President Trump announced that the U.S. “successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela” and that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were “captured and flown out of the Country.” Explosions were heard in Caracas early Saturday …
Donald TrumpNicolas MaduroMarco RubioPete Hegsethmilitary-interventionvenezuelaregime-changeexecutive-overreachforeign-policy
On Christmas Day evening, the US military launches strikes on at least three settlements in Sokoto state, northwest Nigeria, firing 16 GPS-guided precision munitions from naval platforms in the Gulf of Guinea. President Trump announces the operation on social media, claiming “a powerful and …
Donald TrumpBola TinubuAFRICOMNigerian Armed ForcesSamaila Ubamilitary-strikesafricanigeriaisischristian-nationalism+3 more
Trump administration officials notified Congress of plans to close six Voice of America overseas bureaus and four shortwave radio transmitters, defying federal court orders requiring VOA operations to resume. The closures will shut down VOA presence in Jakarta, Islamabad, Nairobi, Prague, and other …
Donald TrumpKari LakeVoice of AmericaFederal JudiciaryState Departmentmedia-suppressionforeign-policyauthoritarianismchinarussia+1 more
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a $20 billion rescue package for Argentina’s president Javier Milei, including currency swap agreements, direct peso purchases (only the fourth time since 1996 the U.S. bought another country’s currency), and Treasury bond purchases. The bailout …
Scott BessentDonald TrumpJavier MileiRob CitroneTreasury Departmentcorruptionconflicts-of-interestforeign-policycronyismfinancial-fraud
President Trump signed Executive Order 14348 on September 5, 2025, creating a new ‘State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention’ designation that empowers the Secretary of State to blacklist foreign countries determined to be involved in or supporting wrongful detentions of U.S. nationals. …
Donald TrumpWhite HouseDepartment of Stateexecutive-powerexecutive-orderspresidential-authorityforeign-policy
The Trump administration lifted US sanctions against Antal Rogán, a top Hungarian government official previously sanctioned for corruption, signaling a significant shift in diplomatic approach toward Hungary and potentially demonstrating geopolitical leverage.
Donald TrumpTrump AdministrationAntal RogánViktor OrbánMarco Rubiokleptocracysanctionsforeign-policytrump-administration
On November 20, 2018, President Trump issues an extraordinary written statement titled “Statement from President Donald J. Trump on Standing with Saudi Arabia” that explicitly rejects CIA findings and defends Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman despite the intelligence community’s …
Donald TrumpMohammed bin SalmanCIAKing SalmanGina Haspeldonald-trumpsaudi-arabiajamal-khashoggiciaintelligence+4 more
On October 23, 2018, three weeks after Jamal Khashoggi’s murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, President Trump publicly acknowledges the killing was orchestrated by Saudi Arabia but makes clear he will not hold Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accountable. Despite calling Saudi …
Donald TrumpMohammed bin SalmanMike PompeoSaudi Arabia governmentdonald-trumpsaudi-arabiajamal-khashoggiaccountabilitymohammed-bin-salman+2 more
President George W. Bush threatened to cast his first presidential veto if Congress blocked Dubai Ports World’s (DPW) acquisition of US port operations, sparking a major national security controversy. The $6.8 billion deal would have given a UAE state-owned company control of cargo terminals …
George W. BushCharles SchumerDubai Ports WorldUAERepublican Congress+2 morepresidential-powercorporate-influenceforeign-policyregulatory-capturenational-security
Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs became a formal economic advisor to Boris Yeltsin’s economic team in December 1991, after Yegor Gaidar—soon to be acting Prime Minister—contacted him in September requesting he come to Moscow to discuss Russia’s economic crisis. At that stage, Russia faced …
Jeffrey SachsBoris YeltsinMikhail GorbachevYegor GaidarGeorge H.W. Bush+3 morerussiajeffrey-sachsharvardshock-therapyforeign-policy+4 more
Customs and bank regulators in seven countries simultaneously raid and shut down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), exposing what becomes known as the largest corporate criminal enterprise in history. The shutdown follows a Price Waterhouse investigation ordered by the Bank of …
William CaseyManuel NoriegaAdnan KhashoggiManucher Ghorbanifarcorruptionmoney-launderingciadrug-traffickingiran-contra+1 more
The United States launches Operation Just Cause, deploying nearly 26,000 combat troops in the largest and most complex military operation since the Vietnam War to capture Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. The invasion targets two dozen locations throughout Panama in a massive show of force …
George H.W. BushManuel Noriegaforeign-policyciadrug-traffickingmilitary-interventionlatin-america
President Reagan vetoes the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, calling economic sanctions against South Africa’s white minority regime “economic warfare” and claiming they would hurt the impoverished Black majority. Reagan’s veto represents the culmination of his …
Ronald ReaganDesmond Tutuforeign-policyhuman-rightsapartheidsouth-africareagan-administration
Israel sends 96 American-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles to Iran through arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar, marking the first covert arms shipment in what becomes the Iran-Contra scandal. Hours after receiving the weapons, the Islamic fundamentalist group Islamic Jihad releases one American …
Ronald ReaganRobert McFarlaneOliver NorthManucher Ghorbanifariran-contrareagan-administrationforeign-policyarms-traffickingcovert-operations
President Reagan sends Donald Rumsfeld as a special envoy to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, establishing formal diplomatic relations and initiating a strategic partnership during the Iran-Iraq War. The now-infamous handshake between Rumsfeld and Hussein symbolizes the Reagan …
Donald RumsfeldSaddam HusseinRonald Reaganforeign-policyiraqreagan-administrationwar-crimeschemical-weapons
General Efraín Ríos Montt seizes power in Guatemala through a military coup, beginning what would become the bloodiest period in the nation’s history. The Reagan administration, seeking regional allies for its covert war against Nicaragua’s Sandinista government, immediately embraces the …
Ronald ReaganEfraín Ríos Monttforeign-policyhuman-rightscentral-americagenocidereagan-administration
Archbishop Oscar Romero is assassinated on March 24, 1980, while celebrating Mass in San Salvador, marking a symbolic beginning of U.S. support for El Salvador’s death squad government during a brutal 12-year civil war. A single gunman fires directly into Romero’s heart from the chapel …
Ronald ReaganRoberto D'AubuissonOscar Romeroforeign-policyhuman-rightsdeath-squadscentral-americareagan-administration
President Harry S. Truman addresses a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947, requesting $400 million in military and economic assistance for Greece and Turkey, establishing what becomes known as the Truman Doctrine. The speech marks a fundamental shift in American foreign policy from …
Harry S. TrumanU.S. CongressGeorge F. KennanDean Achesoncold-warmilitary-aidcontainmentforeign-policymilitary-industrial-complex
Secretary of State Frank Kellogg and French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand sign the Kellogg-Briand Pact (officially the General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy) in Paris, eventually ratified by 62 nations. The treaty solemnly renounces war as an instrument of …
Frank KelloggAristide BriandCalvin CoolidgeU.S. Senateforeign-policyinstitutional-captureinternational-lawimperialism
President James Monroe articulates the Monroe Doctrine during his seventh annual State of the Union Address to Congress, declaring that any European intervention in the political affairs of the Americas constitutes a potentially hostile act against the United States. The doctrine establishes three …
President James MonroeSecretary of State John Quincy AdamsEuropean colonial powersimperial-expansionforeign-policylatin-americaanti-colonialismmanifest-destiny