BLACKWATER USA | DAILY BRIEF - Blackwater Worldwide

Posted by BW Actual on Sep 12th 2025

South Sudan

South Sudan charged its First Vice-President, Riek Machar, and seven of his allies with treason and crimes against humanity in connection with attacks a loyal militia perpetrated in March against soldiers under President Kiir's command.
Kiir and Machar led rival sides in South Sudan's five-year civil war before agreeing to co-lead a fractious compromise government together.
They never quite put their differences behind them. When Machar - who has been under house arrest since March - complained this week that the charges against him were "designed to dismantle the peace agreement" he and Kiir signed in 2018, the notion that there was anything left of the peace deal to dismantle seemed fanciful.

Mexico

Under pressure from Pres. Trump, Mexico announced plans to side with its northern neighbor over China by more than doubling its tariffs on a wide range of Chinese imports to 50%.
That's somewhat pragmatic, given that Mexico imports more than twice as much (by value) from the U.S. as it does from China. But it irked China, whose Ministry of Commerce said the move would be "seen as appeasement and compromise toward unilateral bullying" and urged Mexico to "think twice."

Iran

While Iran recently agreed to let UN experts resume inspections of Iran's nuclear program - part of a plea to forestall a snapback of painful UN sanctions - its foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, now says inspectors won't have access to enriched nuclear material because those stockpiles are still "under rubble" due to damage from U.S. and Israeli airstrikes in June.
Araghchi said the enriched stockpiles will be off limits to inspectors "until Iran carries out the necessary measures related to environmental and safety concerns" and its Supreme National Security Council has signed off on resuming inspections.
Iran has a strong incentive to stall inspections, and will probably stretch this excuse out as long as it can.

Yemen

Israel carried out another round of airstrikes on what it said were Houthi military targets in Yemen. The Iran-backed Houthis said Israel's strikes hit "purely" civilian sites.

Gaza

Qatar's prime minister said Israel's strike on Hamas leadership in Doha this week "killed any hope" of a hostage deal.

Brazil

As looked likely, Brazil's Supreme Court convicted former President Jair Bolsonaro on charges of plotting a coup to keep power after losing his reelection bid in 2022, and sentenced him to 27 years in prison.
One justice dissented from the other four, and the trial was highly politicized. Bolsonaro vowed to appeal.

Russia

The UN Security Council - on which Russia yields veto power - will hold an emergency session today to discuss the intrusion of 19 Russian drones into Polish airspace late Tuesday night.
Russia dubiously claims the incursion was accidental, and will surely use its permanent membership on the Security Council to block any meaningful repercussions.

Belarus

Belarus's strongman, Aleksandr Lukashenko, freed 52 political prisoners "at the request of the President of the United States."
Over the past few months, Pres. Trump has steadily pressured Lukashenko to release more of his estimated 1,300 political prisoners with a combination of carrots and sticks, and this latest round of releases suggests Trump's campaign is working.
In return, the U.S. relaxed some sanctions on Belarus's state-run airline, Belavia, to allow it to invest in maintaining its aging fleet.