Emanuele Ottolenghi — The Dispatch
Last month, Dutch authorities raided a lab in a small village where Colombian cartels turned charcoal-camouflaged cocaine briquettes back into drugs. The charcoal that most Americans burn in their barbecues is not the stuff they would normally associate with organized crime, yet evidence is mounting that in recent years charcoal—a key Latin American and African export—is fast becoming a cover to masquerade cocaine. Read more
Amid the psychological rubble of the Covid-19 crisis, strands of China’s ‘New Silk Roads’ have been fused into a web of debt. What was a high-risk game of loans is now threatening cash-strapped countries as they struggle to combat the deadly coronavirus outbreak. In short, the Belt and Road Initiative has gone from the jewel in Beijing’s foreign policy crown to what many see as a poison chalice during a catastrophic world event. Read More
The Islamic Republic can leverage the Maduro regime's ability to access sanctioned goods as payment for its services.
Toby Dershowitz and Dylan Gresik – FDD Policy Brief
New Explosion in Lebanon at Site That Belongs To Affiliate of Hezbollah
Tony Badran – FDD Policy Brief
Tony Badran and Emanuele Ottolenghi — FDD Memo
The government of Lebanon seeks an international bailout to save its financial system, which will require an estimated $93 billion rescue. The amount needed is astronomical. But even if a rescue were feasible, other systemic challenges remain. Lebanon’s financial system is rife with illicit finance. It is a conduit for money laundering schemes that fund Hezbollah and its nefarious activities, generating billions of dollars per year for the terrorist group. Read more
Aykan Erdemir – FDD Policy Brief