Since February 28, 2026, the war between Israel and the United States (U.S.), on the one hand, and Iran, on the other, has sparked counter-terrorism enforcement initiatives in the Middle East and Europe. In particular, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwaiti law enforcement dismantled a terrorist network allegedly funded by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iran, while European enforcement authorities are investigating Iran’s suspected involvement in terrorist attacks on Jewish sites across Western Europe.

At a European Union (EU) summit on March 19, 2026, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán continued to veto both an EU financial aid package for Ukraine and a sanctions package targeting Russia, much to the chagrin of the bloc’s leadership. Just shy of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Prime Minister Orbán announced that EU member state Hungary would oppose both a European Union (EU) financial aid package to Ukraine and the sanctions package intended for Russia. Slovakia soon followed suit.

On March 5, 2026, in San José, Costa Rica, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued its advisory opinion No. 30/2025 on state obligations regarding human rights with respect to illicit firearms trafficking. It was adopted on December 3, 2025, following a request from the Mexican government, submitted on November 22 of the same year.^[2] In Advisory Opinion 30, the IACHR held that there is a State duty of due diligence regarding activities that may result in the illicit trafficking of firearms.

In March, the United States (U.S.) Department of the Treasury published the 2026 Money Laundering Risk Assessment (NMLRA). While much of the assessment follows the topics covered by the 2024 Assessment, the 2026 version is shorter and emphasizes different themes. This fifth iteration of the NMLRA finds that the top money laundering threats have remained consistent—fraud, drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, human smuggling, and corruption generate the largest volumes of illicit proceeds for money laundering activity in the U.S.

On March 10, 2026, a Brazzaville criminal court found former Republic of Congo soccer federation president Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas guilty of embezzling $1.1 million in money from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and sentenced him to life in prison. However, he is currently on the lam.

In early March 2026, Ecuador and the United States (U.S.) began coordinated military operations against various criminal gangs across the Andean nation.[2] Currently, Washington is mainly focusing on advising Ecuadorian forces and police in anti-narcotics operations and assisting with intelligence and logistical oversight. Previously, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that the U.S.  may begin to conduct airstrikes against gangs and narcotics traffickers across Ecuador.

Salem Michel Al-Salem, a former colonel in the Syrian Air Force intelligence department, appeared in a London court on March 10, 2026, to face charges of crimes against humanity. The hearing marks the first time that murder charges as a crime against humanity have been brought by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) under the International Criminal Court Act 2001.

 On March 6, 2026, shortly before 6:00 p.m. local time (16:00 GMT), two missiles struck the headquarters of Ghana’s United Nations (UN) peacekeeping battalion in Lebanon, injuring three soldiers who are now in stable condition. In addition to the soldiers, the attack destroyed part of the battalion’s facilities, including the “officers’ mess facility.”

On March 10, 2026, with the help of Mexican law enforcement, the United States (U.S.) government was able to capture Samuel Ramirez Jr., 33, of Federal Way, Washington, in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico.  The capture occurred only one hour and thirteen minutes after the FBI announced the 538 additions to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List and raised the reward for information leading to his capture from $250,000 to $1 million.

On March 12, 2026, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine submitted its latest report to the United Nations Human Rights Council (OHCHR) at the sixty-first session.