Mickey Bergman shares behind the scenes stories of his tireless and creative work to free hostages held by foreign nations.  In many cases the U.S. had terrible relations with them (i.e., Russia) or no formal diplomatic relations (I.e., Iran and Myrnamar).  The resulting work required "fringe diplomacy," emotional intelligence, and a delicate balance of strength among shifting power dynamics.

                 On July 8, 2024, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) released a horizontal review of gatekeepers’ technical compliance related to corruption.  Although the Horizontal Review shows positive results with over half of FATF members having scores over 80%, seven FATF members have below the score of 50%. These jurisdictions represent more than half (50.89%) of the world’s GDP.

                 Over the last two weeks (end of June until July 12, 2024) various UN bodies, including the Secretary-General, Security Council, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) have voiced serious concerns regarding the Sahel. Terrorism and organized crime by violent extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State are a “pervasive threat” in Africa's volatile Sahel region and are spilling over to West Africa's coastal countries.

                The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its annual World Drug Report on June 26, 2024.  The report summarizes a somber but eminently foreseeable conclusion: drug use, its production, and the associated violence and environmental harm are on the rise.  Worldwide, drug use in 2024 has reached a record of 292 million users — amounting to a 20% increase over ten years.

        On July 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced[1] the seizure[2] of two domain names and the search[3] of 968 X (formerly Twitter) accounts used by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to spread disinformation. These fraudulent accounts often purported to belong to individuals in the United States. 

        On July 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it has settled a civil forfeiture case against a mansion in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles belonging to the family of Gagik Khachatryan, the former most senior official in charge of taxes and customs official in the Republic of Armenia.

        On Monday, July 8, 2024, the Court of Appeal in Metz determined that Ian Thomas Cleary can be extradited to the U.S. for pending sexual assault charges. When asked if he wanted to be extradited, per French Law, he refused.[1] Cleary’s refusal may delay the extradition process but will ultimately not prevent it, as the ruling is final. 

        On June 25, 2024, the Stedelijk Museum announced it would return a rare Henri Matisse painting to the heirs of Jewish textile manufacturer Albert Stern[2] [2] following a Dutch Restitutions Committee ruling. Prior to World War II, Matisse’s Odalisque 1920-1921 painting belonged to Albert and his wife Marie Stern’s private art collection. In recent years, the Stern family, represented by the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, worked with the museum to jointly submit their case to the Dutch Restitutions Committee. 

        On July 4, 2024, the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) expressed grave concern about Vietnam’s request to Thailand to extradite refugee and human rights defender Y Quynh Bdap, who co-founded Montagnards Stand for Justice, an organization advocating for Indigenous rights in rights in Vietnam. Y Quynh Bdap has lived in Thailand since 2018, where the UN High Commissioner for Refugees recognizes him as a refugee as he awaits resettlement to a third country.

            On June 11, 2024, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on one of Guyana’s wealthiest families: Nazar Mohamed, his son, Azruddin Mohamed, and their company, Mohamed’s Enterprise, as well as Guyana’s Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Labor: Mae Thomas, alleging public corruption.  OFAC additionally sanctioned Team Mohamed’s Racing Team and Hadi’s world for their connection to (owned or controlled by) the Mohameds.[1]   The Mohameds deny any wrongdoing.