Bulletin From The Borderlands

1 June 2024

Note from Lethal Minds:

Bulletin From The Borderlands is a joint project between Lethal Minds and some of the most talented OSINT analysts and independent journalists working today. Our goal is to provide you with a clear, accurate, and informative view of the world, free from censorship or bias. The Bulletin will bring you the facts, our analysis, and our evidence. We hope you find our work helps you better understand the complicated and increasingly volatile world in which we live.

Be informed, be prepared, be lethal.

The Bulletin Team:

Analyze Educate : Brodie Kirkpatrick (Analyze & Educate) is a Marine Corps infantry veteran. He is a graduate San Jose State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. He runs Analyze & Educate, a podcast and associated social media pages discussing geopolitics, armed conflicts, news, and history. In his capacity with Lethal Minds he is the team lead for the Bulletin From the Borderlands, Americas Desk chief, and an editor.

The Expeditionary Intelligence Group : The Expeditionary Intelligence Group Instagram page is a project delivering flash news utilizing open-source intelligence combined with human asset contributions and geographic intelligence to provide the general public with objective bias-free global news that tells the whole story based on the facts and on-the-ground insights they feel are missing from a lot of mainstream news reporting.

The Defense Bulletin: Defense Bulletin is run by John M Larrier. As a civilian, I’ve closely followed strategic developments for close to a decade, but “launched” the Bulletin during the pullout in Afghanistan due to the extreme nature of the misinformation I saw my peers as well as others reading into. The lacuna that the general populace has about these now very prevalent subjects is the stated goal for Defense Bulletin

Robert “Bobby” Acuña is a graduate of Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi with both a BBA in Economics and a BA in Political Science. He was originally born in Subic Bay, Philippines but lived much of his life in Corpus Christi, Texas. He currently resides in Houston, Texas. Growing up in a military family, Robert developed a passion for politics as well as studying war history. Some of his earliest memories were watching World War II documentaries with his grandfather. This led him to his educational path in university. One of his favorite aspects of his collegiate career was political research. His most recent work was with The Modern Insurgent. He believes Bulletin On The Borderlands will help to fulfill that urge to understand and stay consistently aware of the geopolitical issues around the world. Outside of his interest in global affairs, Robert is an avid Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner and rugby player.

ALCON S2: A veteran of the New Zealand military intelligence community, if it walks, talks, or crawls in Asia, ALCON S2 knows about it. Cole is the preeminent source of OSINT for the Oceania and South East Asia region.

Jillian Butler: A lifelong writer and San Diego native. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and History at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. Upon moving back to San Diego, she received her master’s in International Relations at the University of San Diego where she centered her research around jihadi terror. She is also a contributing writer for Pop Smoke Media, American Grit, The Modern Insurgent, and Lethal Minds Journal’s Bulletin from the Borderlands. In her free time, she can be found surfing, training jiu jitsu, or improving her craft of cooking the perfect ribeye.

Sponsors

The Bulletin is brought you to by PB Abbate.

As you likely know, Lethal Minds Journal shares common ancestry with Patrol Base Abbate, one of the most impactful veteran’s outreach organizations in America. One of the ways in which we connect is through a love of the written word, a belief in the power of good writing to help give a voice to people who need to be heard, and a desire to help service members and vets connect through self-expression.

In This Issue:

The Americas : Covered in this issue by Brodie Kirkpatrick (Analyze & Educate) and Robert “Bobby” Acuña.

In Haiti, the Transitional Presidential Council is in power, but thus far has little to show for it. While they took weeks to find a new prime minister, gangs continued to assault the capital city Port-au-Prince, recently leaving two Americans dead. In the midst of the chaos, Haiti is still waiting for the arrival of Kenyan police officers to bring order to the country. In the U.S., as protests on college campuses over the Israeli invasion of Gaza continue, Robert Acuña looks at the history of the American left and the pro-Palestine cause.

Europe: Covered in this issue by Brodie Kirkpatrick (Analyze & Educate) and Jillian Butler. 

In Eastern Europe, recent reports have claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking to negotiate a ceasefire or peace settlement with Ukraine. Russia currently holds a number of advantages over Ukraine and for that reason, claims of Putin seeking to make a deal with Zelenskyy should be met with skepticism. In France, security is becoming a major concern for French voters as the European Union heads into parliamentary elections next month. 

East Asia and Oceania: Covered in this issue by John M. Larrier (Defense Bulletin).

Recent unrest in New Caledonia, a French territory in the Pacific Ocean. The root causes, the violent escalation, and the French government’s response, including the declaration of a state of emergency and subsequent restoration of control. Shifting focus to the East, China’s “Joint Sword 2024A” exercise around Taiwan in response to the inauguration of Taiwan’s new president.

Central Asia and the Middle East: Covered in this issue by Eric Sheppler.

The death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, and other officials, in a helicopter crash shocked the globe and left serious questions as to what the regional implications will be. While Iran is in a time of unplanned presidential transition, their proxy in Yemen, the Houthis, is still full steam ahead in their war against Israel, the United States, and their allies. 

Africa: Covered in this issue by Jillian Butler.

Jihadi terror continues to plague the continent of Africa.  In Mozambique, the Islamic state continues to conduct attacks in the Cabo Delgado area.  In Nigeria, Boko Haram is gaining traction again.

The Highlight: Marine Le Pen Back in the International Spotlight

The Americas

Brodie Kirkpatrick & Jillian Butler

Haitian Crisis Update

Despite the arrival of the Transitional Presidential Council chaos continues in Haiti. Expectations for the council were low and they have thus far met those expectations. After weeks of fumbling their first priority, a new prime minister has finally been nominated by the council and come into power. In the background of all the certainty regarding the council, gang violence has remained a major issue and now two Americans are dead. Haitians have been awaiting the arrival of a Kenyan-led peacekeeping force that still seems far out of reach after months of preparation. In other words, things have not gotten better for Haiti and likely won’t for some time. 

New Prime Minister

Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council was sworn in on April 25th. The immediate priority for the council was supposed to be choosing a new prime minister to replace Ariel Henry. The nine-member body chose to make former Sports Minister Fritz Belizaire the new prime minister, on the recommendation of council president Edgard Leblanc. However, after the council received backlash over the manner in which Belizaire was nominated, that nomination was soon withdrawn. This left the council to start their search from scratch.

The council was to originally only allow 15 applicants to apply to serve as the next prime minister. However, by the time the deadline hit to apply for the position on May 18th, at least 89 people applied. Council members were tight lipped regarding how they narrowed down the list. The list was shortened to 13 candidates and then eventually five. A public debate among the final five candidates was announced; however, after public calls for the council to make a decision and not pawn the process off on the public, a choice was finally made.  

Garry Conille has been tapped by the transitional council to serve as the prime minister until February 2026. Conille previously served in the role from 2011-2012. Since leaving office, he has served as a Latin America regional director for UNICEF. Only one of the seven voting members of the council did not vote for Conille’s nomination. The council will work with the new prime minister to fill his cabinet. As of right now, it is not clear how he and the council plan to work on the major issues plaguing Haiti.

Despite former PM Henry leaving office, Haiti’s major gang coalition, Viv Ansanm (Live Together), doesn’t appear to be standing down. The coalition’s leader, Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier, said on social media, “Viv Ansanm is ready to talk. It’s either we are all at the table, or the table gets destroyed with all of us”. With a public statement like that, one can only assume that the widespread violence around Port-au-Prince will only increase.

While the council has been taking its time in fulfilling its duties, the violence has continued. In mid-May, the 400 Mawozo gang destroyed most of the Croix-des-Bouquets prison near the U.S. embassy, allowing inmates inside to escape. That prison, which was built with funding from Canada in 2012, along with another prison to the north of the capital city have been major targets for gangs. Since the campaign began on February 29th, many have died or been wounded, tens-of-thousands have been displaced, and almost 1,000 schools have been closed in the capital city and neighboring Artibonite Valley.   

Americans Killed

On May 23rd, a couple from the United States were killed by armed gang members near Port-au-Prince. Davy, 23, and Natalie Lloyd, 21, were working in Haiti as missionaries when their mission was attacked by two separate armed groups. Along with them, the Haitian director of their non-profit, Missions In Hope, was also killed in the attack. 

Missions In Hope is based in the United States and the local mission is in the community of Bon Repos, roughly seven kilometers (four miles) from the capital city. The mission runs a school for 450 children, a children’s home, and a commercial bakery. Bon Repos, like many areas in and around Port-au-Prince, is completely controlled by gangs. David Lloyd, the father of Davy, said that “We haven’t had any problems”, when speaking about the operation of the missionary. He continued by saying that the mission has been able to operate on schedule every day and that they have never “been asked for any money to operate or stay open”.

On the morning of May 23rd, the Lloyds were ambushed after coming out of church by members of Terre Nwa (Black Land). Terre Nwa is a gang based in Sarthe that is led by Cathel Jones, an ally of the prominent G9 Families and Allies led by Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier. Jones himself was one of over 4,000 criminals that escaped during jailbreaks on March 2nd when gangs stormed the two largest prisons in the country. David says that his son and daughter-in-law were kidnapped by Terre Nwa and taken to their home, which was looted. 

After the gang members left, Davy made his way to his parents’ home on the mission to call his father. While he was on the phone, the mission was assaulted by a separate gang, led by a man identified only as “Jeff”. Gunmen soon entered the house they were sheltering in, along with their director Judes Montes, and killed the three.    

Kenyan Deployment

Haitian security forces continue to battle criminal elements every day. While they are often outmatched, government forces have made some progress in the capital city. Police and troops from the small Haitian Army recently secured and created a buffer zone around Toussaint Louverture International Airport. Those efforts included the demolishing of over 200 homes around the airport to deny attackers positions to fire from. On May 21st, the airport reopened to commercial air traffic for the first time since early March. Additionally, security forces have also been able to defend the Central Bank and National Palace from multiple, sometimes daily, attacks.

Haitian security forces and the Biden Administration have been waiting for the deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission. The Kenyan-led force of roughly 2,500 soldiers and law enforcement officers has been hit with setback after setback. While the deployment of Kenyan officers appears closer to becoming reality, it also seems far away.   

A small advance group of officers has already landed in Haiti and was expected to soon be followed by an additional 200 personnel. However, that main wave of officers never came. Kenyan sources are saying that the deployment has been held up due to insufficient barracks, insufficient communications equipment, a lack of armored vehicles, and a lack of funding (despite the U.S. pledging $100 million to the mission).

American military aircraft have been flying over and landing in Port-au-Prince in recent days. Some of those aircraft have been transporting civilian contractors who will construct the facilities that will house troops for the MSS mission. U.S. military aircraft have landed at the airport more than 37 times, carrying contractors and materials needed to support the mission. 

Despite this, some funding for the deployment has been held up. Senator Jim Risch and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul, both Republicans, have blocked more than $40 million worth of funding from being released to the State Department. The two Congressmen are angry with the administration over President Biden’s decision to use presidential drawdown authority, an emergency power, to clear a $60 military aid package to the mission. That package seeks to provide small arms and ammunition to the Haitian National Police and partially fund the MSS. In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Risch and McCaul said, “the administration is rushing to fund an undefined and indefinite engagement in Haiti without congressional approval”.

The MSS faces other issues as well. Kenya still has not provided the UN Security Council with the documents necessary to begin the mission. The council is still unclear on the structure and goals of the mission. Additionally, Kenya has still not conveyed to the Security Council what rules of engagement MSS forces will be expected to follow. Kenyan officials have said that the relevant documents are ready to be submitted to the UNSC, but it is not clear why that hasn’t been done already.  

The American Left and Palestine

Universities throughout the nation have begun to wrap up their 2024 spring semester amid various Pro Palestinian demonstrations causing many of these universities to move to online classes. Many universities have canceled in person graduations all together due to security concerns. This leaves many to wonder how we got to this point with the strong push of left-wing idealogues and their support of the Palestinian liberation movement? Many mainstream news outlets try to allude to this as a new phenomenon that grew from the days after the tragic October 7^th attacks. In truth, the intertwining of the movements goes deeper, dating back to the era of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. 

The New Left

The American Civil Rights movement, or the “New Left” of the 1960s, was famous for protesting the Vietnam War and fighting for racial equality. Many of these individuals consisted of a diverse coalition of various organizations and individuals from various backgrounds. Prominent organizations within this coalition were the Black Panther Party, Youth International Party, and Students for a Democratic Society. All three began as student and youth organizations that were linked to universities around the nation. This idea of the New Left referred to an increase in black and white leftists who believed in structural change in the U.S. Their tactics were driven by a sense of morality that resulted in protests, boycotts, and rallies that were emblematic of that time. 

The Coalition

Within these organizations, the idea of global imperialism became a focal point. It wasn’t enough to simply focus on the issues that pertained to the U.S., but global issues of inequality as well. Many of these organizations began to look beyond our domestic issues of the Vietnam War and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. One major issue that became an international topic of importance was the creation of Israel and hostile Arab-Israeli relations that had resulted from this. Black leftist groups like the Black Panther Party expressed early support for the Palestinian cause as they believed that their struggle against Israel had strong parallels to the black struggle against U.S. imperialism. Other groups like Youth International Party and Students for a Democratic Society had a harder time supporting the Palestinian cause as many of their own members were Jewish. Some of their members saw Israel as a cause of an indigenous people fighting to defend their ancestral lands. 

Civil Rights Movement and Palestine

The support of Palestinian liberation became particularly strong within black leftist groups as they developed a view of eradicating global imperialism. Many saw it as a common struggle for people of color around the world. Some saw it as a struggle for people of the “third world”. The foundation to these views was formulated by the leaders within the Civil Rights Movement. Malcom X who was a leader of the Nation of Islam harbored strong support for Palestine since the 1950s. Malcom X had made many trips to the Middle East and even visited Gaza, where he met with Palestinian leaders and visited refugee camps. He eventually wrote various pieces that criticized Israel and Zionism. Black leader Stokely Carmichael of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee reflected the same views that Malcom X had set forth, prompting the whole black activist movement to follow the support for the Palestinian liberation movement. The Black Panther Party deepened the ties between the Palestinian Liberation Movement and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. The group openly praised Hezbollah and Fatah for their “resistance” against Israel.

Predominantly White Leftist Groups

The support of Palestinian liberation in the predominately white organizations of the New Left was divided as many of them were themselves Jewish and had close relatives who fled the horrors of the Holocaust. Groups like SDS were torn on the issue. One leader compared the issue of Palestinians and Israelis to that of the Native Americans and white settlers of the United States. Other leaders chose to not involve themselves on the matter and decided to solely focus on the issues of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. The Youth International Party was the opposite. This organization, which was led by two people of Jewish descent, Jerry Rubin and Anita Hoffman, were strongly anti-Israel and anti-Zionist. All this showed a growing lack of cohesion between and within the groups. 

The Relevance Today

After the end of the Vietnam War and the end of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the New Left began to fracture and cease to exist as a cohesive force. Some individuals pursued more mainstream political activism, while others decided to entrench themselves further into radical thought. The legacy of the New Left and the pro-Palestine movement can be seen today. With the encampment protests at Columbia University, protestors occupied the Hamilton Hall building, like their New Left predecessors. The anti-imperialism doctrine that the New Left adopted which allowed many of them to learn about the Palestinian liberation movement, is still a view of the current left, which supports Palestine. The current left also embraces intersectionality, which the New Left was only beginning to do before its demise. Various left-wing organizations for various causes have adopted the idea of Palestinian liberation into their respective causes. For example, you see various LGBT, feminist, and minority group organizations including Palestinian liberation into their doctrine. From the historical ties of the Civil Rights Movement and the pro-Palestine movement, we see the same sentiment with the current Black Lives Matter movement. Many pro-Palestine activists marched with Black Lives Matter during the George Floyd protests of 2020. Currently many Black Lives Matter activists are doing the same for the various pro-Palestine protests and university encampment protests. As this is an ongoing conflict, we don’t know how the Palestinian liberation ideology will adapt and evolve within left-wing organizations in the U.S. What it does show is that its early adoption by the American left-wing proves that it will not go away, but continue to adapt through the years. 

Looking Forward

Unfortunately, while the situation in Haiti looks dire, it can always be expected to become worse. The Transitional Council has not inspired confidence in their ability to govern for the next two years and the potentially upcoming Kenyan deployment has hit roadblock after roadblock. Additionally, as Israeli officials have begun publicly stating that the war against Hamas will continue into 2025, social unrest in the West regarding the war will not likely disappear.