The first wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the Trump administration over the United States (U.S.) military’s unprecedented series of missile airstrikes on civilian boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. On January 27, family members of Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, sued the U.S. government on claims of wrongful death and extrajudicial killing.

On February 17, 2026, four journalists investigating the surreptitious deportation of nine men from the United States (U.S.) to Cameroon and one lawyer were arrested and detained by local authorities, according to two of the journalists arrested. The journalists and a lawyer representing the detained migrants were seized by the police in the capital of Cameroon.

 On February 21, 2026, after nearly two years without a major audio message from its central leadership, the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) aired a 35-minute recording delivered by spokesman Abu Hudhayfah al-Ansari.

On February 18, 2026, a federal grand jury in the state of Nebraska indicted six individuals for their roles in a conspiracy to deploy malware and steal millions of dollars from ATMs in the United States (U.S.), a crime commonly referred to as “jackpotting.”

On February 20, 2026, the United States (U.S.) Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional the tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump imposed through various executive orders.  By a 6-3 vote, the justices ruled that the tariffs are beyond the powers confirmed to the president by Congress under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

On February 22, 2026, Mexico’s armed forces executed a high-impact operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, aimed at detaining Rubén “N” (a/k/a “El Mencho”),widely identified by United States (U.S.) authorities as Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the principal leader of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).

In 2025, Brazilian public institutions intensified measures aimed at strengthening public integrity and tackling corruption. In this context, notable developments included greater coordination among Public Administration bodies, stricter sanctioning enforcement, relevant judicial decisions, and new rules and guidelines designed to make compliance programs more effective and to increase transparency in leniency agreements. The key points are outlined below, with a focus on their practical impacts.

On January 7, 2026, the United States (U.S.) Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a summary judgment decision by the U.S. District Court, enforcing willful penalties against U.S. taxpayers. Most importantly, the decision by Judge Lewis J. Liman for the appellate court found the district court did not err in holding that “willful” as used in the statute encompasses reckless conduct.

On February 6, 2026, the United States (U.S.) Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Zubayar Al-Bakoush, an alleged participant in the September 11, 2012, terrorist attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, is now in U.S. custody and has been charged in federal court in Washington, D.C. He is the third person to be taken into U.S. custody in connection with the attacks.

On February 13, 2026, the United States (U.S.) Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) opened a new dedicated webpage to accept whistleblower tips on fraud, money laundering, and sanctions violations.