United States International Relations

• U.S. Coast Guard Boards Tanker Carrying Venezuelan Oil - The vessel, which was flying a Panamanian flag, was not on a list of tankers under U.S. sanctions.
• U.S. and Venezuela Jam Caribbean GPS Signals to Thwart Attacks, Raising Flight Hazard - Military brinkmanship between President Trump and Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela has led to an increase in electronic warfare in the region.
• Rubio Meets (and Meets, and Meets … ) the Press - The secretary of state held a marathon news conference, offering little news but more respect for reporters than most others in the Trump administration.
• U.S. Strikes Islamic State Targets in Syria - American forces struck dozens of suspected ISIS sites, making good on President Trump’s vow to avenge two American soldiers and a civilian U.S. interpreter killed by the group last week.
• Trump Relies on Distortions to Support His Pressure Campaign on Venezuela - The president has a long record of making false or misleading statements. But the sheer density of them in his administration’s boat attacks and Venezuela pressure campaign is exceptional.
• E.U. Leaders Debate Plan for Ukraine Financed by Frozen Russian Assets - The European Council convenes on Thursday, and at stake is a contentious deal to back Ukraine and its war effort in 2026 and 2027.
• Venezuelan Navy Escorts Vessels in Defiance of Trump’s Blockade Threat - Pentagon officials, surprised by President Trump’s orders, scrambled to work out a plan to halt sanctioned tankers as Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s leader, vowed resistance.
• House Rejects Measure to Bar Strikes Inside Venezuela - The Democratic measure was defeated mostly along party lines, along with another resolution that would have halted the military’s escalating campaign of boat attacks.
• Tankers Under Sanction Are Only a Subset of Fleet Moving Venezuelan Oil - The scope of President Trump’s blockade against ships carrying oil from Venezuela was not clear on Wednesday.
• Trump Revised Chevron’s Venezuela Deal. Maduro’s Oil Trader Profited. - A firm controlled by a businessman sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for ties to President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela has sold millions of barrels from a Chevron-operated oil field.