The Gaitenistas, otherwise known as the Gulf Clan, are Colombia's largest and richest criminal armed group. They formed nearly 20 years ago but have gained considerable strength since Colombia's landmark 2016 peace agreement with the Leftist FARC guerrilla group. Today, The Gulf Clan controls much of Colombia's Atlantic coast and is a key player in drug trafficking and migrant smuggling. All the while, they use coercive tactics to control the population.

My guest today, Elizabeth Dickinson, is Senior Analyst for Colombia at the International Crisis Group and author of a recent report on this group. In our conversation, she explains how this group emerged to become such a potent force in Colombia today and why it is thus far upending President Gustavo Petro's efforts to secure a so-called Total Peace for all of Colombia.

The Crisis Group report. 

Xi Jinping has dramatically reshaped China since coming to power in 2012. He is now effectively a leader for life, and throughout his time in power, he has molded Chinese politics and society to his own ideological predilections. Understanding this ideology, known as "Xi Thought," is crucial for comprehending how China perceives its role in the world today.

Steve Tsang, the director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London and co-author with Olivia Cheung of the new book "The Political Thought of Xi Jinping," provides a thorough analysis of the development and application of Xi's political ideology and its impact on China domestically and in its international relations.

We begin by discussing why understanding Xi Thought matters for comprehending China today. We then explore some of the key tenets of this ideology before engaging in a detailed conversation about an ancient Chinese imperialist ideology that Xi is reviving for the modern world.

Podcast guest Rosemary Salomone is the Kenneth Wang Professor of Law at St John's University School of Law and author of the book "The Rise of English: Global Politics and the Power of Language." The book takes readers around the world to show the political, social and cultural implications of English having been firmly established as the Lingua Franca. We kick off discussing how English became the dominant global language. We then discuss how reactions against the dominance of English are shaping domestic and international politics in interesting and sometimes unusual ways.   

The Commission on the Status of Women concludes this week at the United Nations. CSW, as it is known, is one of the major annual events at UN headquarters, second only to the opening of the UN General Assembly in September. But unlike UNGA, it rarely gets much media attention, at least not the kind of attention commensurate for a diplomatic gathering of its size.

Joining me to explain the key debates and discussion from the 68th Commission on the Status of Women is Michelle Milford Morse, Vice President for Girls and Women Strategy at the United Nations Foundation.  We kick off with a long conversation about the unique diplomatic dynamic surrounding international debates and discussions on gender equality--including why after years of progress, advocates for gender equality are now playing defense. We then discuss some of items that were on the agenda at CSW this year. 

The security and humanitarian situation in Haiti has gone from bad to worse over the last several days. The country, ensnared in an enduring crisis following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, now faces a critical juncture as violence led by gang coalitions escalates and state authority wanes. Amid this chaos, Prime Minister Ariel Henry signaled his intent to step down, agreeing to a transitional governing council. Meanwhile, a Kenya-lead prospective police mission under UN authorization remains in limbo, highlighting the urgency for immediate intervention to prevent further collapse.

Renata Segura, Deputy Director for Latin American and the Caribbean for the International Crisis Group, sheds light on Haiti's descent into chaos. This includes a recent surge in gang conflict which saw a temporary alliance aiming to confront the state's governance structures. This gang alliance has led to an unprecedented level of turmoil, targeting police stations, airports, and causing mass jailbreaks. Segura explains where this crisis may be headed next, and what the international community can do to prevent the crisis from getting even worse. 

• Haiti has entered a heightened state of crisis following a gang coalition that directly challenges state authority.
• Prime Minister Ariel Henry has agreed to transfer power to a transitional council composed of various Haitian political and civil society groups.
• The United Nations Security Council's multinational support mission, led by Kenya, is critical but currently faces significant challenges in deployment.
• Renata Segura emphasizes the importance of swiftly addressing the violence in Haiti before the state potentially fails completely.
• There is discussion around the prospect of integrating gangs into the political framework as a means to de-escalate conflict.

Artificial Intelligence is changing warfare. Fully autonomous weapons that can make their own decisions about what to target or whom to kill are already in limited use today. But the pace of development of AI suggests that these so-called "Killer Robots" may become more and more common in future armed conflicts. Meanwhile, the speed at which new AI technology is coming online far exceeds the ability of the international community to come up with guardrails that might place controls on fully autonomous weapon systems.

Guest Paul Scharre is the Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security. He is the award-winning author of Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. We kick off by discussing what we mean by autonomous weapons before having a longer conversation about what the future holds for AI in warfare, nuclear security, and how to secure sensible regulations on autonomous weapons and military uses of AI.

Paul Scharre in Foreign Affairs

Western countries have seized hundreds of billions of dollars of Russian assets following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago. Since then, the question of what to do with those assets has loomed large over debates about Ukraine.

Vladimir Milov is a Former Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation and now a Russian opposition politician. Milov makes a compelling case for the expropriation of these assets as a means to aid Ukraine's reconstruction efforts and explains the web of state-affiliated money hidden overseas. Vladimir Milov delves into the staggering amount of Russian capital funneled out of the country, shedding light on the possibility that a significant portion is controlled by entities with direct ties to the Russian state. He emphasizes the necessity of differentiating between clearly identified state-owned assets and the more obscured parastatal resources that play a role in the international economy. Milov also discusses the potential for substantial funds to be uncovered, which could dramatically aid in the reconstruction of Ukraine's war-damaged infrastructure and society.

Vladimir Milov's article for GlobeSec

Stuart Reid is the executive editor of Foreign Affairs and author of the new book "The Lumumba Plot: The Secret History of the CIA and a Cold War Assassination." The book tells the story of Congo's liberation from Belgium in the 1950s and 60s and the rise to prominence of Patrice Lumumba, Congo's charismatic independence leader. Believing Lumumba to be under the sway of the Soviet Union, the CIA hatched a plot to assassinate him at a time when Congo was falling into a chaotic civil war. Into this civil war, UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld dispatched a unique peacekeeping mission to restore order and died in a plane crash under mysterious circumstances.  Stuart Reid weaves each of these stories into a single compelling narrative that reads at times like a spy thriller. 

Alexander Ward ia national security reporter for POLITICO and author of the book "The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy After Trump." We discuss the implications of Mitch McConnell stepping down as the leader of the Senate Republicans and delve into the key themes and insights from Ward's important new book. We explore the concept of the "foreign policy for the middle class" and how it shaped the Biden administration's approach to foreign policy. Ward also examines the decision-making process behind the Afghanistan withdrawal and the administration's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Our conversation sheds light on the acrimonious relationship between Biden and Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, and the challenges of navigating international crises. The episode concludes with a discussion on the ongoing Gaza crisis and the potential impact of Trumpism on future foreign policy decisions.