Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

cipherbrief

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

Latin America

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

AmericasLatin America

The Latest

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

Geoffrey Corn

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

AmericasGeoffrey CornLatin America

Why an Unmanned Mission May be Most Effective in Venezuela

Joey Gagnard

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

AmericasJoey GagnardLatin America

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

Walter Pincus

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

AmericasLatin AmericaWalter PincusFine Print

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

Walter Pincus

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

AmericasLatin AmericaWalter PincusFine Print
Venezuela’s Descent into Crisis

Understanding the U.S. Military Mobilization in the Caribbean

Ambassador Patrick Duddy

Understanding the U.S. Military Mobilization in the Caribbean

OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — The armada the U.S. has assembled in the Caribbean is more formidable than anything the region has seen in decades. [...] More

AmericasLatin America

Trump’s Latest Military Campaign Tests the Limits of Presidential War Powers

Geoffrey Corn

Trump’s Latest Military Campaign Tests the Limits of Presidential War Powers

OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTiVE — According to reports, the Trump administration informed Congress that the ongoing hostilities against alleged [...] More

AmericasGeoffrey CornLatin America
Soldiers of the Mexican Army stand guard as they secure an area during a military operation in Culiacan, Sinaloa State, Mexico, on September 19, 2024

From the Caribbean to Jalisco, Trump Takes Aim at Cartels — But Will He Strike the Kingpins?

DEEP DIVE — Eight weeks ago, Secretary of State Marco Rubio went to Mexico City, the epicenter of the global illegal drug trade, and declared, “The [...] More

AmericasLatin America
Former CIA Station Chief on the Trump Administration’s Caribbean Strategy

Former CIA Station Chief on the Trump Administration’s Caribbean Strategy

EXPERT INTERVIEW — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced today that the U.S. has carried out three additional strikes on four sea vessels, bringing [...] More

AmericasLatin America

America’s Drug Crisis: Why the U.S. Must Fight Traffickers Abroad—and Addiction at Home

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

America’s Drug Crisis: Why the U.S. Must Fight Traffickers Abroad—and Addiction at Home

OPINION — It is the responsibility of the U.S. Government to ensure that illicit drugs do not enter the U.S. and to ensure that those countries and [...] More

AmericasAmbassador Joseph DeTraniLatin America

‘Show Us the Video’: Lawmakers Seek Transparency in Anti-Drug Boat Strikes

Walter Pincus

‘Show Us the Video’: Lawmakers Seek Transparency in Anti-Drug Boat Strikes

OPINION / FINE PRINT — “We have asked the Mexican government to also step up their involvement in stopping these cartels and stopping the huge amount [...] More

AmericasLatin AmericaWalter PincusFine Print

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Quiet Drug War Wins Amid Trump’s Caribbean Strikes

Walter Pincus

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Quiet Drug War Wins Amid Trump’s Caribbean Strikes

OPINION / FINE PRINT — “The U.S. Coast Guard announced [last] Tuesday it has seized more than 100,000 pounds of cocaine in the eastern Pacific Ocean [...] More

AmericasLatin AmericaWalter PincusFine Print
The Caribbean Emerges as a Test of U.S. Power

The Caribbean Emerges as a Test of U.S. Power

DEEP DIVE — U.S. military forces this week carried out yet another strike on a vessel in Caribbean waters off Venezuela, marking the sixth such [...] More

AmericasLatin America