NUESTRA AMERICA ONLINE RADIO NEWSCAST FOR JANUARY 27, 2026

 

Good morning and welcome to Nuestra América Online Radio. Today is January 27, 2026. Here are the stories about shaping the day.

U.S. National News Begins Now

Our top national headlines:

The U.S. continues to experience deepening controversy over sweeping immigration enforcement actions that have drawn protest and political backlash across the country. Federal immigration agents have been deployed to multiple states, including Minnesota and Maine, under what authorities are calling expanded enforcement operations. These raids have included thousands of arrests and have been described by critics as the largest in recent history.

In Minneapolis, a federal immigration operation known as Operation Metro Surge remains at the center of a political storm following the fatal shooting of ICU nurse and protester Alex Pretti by immigration agents earlier this week. Outrage over the incident has triggered mass protests in cities across the U.S., from Minneapolis and Los Angeles to New York and Boston, with demonstrators demanding accountability and sweeping changes to enforcement practices.

The Trump administration has responded by shifting leadership in Minnesota, replacing the local command and dispatching former ICE acting director Tom Homan to oversee operations, emphasizing a hardline approach amid growing civil unrest.

Public opinion surveys released this week show American approval of current federal immigration policy at its lowest level since President Trump returned to the White House, reflecting broad concern over the tactics used by immigration agents.

Meanwhile, in Maine, federal officials have expanded enforcement with a new initiative, Operation Catch of the Day, resulting in arrests in cities including Portland and Lewiston. Local leaders have criticized the campaign as undermining civil rights and harming recent refugee communities.

Health professionals are also sounding the alarm on the broader impact of heightened immigration enforcement on community well-being. Reports from Connecticut show that fear of deportation is driving many residents to self-isolate, avoid medical appointments, and face worsening mental and physical health conditions as fear grips immigrant families.

In economic news, businesses across the U.S. are feeling pressure as immigration raids affect workers and customers alike. Some companies have chosen to close temporarily in protest or out of concern for customer safety amid demonstrations and enforcement activity in urban centers.

Turning to federal courts, a U.S. judge has delayed a key decision on whether Minnesota’s enforcement operation constitutes unconstitutional pressure on the state, ordering Homeland Security to justify the scope of its actions as legal challenges mount.

And here at the national political level, discussions in Congress over Homeland Security funding are intensifying, as lawmakers debate whether to impose limits on ICE and Border Patrol operations in light of mounting public controversy and cross-party criticism.

U.S. & World Briefs

In breaking international news, the U.S. military reports that the death toll from recent strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific has risen to at least 126 people, according to military officials. These actions are part of a broader U.S. campaign in the region to disrupt drug routes, but critics at home and abroad question the legality and humanitarian cost of the strikes.

In political scandals, a former Olympian has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges in a high-profile case drawing public attention this week. The charges include drug trafficking, conspiracy, and witness tampering; the case is ongoing.

International News — Mexico & Latin America

Across the border, Mexico is making headlines amid controversial law enforcement moves of its own. A group of lawyers and relatives of alleged cartel members have accused the Mexican government of bypassing proper legal procedures by sending nearly 100 cartel affiliates to the United States without formal extradition orders. This move, intended to strengthen cooperation with U.S. authorities facing cartel and smuggling concerns, has sparked legal and political debate in Mexico.

Violence linked to organized crime continues to plague central Mexico, where at least 11 people were killed in a mass shooting during an amateur soccer event in Guanajuato. Authorities suspect cartel rivalries are to blame as the state with one of the country’s highest homicide rates grapples with ongoing security challenges.

Mexico’s security landscape has been further shaped by ongoing collaboration with U.S. anti-drug efforts. In recent days, Mexico completed another transfer of 37 suspected cartel members to U.S. custody — the third since last year — illustrating the tightening operational ties amid pressure from Washington to address cartel activity.

Regional geopolitics also remain strained as past U.S. threats of military action in Latin America continue to reverberate. Analysts caution that escalatory rhetoric toward countries such as Colombia, Cuba, and Venezuela could have far-reaching consequences for diplomatic relations and regional stability.

Headlines from Around the Globe

Elsewhere, world leaders are convening on economic and security cooperation. Reports from Europe show renewed efforts to address climate change and trade readiness in the face of global supply chain uncertainties. In East Asia, tensions persist in the South China Sea as naval exercises and diplomatic engagements unfold.

HAITI

The U.S. imposed visa restrictions on two members of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council and their families, in response to alleged involvement in the operation of gangs and other criminal organizations in Haiti. The U.S. State Department cited interference with the Haitian government’s efforts to combat gangs designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations.

Political analysts and those familiar with the Haitian government’s administrative procedures are questioning the legality around the council’s decision, which is increasingly being described as an attempted coup, reports the Miami Herald.

Mexico

Gunmen opened fire on a crowded soccer field in Mexico’s Guanajuato state, yesterday, killing 11 and injuring 12, in an attack that appeared to highlight the persistent violence from the nation’s cartels despite the government’s efforts, reports the New York Times. Guanajuato had Mexico’s highest number of murders last year. That violence has been largely driven by a turf war between a local criminal group and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel..

Venezuela

Three weeks after Nicolás Maduro was ousted in a U.S. intervention, “his vice president and replacement, Delcy Rodríguez, is rapidly liberalizing the economy without ceding any political control in an autocratic nation,” reports the New York Times.

While Rodríguez’s government has released some political prisoners, more than 200 according to rights groups, hundreds remain behind bars. And some new prisoners have already taken the released detainees’ places, a process that the opposition calls Venezuela’s “revolving door” of repression.

Regional Relations

Mexico’s government is reviewing whether to keep sending oil to Cuba amid growing fears within President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration that Mexico could face reprisals from the United States over the policy, which is a vital lifeline for Cuba, reports Reuters.

“Mexico is simultaneously trying to renegotiate elements of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and persuade Washington that it is doing enough to confront powerful drug cartels — while firmly rejecting any unilateral U.S. military action on Mexican soil,” notes the Miami Herald.

“Over the past year, Washington has increased pressure on Mexico to take decisive action against drug cartels, including proposals that could involve some form of U.S. military presence on Mexican territory,” reports Americas Quarterly. “These demands have been paired with repeated warnings from the White House that the status quo is no longer acceptable. The question isn’t whether U.S. pressure will intensify, but how far it might go—and whether Mexico is ready for the scenarios now being openly discussed.”

United States

Almost a year after Trump strong-armed a deal with Costa Rica to receive 200 people from other countries who were being deported from the United States after being denied the right to request asylum, a small handful remain there in legal limbo and fighting for compensation, reports the Guardian.

Venezuela’s interim government, in another sign of its willingness to placate the Trump administration, is receiving more deportation flights, reports the New York Times. Last week three U.S. deportation flights landed in Caracas, if that becomes the norm, it would mean that the United States would deport nearly 30,000 Venezuelans this year, roughly double the number from last year.

“In the last five years, more than 600,000 people have returned to northern Central America, but recent trends show a shift in the profile of returnees. Now, more and more people are returning who have been living in their destination country for some time, with stronger ties there and less so in the country they emigrated from,” writes IDB’s Felipe Muñoz at El País, highlighting the importance of reintegration efforts.

Colombia

Colombia’s Sierra Nevada has become a strategic prize for drug traffickers and paramilitaries, leaving its Indigenous people threatened with “physical and cultural extinction,” reports the Guardian.

Those are the major developments for January 27, 2026. Stay tuned for comprehensive coverage throughout the day. We’ll continue tracking updates from the U.S. Capitol, immigrant communities nationwide, and shifting situations across Mexico and Latin America.