GlobalPULSE: 24 FEB 2025

Report Summary

This weekly report provides a comprehensive analysis of critical events, emerging threats, and significant developments across our global watchlist countries. Our Geopolitical & Security Analysis Teams continuously monitor and assess incidents affecting regional stability, security, and business operations.

Key Global Concerns:

• Latin America faces increasing instability, with contested elections and legal disputes, including Evo Morales’ controversial candidacy in Bolivia and Venezuela’s lack of electoral transparency.
• The US designated multiple Latin American criminal organizations as terrorist groups, heightening pressure on governments to intensify counter-crime efforts.
• US-Russia talks on Ukraine, held without European participation, are raising concerns about Europe’s role in shaping the region’s security landscape.
• Israeli officials are openly considering airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, while Iran threatens retaliation, escalating tensions across the Middle East.
• Iraq is set to resume oil exports from Kurdistan, while Mozambique strengthens its energy sector. Meanwhile, Ghana faces urgent calls from the World Bank to address fiscal imbalances.
• The UN pushes for increased funding for Haiti’s security force, while the Dominican Republic extends its border wall, reflecting concerns over migration and crime spillover.
• Zimbabwe celebrates the EU lifting sanctions, but South Sudan’s peace process stalls amid rising violence. Kenya faces criticism for hosting Sudanese RSF leaders.
• European leaders react with alarm as US President Trump shifts policy, questioning aid levels and excluding Ukraine from negotiations. Calls for a European army grow.
• El Salvador rolls back its Bitcoin law, Guinea embraces blockchain innovation, and Myanmar cracks down on online fraud, highlighting the region’s evolving digital landscape.
• Peru suffers infrastructure failures, the Philippines braces for a dengue outbreak, and Argentina grapples with legal fallout over a cryptocurrency collapse.

Latin America remains on edge as political crises and security threats escalate. Bolivia and Venezuela’s electoral disputes signal further instability, while Brazil’s indictment of former President Bolsonaro raises concerns over military involvement in politics. The US has escalated its fight against transnational crime by designating major Latin American gangs as terrorist organizations, leading to security crackdowns. In Europe, tensions rise as the US engages in Ukraine-Russia talks without European input, while calls for a European army grow. In the Middle East, Israel and Iran inch closer to conflict, threatening regional stability. Africa faces economic shifts and governance challenges, from Ghana’s financial struggles to Zimbabwe’s evolving global standing. In Asia, rising protests, cybercrime, and humanitarian concerns define regional developments.