Foreign Policy Brief #221 | Abran C. | October 6-November 3
By Abran C.
US military buildup near Venezuela’s coast
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/us/politics/trump-caribbean-venezuela-us-military-maps.html
Since early September, the United States has carried out at least 14 strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean and Pacific. The US has now deployed fighter jets, warships and thousands of troops to the Caribbean. The military buildup in the region is the largest since 1994 when the United States sent two aircraft carriers and more than 20,000 troops into Haiti to take part in “Operation Uphold Democracy.”
The presumed goal of US action in the Caribbean is regime change in Venezuela and the interest in removing the current regime from power likely stems from Venezuela’s strategic importance due to its natural resource wealth. It is worth noting that the Venezuela winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Maria Cornia Machado, called on President Trump to stop Maduro’s war on her country.
President Donald Trump recently stated that Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s days in power were numbered, seemingly following on statements previously made where he and other officials announced the high likelihood of an expansion in strikes taking place against drug and military related targets within the country. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, recently stated that there was a likelihood of the US conducting military operations against both Venezuela and Colombia.
Meanwhile, Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said his country would not lend its territory or troops to aid US intervention in Venezuela. In response to the US military buildup Nicolas Maduro has ordered the Venezuelan armed forces, police and militia to deploy across 284 battlefronts across the country. Additionally 4.5 million members of Venezuela’s National Bolivarian Militia, an auxiliary force created in 2005 and made up of civilian volunteers and reservists, have reportedly mobilized to combat any incursion into the country.
War crimes in Sudan
UNFPA Women who fled the fighting in El Fasher wait for services at a UNFPA clinic in Tawila, Sudan.
Sudan’s ongoing three year brutal civil war last week witnessed a horrific phase of the war as paramilitary Rapid Support Forces took over the city of El Fasher in western Darfur. El Fasher was the last holdout in Darfur of the Sudanese Armed Forces. During the RSF’s invasion of the city, the group began a campaign of mass killing against civilians.In one instance condemned by the UN and international humanitarian groups who accuse the RSF of entering a hospital in El Fasher’s and killing everyone inside leaving at least 450 people dead. Experts estimate tens of thousands have been killed in the past week. More than 150,000 people have died since the conflict began, and about 12 million people have fled their homes in what the United Nations has called the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. In recent days the RSF has agreed to a proposal from the United States and Arab powers for a humanitarian ceasefire to allow in aid and is reportedly open to talks on a full cessation of hostilities. However it is worth noting that both the RSF and the Sudanese army have agreed to various ceasefire proposals during their nearly three year-long war, and none have held firm. The Trump administration has said it is putting efforts toward ending fighting in Sudan.
Hurricane Melissa hits the Caribbean
A man rests on a bicycle near destroyed houses in Black River, Jamaica, on Thursday [Matias Delacroix/AP Photo
Six million people in the Caribbean have been impacted by the recent deadly path of Hurricane Melissa according to the United Nations (UN).Multiple island nations including Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Cuba all suffered extensive damage and loss of life as a result of the monstrous storm. Hurricane Melissa made its deadly path with winds of up to 185 mph, with extreme rains and overwhelming storm surge causing widespread damage and panic across the Caribbean. The death toll in the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s path through the Caribbean stands at 75 and may rise as countries continue to assess the damage done. The majority of deaths have come from Haiti, with Jamaica, The Dominican Republic and Cuba following.
In the worst hit states, more than 43 deaths have been recorded and 16,000 people displaced in Haiti. In Jamaica 32 deaths have been counted and 60% of the island remains without power. Cuba suffered only a single loss of life but the hurricane caused widespread flooding, power outages, and damage to infrastructure. The US has announced it would be providing $24 million worth of aid to the affected countries. This funding will be used to provide shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene, food assistance, and emergency healthcare. Hurricane Melissa broke several records on its destructive path and became the most intense recorded storm to make landfall in the Atlantic this late in the season. Unusually warm ocean temperatures fueled the storm and similar warming ocean and atmospheric conditions make intense storms like Melissa more likely in the future.
Ukraine receives more patriot missiles
Police investigators inspect debris at a site of a dormitory building heavily damaged during an overnight Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Oct. 30, 2025. Photo by Stringer/ Reuters
Ukraine has recently received more US-made Patriot air defence systems from Germany to help it counter Russia’s daily missile barrages. However, President Donald Trump has ruled out sending Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for now despite repeated requests from Kyiv for the long-range cruise missiles to strike at Russian targets across the border. The Russian army made territorial gains in Ukraine in October as it focused attacks on the eastern Donetsk region. Russia is reported to have taken 286 sq miles from Ukraine in just the last month. Additionally it has stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, as it has done in previous winters since beginning the war. In early October Russia unleashed its largest-ever attack on Ukraine’s natural gas sector and sent a missile barrage that knocked power outacross a large swath of Kyiv and created blackouts in nine regions nationwide.
