Dos noticias

Dos noticias capturaron nuestra atención el día de hoy, más allá de la conferencia de prensa del presidente de los EEUU. La primera era de algún modo esperable: se vienen purgas en los servicios de inteligencia de ese país. La segunda es algo más rara y nos llena de curiosidad: ¿de qué hablaron el Secretario de Estado Tillerson y el Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores Lavrov sin la presencia de la prensa, durante el encuentro de ministros de exteriores del G20? Leemos en Sputnik News:


Título: Purge: Trump Prepares Major Overhaul of Intelligence Apparatus

Texto: President Donald Trump is preparing a major overhaul of the current US intelligence apparatus, following a string of leaks and reports that intelligence community officials are withholding information from the White House.

The person reported to be spearheading the effort is a New York hedge-fund billionaire and strong Trump ally Stephen A. Feinberg. 

Feinberg is co-founder of Cerberus Capital Management, and a current member of Trump’s economic advisory council. He has not been officially announced for the job, but the New York Times has reported that private-equity manager has informed his company shareholders that he is in discussions to join the administration.

On Thursday, Trump vowed to punish those leaking classified information to the press, including the details about phone calls between former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and the Russian ambassador.

"We're going to find the leakers and they're going to pay a big price," Trump told reporters.

Details regarding Trump’s phone calls with the leaders of Russia, Mexico, and Australia have also been leaked to the press.

“The real scandal here is that classified information is illegally given out by ‘intelligence’ like candy. Very un-American!” Trump tweeted on Wednesday.

John Schindler, former National Security Agency analyst and counterintelligence officer, tweeted two hours later that the intelligence community will now be “going nuclear” against Trump, and added that the President will “die in jail.”Now we go nuclear. 

“Now we go nuclear. IC war going to new levels. Just got an EM fm senior IC friend, it began: ‘He will die in jail,’” Schindler tweeted.

During a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the afternoon, Trump referred to the leaks as “criminal” and a result of Democrats seeking to shift the blame for their election loss away from themselves.

Last week, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer announced that the administration had launched an investigation into the leaks.

“The spotlight has finally been put on the low-life leakers! They will be caught!” Trump tweeted on Thursday.

The hostile relationship between Trump and the intelligence community has also led to reports that information is being withheld from his administration, an issue the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) denied on Wednesday.

"Any suggestion that the US Intelligence Community is withholding information and not providing the best possible intelligence to the President and his national security team is not true,” according to an ODNI statement released late Wednesday evening.

The issue was also raised during a Thursday news conference in which Trump announced Alexander Acosta as the new nominee for US Labor Secretary.

“The people who gave information to the press should be ashamed,” Trump said of the leakers.

"I've actually called the Justice Department to look into the leaks, those criminal leaks," Trump stated. "I think, you will see it stopping because now we have our people in."

“From intelligence, papers are being leaked, things are being leaked; it’s criminal action. It’s a criminal act, and it’s been going on for a long time before me, but now it’s really going on,” Trump said during a news conference. “People are trying to cover up for a terrible loss that the Democrats had under Hillary Clinton.”


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Título: Awkward: Tillerson and Lavrov First Meeting Makes Journalists Cringe

Texto: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov for the first time, during the G20 foreign ministers’ summit in Bonn, Germany. The first meeting between the foreign ministers was marked with several moments of awkwardness.

For the first time since his February 1 confirmation, Tillerson met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. As would be typical for a meeting between diplomats, they shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

Ordinarily, the two would deliver opening remarks, take one or two impromptu questions, and then adjourn to speak in private. Lavrov greeted Tillerson by congratulating him on his appointment. A journalist then asked Lavrov about Russia's stance on the resignation of US President Donald Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn. 

But when Tillerson began to speak, instead of returning the introduction or taking questions on his own, his staffers rushed the journalists out of the room. Lavrov was visibly surprised by this. "Why did you shush them out?" the Russian top diplomat asked.

After the private meeting concluded, Tillerson appeared before the media and read a statement. "Foreign Minister Lavrov and I had a productive meeting," he said. "We discussed a range of issues of mutual concern."

Tillerson also called on Russia to honor its enforcement of the Minsk Protocol, meant to end the fighting in the Donbass region in Ukraine. Anti-Kiev rebels continue to battle with Ukrainian armed forces in a conflict that has claimed over 7,000 lives since 2014. Moscow repeatedly denied any involvement in the civil war in Ukraine.

Tillerson did not take questions, instead walking out after his brief statement. A former CEO of ExxonMobil, Tillerson has no experience in politics or international diplomacy.

Between Tillerson's comments regarding the conflict in Donbass and the White House's comments regarding Crimea on Tuesday, it appears that Ukraine will remain a major point of contention in US-Russia relations.

Regarding a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, the Foreign Minister said that, "the two Presidents will meet when they decide that it's the right time."