On September 1, 2026, the Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council announced that it had concluded “the interrogation phase” of the 5,704 ISIS suspects who were brought from northeast Syria, and referred them to trial. The investigation involved the Karkh First Investigative Court and the National Center for International Judicial Cooperation, with support from several Iraqi security and government institutions. Officials from the Interior and Justice ministries, the intelligence service, the National Security Service and military intelligence participated in the process.

                On August 28, 20226, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed a rule that would revoke Banque Misr United Arab Emirate’(UAE)s correspondent banking access.  FinCEN’s action against Banque Misr UAE was taken under Operation Economic Outcast.  In addition, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Reza Mohammad Taeedi, the manager of Bank Melli’s Dubai branch.  OFAC also sanctioned a Hong Kong-based front company that has allegedly assisted laundering funds for a sanctioned Iranian exchange house.[1]

                In March 2026, two Ecuadorian fishing boats were sunk by small quadcopter drones that dropped explosives.  Both crews that were interviewed after the incident reported a “mysterious blue ship” and drones following them at a distance.  A day later, the boats were attacked without warning.  The drones, described as the size of a pillow and with a tube hanging from the center, either crashed into the boats or dropped explosives.  The drones hit La Negra Francisca Duarte II on March 17, and Don Maca on March 26.  At some point, both crews also mentioned a grey aircraft circling overhead.  Hernan Flores, captain of La Negra Francisca, described it as a mini plane with long wings.

                On  August 26, 2026, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his counterpart Mexican Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco and a high-level delegation in Washington, DC.  Each side emphasized different aspects of the meeting.  The Mexican side was much more positive than the U.S.

            On August 20, 2026, roughly twenty migrants (many from Latin America) arrived in Liberia.  The flight was part of an agreement under which Liberia has agreed to accept as many as 1,200 third-country deportees from the U.S. over the next year.  According to the Liberian government, the migrants are reportedly allowed to petition Liberia for asylum or leave at will.

                On August 13-14, 2026, Notre Dame law professor Jimmy Gurulé conducted training sessions at Mexico’s Directorate-General for Consular Protection and Strategic Planning, a division of the country’s Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (Ministry of Foreign Relations - MMFR).  Since Fall 2023,  the MMFR awarded the Exoneration Justice Clinic (EJC) of the Notre Dame law school a $3 million grant to administer the Program for the Defense of Mexican Nationals (PDM), a program that provides legal assistance to Mexican nationals facing criminal charges or wrongful convictions in the United States.

                On August 28, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturned a jury verdict that awarded $42 million against a Virginia contractor for the abuse of three Iraqis detained at Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 and 2004.  The same panel of the Fourth Circuit had upheld the jury verdict.  However, in June the U.S. Supreme Court restricted further the jurisdiction of federal courts over violations of international law.

                On August 13, 2026, the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy issued a report indicating the administration’s efforts for increased customs enforcement and changes to rules concerning country of origin as a way to stop allegedly illegal transshipment of goods, especially coming from China.  The 24-page report is entitled The Great Transshipment Scam: Rise, Scope and Costs.

               On August 12, 2026, President Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum establishing a federal program under which vetted United States companies may conduct Cyber Surveillance Operations and Cyber Effects Operations against foreign Cyber-Enabled Transnational Criminal Organizations (CE-TCOs).  The first are covert intrusions to collect intelligence; the second are operations that disrupt, degrade, or destroy a target’s systems.

               On June 23, 2026, the United Nations (U.N.) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report documenting the “brutality and magnitude” of conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan since the outbreak of hostilities in April 2023 through mid-April 2026.  The conflict has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with more than 11 million people displaced from their homes and 28 million facing acute hunger.  The U.N. report verified 546 incidents of sexual violence, affecting at least 838 victims: 539 women, 284 girls, eight men, and seven boys) in 16 of Sudan’s 18 states.