LIVE: VOZ at the 2026 CPAC in Texas

On Voz News, journalist and executive director Karina Yapor interviewed CPAC Vice President Mercedes Schlapp, with whom she talked about several topics including the current situation on the island of Cuba, with special emphasis on the negotiations that are taking place between the Administration of President Donald Trump and the communist dictatorship to materialize a regime change.
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​"President Trump is the only one who can achieve freedom in Cuba, he is working closely with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been planning this for a long time. [...] I think the Republicans and President Trump have to focus on the Latino vote, they made it in the election. [...] The United States needs strong allies and we need to be able to succeed in Latin America so that it is not in the hands of the communist regime of China," Schlapp said.

The former Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux commended the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during remarks at CPAC USA 2026, describing him as a hands-on leader who actively engages with U.S. troops. During his speech, Robichaux highlighted Hegseth’s direct involvement with service members, emphasizing his willingness to train alongside them and listen to their needs.

"He's wanting to hear from the war fighter, what they need, and it's a long stretch away from the double-masked, triple-vaxed, absent-on-duty, Secretary Austin," Robichaux said, contrasting Hegseth’s approach with that of former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who served under the administration of former Democratic President Joe Biden.

The businessman and reality TV personality spoke at CPAC USA 2026 on Friday, where he criticized the legal proceedings brought against him, alleging political bias in his case. During his remarks, Chrisley argued that those involved in the judicial process were not interested in uncovering the truth, and he directed criticism at former Democratic President Barack Obama.

“I had an Obama-appointed judge, and then we were prosecuted by a Democratic office at the US Attorney's office. And they had no desire for the truth, none whatsoever,” Chrisley said, alleging that partisan motives influenced the handling of his case.

School choice activist Corey DeAngelis summed up what he sees as conservative gains in education at this year's CPAC: "We're getting transgender insanity out of the classroom, critical race theory and Marxism out of the schools, and we're keeping boys out of girls' sports."

Sarah Carter, the head of the Drug Control Office in the Trump Administration, spoke with VOZ News about the priority the government has placed on fighting drug trafficking: "We are going to attack the supply chain and we are going to work on demand. And when it comes to the cartels, we are going after them. We have sent that message loud and clear — with the death of El Mencho, removing Maduro from power, and taking action against the Sinaloa Cartel."

World

Sarah Carter on Voz News: "The Trump Administration Sent a Clear Message to the Cartels with the killing of El Mencho and the Capture of Maduro"

Luis Francisco Orozco

The conference kicks off with a glaring empty seat. For the first time in ten years, Donald Trump will not appear in person at CPAC, and his absence comes at a particularly delicate moment: the conservative movement is torn by internal divisions, the country is entangled in an unpopular war, and the president is sinking in the polls. The event's own organizer, Mercedes Schlapp, acknowledged it bluntly: "What we have seen is a divide in the conservative movement. There's a lot of tension."

Politics

Trump breaks with tradition, skips CPAC amid domestic tensions over the war in Iran

Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón

Media personality Benny Johnson fired up the crowd with a rallying call: "We have a historic moment right now. We can seize it. We can take it back." His remarks came after an emotional tribute to Charlie Kirk, which Johnson said sparked "a moment of unity and a return to foundational Christian principles."

This year's conference features a prominent national and international lineup. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is among the confirmed speakers, as is Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian federal congressman and son of conservative former President Jair Bolsonaro. The elder Bolsonaro is enduring one of the most difficult moments of his life: sentenced to 27 years in prison over an alleged coup plot — which he denounces as a political witch hunt — and hospitalized on an emergency basis on March 13 with bilateral bacterial pneumonia. Brazil's Supreme Court granted him temporary house arrest on humanitarian grounds, and he is expected to be discharged in the coming days. His son Eduardo arrives in Texas representing a family and a movement determined to find its way back to victory and strengthen its ties with American allies.

World

Judge Alexandre de Moraes authorizes temporary house arrest for former Brazilian president Bolsonaro

Virginia Martínez

Actor Dean Cain, best known for playing Superman in the iconic 1990s television series, has become an increasingly vocal figure in American conservatism in recent years. At this year's CPAC, he opened by acknowledging the country's imperfections before launching into his argument: "The United States of America is not perfect. We are always striving for a more perfect union, as the preamble to the Constitution clearly states. The Constitution limits the role of government in our lives and protects the rights of the individual. Pure democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what's for dinner. It's always gonna be the lamb."

In a speech, the former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz said that regardless of how the midterm elections turn out, Republicans will control Congress for at least nine more months, and he criticized GOP leaders for not doing more to exercise their power while they still have it.

“We have a majority. I think we should take it out for a spin. If a woman can bake a baby inside her belly for nine months, certainly congressional Republicans could bake up a few ideas to put on President Trump’s desk,” Gaetz said.

"Border czar" Tom Homan assured that the Trump Administration located more than 145,000 children who entered the country illegally and were missing. The 'border czar' referred to the issue of missing children during his participation in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in Dallas, Texas.

During the last four years, millions of people entered the United States illegally, which led President Donald Trump to make the border issue one of the pillars of his presidential campaign. Indeed, he promised to close the border, to carry out a "massive" deportation campaign and another to find the children who entered the country and whose trail was lost.

"I explained to the president, they don't have the digital footprint, so we've got to count on the digital footprint of who they're released to, these unvetted sponsors. And when we started this operation, we quickly found out, number one, they weren't vetted properly, number two, the addresses were never verified," the official explained.