Brian Finucane
@bcfinucane.bsky.social
Senior Adviser, US Program, International Crisis Group. Editor at Just Security. Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Reiss Center on Law and Security at NYU Law. Ex State Dept Lawyer. War Powers| Use of Force| Counterterrorism| Law of War| War Crimes| Arms Sales
Seemingly separated at birth
November 18, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Seemingly separated at birth
In case you’re interested in analysis on the matter of regime change in Caracas from some folks with relevant subject matter expertise.
www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americ...
www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americ...
Beware the Slide Toward Regime Change in Venezuela | International Crisis Group
The Trump administration is dispatching military assets to the Caribbean and sinking boats it claims ferry drugs. While it appears the deployment is part of a plan to depose Venezuelan President Nicol...
www.crisisgroup.org
November 18, 2025 at 12:07 AM
In case you’re interested in analysis on the matter of regime change in Caracas from some folks with relevant subject matter expertise.
www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americ...
www.crisisgroup.org/latin-americ...
Following the distinguished trajectory of Judge Bybee.
November 17, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Following the distinguished trajectory of Judge Bybee.
Hmmm…I used to work with her.
November 17, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Hmmm…I used to work with her.
The lack of accountability for the torture lawyers helped bring us to this moment.
November 17, 2025 at 2:21 AM
The lack of accountability for the torture lawyers helped bring us to this moment.
Watched it last night and had the same reaction.
November 17, 2025 at 2:05 AM
Watched it last night and had the same reaction.
![The second Trump administration has already begun to cast drug trafficking organizations as terrorists and hint at possibly using the tools of counter-terrorism direct action. Effective February 20, 2025, the State Department for the first time designated eight drug trafficking organizations, six of them Mexican entities, as FTOs. Although this step does not by itself provide authority for the use of force, in the past it has paved the way to military action, including the strike on Soleimani. Certainly the rhetoric from key figures close to President Trump suggests that the administration views FTO designation as a stepping stone to using force. Soon after the designations were publicly revealed, Elon Musk commented on social media that listing “means they’re eligible for drone strikes.” The Trump administration’s “border czar” Tom Homan said in November that the president was “committed to calling [the cartels] terrorist organizations and using the full might of the United States special operations to take them out.” Secretary of Defense Hegseth recently emphasized on Fox News that “all options will be on the table if we’re dealing with what are designated to be foreign terrorist organizations who are specifically targeting Americans on our border.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:oqexhdqbizq24v6ikjhhig2h/bafkreidiqicgtxdl2iknfifmc43zufdfitrclmz2mcgzclkzm64eq2p5om@jpeg)
“There is no such thing, so Maduro can hardly be its boss," Phil Gunson, an analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, told AFP of the so-called "Cartel de los Soles."
Listen to my colleague Phil.
Listen to my colleague Phil.
November 16, 2025 at 11:14 PM
“There is no such thing, so Maduro can hardly be its boss," Phil Gunson, an analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, told AFP of the so-called "Cartel de los Soles."
Listen to my colleague Phil.
Listen to my colleague Phil.