This week, Ron Steslow and Hagar Chemali (Fmr. spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the UN) connect a headline-grabbing jewel heist at the Louvre to China’s push to dethrone the dollar.

Then, they turn to the escalating conflict with Venezuela: the strikes on alleged “drug boats,” CIA’s new covert action authority, and what’s really at stake for Maduro’s regime.

In Politicology+ they discuss the Gaza ceasefire, why early flare-ups aren’t a sign of failure, the new “yellow line,” and why disarmament is the sticking point. They talk about who could actually keep the peace and tension between economic incentives of reconstruction and the risks of corruption in this unconventional diplomacy.

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Related Reading: 

Andrei Jikh—China Is Using Gold To Replace the U.S. Dollar

Fortune - Top analyst says China is playing a ‘key role’ in the price of gold going through the roof, and he’s got the data to prove it | Fortune

The Dispatch — Will Trump Overthrow the Leader of Venezuela?

NYT — U.S. Attacks More Boats as Tensions With Venezuela Rise: What’s Happened So Far

NYT - Trump Administration Authorizes Covert C.I.A. Action in Venezuela - The New York Times

Politico - Trump’s boat strikes unite regime change advocates and immigration hardliners - POLITICO

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