International News Briefs for Wednesday, February 11, 2026
HAVANA TIMES – We bring you some of the top international news stories compiled by Democracy Now on Wednesday, February 11, 2026.
Democratic Lawmakers Grill the Heads of ICE, CBP and USCIS on Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign
Feb 11, 2026
On Capitol Hill, the heads of three federal immigration agencies all defended the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. Todd Lyons, the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Rodney Scott, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection; and Joseph Edlow, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services testified before the House Homeland Security Committee Tuesday. They refused to comment on the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents. Lyons, the acting director of ICE, mentioned that his agency would maintain an active presence during the World Cup this summer. Lyons was also questioned about whether ICE was surveilling protesters as multiple outlets have reported. He denied that the agency was compiling a database tracking U.S. citizens.
Rep. Lou Correa: “One of your officers in Maine said to one of the individuals protesting, ’We’re going to put your face in a little database.’ What does that mean? Do you have a little database” —
Todd Lyons: “No, sir.”
Rep. Lou Correa: — “of Americans?”
Todd Lyons: “No, sir, we don’t.”
Rep. Lou Correa: “Then, what do you think your ICE agent was doing to this individual when he said those statements?”
Todd Lyons: “I can’t speak for that individual, sir, but I can assure you there is no database that’s tracking United States citizens.”
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers are withholding votes for DHS funding, threatening a partial government shutdown starting on Saturday unless Republicans agree to their demands to rein in federal immigration agents, by requiring judicial warrants, better identification of DHS officers, new use-of-force standards and a stop to racial profiling.
Immigrant Family Files a Lawsuit Claiming Their Toddler Was Returned to an ICE Jail Amid a Measles Outbreak
Feb 11, 2026
Image Credit: Elora Mukherjee/Handout via REUTERS
In more immigration news, an immigrant family filed a lawsuit earlier this month, saying their 18-month-old toddler was returned to the ICE jail in Dilley, Texas, amid a measles outbreak and denied medication after she was hospitalized with a life-threatening respiratory illness. The girl is identified as “Amalia” in the lawsuit. The girl and her two parents have since been released from ICE custody.
ACLU Files Lawsuit Against Law Enforcement for Mass Immigration Raid in Idaho
Feb 11, 2026
A federal class-action lawsuit by the ACLU and three Latino families alleges law enforcement used aggressive tactics and unjustly detained hundreds of people, including children, during an immigration raid in Wilder, Idaho, last October. The day of the raid, more than 200 federal, state and local law enforcement officers descended on a popular horse racing venue with armored trucks and helicopters, detaining approximately 400 people, including U.S. citizens and children, some as young as 3 years old, according to the ACLU. People described being shoved by agents, dragged out of their cars with flashbang grenades, shot with rubber bullets, while parents and children were zip-tied at gunpoint and detained for several hours.
Democratic Congressmember Khanna Accuses the DOJ of Improperly Redacting Names of Wealthy Men in the Epstein Files
Feb 11, 2026
Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna has accused the Justice Department of improperly redacting the names of wealthy men with ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. On Tuesday, Khanna took to the floor of the House and revealed the names of six men, including billionaire Leslie Wexner, the former CEO of Victoria’s Secret.
Rep. Ro Khanna: “These men are Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonic Leonov, Nicola Caputo, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, CEO of Dubai Ports World, and billionaire businessman Leslie Wexner, who was labeled as a co-conspirator by the FBI.”
Former Palm Beach Police Chief Says Trump Told Him in 2006 That “Everyone” Knew of Epstein’s Behavior
Feb 11, 2026
New revelations have emerged about Trump’s knowledge about Epstein’s crimes. According to a 2019 FBI interview contained in the Epstein files, the former Palm Beach police chief Michael Reiter said Trump called him back in 2006, just as Epstein’s criminal sex charges were becoming public, to say, “Thank goodness you’re stopping him, everyone has known he’s been doing this.” Trump also said that Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, was “evil and to focus on her.” That contradicts Trump’s own statements after Epstein’s arrest in July 2019, saying, “I had no idea,” when asked about Epstein’s abuse of teen girls.
Commerce Secretary Lutnick Testifies He Visited Epstein’s Island
Feb 11, 2026
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s name has appeared in more than 250 documents in the Epstein files, which include details about how Lutnick arranged for his nanny to meet with Epstein and had her résumé sent to him in 2013. In 2008, Epstein was convicted in Florida of soliciting prostitution from a minor. Lutnick is now facing bipartisan calls to resign from his position. On Tuesday, he testified in a Senate hearing that he and his family traveled to Epstein’s private island.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick: “I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation. My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies. I had another couple with — they were there, as well, with their children. And we had lunch on the island.”
That was Lutnick’s admission of visiting Epstein’s island in 2012. A year ago, Lutnick told a very different story, saying his last meeting with Epstein was in 2005, when, after moving next door to Epstein, he visited his house and saw a massage table in the room next to the living room. Lutnick then says that Epstein got weirdly close to him and said he got a massage every day and “the right kind of massage.” Lutnick then said this in the podcast.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick: “And we left. And in the six or eight steps it takes to get from his house to my house, my wife and I decided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again. So I was never in the room with him socially, for business or even philanthropy. If that guy was there, I wasn’t going, because he’s gross.”
Trump Admin Removes Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument in New York City
Feb 11, 2026
In its latest attack against LGBTQ+ people, the Trump administration has removed a Pride flag from the historic Stonewall National Monument in New York City. Stonewall became the first national monument to LGBTQ+ rights following the 1969 Stonewall rebellion. This is a resident who lives across the street from the Stonewall monument.
Margot Avery: “It meant that there was pride in the fight for equal rights. And, you know — I’m going to cry — but anybody’s civil rights are impinged on, and that means anybody else’s can be, so that, you know, that is — that is a measure of our safety just smuggled away in the middle of the night, or whenever it was that they did it. It’s very, very depressing and sad.”
Trump Admin Plans to Cut $600 Million in Public Health Funds
Feb 11, 2026
The Trump administration plans to cut $600 million in public health funds from four Democratic-led states. The proposed cuts will impact California, Minnesota, Illinois and Colorado and slash grants to state and local public health departments. The Health and Human Services Department, which is led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reportedly claimed the grants, managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were being terminated because they didn’t reflect the agency’s priorities. Many of the funds that will be slashed sustained health programs for transgender and LGBTQ+ people and children, as well as Black women.
Trump Threatens to Send Another Aircraft Carrier to Strike Iran
Feb 11, 2026
President Trump is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House today as the U.S. continues to threaten Iran. On Tuesday, Trump said he could send another aircraft carrier to strike Iran if negotiations over the country’s nuclear program fail. Trump told Axios, “Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time.” The U.S. and Iran held talks last Friday in Oman for the first time since the 12-day war back in June last year. Negotiations are set to continue, but a date and location hasn’t been confirmed yet. This is Ali Larijani, a top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Ali Larijani: “From the beginning, we believe that war does not resolve matters between the two countries, and the regional disputes between Iran and the West must be resolved through dialogue. It is a mistake on the part of others to believe that they could resolve issues through the language of force.”
WSJ: Pentagon to Send 200 U.S. Troops to Nigeria
Feb 11, 2026
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Pentagon will send 200 U.S. troops to Nigeria to train the country’s military to fight Islamist militants. It comes after President Trump has repeatedly accused Nigeria of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks, despite the fact that both Muslims and Christians have been killed in indiscriminate attacks by armed groups. Back in December, the U.S. launched airstrikes, claiming to target the Islamic State in northwestern Nigeria.
UNICEF Warns More Than Half of All Children in North Darfur Are Acutely Malnourished
Feb 11, 2026
In Sudan, the U.N. Children’s Fund has warned more than half of all children in parts of North Darfur are acutely malnourished, with two more areas in the region experiencing famine levels of hunger. This is UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires.
Ricardo Pires: “Famine thresholds for malnutrition have been surpassed in Um Baru and Kernoi, locations that weren’t previously considered at risk. Extreme hunger and malnutrition come for children first, the youngest, the smallest, the most vulnerable. And in Sudan, it’s spreading. These are children between 6 months and 5 years old, and they’re running out of time.”
According to recent U.N. data, over 30 million people out of Sudan’s population of nearly 47 million are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
This comes as Reuters reports the United Arab Emirates allegedly funded a camp in Ethiopia to train fighters of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The UAE has repeatedly denied involvement in Sudan’s war.
FAA Reopens El Paso Airport After Abruptly Halting Flights
Feb 11, 2026
The Federal Aviation Administration has reopened El Paso International Airport after abruptly halting flights. Texas state Representative Vincent Perez of El Paso told The New York Times, “I have never heard of an American airspace being shut down for 10 days, absent a major emergency.” El Paso is the second most populous city in the U.S. near the border with Mexico.
At Least Nine People Killed in a Mass Shooting in British Columbia, Canada
Feb 11, 2026
Image Credit: Trent Ernst / Tumbler RidgeLines
In Canada, at least nine people were killed and over two dozen injured in a mass shooting in a small town in northeastern British Columbia. Six people were found dead in Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, while another died on the way to the hospital. Two others were found dead at a local residence, with police saying the incidents are likely connected. The suspected shooter reportedly also died of what appeared to be a “self-inflicted injury.” Darryl Krakowka, mayor of Tumbler Ridge, where the shooting took place, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, “I will know every victim. I’ve been here 19 years, and we’re a small community. I don’t call them residents. I call them family.”
FBI Raid of Fulton County Election Office Based on Debunked Claims from Election Deniers
Feb 11, 2026
The FBI raid of the Fulton County election office in Georgia last month was based on debunked claims from election deniers, according to a search warrant affidavit unsealed on Tuesday. The raid came after a referral from Kurt Olsen, a lawyer who tried to overturn the 2020 election. One of the debunked claims listed in the affidavit comes from a so-called citizen researcher named Joe Rossi, who claimed that the number of ballot images for Fulton County did not match the total number of ballots cast. But the state of Georgia did a machine and hand recount of the ballots and confirmed the tally. David Becker, the executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said, “How an agent could sign off on an affidavit, and a magistrate sign off on a warrant, that confirms there’s no evidence of intent to commit a federal crime, is hard to fathom.”
Federal Grand Jury Declines to Indict Six Democratic Lawmakers for Urging Service Members to Refuse Unlawful Orders
Feb 11, 2026
Image Credit: Facebook/Senator Elissa Slotkin
A federal grand jury on Tuesday declined to indict six Democratic lawmakers who were targeted by the Trump administration after they appeared in a 90-second video urging service members to refuse unlawful orders. The six Democrats are Congressmembers Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander and Chris Deluzio of New Hampshire, and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, as well as Senators Mark Kelly of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. At the time, President Trump had called for the execution of the Democratic lawmakers in the video.
Progressive Analilia Mejía Wins House Democratic Primary in New Jersey
Feb 11, 2026
Image Credit: Analilia Mejia for New Jersey
In New Jersey, Analilia Mejía, who helped run Senator Bernie Sanders’s second presidential campaign, won the Democratic primary to fill the House seat left vacant by New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill. Mejía defeated former Democratic Congressmember Tom Malinowski. In the primary, Mejía was the only candidate to say that she believed that Israel committed genocide in Gaza. She has also called for abolishing ICE.