Research Associate @quincyinst. MA Graduate @GeorgetownCLAS. Words: @foreignpolicy @guardian @thehill @theintercept @rstatecraft
Washington, DC
Joined June 2015
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In my latest for @thenation I give Dems a post-midterms roadmap to contain the Donroe Doctrine—from boat strikes to land operations, election interference, Venezuela & Cuba—and discuss the tools they have to pursue it, arguing their efforts matter even as the admin pushes ahead👇
Democrats have the tools to challenge Trump’s military interventions and electoral interference in Latin America—if they’re willing to use them. thenation.com/article/world/…
“One of the issues the Republicans took a shellacking in the midterm elections was the war with Iran. Why go into Cuba? Sure, the Republicans kept most of Florida, but that will not be enough for Rubio to win the presidency.” - @asgomez1 @WPLGLocal10
CUBA LATEST: What will happen with Cuba under the Democrats? Click the link below for Local 10 Cuba Analyst Dr. Andy Gomez's take. local10.com/news/world/2026/…
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“My concern is that this new Bukele-Prince model, backed by the US, will become the new security model: Bukele provides troops, Prince provides training/drones, and they act as Trump’s proxies, carrying out security operations w/o the US officially being involved" - @romainlecour
"A source close to the UN warned that the situation was increasingly dangerous. 'You have all these different actors with heavy weapons. It’s a nightmare to think about how that will work in terms of deconfliction. We really are now in a wartime footing.'" thenewhumanitarian.org/analy…
"A source close to the UN warned that the situation was increasingly dangerous. 'You have all these different actors with heavy weapons. It’s a nightmare to think about how that will work in terms of deconfliction. We really are now in a wartime footing.'" thenewhumanitarian.org/analy…
"The [CIA officers] generally wore tactical gear & were armed during operations...in several cases, they wore jackets with Chihuahua State insignia...[After the crash], Mr. Zuany instructed agents to...ensure they were not wearing Mexican government insignia, 2 ppl present said."
The CIA needed a foothold on the Mexican side of the border.
So they turned to a Mexican official who had just had his U.S. visa revoked for suspected ties to cartels.
@Stevelfisher and I take you inside the covert CIA operations in Mexico:
nyti.ms/4k9tyLk
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"So long as countries hitch their tails to President Trump's kite, the US-led Shield of the Americas promises to usher in security and prosperity across the hemisphere. US voters have sent that kite careening, and some of Trump’s allies in the region may be going down with it."
Latin America elected a tide of Trump-friendly leaders. Many of them are already in trouble. bloomberg.com/news/newslette…
"The near-total collapse of mining exports...international tourism...& medical services exports...stems largely from the escalation of US sanctions: the de facto oil embargo...financial sanctions...& diplomatic pressure on govts that hired medical brigades.preview.mailerlite.io/emails…
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After dispatching thousands of special forces, will Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele finally bring peace to Haiti?
@JakobJohnston, @MPaarlberg & @GI_TOC’s Sophie Rutenbar will offer their analysis on this @QuincyInst panel
Thurs 11/19—2pm ET
Register⬇️quincyinst.org/events/will-b…
"On 11/5, @USEmbassySV sent a formal protest in a diplomatic note to Bukele's gov't, saying the US 'strongly opposes this lack of coordination by Salvadoran military personnel.' The note said that 'Salvadoran small arms fire' struck the US embassy, 'nearly hitting US personnel.'
El Salvador's military deployment in Haiti is exposing the divisions in Washington. Trump gave the okay to Bukele, but Rubio and the State Department are pissed.
Yesterday, Rubio didn't even mention El Salvador when talking about Haiti, saying "there's no plan B" if the GSF doesn't work.
Today, @MarcACaputo provides details on some of the behind the scenes fighting ...
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In @RStatecraft, I argue that the same reasons why Washington has not taken kinetic action against Havana thus far continue to hold after the Democrats' midterm romp, regardless of Rubio's next moves, Stephen Miller's promotion, and Trump's latest threats.responsiblestatecraft.org/tr…
PM @gastonbrowne: "We had decided to support Cuba on [the UN] resolution and changed our position because we had a call from @StateDept advising us that they’re making progress in [visa] negotiations & if we supported Cuba, it'd undermine the negotiations" caribbeannationalweekly.com/…
Doesn't exactly sound like Rubio, assuming he remains in the admin, will now opt for military pressure against Havana—even after Stephen Miller's promotion—but rather continue to escalate sanctions, pursue covert options, and avoid collapse through aid and private food/fuel sales
⚠️⚠️Rubio promete hacer “todo lo que podamos” por un cambio de rumbo en Cuba
“Nuestro objetivo es que #Cuba tenga un futuro mejor, y vamos a hacer todo lo que podamos para ayudar a encaminarla hacia ese futuro”.
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"Peña’s removal demonstrated a limit to the benefits of signing on to Trump’s regional agenda...Every right-wing leader must [now] look out for themselves. Failing to defend an ally from removal showed that Trump’s friendship is personal in rhetoric but transactional in practice"
Santiago Peña was a close Trump ally, yet when a bank collapse cost him Paraguay’s presidency, Washington made no effort to save him—showing that Trump’s friendship is personal in rhetoric but transactional in practice.
wpr.pub/4z2NXp3
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Betancourt denied reports that some NABEP contractors/workers have gone unpaid. 2 people familiar with the company’s finances said sustained delays in oil shipments last year because of a US blockade on the country caused disruptions and operational delays washingtonpost.com/world/202…
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"Prosecutors say Peña & Ueno executives worked in tandem: Govt funds gave the bank liquidity, as Ueno was lending huge sums to insider-owned companies. This fueled the conglomerate’s breakneck expansion
“Instead of pumping the brakes, they pressed the accelerator,” said @PyBorda
NEW for The New York Times w @aellick
How Ueno Bank and its Elon Musk wannabe came crashing down, throwing Paraguay into turmoil
“This is a tale of a death foretold,” said elder statesman Dionisio Borda. “It’s a naked fraud of the Paraguayan people.”
nytimes.com/2026/11/09/world…
“Three people said Jeremy Lewin was forced out of his job in part due to concerns that he was working on matters outside his area without proper coordination. Rubio/others within @StateDept were frustrated with his "freelancing" & going against "certain directives from @SecRubio”
EXCLUSIVE: Rubio seeks to impose order at State as Republicans look ahead to 2028 reut.rs/48G6i0q
...and Paraguay's Senate just unanimously impeached Peña—stripping him of immunity—as prosecutors open criminal probes against him & VP Pedro Alliana, who will be sworn in as the country's new leader, and the US/OAS ask citizens to maintain peace + respect democratic institutions
Paraguay's leader was a darling of the Trump administration. Now, a banking scandal has swept him out of office
responsiblestatecraft.org/pa…
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"As Rubio is finding out the hard way, moments of total regional alignment are rare; a bit like eclipses, they are fleeting, a coincidence in time. Peña’s demise comes as Latinos in the US have spoken loud and clear against Trump’s policies in this week’s midterms" - @JPSpinetto
The sudden downfall of one of the Trump administration’s staunchest allies in South America is a sharp blow at an awkward time, not least for Marco Rubio, says @JPSpinetto bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
Re-upping my piece in @thenation urging the new Congress to contain the Donroe Doctrine + craft an affirmative regional agenda that stops illegal boat strikes, scrutinizes joint land operations, ends election meddling, restores Venezuela's sovereignty & lifts Cuba's fuel blockade
In my latest for @thenation I give Dems a post-midterms roadmap to contain the Donroe Doctrine—from boat strikes to land operations, election interference, Venezuela & Cuba—and discuss the tools they have to pursue it, arguing their efforts matter even as the admin pushes ahead👇
Marco Rubio says that the high price of gas at the pump "is the price of leadership—is the willingness to do things that may not be politically popular or expedient but are necessary for [our] country and its long-term future.”
Voters resoundingly rejected that worldview Tuesday
We sat down with Marco Rubio in the White House this afternoon.
He dismissed reports that he was planning to leave the Trump adminstration and refused questions about his political future.
More to come...
w/ @AKurmanaev
nytimes.com/2026/11/05/us/po…
