Worldcrunch Today: My run-in with a MAGA-trained airport agent in Houston

💡 SPOTLIGHT

My run-in with a MAGA-trained airport agent in Houston

“Why are you wearing sunglasses? Why are you traveling alone? What were you doing in Colombia? What’s your job? What brings you to the United States? Are you carrying drugs?”

These were the questions posed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent as I collected my luggage from the conveyor belt at Houston Airport on March 16. I was returning to Texas, where I had lived for two years, completing a master’s degree at Texas Agricultural and Mechanical University (A&M) and teaching until December of the previous year. This time, I was representing Agência Pública at the International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ).

My return could not have been a more textbook example of how the current U.S. administration treats certain travelers. I’m a non-white woman — in the U.S., we’re categorized as Latin — traveling alone, and I was arriving from Colombia. Moreover, I’m a journalist.

On that Sunday in March, I told the ICE agent I was wearing the sunglasses because they had a prescription. I also explained I was traveling solo due to a work assignment in Colombia, and that I was a journalist attending a media conference in the U.S. And no, I wasn’t carrying drugs — just four bags of coffee in my suitcase, gifts for the friends who would host me in Texas, along with clothes and personal items.

The agent said he didn’t believe me. Cautiously and respectfully, I asked, “Was this stop random, or did something about me stand out?” Big mistake. 

The burly white man with a thick beard and shaved head raised his voice, seemingly offended by the question. “I think you’re lying, and I do think you’re carrying drugs. I have no reason to believe you or anyone. My only purpose is to put America’s interests first.” 

Yes, he repeated U.S. President Donald Trump’s slogan word for word: “America first.” It may sound cartoonish, but it’s intimidating — and it works. […]

— Read the full article by Maria Martha Bruno for Agência Pública, translated from Portuguese and adapted by Worldcrunch.

🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Uruguayan daily la diaria lends its front page to the “immense” Marcha del Silencio, a silent march held in Montevideo. Since 1996, the annual protest has demanded truth and justice for those who were forcibly disappeared during Uruguay’s civic-military dictatorship (1973–1985). This 30th edition was marked by a large turnout and strong participation from younger generations.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Ukraine pitches tougher Russia sanctions plan to EU, Putin visits Kursk region. Ukraine will ask the European Union to consider tougher sanctions against Moscow in a white paper next week, including seizing Russian assets and bringing in sanctions for some buyers of Russian oil, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, Russia intercepted 159 Ukrainian drones during a 12-hour period, the country’s defense ministry said on Wednesday, as President Vladimir Putin visited the western Kursk region on Tuesday — a first since Russian forces ejected Ukrainian troops from the area last month. Follow our coverage of the Ukraine-Russia war here.

• Gazans face starvation as UN says aid yet to reach enclave. The UN’s humanitarian office said its teams in Gaza have not yet been able to distribute aid, as they have been left waiting for permission from Israel to collect the supplies after dozens of supply trucks entered the enclave in the past two days. Global experts warn that famine is imminent in the territory. Meanwhile, Gaza’s civil defense agency reported on Wednesday that Israeli strikes overnight killed at least 19 people, including a week-old baby.

• South Africa’s Ramaphosa to meet Trump for high-stakes talks. South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday “to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of interest,” amid strained relationships between the two countries. Since the start of the second Trump administration, U.S. aid to South Africa has been suspended and a diplomatic feud fueled the expulsion of South Africa’s ambassador to the U.S.

• School bus blast in Pakistan kills at least five. A suicide car bomber struck a school bus in the southwestern Pakistani region of Balochistan on Wednesday, killing at least five people, including three children, and injuring dozens. The bus was carrying around 40 school children to their military-run school on the outskirts of the city of Khuduzar when it exploded. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far, but the province has been the scene of a long-running insurgency, with an array of separatist groups staging attacks.

• China expresses concerns over Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile shield. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Wednesday that Beijing was “seriously concerned” after U.S. President Donald Trump laid out new details of his ambitious plan for a $175-billion “Golden Dome” missile defense system. Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said he expected the system, which would include putting weapons in space for the first time, to be “fully operational” by the end of his term in 2029.

• Romania’s far-right presidential candidate to challenge election results. Romania’s defeated hard-right presidential contender George Simion announced late on Tuesday that he would challenge the vote’s results and Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan’s victory, alleging interference by France and Moldova. The country had plunged into a constitutional crisis in December when its top court annulled an ongoing presidential election, citing suspicions of Russian meddling. Read more in this piece by French analyst Pierre Haski: A Miracle Victory Over The Far Right — Lessons From Romania For The Rest Of Us.

• News Quiz! Japan’s farm minister resigned on Wednesday following remarks on a food staple that he said he “never had to buy,” triggering a firestorm of criticism. Which food staple?

A. Noodle
B. Sesame
C. Sake
D. Rice
[Answer below]

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

67,000 km²

A study by Professor Matthew Hansen of the University of Maryland has found that the world lost 67,000 square kilometers of tropical rainforest in 2024 — an area nearly the size of Ireland, or 18 football pitches per minute — marking the fastest rate of destruction ever recorded. For the first time, wildfires — driven by climate change and El Niño-related drought — surpassed agriculture as the leading cause. The surge threatens biodiversity and accelerates carbon emissions, pushing ecosystems like the Amazon closer to a dangerous tipping point.

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

⏪⏩ In the 1980s, a U.S. president, a Soviet reformer and a determined pope helped end the Cold War to change the world. It was a “coincidental” partnership, but could it be repeated today with Trump, China’s Xi and Pope Leo XIV?
— CLARÍN

📚 Classifying students as visual, auditory, or tactile learners can actually do more harm than good. Research shows what truly improves learning.
— DIE ZEIT

🤝 Erdogan and Macron’s strange interaction at a recent summit in Albania is a good opportunity to look back at some of the weirdest hand-to-hand encounters between world leaders.
— WORLDCRUNCH

📸 PHOTO DU JOUR

On Tuesday in London, environmental activists protesting Shell’s role in oil spills in Nigeria’s Niger Delta poured fake oil over one another outside of the oil company’s headquarters. The demonstration coincided with Shell’s annual general meeting — relocated to Heathrow, where protests are restricted — prompting activists to gather at the main office instead. Activists demanded cleanup and compensation, using the striking visual of oil-drenched faces to underscore their message. — Photo: Vuk Valcic/ZUMA

📣 VERBATIM

“ The U.S. measures are typical unilateral bullying and protectionism.”

— On Wednesday, China’s Ministry of Commerce called new U.S. chip export controls “typical unilateral bullying and protectionism.” The statement came after the U.S. issued guidelines restricting China’s access to advanced semiconductors — especially Huawei’s — citing national security. Beijing accused the U.S. of abusing export rules to contain them and warned that firms complying with the measures could violate Chinese law, further escalating tech tensions between the two powers.