Widespread damage in La Guaira, Venezuela, seen in these new satellite photos from @vantortech.bsky.social These neighborhoods are just 10 miles north of central Caracas
Avery Schmitz
@averyschmitz.bsky.social
Open-source reporting @cnn.com Views my own | avery.schmitz@cnn.com
NEW: I found that at least 97 of the more than 1,500 individuals granted clemency by President Trump for their roles in the January 6 Capitol attack have been arrested for, or convicted of crimes separate from Jan. 6 since their participation in the riot. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...
The Jan. 6 Pardons: How Many Clemency Recipients Have Faced Other Charges?
The real count is much higher than the public knew.
lawfaremedia.org
NEW: The US has conducted at least 25 intelligence-gathering flights off the coast of Cuba since early February, per data from @flightradar24.com Check out my analysis here: www.cnn.com/2026/05/10/a...
US intelligence-gathering flights are surging off Cuba | CNN
The flights are notable not only for their proximity to the island’s coast, but for the suddenness of their appearance and their timing.
cnn.com
Looking around for this with @aric.bsky.social and @gbrumfiel.bsky.social, geolocated at 30.835153, 50.589567 north of Dehdasht (~30 miles north of Behbahan). Rough annotation with matching terrain + building area in the foreground. CC: @geoconfirmed.org Map link: www.google.com/maps/place/3...
Geoff Brumfiel@gbrumfiel.bsky.social · 4mo agoBased on help from an Iranian colleague the advertisements visible in this video appear to be for businesses in Behbahan, Iran. The landscape is a good match too. Haven't found precise location yet, but it lines up well with the other video. Source: t.me/sepah_pasdar...
NEW: The US military has assembled a massive collection of weapons systems in the Middle East—including 18x F-35 stealth fighters seen clearly for the first time in imagery from Planet Labs Our latest analysis from me and Annette Choi www.cnn.com/2026/02/20/p...
A look at the military hardware the US has positioned for potential war with Iran | CNN Politics
The US military has assembled a massive collection of weapons systems in the Middle East in the midst of ongoing diplomatic negotiations between the US and Iran, flooding ships and aircraft to nearby ...
cnn.com
Data from @globalfishingwatch.org shows oil tankers moving between Barcelona, Venezuela and US Gulf Coast ports since Maduro’s removal @stepozzebon.bsky.social explains how the US is seeking out new ways to cooperate with Venezuela's leadership: www.cnn.com/2026/02/17/a...
New: We reconstructed how Maduro was captured used eyewitness videos & helicopter flight paths and found the operation came down to two critical minutes. edition.cnn.com/2026/01/23/a... @isaacyeephoto.bsky.social @averyschmitz.bsky.social @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social @allegragoodwin.bsky.social
Capturing a president: CNN analysis reveals extraordinary risks taken to seize Maduro | CNN
The audacious US operation to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro came down to an intense final firefight in which US helicopters were exposed to an extraordinary level of risk as they descende...
edition.cnn.com
NEW: We reconstructed the US operation to capture Venezuelan President Maduro Visual evidence reveals 2 crucial minutes + an intense firefight when US forces faced extraordinary risk w/ @isaacyeephoto.bsky.social @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social @katiepolglase.bsky.social @allegragoodwin.bsky.social
Capturing a president: CNN analysis reveals extraordinary risks taken to seize Maduro | CNN
The audacious US operation to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro came down to an intense final firefight in which US helicopters were exposed to an extraordinary level of risk as they descende...
cnn.com
Great video by @averyschmitz.bsky.social (with some narration help by me 🤭) taking a look at what the US military has built up in the Caribbean.
NEW: We tracked over 200 US military flights conducted in the Caribbean since mid-August by 83 separate aircraft, including intelligence-gathering planes and tankers used to refuel jets in midair With @natashabertrand.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/10/19/w...
Here’s what the US military has positioned in the Caribbean as Trump pressures Venezuela | CNN
The US military has been steadily massing a large number of troops, naval and air assets in the Caribbean over the last two months, conducting training missions off the coast of Venezuela, reopening a...
cnn.com
The US military has been steadily massing a large number of troops, naval and air assets in the Caribbean over the last two months. Here’s what’s been positioned as Trump pressures Venezuela (and, increasingly, Colombia): www.cnn.com/2025/10/19/w...
Here’s what the US military has positioned in the Caribbean as Trump pressures Venezuela | CNN
The US military has been steadily massing a large number of troops, naval and air assets in the Caribbean over the last two months, conducting training missions off the coast of Venezuela, reopening a...
cnn.com
NEW: We spent 6 months digging into the cartel networks recruiting Americans as smugglers Uncovering hundreds of recruitment posts and speaking with cartel recruiters + law enforcement about their tactics With Norma Galeana, David Culver, and Evelio Contreras:
Inside the cartel networks recruiting young Americans on social media | CNN
A young mother tells CNN how she was lured into recruiting migrant smugglers in the US after seeing a promise of easy money in her feed.
cnn.com
NEW: Chihuahua, Mexico's most sprawling state, is building a surveillance system. Once complete, it'll have almost 10K cameras, including some w/ facial recognition capabilities. Authorities offered to share access with US police—including Texas DPS. 🧵 www.texasobserver.org/texas-chihua...
Just Beyond the Texas Border, Chihuahua Is Launching a Burgeoning State Surveillance System
The 20-story Torre Centinela looming over Juárez is part of a much larger AI-powered network that won’t stop at the U.S.-Mexico divide.
texasobserver.org
NEW: what’s happening at one Iranian nuclear site following US airstrikes
235 people were killed in April when the roof of the Jet Set nightclub came crashing down during a packed concert. We found that for years before the collapse, structural issues and warning signs went unaddressed. w/ @stepozzebon.bsky.social and @averyschmitz.bsky.social for CNN youtu.be/H5UpgvxSc1A
CNN analysis explores cause of deadly Dominican nightclub roof collapse
YouTube video by CNN
youtu.be
NEW: How structural flaws reduced a Dominican nightclub to rubble Watch our investigation of the Jet Set club collapse which killed over 230 people in April From @stepozzebon.bsky.social, @thomasbordeaux.bsky.social, Anyi Lizardo, Maddie Araujo, and me: youtu.be/H5UpgvxSc1A?...
CNN analysis explores cause of deadly Dominican nightclub roof collapse
YouTube video by CNN
youtu.be
Amid violence in northwest Syria, some appear to be seeking protection from Russian forces there New satellite images from Maxar show throngs of people and cars crowding an entrance Khmeimim Air Base earlier today--less than 20km from central Latakia 📸: Maxar Technologies
NEW: Argentina’s military is deploying to surveil hundreds of Chinese fishing boats off its coast. Here’s why: From me, @isaacyeephoto.bsky.social, @yong.bsky.social and Betiana Fernández Martino
Why Argentina’s military is deploying to surveil hundreds of Chinese fishing boats off its coast | CNN
The Argentine military is ramping up efforts to combat these fishing operations in a region experts warn is on the brink of environmental collapse.
cnn.com
We are proud to announce the launch of Evident — a nonprofit news organization producing documentary journalism for the public good — here on Bluesky. Evident is building a new kind of newsroom powered by a team of journalists that is covering crucial stories for public good.
NEW: Paramilitary forces raid Sudan’s largest refugee camp "Several stray bullets flew over our heads, and a victim fell right in front of me," an eyewitness told us. From me, Aleena Fayaz, and Kaila Nichols:
Paramilitary forces raid Sudan’s largest refugee camp | CNN
Fighters from Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have torched parts of Sudan’s largest refugee camp, firing indiscriminately at people, including women and children, according to open-sou...
cnn.com
NEW: We identified 18 US military flights gathering intelligence on cartels in Mexico since Jan. 28 These missions show how the Trump admin is quickly shifting national security resources to the border From Katie Bo Lillis, Priscilla Alvarez, @natashabertrand.bsky.social and me
US spy planes hunt for intel on Mexican drug cartels as surveillance flights surge near border | CNN Politics
The US military has significantly increased its surveillance of Mexican drug cartels over the past two weeks, with sophisticated spy planes flying at least 18 missions over the southwestern US and in ...
cnn.com
The US military has significantly increased its surveillance of Mexican drug cartels over the past two weeks, with sophisticated spy planes flying at least 18 missions over the southwestern US and in international airspace around the Baja peninsula. www.cnn.com/2025/02/10/p...
US spy planes hunt for intel on Mexican drug cartels as surveillance flights surge near border | CNN Politics
The US military has significantly increased its surveillance of Mexican drug cartels over the past two weeks, with sophisticated spy planes flying at least 18 missions over the southwestern US and in ...
cnn.com
NEW: Derek Maltz, Trump's pick to lead the DEA, formerly worked at PenLink, a Nebraska-based tech firm that has sold software that can track phone locations without a warrant to agencies like ICE and Texas DPS. www.texasobserver.org/dea-derek-ma...
New DEA Chief’s Background Includes Surveillance Tech and Border Misinformation
Derek Maltz formerly worked at PenLink, a Nebraska-based tech firm that has sold software that can track phone locations without a warrant to agencies like ICE and Texas DPS.
texasobserver.org
“If the facts as you just stated are true, then apparently some people are above the law.” From @francescadnunz.bsky.social and @averyschmitz.bsky.social in 2024: Citizen militias are illegal in both Arizona and Texas, but in some cases police appear to be tacitly approving border vigilantism.
Border Vigilantes Are Blurring the Lines of Law Enforcement
Armed groups in Arizona and Texas are collaborating with and courting police and immigration agents—with alarming results.
texasobserver.org
"LAFD Capt. Erik Scott has one of the most intense jobs in the nation right now: trying to distribute accurate public information during a historically destructive urban fire in America." Misinformation is a growing problem for frontline workers... www.wsj.com/us-news/los-...
Fighting Fires—and the Rumor Mill—as L.A. Burns
‘The worst I’ve ever seen.’ Skyrocketing misinformation is forcing public officials to adopt a new playbook when tragedies hit their communities
wsj.com
NEW: Using visual evidence, we pieced together how the Bourbon Street attack unfolded on New Year’s Eve, killing at least 15 people From Caroll Alvarado, Elizabeth Wolfe, and me
A visual timeline of the New Year’s attack that left at least 14 dead in New Orleans | CNN
New Orleans’ famed Bourbon Street devolved into a grisly crime scene just hours into the new year as a driver plowed a pickup truck through crowds of holiday revelers, killing at least 14 people and i...
cnn.com
Best of 2024: Citizen militias are illegal in both Arizona and Texas, but in some cases police appear to be tacitly approving border vigilantism. @francescadnunz.bsky.social @azcir.bsky.social & @averyschmitz.bsky.social uncover the alarming collaboration between law enforcement and militias.
Border Vigilantes Are Blurring the Lines of Law Enforcement
Armed groups in Arizona and Texas are collaborating with and courting police and immigration agents—with alarming results.
texasobserver.org
A lot has been happening in Sudan but very little is talked about, which is a grave mistake given the SAF & RSF often intensify their attacks around December of every year, using the lack of media attention getting closer to the holidays. But one of the dealiest took place just 2 days ago 1/
What was the military strategy behind the takeover of Damascus? We pieced together the videos to find out. @allegragoodwin.bsky.social @averyschmitz.bsky.social @gianlucamezzo.bsky.social @isaacyeephoto.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2024/12/09/w...
How the Assad regime fell so quickly | CNN
What was the military strategy behind the takeover of Damascus? CNN’s Katie Polglase and team analyzed over a hundred videos of the final push to take the Syrian capital, Damascus, finding that it cam...
cnn.com