Reuters reports that Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has hired Cleary Gottlieb, a Washington law firm skilled in debt negotiations, to help him on the path he hopes will bring him to power. The most immediate task for a potential restructuring is protecting Citgo, a U.S. refiner owned by PDVSA [Venezuela’s state-owned oil company]. The...
Category: Articles
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The Power Politics Behind the Blacklisting of Huawei
The rise of surveillance capitalism in the 21st century has been very good for the world’s intelligence agencies, and vice versa. Maybe too good. Google has become an indispensable partner of the National Security Agency. The CIA has “relied exclusively” on Amazon for a $600 million cloud computing system. Israel’s intelligence services have birthed a...
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Regime Change Illusions: Why the Venezuela Uprising Sputtered
When Manuel Figuera, the chief of the Venezuelan intelligence service (SEBIN), turned on the government of President Nicolas Maduro last week, the Trump administration thought their goal of regime change was in sight. If Figuera joined opposition leader Juan Guaidó’s government in exile, SEBIN could both control the country and secure recognition of Washington. With...
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JFK Records Suit Tests CIA Secrecy on Assassination
[“JFK Records Suit Tests CIA Secrecy on Assassination” by Jefferson Morley was originally published on April 29, 2019 on the Just Security blog.] On April 29, my attorney Dan Hardway filed a petition for certiorari asking the Supreme Court to review my case, Morley v. CIA. When I filed this Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)...
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TED Fellow Allegedly Led Attack on the North Korean Embassy in Madrid
Six years ago, human rights activist Adrian Hong commanded the stage at a TEDGlobal event in Scotland. As a guest host, the 27-year-old Yale graduate moderated a group discussion on “Forces of Change” highlighting what he called “the strong movements, energies and people that are driving major shifts in the world, particularly in Africa and...