23 FEB 26 SITREP

• 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of Cameron, North Carolina was shot and killed at 1:30 AM yesterday after attempting an unauthorized entry through the north gate of President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence while carrying a shotgun and a gas can.
• Martin, who worked at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in North Carolina, lived with his parents, worked another job, and was a sketch artist, had been reported missing by his family on Saturday before the early Sunday morning shooting.
• A text message Martin sent to a co-worker on February 15 read, “I don’t know if you read up on the Epstein Files, but evil is real and unmistakable,” followed by, “The best people like you and I can do is use what little influence we have. Tell other people about what you hear about the Epstein files and what the government is doing about it. Raise awareness,” reflecting his fixation on the DOJ document release and belief that a government cover-up was underway.
• U.S. Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputy confronted Martin inside the secure perimeter after he failed to drop the shotgun, shots were fired, no personnel were injured, a firearm box was recovered from his vehicle, President Trump and First Lady Melania were at the White House at the time, and the incident is under investigation by the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, and PBSO with agents placed on routine administrative leave.

• Mexico’s military launched an operation in Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara to capture cartel leader Ruben N, known as El Mencho of Jalisco New Generation Carte (CJNG), leading to multiple cars set on fire, masked gunmen engaging in the streets, a bus driver pulled from his vehicle, and 27 Mexican personnel reported dead during the clashes.
• During the operation, El Mencho was reportedly targeted while en route to visit a mistress, and following his removal, cartel forces laid siege to tourist areas in high-visibility locations to amplify psychological impact through videos aimed at Americans, Canadians, and Europeans.
• CJNG cartel members were shown using armored vehicles, grenades, .50 caliber weapons, RPGs, semi-automatic and automatic firearms, and weaponized drones, with reports of 60,000 drone incursions across the U.S. border in one month and threats against Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley sector.
• It must also be noted that The Fast and Furious operation under former President Obama and former US Attorney General Eric Holder transferred firearms to cartels, including weapons later used in the killing of Agent Brian Terry in Arizona, while cartel revenues reportedly expanded from $500 million annually to $13 billion annually during 4 years of reduced border enforcement.

• The Supreme Court ruled that the administration’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) did not authorize the imposition of tariffs, determining that the statute’s authority to “regulate” imports does not include the power to levy tariff taxes.
• Following the ruling, President Trump announced the immediate continuation of national security tariffs under Section 232 and existing Section 301 tariffs, and signed an order imposing a 10 percent global tariff under Section 122 in addition to previously established tariffs.
• The ruling eliminated the use of short-term emergency tariff authority but did not invalidate longer-term statutory mechanisms, leaving Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs fully in force and effect.
• President Trump publicly stated that congressional authorization for tariff powers had already been granted in prior legislation and reaffirmed that his administration would continue utilizing established trade authorities to impose and maintain tariffs.