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"Trump-Musk feud revealed two massive national security concerns."

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View this email in your browser. June 12, 2025 Hello, everyone. Today at WPR, we’re covering the security issues revealed by the Trump-Musk feud and how lab-grown synthetic diamonds are threatening Botswana’s economy. But first, here’s our take on today’s top story: Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, April 14, 2025 (pool photo via AP). U.S.-El Salvador: An investigation by ProPublica published today revealed that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s administration cut a deal with leaders of the MS-13 gang in the early years of his presidency. According to U.S. and Salvadoran officials, his government then impeded a U.S. task force investigating the deal, prevented the extradition of gang leaders that could have served as witnesses to the negotiations and made an agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump that shielded him from further scrutiny. (ProPublica) Our Take: ProPublica’s investigation builds on information that was already known. But the additional revelations in ProPublica’s in-depth and well-sourced report amount to a bombshell both for... Subscribe to WPR to read our take on today’s top story. The spectacular falling out last week between U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the billionaire who became one of his closest aides, put the spotlight on two dangerous developments affecting U.S. national security. The breakup provided Schadenfreude to the two men’s critics and delivered entertainment value to social media audiences across the world. But it also revealed crucial vulnerabilities deriving from the ways in which important elements of U.S. military and intelligence operations, among others, have been personalized in both men’s hands. While this is particularly alarming for the U.S., its repercussions extend beyond U.S. borders, to U.S. allies and others, columnist Frida Ghitis writes.

The Trump-Musk Feud Revealed Two Massive National Security Concerns

By Frida Ghitis The spectacular falling out last week between Donald Trump and Elon Musk highlighted two dangerous developments affecting U.S. national security. ***** Diamonds are losing their sparkle, at least for the stones dug out of the ground. The rapid development of lab-grown synthetic diamonds increasingly looks like it will deliver a death blow to diamond mining, with major repercussions for countries that built their economies on the sector. The basic problem is that lab-grown diamonds are now virtually indistinguishable from natural stones. What’s more, labs can now make a diamond in a few weeks and at a fraction of the cost. As mining diamonds is usually complicated and expensive, the diminished payoff is making the economic calculus unsustainable. For the countries like Botswana that depend on diamonds for their economic wellbeing, that has now become a major problem, Duncan Money writes.

Synthetic Stones Are Sinking Botswana’s Diamond-Based Economy

By Duncan Money Botswana’s economy was built on diamond mining. Now that lab-grown synthetics are cheaper and faster to get, it’s all crumbling down. Argentina’s Supreme Court rejected an appeal by former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner after a lower court had found she defrauded the state during her time as president from 2007 to 2015. She was sentenced to time in prison—likely to be served under house arrest—and is barred from public office for life. Kirchner, who recently announced her intention to run for president again, has denounced the charges and sentencing as politically motivated. This week’s question: Should former heads of state be largely immune to prosecution for anything but high crimes in order to prevent the possibility of politicized charges and prosecutions? Yes. No. We’ll select one person from those who answer the question above to receive a free month of full access to WPR. The World Bank said yesterday it would lift its ban on funding nuclear power projects, a move that clears a longstanding obstacle for economically developing countries seeking alternative energy sources to fossil fuels. The shift also comes amid a resurgence in interest in nuclear power as a way to meet decarbonization goals. And yet, the nuclear power revival faces other obstacles besides funding. As Yanliang Pan and Miles A. Pomper wrote in 2023, sanctions on Russia mean that many countries will have to rely on a limited number of Western, Chinese and South Korean companies for development, and it is unlikely they will be able to meet demand without putting nuclear safety at risk.

The Nuclear Power Revival May Need to Slow Down

By Yanliang Pan and Miles A. Pomper April 17, 2023 | Decoupling from Russian energy exports means the United States and Europe are now moving toward nuclear power—fast. ***** Yesterday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro signed a decree that will put a 12-question referendum on labor reforms before voters in August, bypassing legislative opposition that had both prevented him from passing the measures into law and rejected the referendum itself. Petro promised to submit the decree to Colombia’s Constitutional Court for approval before going ahead with the referendum. Petro had threatened to put the issue directly before voters before Congress rejected it, believing it to be a win-win gambit on reforms that should be popular with Colombians. And yet, as James Bosworth wrote last month, his tainted brand could still derail the reforms even as a referendum, as his approval rating is well underwater and near-continuous Cabinet drama often overshadows his agenda.

In Colombia, Cabinet Drama Is Derailing Petro’s Reform Agenda—Again

By James Bosworth May 5, 2025 | Colombian President Gustavo Petro is pushing for a referendum on labor reforms that should be popular. Drama in his Cabinet is threatening to derail it. ***** Mali’s Council of Ministers adopted a bill yesterday that, assuming it is ratified by the National Transitional Council, will grant junta leader Gen. Assimi Goita an additional five years in power. The bill implements a recommendation by a “national dialogue” that was held in April but boycotted by the country’s opposition. Read more in this edition of the Daily Review. ***** The Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political leader of Tibetan Buddhists, will turn 90 next month, and he has promised to reveal a plan for deciding on his successor on his birthday. His succession is fraught with geopolitical tension, as there is often a decadeslong gap between when the new Dalai Lama is identified and when he takes power, leaving time for China to exploit the leadership vacuum. But this is not the only geopolitical tightrope the Dalai Lama has been forced to walk in ensuring his succession, as this in-depth article by Munkhnaran Bayarlkhagva from 2022 explained.

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