“Trump wanted Venezuela off the front page as a problem solved. Six months later, it’s an open sore.” My new piece in @RStatecraft: June 24 earthquakes sprung #Trump’s #Venezuela trap. responsiblestatecraft.org/venezuela-ea...

The earthquake sprung Trump's Venezuela trap

The administration designed the January arrangement to get the things it wanted without the burden of actually running a broken country. Now, the burden has been established anyway.

responsiblestatecraft.org

Washington is once again betting on a strategy that failed more than six decades ago: using economic sanctions to force political change in Cuba. Yet, while attempting to isolate the regime, it also hinders reforms and pushes Havana toward China.

Latinoamérica21@latinoamerica21.bsky.social · 4w ago

⚖️ Washington 🇺🇸 vuelve a endurecer las sanciones contra Cuba 🇨🇺. 🤔 ¿Pueden nuevas sanciones provocar un cambio político o terminar fortaleciendo las alianzas de La Habana con potencias como China 🇨🇳? ✍️ Orlando J. Pérez ➡️ latinoamerica21.com/es/washingto...

What's really driving Latin America's rightward elections www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

Latin Americans are voting for less crime, not rightwing statism

Latin America’s recent rightward electoral shift reflects voter frustration with crime, corruption and economic stagnation more than ideological change.

dallasnews.com

Here’s the problem with Graham Platner: Democrats looking for “authentic” non-politicians who curse & are “regular” people. Well, “regular” folks lead imperfect lives. I’m not excusing what he’s said or done. But know the thought of a “regular” beer drinking cursing guy is often better than reality.

In #Texas: #Democrats nominated the one person that might actually be able to win a statewide race for US Senate. And #Republicans nominated the one person that might actually be able to lose a statewide race! We’ll see. Regardless, it’s going to be closer than it should be…It’s Texas!

The Trump admin's 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy explicitly names the Trump Corollary "the blueprint for a modern Monroe Doctrine." The hemisphere is now the first CT priority, ahead of the Middle East. Washington has formalized its imperial playbook. justthenews.com/sites/defaul...

#Maine: is Graham Platner the Christine O’Donnell of 2026? 🤔

Washington’s leverage in Venezuela is real, but it has been calibrated to ensure compliance with American priorities, not democratic change, Orlando J. Pérez (@perez1oj.bsky.social) writes.

Venezuela Is Consolidating Its Hybrid Regime | WPR

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez is fulfilling the Trump administration’s priorities. Democracy is an afterthought.

worldpoliticsreview.com

#Hungary | Important to note the value of EU & NATO membership in mitigating Orbán's authoritarianism. Hungary's membership likely prevented Orbán from fully emulating Putin. It was also likely a consideration for why he conceded so quickly. International institutions matter!

#Hungary | The architect of Europe's "illiberal democracy" has been voted out, despite #Trump's support, JD Vance's visit to Budapest, and documented Russian interference. vtr.valasztas.hu/ogy2026

Please join us April 2 at 2 pm ET for a panel on US-VZ political, economic & security relations 90 days after the bombing of Caracas, hosted by my colleague Lee Schlenker, featuring @frrodriguezc.bsky.social Julia Buxton of Oxford Analytica and @perez1oj.bsky.social. quincyinst.org/events/what-...

What is the New Paradigm of US-Venezuela Relations Post-Maduro?

Join us for a conversation on the ongoing state of affairs in Venezuela.

quincyinst.org

@justsecurity.org published my article: The Shield of the Americas Is the Trump Corollary’s Military Edge www.justsecurity.org/133705/shiel... "The Shield of the Americas rests on a core premise: that cartels are military problems requiring military solutions. This is a misdiagnosis."

The Shield of the Americas Is the Trump Corollary’s Military Edge

The Trump administration's policies in Latin America create serious consequences for sovereignty and civil-military relations.

justsecurity.org

Colleagues & I published article examining how Canada, Denmark, and Panama have adapted to Trump's transactional approach. While the US might gain short-term concessions, its actions risk long-term fragmentation of alliances. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... academia.edu/165185070/Ca...

Canada, Denmark/Greenland and Panama’s Response to the US’s Trumpian Moment

The second Trump administration’s aggressive transactional approach has pressured Canada, Denmark/Greenland and Panama. This has prompted each to adapt. Jean-François Bélanger, Thomas Crosbie, Matt...

tandfonline.com

These are the tangible results of #EpicFury and "Decapitate & Delegate."

My big takeaway from the invasion of Iraq—which I regret having supported—is that the US should go to war only when it has to. It should not engage in preventative wars against nebulous threats based on suspect intelligence and without a clear endgame. Yet here we go again. wapo.st/4seF5K1

Opinion | There is no reason to think this war with Iran is necessary

Trump criticized the Iraq War. Now he’s making the same mistakes.

wapo.st

A president who undermines democracy at home cannot credibly promote it abroad.

Killing, arresting, or targeting unpopular & unsavory leaders (as long as they're not named Putin or Xi, of course!) is easy & popular...building functioning democracies is the hard part.

I guess he’s decided the Nobel Peace medal he got from Maria Corina Machado was good enough…🤷🏻‍♂️

I wonder if people who voted to end endless wars are enjoying their coffee today 🤷🏻‍♂️

I was asked by @dallasnews.com to write a piece on the consequences of the recent killing of #ElMencho. www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

After El Mencho’s death, what happens in Texas?

The killing of El Mencho was a symbolic victory for Mexico and Washington, but Texas and the U.S. should be prepared to what happens nex

dallasnews.com

#Trump’s #BoardOfPeace isn’t a peace project. It’s a coalition of illiberal regimes. Using #freedomhouse (FIW 2025), only 3 of 26 members are Free; 10 are Partly Free; 13 are Not Free. Median score: 32/100. That’s not peacekeeping, it’s executive dealmaking with human rights optional.

“Performative punitivism” is punishment as political theater: leaders stage harshness to signal control, win approval, and shift debate away from the hard work of governance. The point isn’t just deterrence. It’s optics—viral images, tough slogans, and a simplified story of “order restored.”

My latest, “In a post-Maduro Venezuela, the U.S. project amounts to managed authoritarianism: continuity government, calibrated repression, and transactional compliance, with transition reduced to timetable management rather than any democratization.” warontherocks.com/2026/01/afte...

After Maduro: Trump’s Managed Authoritarianism Trap in Venezuela

It’s early days, but the Trump administration’s approach to a post-President Nicolás Maduro Venezuela is quickly coming into focus. This is not externally

warontherocks.com

“Es difícil ver cuándo y cómo llegamos a un gobierno legítimo electo democráticamente”, asegura el profesor @perez1oj.bsky.social de la Universidad del Norte de Texas. ¿Cuál es la situación actual de Venezuela? 🎧 Escucha aquí: elhilo.audio/279

¿Es la captura de Nicolás Maduro el fin de un régimen o la continuación del chavismo sin su principal figura? Esta semana analizamos con @perez1oj.bsky.social, profesor de la Universidad del Norte de Texas, el ataque militar de Estados Unidos a Venezuela y sus implicaciones. 🎧 elhilo.audio/279

I argue, "U.S. messaging right now is going in the wrong direction. Talk of “running” Venezuela is politically toxic across Latin America and strategically counterproductive inside #Venezuela." www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

Maduro’s arrest will not deliver democracy unless Washington changes course

Nicolas Maduro’s arrest will not deliver democracy unless Washington changes course. A loyalist-led transition would leave Venezuela unstable and the U.S....

dallasnews.com

President Trump shocked the nation and the world early Saturday when he announced that the U.S. had captured the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and intended to “run the country.” Here’s what we know.

What We Know About the U.S. Operation in Venezuela

U.S. forces carried out an audacious raid on the country’s capital, seizing President Nicolás Maduro. President Trump said the United States now intends to “run” Venezuela.

nyti.ms

The actions in #Venezuela this morning are clear indications that the #Trump Corollary has made Latin Americans virtual spectators in the geopolitics of their region. The US is again exercising international “police” powers. The signal is clear: Latin America is “our backyard.”

I wrote for The Dallas Morning News: "Put together, the pardon and the interference tell #Hondurans something corrosive: What matters in Washington is not your rule of law, but your loyalty." www.dallasnews.com/opinion/comm...

And Crockett’s ambition & hubris led her to fall for it! 🙄 www.notus.org/senate/jasmi...

An ‘AstroTurf Recruitment Process’: National Republicans Propped Up Jasmine Crockett to Push Her Into a Senate Run

The NRSC started including Crockett’s name in polling and conducted “a sustained effort” to get Crockett, the party’s preferred candidate to run against, into the race.

notus.org