of the ASEAN countries can purchase in dollars and provides Russia with an exchange for the same currency valuation.  Once again, Zelenskyy -and Europe- will not be happy.

There is a certain irony in Europe previously banning the import of Russian oil/gas (EU sanctions) and now, when they desperately need it, the supply is flowing in the opposite direction.  Both Russia’s Arctic I and Arctic II platforms are operating to produce the supply; however, as many readers here will note they coincidentally :::nudge, nudge – wink, wink::: started pumping supply to “on the water” storage for six months prior to the beginning of the Iran conflict.   This is the third U.S. waiver of sanctions.

Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday. {GO DEEP}

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