Bolivian Intrigues

https://thegrayzone.substack.com/p/evo-morales-to-the-grayzone-the-people?

I was not surprised to learn that a plot was in the works to kidnap Evo Morales right around the same time the US launched the Maduro raid in Venezuela.

Whitewashing US Aggression in Cuba and Venezuela

https://thegrayzone.substack.com/p/deprivation-and-depopulation-inside

We can hope that Trump's failures and frustrations in connection with Iran might lead him to back off his militarist rhetoric regarding Cuba. But if anything he's likely to strike the island as a means of distraction - just as Iran helped steer the conversation away from his connections to the Epstein scandal. That is until his wife (in an attempt to protect her supposedly 'good name') rekindled the fire.

Another President Falls in Peru and its Connection to Cold War 2.0

https://www.dw.com/en/peru-ousts-interim-president/a-76013641

There is nothing too earth-shattering here other than to note how Peru's instability continues and how the nation is caught in a tug-of-war. It's one of the key fronts in Cold War II and the contest being Washington and Beijing.

The Assault Weapons Ban and American Guns in Latin America

https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-01-20/carlos-perez-ricart-theres-never-been-a-better-time-for-the-us-arms-industry-than-right-now.html

This article does not affirm what many of us intuitively already know - the US arms industry is experiencing something of a golden age. From sales to the EU (for Ukraine), to client states across Asia and the Middle East, to Latin America - there's a lot of money being made. And as I'm often keen to note - a lot of this blood money flows into the coffers of Christians by means of investment, particularly in mutual funds and 401k portfolios.

But there's another aspect to the arms industry that also constitutes big business.

Trump, the Fall of Maduro, and the American Church

The powers that be are ordained by God and clearly in God's Providence, it was time for Maduro of Venezuela to go. That said, the Old Testament clearly demonstrates that the nation that removed him can be (on another level) outside of God's will and motivated by its own wicked desires. One thinks of Assyria and Babylon - God's servants in the punishing of Israel and Judah. They were agents of Providence but wicked in their motivation. This paradox is also seen in the commentary offered in Matthew 26.24 by Christ concerning Judas Iscariot. What is written must be fulfilled but woe to that man who actually conducts the betrayal.

So it is with Trump and the American Empire.

Trump Pardons Honduran ex-President

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2024/06/dictators-and-drug-dealers-americas.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1kpm0rvxepo

The Mainstream Media is actually giving this latest Trump pardon story some attention - even while it all but ignored Orlando Hernandez's conviction and sentencing last year.

Soybeans and Argentina - Economic Nationalism or Political Economics?

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/22/why-us-soya-bean-farmers-are-upset-with-trumps-20bn-argentina-bailout

It's not something you hear about in Right-wing circles, but America's agricultural sector is not happy with Trump. Now since this article appeared on Al Jazeera at the end of October, the soybean situation has changed as Trump has cut a deal with Xi Jinping - though Chinese assessments don't seem to match the White House's rhetoric. China is once again buying American soybeans and so the situation has improved - at least as some see it. Others say even this is not panning out the way the White House has marketed it. Tariffs remain, and Beijing is signalling that it's looking more and more to Brazil to meet its demand. In other words, the reality seems a little more murky and complicated than how Trump would present it.

Liberal and Establishment Offense at the Department of War

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgr9r4qr0ppo

Last month (September 2025) the Trump administration and Secretary Hegseth changed the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War. The move upset some as it contradicts their understanding of the military and its role related to American foreign policy. Others saw it as characteristic of the kind of toxic bombast Trump has become known for. Hegseth is keen to promote his 'warrior ethos' - a twisted and heretical form of Crusader Christianity. This is further exemplified by his dressing down of generals and his celebration of aerial assassinations in the Caribbean.

US Special Forces and Latin American Drug Cartels

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/8/14/fort_bragg_cartel_seth_harp

Undoubtedly this story will prove shocking to many, but for anyone that has ventured down this road of inquiry, it is in reality an old story going back to the end of World War II. This is just the latest chapter in a larger story of US government, CIA, and US military complicity in drug trafficking that ties in with the Kuomintang and the Golden Triangle, the Mafia and Marseilles, the French Connection and Turkish smugglers, the Contras and Colombia.

The Monroe Doctrine: Peru, Brazil, and China

https://maritime-executive.com/editorials/china-s-man-in-peru-at-center-of-chancay-megaport

Once again Peru is in the news. The United States is sending clear signals that it is unhappy with China's growing footprint in Latin America - a clear violation of The Monroe Doctrine which is (unofficially) still in effect.

As I reported in August 2025, Xi Jinping visited Peru and likewise the Peruvian president Dina Boluarte has also visited Beijing.

Washington is Trying to Start a War with Venezuela

https://trt.global/world/article/f3ee26bac380

The United States has been trying to overthrow the government of Venezuela for over twenty years. Washington detested Hugo Chavez and his campaign to destroy the Empire's domination of Latin America. The US attempted to oust him in 2002 but failed. Chavez remained popular until his death in 2013.

Peru, China, and the Pentagon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlZl-NkrdNk

Dina Boluarte spent years on the Far Left connected to Marxist movements within Peru and from 2021-2022 she served as a high-ranking official in the Castillo administration. Beset by political turmoil and an ongoing constitutional crisis - including attempts to impeach him, Pedro Castillo attempted to dissolve congress, seize control of the courts, and order a national curfew. He reached too far and did not have sufficient support - especially from the military. Even though she was his first vice president, Dina Boluarte did not support him or stand by him. Castillo's plan quickly collapsed leading to his arrest and impeachment in December 2022. He remains in detention as of this writing.

Noboa Inaugurated and Ecuador's Future in the Age of Trump

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/24/ecuadors-daniel-noboa-sworn-in-for-full-term-promising-a-crackdown-on-gangs

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/12/ecuador-president-blackwater-alliance

Ecuador had been part of the so-called Pink Tide of Latin American nations that had turned turned to Left-wing governments during the George Bush era. The term of Rafael Correa (2007-2017) came to symbolize this era for Ecuador. After Correa departed office, his party continued holding power but the shift was underway. By 2021 a conservative (and pro-Washington) president was in power but his tenure was marked by controversy, corruption, and ultimately collapse.

The Double Standard when it comes to Dead Journalists

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinian-journalist-killed-israeli-bombing-after-receiving-threats-end-gaza-coverage

This is just one of the endless outrages and hypocrisies associated with this war. One of the many war crimes ignored by the West as Israel pursues it genocidal campaign in Gaza.

China, the Monroe Doctrine, and the American Empire: A Proxy Struggle in Ecuador

 https://thegrayzone.com/2024/08/29/secret-chats-decade-us-meddling-ecuador/

There's evidence of US meddling in the politics of Ecuador. Personally I did not find any of these revelations to be shocking. While the explicit evidence wasn't always there, these types of machinations are well known to those who have been paying attention. Wikileaks also played a role in bringing some of these things to light and by some reckonings, they're not all scandalous but are simply descriptive of how governments work with and relate to one another. It's often something other than what people think.

The Taliban, Poppy Cultivation, and Opium Markets

https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/06/talibans-successful-opium-ban-bad-afghans-and-world

https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-farmers-livelihood-taliban-bans-opium/31803532.html

The United States Institute for Peace or USIP is a mouthpiece for the US government. The fact that this federal agency is required to have both the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense on its board reveals it to be a sham. It does not promote or stand for peace. It cannot with these kinds of imperialist and militarist connections.

Dictators and Drug Dealers: America's Dissonant Practice of Celebrating the Fall of its Allies and Activist Deaths that Don't Matter

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/3/17/the-criminal-hypocrisy-of-hernandezs-drug-conviction-in-a-us-court

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/honduras-president-arrested/

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/apr/01/years-after-berta-caceres-is-there-new-hope-for-justice

The death of Alexei Navalny received around-the-clock coverage and it was simply assumed that Putin ordered it and yet when someone like Berta Caceres of Honduras is killed, virtually no one in Western (and certainly American) media seems to care and suggestions of American involvement are met with scoffs.

Costa Rica, Semi-conductor Devices, and the American Empire

https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-22/from-san-jose-to-silicon-valley-costa-rica-is-emerging-as-a-hotbed-for-us-chips.html

The microchip industry has become strategic for the United States, meaning it is guaranteed federal subsidies and is becoming integrated with the security state. New facilities are being developed in Arizona, Texas, Idaho, Ohio, and New York but the industry is always going to be looking for cheaper options. A decade ago that was in China and other Asian locales. The US might be comfortable with South Korea, Japan, or even the Philippines but after the supply chain snags associated with Covid, the US is looking for something closer, a location that wouldn't be affected by such shipping scenarios. As such, Costa Rica has suddenly become an attractive option.

Chevron, Wall Street, and Venezuela Sanctions

https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chevron-Getting-Ready-For-New-Oil-Drilling-In-Venezuela.html

https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-11-23/us-offers-life-support-to-venezuelas-economy.html

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chevron-shipping-fuels-venezuelas-pdvsa-expansion-oil-swap-2023-11-16/

One is left wondering if the decision by the White House to slack up a little on Venezuela sanctions is about foreign policy strategy or simply to help out Chevron – and thus the markets. It's probably a bit of both.

BP and Right-wing Paramilitaries in Colombia

https://declassifieduk.org/bps-financing-of-colombias-murderous-military/

The documents referenced here merely confirm what was already known – both governments and corporations were involved in the financing and arming of Right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia.