Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced Sept. 30 that he is ready to declare a state of emergency in response to aggression by the United States. Such a declaration would give the army control over public services and the country's oil industry, which Venezuelan leaders say the US is preparing to grab. The US has increased its naval presence in the Caribbean over the past weeks and launched repeated deadly strikes on civilian vessels in international waters off Venezuela. President Trump has claimed, without evidence, that the vessels were carrying drug traffickers. In a confidential notice sent to several Congressional committees and obtained by the New York Times, the White House said that the US is engaged in a formal "armed conflict" with drug cartels that his team has labeled terrorist organizations, and that suspected smugglers for such groups are "unlawful combatants." 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Oct. 6 convicted Ali Kushayb, a former Sudanese militia chief, on 27 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in massacres and other atrocities in Darfur region in 2003 and 2004. Guilty verdicts included for the war crimes of torture, murder and rape, as well as multiple crimes against humanity, including forcible population transfers.

After months of US-led negotiations, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (known collectively as the Quad) issued a "roadmap to peace" in Sudan, starting with a push for a three-month "humanitarian truce." However, despite the agreement with the main regional backers of the two sides in the war, fighting continues between the Sudanese armed forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). On Sept. 19, a week after the "roadmap" was announced, an RSF drone strike on a mosque in  El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur state, left more than 70 people dead. (TNH, BBC News)

The United States decertified Colombia as a reliable partner in the War on Drugs on Sept. 15, citing a rise in coca cultivation and cocaine production. While the White House waived the crushing sanctions that usually come with decertification, the decision underscores the strained relations between the US and Colombia under President Trump. Alongside Colombia, the administration also decertified Afghanistan, Bolivia, Myanmar, and Venezuela, waiving sanctions for the last three.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Sept. 4 warned of a deteriorating rights situation in Mali amid a growing atmosphere of repression. The high commissioner urged the military junta to promptly rescind legal changes that have "slammed the door shut" on a return to democratic rule, and called for the unconditional release of all wrongly detained persons. Türk stated: "The laws enacted in recent months risk undermining respect for human rights in Mali for a protracted period. I urge the transitional authorities to take immediate and concrete steps to revoke the problematic laws."

Future plans for the Gaza Strip currently circulating among United States government officials call for for the relocation of the entire population to make way for construction of tourist resorts and tech industry hubs under a decade of US administrative control, according to a Washington Post exclusive published Aug. 31. The 38-page document obtained by the newspaper includes full-color artist renderings of the envisioned "Riviera of the Middle East." The prospectus, yet to be officially approved, would see the US take the Strip under trusteeship for at least 10 years, overseeing "voluntary departures" of the residents to third countries or into "restricted" zones within the territory. A "Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration & Transformation Trust" (GREAT Trust) would be established to coordinate the effort.

The public prosecutor of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) formally requested the death penalty for former president Joseph Kabila on Aug. 22 during proceedings before the High Military Court in Kinshasa. The military auditor general, Lt. Gen. Lucien René Likulia, argued before the court that the former president should face capital punishment for his role in war crimes, including homicide, rape, deportation and torture. Additionally, prosecutors sought a 20-year sentence for condoning war crimes and 15 years for conspiracy, for his role in enabling armed violence in eastern Congo.

Three US Aegis guided-missile destroyers have been dispatched to waters off the coast of Venezuela, as part of what the Trump administration calls an effort to counter threats from Latin American drug cartels. The mobilization follows Washington's decision to increase the bounty for the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, doubling it to an unprecedented $50 million. Last week, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the seizure of assets worth $700 million from the Venezuelan head of state.