Maher al-Assad

Assad’s Narco-Trade Lives on in Lebanon

The Lebanese Army busted a major narcotics factory. On July 13, Lebanese forces raided a facility in Baalbek used to produce the synthetic, amphetamine-like drug captagon. The army dismantled approximately...

Fierce clashes erupt between Assad loyalists and government forces in western Syria

On March 6, Syria witnessed the most intense and bloodiest clashes between the new Syrian government and loyalists to dictator Bashar al Assad since the Assad regime’s downfall on December 8. These battles...

Assad Is Gone, Syria’s Captagon Trade Isn’t

Despite its statements vowing to clean up the country, Syria’s new government is unlikely to tackle the profitable narcotics trade.

Syria’s New Authorities Vow to Shutter Captagon Trade

Narcotraffickers who attempted to flood Jordan with over 27 million illicit captagon pills in 2024 may now be out of business. “When it comes to captagon and drug smuggling, we promise it is over and...

A new window into the Assad regime’s narcotrafficking operations

In the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, footage began circulating that allegedly showed production hubs in Syria for the amphetamine-like drug fenethylline, now commonly known by one of its former brand...

Iran-backed narco-terrorists are making billions and widening the war in the Middle East

Secretary of State Antony Blinken toured the Middle East this month in an effort to prevent a wider regional war. But while Blinken was there, Jordanian jet fighters struck Iran-backed militias...

Secretary of State and Arab League Chief Meet After U.S. Condemns League’s Readmission of Syria

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with League of Arab States Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit at the State Department on July 19. Blinken and Aboul Gheit did not discuss the specifics of their...

New European Sanctions Target Assad Regime Narco-Traffickers

The European Union (EU) announced sanctions this week on over a dozen Syrian individuals and entities responsible for “the production and trafficking of narcotics, notably Captagon.” The designations...

Under Pressure from Congress, Administration Sanctions Syrian Narco-traffickers

The Treasury Department announced sanctions on Tuesday on eight targets for “supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the production or export of Captagon, a dangerous amphetamine.”...

Jordan’s King Asks for U.S. Help Combating Iran-Backed Militias

Latest Developments Jordan’s King Abdullah II is asking for U.S. assistance to combat Iran-backed militias from Iraq and Syria involved in an escalating drug war on Jordan’s border and attacking inside...

Neither Here Nor There

Jordan and the Abraham Accords

Biden Administration Foreign Policy Tracker: October

The UN Has Now Spent $81.6 Million at the Four Seasons Damascus

The United Nations released new procurement data last week showing that its agencies spent an additional $11.5 million last year at the Four Seasons Damascus, for a total of $81.6 million since 2014. The...

State Department Report Glosses Over Assad’s Narco-Trafficking Wealth

In a congressionally mandated report issued last week, the State Department made a single passing reference to drug trafficking as a source of wealth for the family of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. The...

Time for Biden to Oppose Gulf Monarchies’ Outreach to Assad

Saudi intelligence chief Khalid al-Humaidan reportedly met with his Syrian counterpart in Damascus on Monday, the first meeting of its kind since the war in Syria broke out in 2011. Humaidan’s visit provides...

Sanctions Target War Profiteer Working for Assad’s Brother

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions today on Syrian war profiteer Khodr Ali Taher and 11 of his companies – part of the fourth set of designations since the Caesar Act went into effect this past...

Victim of Assad

In a grim footnote to the ongoing human tragedy in Syria, the country's cultural he...

Total Collapse

A number of recent articles make the case that...