Global News Podcast - ICE officer kills a Colombian man in Maine

Episode Date: July 14, 2026

Locals in Maine have gathered to protest against the Trump administration's immigration crackdown after a 26-year-old Colombian man was shot dead during an ICE operation in the state. It was the second fatal shooting by US immigration officers in less than a week. State lawmakers say Joan Sebastian Guerrero, identified by a neighbour, was not the intended target of a warrant. Also: nearly a month after the US and Iran signed their interim peace deal, the two sides appear back where they started - with rival blockages on the Strait of Hormuz. Solar becomes EU's largest energy source for the first time. The eight week kidnap ordeal of schoolchildren and teachers now rescued in Nigeria. The pianist who passed her Grade 8 piano exam with one hand. And we speak to Andy Serkis about his new, modern version of Animal Farm - which has a happy ending.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [e-mail] Photo: A woman places flowers at a makeshift street side memorial in Biddeford, Maine, U.S. Credit: Reuters

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The United States is about to mark its 250th anniversary. And so on the Global Story podcast from the BBC, we're telling surprising tales of American influence on the world stage and in ordinary people's lives all across the globe. We have this ability to export our story and a lot of people have bought it. I feel like the American dream is alive, but not well. From the BBC, it's the United States at 250. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway.

We're recording this at 15 hours GMT on Tuesday the 14th of July. The US authorities say an immigration agent shot a man in Maine as he tried to flee. It was the second ice killing in a week. Iranian state media say the US. has launched new daytime attacks as the battle for control of the strait of Hormuz intensifies. And we hear about the eight-week kidnap ordeal of school children and teachers now rescued in Nigeria.

Also in the podcast. At the start, we didn't really know what it was and took maybe about a year before we heard it would be unlikely that I would be back to playing with two hands again. The one-handed pianist who's passed the top music exam. Although fears of ice raids at World Cup games have not been borne out, the US has continued its immigration crackdown. Opposition has been relatively muted since the end of the operation

that led to two killings in Minneapolis. But the controversy has continued. In the past week, immigration agents have killed two more people, neither of whom were supposed to be the target of enforcement operations. The latest came in the state of Maine where an ice agent shot dead a Colombian man who reportedly had the right to work in America. Rachel Wright has been following the story.

This is what we know so far. The federal ICE agents shot and killed a 26-year-old Colombian man identified as Joanne Sebastian Guerrero by a neighbour. During an immigration enforcement operation on Monday morning, the ICE agents say they were watching what they said was the last known address of an individual with a removal order. They say that a man got into his car and tried to drive, away. And when he wouldn't stop, an ICE officer, according to officials, feared for public safety and discharged his weapon, which means he shot him.

Now, one of the senators from Maine, an independent called Angus King, says the head of Homeland Security told him that the man was shot because he weaponised his vehicle. But there are various videos on social media and US networks, which clearly show a white car driving around. around in circles as a man tries to open the car door, though it's not clear whether this was before or after the shots were fired. What they don't show is the car being driven at anyone. Senator King also said the Department of Homeland Security has told him that the victim of the shooting was not the intended target of the warrant. One of the problems is apparently there are no cameras involved. Body cameras were not on the agents and so we have no video evidence of what occurred in this case.

Meanwhile, Maine's top prosecutors said the ICE agent who fired has been placed on administrative leave, whilst an investigation into whether an appropriate level of force was used is completed. Now, with other ICE shootings, there's been plenty of anger from local people. What's been the reaction this time? Well, the Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition says the man who was shot, authorised to work in the US and they said he was a valued member of the community and that his life was cut tragically short. A neighbour of the Colombian man told the Associated Press News Agency that he watched a woman fall to her knees as she saw her husband's dead body

and a little girl with a pink backpack burst into tears as she saw her father lying dead on the ground. Which has given rise to a lot of anger following the incident demonstrators in Biddle March to the office of Senator Susan Collins, who's the other senator for Maine, and she's a Republican who voted to fund ICE. And some actually entered the building where her office was chanting voter out and ice out. Then later around 200 protesters gathered in the main park. No KKK, no fascist USA. No ice. No KKK, no fascist. They also lit candles and wrote messages. expressing their support for migrants. And this shooting in Maine in the northeast of the country

followed another one last week down south in Texas. Tell us about that. Yes, on July the 7th, an ice officer shot a 52-year-old builder who was of Mexican descent as he was driving to a construction site in Houston. Federal officers later acknowledged that he wasn't the intended target of the ice operation, but they claimed the man had tried to run them over. Now, there are various figures suggesting that ICE and border agents have shot and killed at least seven people, maybe as many as 10, since President Trump's second term in office began.

And people may remember two of the most well-known shootings in Minneapolis, Alex Preti and René Good, which sparked protests all across America. Now, replying to criticism, an ICE spokesman said, its officials are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritise the safety of the public and our officers. Rachel Wright Nearly a month after the US and Iran signed their interim peace deal, the two sides appear back where they started,

with rival blockades on the Strait of Hormuz. Both nations have gone further by claiming to be guardians of the vital waterway with the right to charge fees. They've also stepped up their attacks. Footage from US Central Command, which said it launched five hours of strikes overnight, aimed at weakening Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping. Iran said it targeted US military facilities in Bahrain and Jordan, and hit two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

There were later reports that a missile had hit another tanker off the coast of Oman. And in the past few hours, Iran said there'd been new American airstrikes. With her thoughts, here's our chief international correspondent, Lee Doucette. Ever since this memorandum of understanding was signed last month, it's been plagued by, let us say, violations by both sides. A situation which we often describe as no war, no peace. There are occasional exchanges of fire, then frantic efforts behind the scene by mediators, including Pakistan and Qatar. Then President Trump says, oh, Iran's desperate.

for a deal. We're going to talk now and then it's calm for a bit and then it goes back to the exchanges. They've now reached a point where this so-called ceasefire is hanging by a thread. We do believe that neither side wants to return to all-out war. But President Trump is understandably frustrated by the way in which he doesn't seem to be able to bend Iran to his will. He talked last night in his comments, he said they seem to have found something in the deal they didn't like. But one of the fundamental problems is that both sides can find whatever they like in that deal. The language of it is so imprecise that Iran can point to one of the clauses and say, but that deal, that 14-point memorandum of understanding, gives us control over the straight

and deciding, say, over the future management of that critical waterway. President Trump can point to the clause before that and say, no, we agreed that we would return to a free flow of maritime traffic. The Strait of Hormuz Iran has made clear time and again is a red line. It is not going to return to the situation before the war. Now, we know President Trump likes to make waves with his social media posts. The Iranians have been trolling him somewhat, saying he's right to say that we should charge ships in the Strait of Hormuz. With this 20% charged proposal from President Trump, has he opened the door now to the fact that Iran will be able to make money from the strait? Well, Iran wants to make money from the straight.

If they don't call it tolls, they'll call it service fees. And there is a precedent for service fees elsewhere in the world. But most countries, including countries in the region, are saying, no, these are international waterways. Yes, there is a small strip along the Omani coast, which is Omani waters. and then Iran on Iranian waters, the foreign minister, Mr. Arachi, mocked President Trump because of the very steep toll that President Trump says he wants to charge. Now, we must underline that his Secretary of State, Margot Rubio, has repeatedly said that American policy is that no tolls should be charged. How they're going to square that circle, is this just a trial balloon by President Trump that

loses air and comes down to the ground? Let us us. sea. He's often made these sweeping statements, talked about new operations, and then they came to nothing. What President Trump is talking about, if it's logistically and politically possible to do, would, shipping experts are saying this morning, would double the cost of now taking oil tankers and other vessels through the straits. So we're not sure, but Iran is trying to find some form of words that allows it to keep control of this straight. The parliament in Iran, the head of the foreign affairs and National Security Committee, Ibrahimazizi, has put on social media that they passed a law, which is about a long-term strategic plan for control of the Strait of Ormuz.

He put it in black and white, as others do. This is a red line for us. And it certainly is a red line for the hardliners who have never liked the deal signed last month and who had wanted to keep this war going. Our chief international correspondent, Lee Doucette. As parts of Europe sweltered through the hottest June ever, a quarter of the EU's energy was provided by solar power, the largest single energy source. It's the first time that's happened. Chris Roslow is an analyst from the think tank Ember.

People can see it with their own eyes, but what this data really shows us is that such a major transformation has happened in Europe's energy mix. You know, solar has gone in just a few years from being a relatively small part of the system to being an essential part. And now, as you say, we're at the quarter in June and solar being the top source. in these sunny months. In some countries, though we are seeing definite benefits of this renewable energy rollout. So in the past, when we had gas prices spiking, when Russia attacked Ukraine, we saw the energy prices increase for nearly everyone in Europe because there was a very strong

connection between the price of gas and the price of electricity. This time around, we had another fossil fuel crisis. We had gas prices rising again because of the situation. with the strait of Hormuz. But some of the countries which have gone the fastest with renewables, for example, Spain in the last few years, we saw that consumers in Spain were actually measurably shielded from the impact of this latest crisis because of the expansion of renewables. So I think what's happening here is that the expansion of solar has happened

much faster than almost anybody predicted. And of course that's going to bring challenges. And I think in many ways we're seeing infrastructure and also policy and regulation catching up to this expansion in solar power. So, you know, why is the expansion in solar happens so quickly? Well, I think it's understandable that citizens and governments have tried to pivot towards, you know, amid all this energy chaos with the price of fossil fuels spiking every few years.

It makes complete sense that citizens and governments have looked towards cheaper sources which are quick to deploy and are also very popular, which is the case for solar. Chris Roslow. In the UK, Grade 8 is the top qualification for most aspiring musicians, equivalent to a 10 in the Royal Conservatory of Music Standard used in the US. And it's hard. But for 17-year-old Freya Terris, it was tougher than for most, as she became the first person to pass grade 8 piano using only one hand. Freya had already reached grade 7 when an injury and surgery caused her to lose the use of her right hand. and she had to learn to play with just the left.

James Kumar Asami has been speaking to Freya and the world's only professional one-handed concert pianist, Nicholas McCarthy. He was born without a right arm and has just co-written the first syllabus for one-handed pianists. Freya started by telling Jamie about learning to play one-handed. I would have played with two hands and I'd noticed that I was in pain.

But at the start it was very much if I practice for two hours, I have to stick an ice pack on for 20 minutes afterwards and it would then go away and I'd be absolutely fine and it took about eight months maybe for it to get to a point of I couldn't pick up a pen I couldn't hold a hairbrush to do my own hair in the morning like I

just I think ignored it for so long that it became something I couldn't ignore anymore and then finally gave in to get it treated and at the start we didn't really know what it was and took maybe about a year before we heard it would be unlikely that I would be backed

to playing with two hands again. Nicholas, can I bring you in at this point because I understand you were pretty instrumental in Freya being able to take her grade eight. Well, yeah, I mean, Freya, it's lovely to get to chat to you and congratulations. I mean, obviously I know how much hard work goes into preparing anything concert or a grade.

So huge congratulations to that. But yes, it was lovely to be following your story, Freya. I was very keen to create this syllabus alongside my colleagues, ABRSM and Sally Cathcart. we decided to throw it open to the world. You know, when I was young, doing my grades, it just didn't exist. You know, I stopped at grade four because by that point I was going to music school. I was at the junior girls' older than the RCM,

and there was no need for me then to pursue kind of any more grades. But I didn't want, you know, other people to have to necessarily jump through those loops that I had to jump through. I was very keen as well, not just having it left-hand-alone repertoire. You know, there's a huge wealth of repertoire for left-hand alone. There's very few pieces for right hand alone. I'm just fascinated, Nicholas, in why there are so many more left-hand-only repertoires than right-hand. Yeah, it's really started in the 19th century. If you think most people in the world are right-handed, so your left hand tends to be your slightly weaker hand.

Back then, you know, concert pianists were like rock stars in the 19th century. Take the great fans list, for example. Often as a way to wow their audiences, they would play on irony a little bit. You know, you thought I was good with two hands. Wait, to you see what I can do with my weaker hand. And they'd play your left hand alone work and drive the crowd wild. And then we fast forward in time to the 20th century. And as we know, the First World War happened.

And because of a similar statistic, if you're in a wartime scenario, a battle scenario, most people are right-handed. Therefore, you're probably statistically likely to injure or lose your right limb, therefore leaving the left hand. And there was one particular man, Paul Wittgenstein. He came back from battle after losing his right arm in the First World War and he commissioned all the leading big celebrity composers of the 20th century to write left-hand alone works for him.

And this is when we were putting this syllabus together. And Freya, Nicholas talking there about rock star musicians of the past. I think it's fair to call him a rock star pianist, certainly amongst the one-handed pianist community. Has he inspired you? Has his technique inspired you? Very much so. actually funny that you say that I was going to say Nicholas I'm sure you remember coming to

Belfast maybe two years ago you played the revile concerto and you played a set of Britain diversions and on a very personal level for me it was sort of as I was just coming to the conclusion that I wouldn't be getting back to playing the two hands and this was sort of me really in the world of left-hand repertoire and I was coming to grips with that I still very fondly remember that concert I've still got the programme sitting in my room you were absolutely phenomenal oh thank you well it's lovely to have you there and hopefully our paths will cross in person, I hope, and, you know, I'll be coming to one of your concerts soon.

That would be a treat for me. Nicholas McCarthy and Freya Terrace. Still to come on this podcast. We weren't about to set about making a version of Animal Farm that was a history lesson about Russia. And we talked to the Orwell Estate, and it was what would he be wanting to express now? A new version of Animal Farm from Lord of the Rings actor Andy Circus.

How did the United States build the largest soft power empire in the world with the help of some tiny metal objects? I'm Tristan Redmond, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. To mark 250 years of the United States, we speak to Roman Mars of 99% invisible. This soft power, this influence, was an incredible invention. For more, listen to the global story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News podcast. In May, more than 40 pupils and teachers were abducted from schools in the southern Nigerian state of Oyo. Now, after eight weeks in captivity, they've been rescued, according to the authorities.

The abduction sparked angry protests with demands for better protection for schools. Such attacks are unusual in this part of Nigeria. Islamist militant kidnappings tend to be concentrated in the northeast of the country. The freed captives are having physical and mental health. health checks before being reunited with their families. The BBC's Peter Musembi spoke to Felicia Olatunde, whose husband Zakaeos was one of the kidnapped teachers. I got the news on Friday evening, and I was very, very excited.

When I said a picture of my husband, all I can say is thing good. And someone sent it to me on my phone, on my WhatsApp directly. I was like, maybe it's fake news that we used to receive before. So one of my regards said that now coming down, I've seen your husband picture. Your husband is there. So I said, send a picture to me and I saw my husband there and I was so happy. But the condition makes me, I feel very sad. But all I can say is thank God.

Of course, there will be time for him to recover. cover once he's reunited with the family. The abductors occasionally shared videos showing those they had abducted the children, the teachers. Did you at any one time see your husband in the videos? I do not see him. In fact, for that 56 days, it was hell or not. Even for we that is their family, it was hell or not. We don't know how they are doing.

We don't know anything. about them. We don't say anything from them. Can you describe how that changed your life and that of your children during that time? I thank God. There are sometimes that it's only me and my kids at home. That's my five years old. She used to encourage me a lot. If they see me crying, both of them will come and break the clothes and wipe myself that my mom, please stop crying. If anybody comes from, to greet you. Please, just don't cry again.

And did they understand this situation that dad has been away and it is not for a good reason? My five years old, she understands. Because if anyone wants for ask of her dad, she will say that he is with the bandits. And any time I'm scrolling on my phone, going through my social media,

any time she saw the picture of the, these people. She will say that, are they the people that kidnap my dad? And I will say yes, but we have to pray for him to come back all my life and safe. And you're really looking forward to meeting your husband when

everyone is handed over to their families? More than that. I'm very anxious, looking forward to meet him. Because 15 days without my husband, without hear about him, without seeing him, is a long, long something for me. Felicia Olatunde talking to Peter Mossembi.

The first scientific study into possible links between hormonal changes and ADHD symptoms is being carried out in London. Researchers say that looking at neurodiversity in adult women is long overdue and have asked 50 women on ADHD medication to track the impact of their menstrual cycle on their symptoms, as Vicki Loder reports. They vary in age from their teens to middle. age, but the women on the study have all been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder and been taking medication for it. The word that keeps being used is they feel disabled at certain times of their cycle when their ADHD symptoms go into overdrive. Lela is 30 and a primary school

assistant. She sets a bunch of alarms on her phone every day. As we talk, she scrolls through them on the screen to try and keep her ADHD brain focused and establish a routine. But when she hits her period, she says those structures collapse. So even if I'm managing to keep things relatively in control, it kind of feels like you're sort of clinging on, like for dear life, onto the ball that is continuing to roll and sort of cursing yourself in the world the entire time. Eloise is 19 and studying for three university degrees. The medication she uses for her ADHD, Ritalin, she calls a lifeline. It gives her a three-hour window of focus to study.

Eloise takes the pill, sits in the library and waits for it to kick in. But during her period, she says she just waits and waits for a reaction that never comes. Ritalin is so helpful for me and I really felt like I had that. as, you know, something solid I could rely on, and then suddenly it disappeared. It felt like losing a cane, really. It's quite confusing, yes. All of a sudden it was broken. It felt really weird.

Researchers believe dips in estrogen, just like that before a period, affect the dopamine or feel-good hormone in the body, making ADHD symptoms much stronger. Like Eloise, lots of the women didn't realize until they managed, their cycle for the study, there was a pattern to their symptoms. The results of the study hasn't been published yet, but the researchers say it's a good starting point in an overlooked area of women's health. ADHD used to be seen as a condition only men had and then mainly boys. Women are interested in the effect the menopause and perimenopause, major hormonal

transitions have on their ADHD. Vicky Loder. Andy Circus is best known as a master of motion capture, playing Gollum in Lord of the Rings, Caesar in Planet of the Apes and King Kong. But now he's focusing on pigs, directing a new animated version of George Orwell's Animal Farm. There's a new protagonist called Lucky. The satire is focused on modern-day autocracies

rather than the communism of the book, and there's a third act complete with a happy ending. Our entertainment correspondent Colin Patterson has been speaking to Andy Circus. All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. The new frenetic and ferociously family-friendly, big-screen animated version of Animal Farm, directed by Andy Circus. This is our home.

George Orwell's book made a huge impression on him as a child. I remember vividly reading it on the 273 bus to Ealing from my home in Rice Lip when I was about, I think there's either 11 or 12 years, old and it was one of the first sort of young adult books that affected me emotionally. Just the way that the animals were manipulated and lied to just really deeply sat with me. And in 2011, filming an escape scene in Rise of the Planet of the Apes reminded him of Animal Farm and inspired him to make his own version. Do you want to be food or do you want freedom? He just took a long time. We weren't about to set about making a version of Animal Farm

that was a history lesson about Russia and we talked to the Orwell Estate and it was what would he be wanting to express now? Where would his political targets be? The first ever full-length British animation was 1954's Animal Farm, the one that generations of children have been shown at school. Long live Napoleon.

What didn't emerge, until decades later was that the film had been funded by the CIA, part of a campaign against communism using culture. Is there any chance your film could have been funded by the CIA? There's absolutely, I can categorically say, zero chance that our film could have been funded by the CIA. And if you look at the American box office, the way our film worked there, you can probably see why.

What he is referring to is the tiny, $5 million it took in the US after costing 35 million to make. Ah, so cute. Activate cute eyes. I'd rather gouge them out. Some people won't like it. And quite frankly, part of Orwell, the nature of Orwell, was being someone who stirs it up, who makes people think and gets people talking.

And the ideal for us, for this, was to have a debate between young and old. I want people to have an opinion of a film they've seen, not a film they've heard about. That's the thing that hurts. It's when people don't go and see a film because of all the pre-judging of a movie. And the rest of the world may have a completely different opinion to a US box office figure. Andy Circus, talking to Colin Patterson. And that is all from us for now, but the Global News Podcast will be back very soon. This edition was mixed by Vlodomere Muzekka and produced by Richard Hamilton.

Our editors, Karen Martin. I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time, goodbye. American dream still possible? I'm Asma Khaled, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. One of the most successful exports of the United States has ever sold the world is the American dream, that tantalizing promise of a better, freer, richer life. But is it still attainable?

I feel like the American dream is alive, but not well. For more, listen to The Global Story on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.