Category: International Security

International Security includes military and diplomatic measures that nations and international organizations ‒ such as the United Nations and NATO ‒ take to ensure their safety and security.

Israeli policy in West Bank ‘resembles apartheid’

A UN Human Rights report published Wednesday, January 7, 2026, concludes that Israel is violating international law prohibiting racial segregation and apartheid in the occupied West Bank. The findings reveal “a systematic asphyxiation of the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank.”

Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned, “This is a particularly severe form of racial discrimination and segregation that resembles the kind of apartheid system we have seen before”.

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The Americans do not plan to use ground troops in Venezuela

US Secretary of State Rubio and US War Secretary Hegseth on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, told lawmakers, in a closed-door briefing to the Senate, the Trump administration does not plan to use ground troops in Venezuela, but American military will remain deployed around Venezuela indefinitely to provide “leverage” in stabilizing the region, according to more than a dozen lawmakers who attended the event.

“They are talking about stealing the Venezuelan oil at gunpoint, for an undefined period of time, as leverage to micromanage the country,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat. “The scope and insanity of that plan is absolutely stunning.”

Trump said Wednesday – in a nearly two-hour interview with the NY Times – that he expected the US would be running Venezuela and extracting oil for its reserves for years, adding that the interim government in Venezuela is “giving us everything that we feel is necessary.”

During the wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, Mr. Trump did not give a precise time range for how long the United States would remain Venezuela’s political overlord.

Leo Shane III, Connor O’Brien, and Joe Gould, Politico: Trump officials tell Congress: No troops in Venezuela https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/07/senators-venezuela-maduro-congress-00714417

David E. Sanger, Tyler Pager, Katie Rogers, and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, NYT: Trump Says U.S. Oversight of Venezuela Could Last for Years https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/us/politics/trump-interview-venezuela.html

The Americans pull out of 66 international bodies, including key UN climate treaty

Trump on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, signed an executive order suspending US support and participation in 66 organizations, agencies, and commissions, most of which are UN-related.

Non-UN organizations on the list include the Partnership for Atlantic Cooperation, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, and the Global Counterterrorism Forum.

The Trump administration categorized them as catering to diversity and “woke” initiatives.

Trump’s decision to withdraw from organizations that foster cooperation among nations to address global challenges comes as the US administration has launched military efforts or issued threats that have rattled allies and adversaries alike, including the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and pressing their intention to own Greenland.

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Trump attacks NATO’s reliability

Setting: Rising tensions as the Trump administration continues to apply pressure in it’s desire to acquire Greenland.

Trump on Wednesday January 7, 2026, attacked NATO’s reliability, claiming he was not convinced the alliance would come to the aid of the US in a crisis.

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Americans seize Russian oil tanker in the North Atlantic [Upadted]

The US on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, seized an oil tanker in the North Atlantic – between Scotland and Iceland – that had evaded its effort to crack down on Venezuela’s energy exports, capping a pursuit that had lasted more than two weeks and raised tensions with Russia.

At about the same time, US forces boarded another oil tanker in international waters near the Caribbean. The raids suggest the Americans intends to keep up the pressure on Caracas. “They tried to seize the tanker and it evaded them,” says Matthew Wright of Kpler. “They did not want to set a precedent.”

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US plans to control Venezuela oil sales ‘indefinitely’

Energy Secretary Chris Wright at the Goldman Sachs Energy, CleanTech & Utilities Conference in Miami on Wednesday January 7, 2026, said the US intends to maintain significant control over Venezuela’s oil industry, including by overseeing the sale of the country’s production “indefinitely.”

“Going forward we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace,” Wright said.

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European leaders rally to support Denmark and Greenland

“Greenland belongs to its people, and only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations,” the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark said in a joint statement on Tuesday January 6, 2026.

“NATO has made clear that the Arctic region is a priority and European Allies are stepping up,” the statement said. “We and many ‌other Allies have increased our presence, activities, and investments, to keep the Arctic safe and to deter adversaries.”

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Russia’s sabotage operations quadrupled in 2025

According to data compiled by the IISS, Russian shadow warfare attacks targeting Europe’s critical infrastructure have accelerated steadily since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and intensified further in 2024 and 2025, with incidents spanning the Baltics and Nordics, Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean in patterns that reflect strategic intent.

These operations include sabotage of transport and logistics hubs, attacks on energy and communications infrastructure, disruptions to undersea cables, and acts of espionage, arson, vandalism, GPS jamming, and proxy-enabled activity carried out by third-country nationals, all designed to impose cumulative pressure while remaining just below NATO’s Article 5 threshold.

Russia is exploiting the gaps between peace and war, law enforcement and military response, and public and private responsibility, confident that NATO’s legal thresholds, political caution, and consensus-driven paralysis will continue to prevent a unified response to an attack that is already underway.

Read more:

January 4, 2025
Olga Lautman and Luchkov Andrii, Malign Influence Operations: Russia’s Sabotage Operations Quadrupled in 2025: Europe’s Rude Awakening

Trump is prepared to attack Venezuela a second time if new President Rodriguez doesn’t cooperate

In an interview with NBC News, Trump said new Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez was cooperating in the wake of the US military invasion into Venezuela’s capital that led to the capture of the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, on Saturday, January 3, 2026.

Trump added his plans initially anticipated having to send in American forces again following the first operation, but that he currently does not believe a second attack will be necessary.

Still, Trump insisted that the US is “at war with people that sell drugs,” not with Venezuela.

Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty on Monday in New York City federal court to drug trafficking charges.

Source:

Jacob Wendler, Politico: Trump says he’s prepared to send more US troops to Venezuela if interim president doesn’t cooperate