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The U.S. Says it Will “Run” Venezuela. What Will That Mean?

The U.S. Says it Will “Run” Venezuela. What Will That Mean?

DEEP DIVE – As audacious and complex as it was for the U.S. to extract Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela – and to do so without a single U.S. casualty – [...] More

Venezuela’s Key Takeaways for the World

Venezuela’s Key Takeaways for the World

CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT INTERVIEW – While the U.S. operation to detain Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro took just hours to execute, a full assessment [...] More

High Risk in Venezuela—To What End?

OPINION — “I knew the possible danger. It was a very dangerous operation. It was amazing that we had a few injured, but all are in good shape right [...] More

After Venezuela, What Is Next in 2026?

After Venezuela, What Is Next in 2026?

CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT Q&A — President Donald Trump said the U.S. is "in charge" in Venezuela after U.S. forces detained President Nicolas Maduro on [...] More

Venezuela was a Surprise. What Could be Next?

CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT Q&A -- Deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is scheduled to appear in a U.S. courtroom on Monday for the first time since [...] More

A Trained Eye Sees Strategic Patterns in Venezuela

OPINION -- Venezuela presents a long-standing challenge tied to narcotics trafficking and transnational criminal networks. For years, the country has [...] More

Why the ‘Double Tap’ Incident Matters Far Beyond a Single Strike

EXPERT OPINION — For about a week we experienced significant controversy over the first military attack on alleged narco-trafficker small boats off [...] More

What It Means Now that Fentanyl is Designated a “WMD”

OPINION — “There's no doubt that America's adversaries are trafficking fentanyl into the United States in part because they want to kill Americans. [...] More

We Need More Than Just a Command Shakeup in the U.S. Military

EXPERT OPINION — Reports came out last week that claim the Chairman of Joint Staff, General Dan Caine, is preparing a new unified command plan (UCP) [...] More

Why an Unmanned Mission May be Most Effective in Venezuela

OPINION — Wars are increasingly fought by unconventional means. A recent example is Ukrainian insertion of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to attack [...] More

Second Strike, No Survivors: The Legal and Political Questions Around Trump’s Narco-Boat Killings

OPINION — “As we’ve said from the beginning, and in every statement, these highly effective strikes are specifically intended to be ‘lethal, kinetic [...] More

Destroying Boats, Killing Crews, Escalating Risks: The Venezuela Gambit

OPINION — “Does the Coast Guard have legal authority to destroy a boat or to kill the crew with lethal force if there has not been a [...] More