International News Briefs for Friday, February 13, 2026
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Friday, February 13, 2026.
Trump Halts “Endangerment Finding” That Gave EPA Power to Regulate Greenhouse Gases
Feb 13, 2026
The Trump administration has formally rescinded the EPA’s so-called endangerment finding, the 2009 determination that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to public health. The finding had allowed the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act for nearly two decades. The repeal of the endangerment finding eliminates greenhouse gas emissions standards for U.S. cars and trucks and clears the way for heavy industry to roll back limits on air pollution. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin joined President Trump at the White House Thursday to announce the deregulation.
Lee Zeldin: “The endangerment finding, and the regulations that were based on it, didn’t just regulate emissions. It regulated and targeted the American dream. And now the endangerment finding is hereby eliminated, as well as all greenhouse gas emission standards that followed.”
Environmental and public health groups called the repeal a massive blow to efforts to mitigate the climate crisis worldwide and have promised legal challenges. David Arkush, director of Public Citizen’s Climate Program, said in response, “If left to stand, this action will hamstring the government’s ability to combat the most terrible environmental threat in human history, harming Americans and the world for decades to come.”
Senate Rejects Homeland Security Funding Bill, Teeing Up Partial Government Shutdown
Feb 13, 2026
On Capitol Hill, senators failed to advance a bill Thursday that would have funded the Department of Homeland Security through September, setting up a partial government shutdown at midnight tonight. Democrats are seeking limits on how agents with ICE and other federal immigration agencies operate, including a ban on facial coverings, requiring agents to show ID and to obtain judicial warrants to enter private property, stricter use-of-force policies and more. A shutdown isn’t likely to impact the Trump administration’s mass deportation policies anytime soon, since Congress granted ICE $75 billion as part of Republicans’ so-called One Big Beautiful Bill.
Trump Administration Says It’s Ending Surge of Immigration Agents to Minnesota
Feb 13, 2026
President Trump’s so-called border czar Tom Homan said Thursday federal agents will be ending “Operation Metro Surge” in Minnesota.
Tom Homan: “I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude. A significant drawdown has already been underway this week and will continue to the next week.”
The weekslong crackdown saw about 3,000 officers from ICE, Border Patrol and other federal agencies conduct immigration sweeps across the Twin Cities region, often while masked and riding in unmarked vehicles. More than 4,000 people were detained as agents routinely deployed tear gas and pepper spray against protesters and bystanders, including children. Federal agents shot three people in Minnesota, two of them fatally: Renee Good and Alex Pretti. On Thursday, protesters continued to gather outside the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, skeptical of the Trump administration’s claims. This is anti-ICE protester Richie Mead.
Richie Mead: “Actions speak louder than words, so until we see them actually leave, we don’t believe it. We’re going to be out here until they prove it, until they stop running this Gestapo SUV, running through our streets, snatching up our neighbors, murdering our neighbors. Until that ends, we don’t believe it.”
Marine Vet Says Feds in Minneapolis Sampled His DNA and Cloned His Phone Without Warrant
Feb 13, 2026
In more news from Minneapolis, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan says federal agents unlawfully sampled his DNA, scanned his face and cloned his phone after detaining him as he stood on the sidewalk observing their movements. Steven Saari had gone to the scene of Alex Pretti’s killing less than an hour after Border Patrol agents fired the fatal shots, with a lawfully owned pistol on his hip. He says he was mobbed by federal agents and brought to the Whipple Federal Building, where he was denied access to a lawyer and detained for six hours before his release without charges. Saari told The Intercept that federal agents took scans and samples of his biometric data and made a copy of his phone — all without obtaining a warrant.
IRS Improperly Shared Taxpayer Data with DHS as Part of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
Feb 13, 2026
The Internal Revenue Service improperly shared private taxpayer data on thousands of people with the Homeland Security Department as part of Trump’s crackdown on immigration, likely in violation of federal law. That’s according to The Washington Post, which reports DHS issued an agreement last year with the Treasury Department to allow federal immigration enforcement officers request access to the names and addresses of people suspected of being in the U.S. without documentation. The IRS reportedly sent data on 47,000 people out of a request for 1.2 million records, including thousands whose private information was erroneously shared. Undocumented immigrants have for decades paid taxes in the United States, with the promise their personal information would be protected.
Federal Judge Orders Return of Venezuelans Deported to Notorious Prison in El Salvador
Feb 13, 2026
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return to the United States from Venezuela of nearly 140 Venezuelan men who were sent to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison last March and accused without evidence of being gang members. On Thursday, Judge James E. Boasberg directed Trump officials to bring the men back to fight their cases in a U.S. court after being denied due process when they were expelled under the wartime Alien Enemies Act — secretly flown to El Salvador despite an emergency court order blocking their removal. Some of the men had pending asylum cases. Boasberg’s ruling is being described as one of the toughest steps taken against Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
“I Felt Like an Animal”: Palestinian Activist Leqaa Kordia Describes Abuse in ICE Custody
Feb 13, 2026
Palestinian activist Leqaa Kordia has issued her first statement since she was released from the hospital earlier this week and sent back to ICE custody. Kordia’s family and lawyers spent several days searching for her, with ICE refusing to share information about her whereabouts. She’s been jailed at ICE’s Prairieland Detention Facility in North Texas for almost a year. In the statement, Kordia writes, “I woke up in the Prairieland Detention Facility’s medical unit terrified and confused after having experienced the first seizure of my life. Not until enduring nearly a year of cruel confinement in inhumane conditions had I ever suffered one before. All I felt was fear … For three days in the emergency room, my hands and legs were weighed down by heavy chains … They even refused to remove the chains when I went to the bathroom or took a shower. … The only reason ICE targeted me in the first place is because I protested against the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza. Even now, U.S.-made bombs continue to destroy Palestinian homes and kill Palestinian families.” Leqaa Kordia adds, “It was terrifying. I felt like an animal.” Click here to see our coverage of her case.
High Court Rules U.K. Government’s Ban on Palestine Action Unlawful
Feb 13, 2026
The United Kingdom’s High Court has overturned the government’s ban on the pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action, although the organization will remain proscribed as the U.K. government appeals the ruling. Last July, the British government banned Palestine Action under the U.K.’s strict anti-terrorism laws, adding it to a list that includes ISIS and al-Qaeda. Palestine Action’s co-founder Huda Ammori, who challenged the ban in court, said in a statement, “This is a monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people, striking down a decision that will forever be remembered as one of the most extreme attacks on free speech in recent British history.”
Mexico Sends Humanitarian Aid to Cuba as U.S. Tightens Blockade
Feb 13, 2026
Two Mexican ships carrying urgent humanitarian aid arrived in Cuba’s capital Havana on Thursday as the United Nations warns the island is facing humanitarian collapse due to the Trump administration’s oil blockade. Infant mortality is also on the rise in Cuba as the United States tightens its decades-old economic embargo on the island as part of Trump’s efforts to overthrow the Cuban government. We’ll have more on Cuba later in the broadcast with Cuba’s Ambassador to the U.N. Ernesto Soberón Guzmán.
Venezuela’s Interim Leader Takes U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Tour of Oil Facilities
Feb 13, 2026
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright arrived in Venezuela Wednesday as the Trump administration seeks control over the country’s oil industry. Wright is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Venezuela since Trump’s military attack and abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in early January. Wright met with interim Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez: “The Venezuelan people welcome those who come to our country with open arms. We are also willing to welcome investors from around the world, including the United States, to work alongside us, bringing the oil industry up to the highest standards.”
On Thursday, Wright toured facilities in Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt, which holds one of the largest reserves of crude oil, with Chevron officials. Delcy Rodríguez’s interim government has also sent Venezuela’s first oil shipment to Israel in nearly two decades. The late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, a staunch supporter of Palestine, cut relations with Israel in 2009.
Rep. Ro Khanna Demands DOJ Unredact Name of Politician Who Wrote 2016 Email to Jeffrey Epstein
Feb 13, 2026
California Congressmember Ro Khanna is calling on the Justice Department to unredact the name of a Republican politician who sent Jeffrey Epstein a friendly email boasting about receiving more votes than Jeb Bush in the 2016 Iowa caucuses. The email ends with the valediction, “Love ya,” but the signature is redacted. On Thursday, Khanna called the redaction a direct violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Khanna co-sponsored.
Epstein Files Set Off Political Storm in Norway, Prompt Resignations at Goldman Sachs & DP World
Feb 13, 2026
In more fallout from the Epstein Files, Kathryn Ruemmler abruptly resigned as the top lawyer at Goldman Sachs on Thursday, after newly released files showed she offered Epstein advice on how to respond to sex crimes charges and addressed him as “sweetie” and “Uncle Jeffrey.”
In Norway, police have charged former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland with “gross corruption” over his close ties to Epstein, after the Council of Europe lifted the diplomatic immunity that came with his former post. Investigators are probing whether Jagland received gifts, travel and loans from Epstein. Meanwhile, there’s a growing debate in Norway over whether Crown Princess Mette-Marit should be eligible to become queen, after newly released files revealed her extensive, warm ties with Epstein.
In Dubai, the multinational logistics company DP World has fired its CEO, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, one of the UAE’s most powerful figures. Emails show Sulayem traded messages about business and pleasure with Epstein for decades. Lawmakers who were granted access to unredacted Epstein files this week cited one memo in which Epstein stated to Sulayem, “I loved the torture video.”
Judge Rules Hegseth “Trampled” Sen. Mark Kelly’s First Amendment Rights in Retribution Effort
Feb 13, 2026
A federal judge has blocked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s effort to reduce the retirement rank and pay of Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut and retired U.S. Navy captain who publicly called on U.S. service members to disobey unlawful orders. In Thursday’s ruling, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush nominee, blasted the Trump administration’s efforts to chill constitutionally protected speech, writing, “This Court has all it needs to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly’s First Amendment freedoms and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees. To say the least, our retired veterans deserve more respect from their government, and our constitution demands they receive it!”
LGBTQ+ Activists Raise Pride Flag Over Stonewall After Its Removal by Trump Administration
Feb 13, 2026
Here in New York, cheers erupted as elected officials joined LGBTQ+ activists who raised a rainbow flag over the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan on Thursday. Their defiant protest came days after the Trump administration removed a rainbow flag that had flown for years above the site of the 1969 Stonewall rebellion — a landmark event in U.S. civil rights history. This is New York City resident Nicholle Mallette.
Nicholle Mallette: “We will not be erased. We will not go back in the closet. No taking down of any flag will … remove us from our nation and the legacy that we have built as human beings, as citizens.”