
The United States and Israel launched what the Pentagon and witnesses in Iran described on Tuesday as the heaviest day of bombing since the war began, while Washington widened operations around the Strait of Hormuz and said it had destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels. The move further increased risks around the world’s most critical energy chokepoint, through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.

Brazil’s Supreme Court has authorized Darren Beattie, a Trump administration adviser focused on Brazil, to visit former President Jair Bolsonaro in prison on March 18, in another sign of how far Bolsonaro’s legal case has spilled into the international arena. The decision was issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the cases related to the attempt to overturn the 2022 election and Bolsonaro’s conviction for plotting against the democratic order.

The United States continued deporting migrants to Iran and Venezuela while increasing military and diplomatic pressure on both countries, according to official records, agency reports and data from organizations tracking removal flights. In Iran’s case, Washington resumed deportation flights to Tehran in September 2025 after decades without carrying out such transfers, in a shift that coincided with a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations.

Oil prices climbed above US$100 a barrel on Sunday in futures trading, reaching their highest levels since 2022 as the war in the Middle East, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and fresh production cuts among Gulf producers tightened supply expectations. Reuters reported Brent rose as high as US$111.04 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) touched US$111.24 in early trading. AP later put Brent at US$107.97 and WTI at US$106.22, both more than 16% above the previous close.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday opened the first Shield of the Americas summit in Doral, Florida, bringing together a group of like-minded Latin American and Caribbean leaders to unveil a new regional security alliance focused on fighting drug cartels. In his remarks, he said Cuba was “very much at the end of the line,” claimed Havana wanted to negotiate with Washington, and said his administration had formally recognized the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela as diplomatic ties between the two countries were being restored.

President Donald Trump declined Friday to comment on media reports indicating that Russia has been supplying Iran with intelligence on the positions and movements of U.S. troops, ships and aircraft in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Cuba is going to “fall pretty soon,” while making clear that his immediate priority remains the campaign against Iran, in remarks that widened the White House’s confrontational language toward both the Middle East and Latin America. Trump made the comments in a phone conversation with CNN anchor Dana Bash.

Lionel Messi made his first visit to the White House on Thursday, joining the Inter Miami squad as President Donald Trump honored the club for winning the 2025 MLS Cup, secured in December with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The United States and Venezuela’s interim authorities have agreed to restore diplomatic and consular relations, in a formal shift that ends a rupture dating back to 2019 and deepens the bilateral thaw that began after Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces in January. The announcement was made on Thursday by the State Department.

U.S. President Donald Trump will host leaders from 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries in Doral, Florida, on March 7 for the so-called Shield of the Americas Summit, a meeting the White House is framing as a forum on security, migration and hemispheric cooperation. The gathering comes amid a broader U.S. diplomatic and military push in the region and just weeks before Trump is expected to travel to China.