Western Hemisphere

April 16, 2026 | Elaine K. Dezenski |

Crude new world: Oil markets will never be the same – regardless of how the war in Iran ends

Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is a worthy goal in and of itself. But President Trump’s campaign against the Iranian regime carries far broader implications — many of them...

April 10, 2026 | Toby Dershowitz

Costa Rica Designates IRGC and Iranian Proxies as Terrorist Groups

Costa Rica has announced the designation as terror groups of three of Iran’s key regional proxies as well as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the bedrock of the Tehran regime. President...

April 2, 2026 | Daniel Swift, Josh Birenbaum

How to Tackle Venezuela’s (and the World’s) ‘Odious Debt’ Problem

Venezuela could be a test case for reforming international finance’s lending to authoritarian governments.

February 4, 2026 | Behnam Ben Taleblu, Edmund Fitton-Brown, Richard Goldberg, Joe Dougherty

Previewing Talks with Iran

February 2, 2026 | Elaine K. Dezenski, Susan Soh

Trump Administration Scores Major Victory as Panama Supreme Court Rules Against Chinese Shipping Firm

The Danish shipping behemoth Maersk is now temporarily managing two ports along the Panama Canal after the Panamanian Supreme Court annulled a Chinese company’s contracts on constitutional grounds. The...

January 29, 2026 | Bradley Bowman, RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery

What Trump’s National Defense Strategy Gets Right — and Wrong

The Trump administration quietly released its 2026 National Defense Strategy on Friday evening as the largest storm in years barreled down on much of the United States. Much like the snow that...

January 14, 2026 | Clifford D. May |

Maduro’s last exit is to Brooklyn

But his henchmen remain in power in Caracas

January 12, 2026 | Elaine K. Dezenski |

What Free-Market Economies Must Do in 2026

Creating an integrated “near-global” economy of like-minded, free-market economies will allow capitalism to survive and thrive.

January 9, 2026 | Clifford D. May, Carrie Filipetti

Southern Exposure: Trump’s Arrest of Maduro Brings Opportunities and Dangers

January 7, 2026 | Cleo Paskal, Alexander B. Gray

How the UK Is Undermining US Indo-Pacific Security

As Parliament reviews the transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, US access to the Diego Garcia base is no longer assured.

January 4, 2026 | Richard Goldberg, Peter Doran

Trump has started to liberate Venezuela while striking the heart of Russia, China, Iran’s evil global axis

President Trump’s historic intervention in Venezuela offers needed hope to friends of freedom around the world and nervous traders in the oil market. A pro-America, free-market government...

December 19, 2025 | Josh Birenbaum, Max Meizlish

As the noose tightens around Nicolas Maduro, how to ensure a strong — and pro-American — Venezuela follows

With President Donald Trump announcing a “total and complete” oil blockade of Venezuela this week, the noose around dictator Nicolas Maduro’s neck is tightening. A massive US Navy strike...

December 19, 2025 | Saeed Ghasseminejad, Samuel Ben-Ur

U.S. Blockades Sanctioned Oil Tankers in Venezuela. Iran Deserves the Same Treatment

The waters off the shores of President Nicolas Maduro’s Bolivarian Republic are getting choppy for the dictator. After the U.S. Coast Guard seized the Skipper, a Venezuelan supertanker, on December 10,...

December 19, 2025 | Bradley Bowman |

Beyond the U.S.-Israel MOU: The Case for a Strategic Partnership Agreement

In one’s personal life and in the life of a nation, it is good to have friends. It is even better to have capable and motivated friends, especially when one confronts increasingly formidable enemies...

December 17, 2025 | Sinan Ciddi, William Doran

How Turkey Props up Venezuela

The government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has provided an unexpected sanctions evasion lifeline for Nicolas Maduro’s Venezuela.

December 11, 2025 | Saeed Ghasseminejad |

A Free Venezuela Elevates U.S. Energy Security

If the Maduro regime were to fall tomorrow, the immediate applause in Washington would be for the restoration of democracy. But in Houston, the reaction would be a scramble for logistics. For over a...

December 2, 2025 | Dr. Emanuele Ottolenghi  |

Iran’s Al Mustafa University is a terror front

On November 7, 2025, the Daily Mail reported on an Iranian assassination plot against Israel’s ambassador to Mexico. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) orchestrated the...

December 1, 2025 | Samuel Ben-Ur, Krystal Bermudez

How Venezuela’s Maduro became Washington’s most persistent hemispheric adversary

On November 13, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear amid an increased American military presence off the coast of Venezuela. Hegseth stated that the...

November 20, 2025 | Connor Pfeiffer, Max Meizlish

U.S., Mexico Step Up Cooperation on Cartel Money Laundering

Drug traffickers cannot spend their piles of cash unless other criminals are willing to launder their money for them. Without access to clean cash, cartels can’t invest in luxury properties, buy businesses,...

October 28, 2025 | Cameron McMillan, Bradley Bowman, RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery

Ford Carrier Strike Group Departs Europe for Latin America

The Trump administration is dramatically increasing U.S. military firepower in Latin America. As the administration continued to strike vessels belonging to alleged narco-traffickers while escalating pressure...