CounterVortex weekly headlines

Jul 20, 2026

US to seek dismantling of International Criminal Court

The US will launch a diplomatic campaign aimed at dismantling the International Criminal Court, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced. In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Rubio wrote that the US will work alongside allied governments to take the Court apart “brick by brick, if necessary,” using all tools at the government’s disposal. He said the campaign’s message to other governments will be a choice of “sovereign states over globalism,” and pledged that the administration will protect US service members from ICC jurisdiction.

https://countervortex.org/blog/us-to-seek-dismantling-of-international-criminal-court/

UN investigation finds genocide in Sudan

The UN fact-finding mission for Sudan has produced a follow-up to its initial investigation into atrocities by the Rapid Defense Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, finding at least three of the “material crimes” of genocide “overwhelmingly present.” After a prolonged siege, the UAE-backed paramilitary army launched an October 2025 assault on El Fasher, which was the last major Darfur city where the Sudanese army and allied forces were in control. Since publication of its initial report, the mission said it has received new information, especially on the abduction and mass rape of women and girls. It says survivors were raped by RSF forces in the presence of corpses, including of family members, and were targeted along ethnic lines. The mission also received new information on the high number of people—up to tens of thousands—who remain missing or unaccounted for. With the RSF planning a new assault on the North Kordofan capital, El Obeid, the mission said the same patterns are repeating, and called for the lessons of El Fasher not to be ignored.

https://countervortex.org/blog/un-investigation-finds-genocide-in-sudan/

US blocks funding for AU mission in Somalia

The blocking by the US of UN funding to African Union (AU) forces in Somalia starting next year is a harsh blow to a mission that has long been on financial life-support. The UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) provides the logistical backing critical to the functioning of the AU mission. Without that underpinning, it’s hard to see how the AU’s 11,800-strong force can continue. The AU’s near two-decade mission has won a modicum of stability in Somalia. Despite heavy casualties, it succeeded in ousting al-Shabab from Mogadishu—a daunting task the UN was unwilling to take on—and continued to protect Somalia’s fractious political elite from the jihadist insurgency. But the inability of Somalia to grow and deploy its own security forces to consolidate territorial gains secured by the AU resulted in deadly mission creep and effectively tore up any putative exit plan.

https://countervortex.org/blog/us-blocks-funding-for-au-mission-in-somalia/

Pakistan launches new offensive on Baloch rebels

Pakistani authorities say more than 100 insurgents have been killed in Balochistan province over the past week as security forces intensify a large-scale campaign against the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). The campaign, dubbed “Operation Shaban,” was launched after a series of attacks on security personnel. The army and Frontier Corps have been deployed in coordinated aerial and ground assaults across the province.

https://countervortex.org/blog/pakistan-launches-new-offensive-on-baloch-rebels/

US pushes ‘Donroe Doctrine’ at Cuzco defense summit

Representatives from over 30 countries gathered in the Peruvian city of Cuzco for the Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas, where top Pentagon official Elbridge Colby used the occasion to defend the “Donroe Doctrine.” As at other regional security summits, including the “Shield of the Americas” conference held in Florida in March, Trump officials cast drug trafficking and irregular migration as threats to US security, urged regional governments to increase military spending, and called for deeper security collaboration with Washington. An increasing number of the right-wing governments in attendance have embraced closer military ties with the United States through joint strikes and new military bases—even as militarized policies fail to curb organized crime and violence in countries like Ecuador, a key testing ground for the administration’s renewed war on “narcoterrorism.”

https://countervortex.org/blog/us-pushes-donroe-doctrine-at-cuzco-defense-summit/

Mexico to seek charges over deaths in ICE custody

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that her government plans to seek criminal complaints in the United States over the deaths of Mexican citizens while in immigration custody or during anti-immigration operations. Since President Donald Trump launched the current immigration crackdown, at least 14 Mexican nationals have died in the custody of US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), and three more have reportedly died in arrests conducted by the agency.

https://countervortex.org/blog/mexico-to-seek-charges-over-deaths-in-ice-custody/

Audio:

Podcast: Resist digital hegemony! IV

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive order imposing a one-year moratorium or “pause” on new “hyperscale” data centers seems to be a ploy to undercut a more stringent measure passed by the state legislature. But it still represents an important victory—of course being met with outrage by the Trump regime. Monterey Park, Calif., has meanwhile become the first US city to impose an outright ban on data centers via ballot initiative. There is a growing municipal revolt against data centers in the Golden State—although Gov. Gavin Newsom is still wedded to the AI agenda, placing him in line with the Trump White House. The turn of public opinion is slowing expansion of the industry, which is a real sign of hope. The challenge is to translate this into a popular repudiation of artificial intelligence altogether, and build a movement for abolition. In Episode 337 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg continues to make the case.

https://countervortex.org/blog/podcast-resist-digital-hegemony-iv/

Support CounterVortex:

Remember: We are the alternative to the alternative. We receive NO foundation sponsorship. We are 100% reader-supported! Please give what you can.

Ways to support us:

1. Become a Basic Supporter on Patreon for $5 per month

The CounterVortex podcast now has 62 Patreon subscribers. Jack it up to 63.

https://www.patreon.com/countervortex

2. Become a Special Supporter on Patreon for $10 per month

Become a Patreon subscriber for $10 per month, and you get to choose a topic for one episode per year on the CounterVortex podcast.

https://www.patreon.com/countervortex

3. Become a Major Rant Enabler for $25 per month!

Become a Major Rant Enabler for $25 per month, and you get to download a CounterVortex ringtone, with more than 100 inimitable Weinbergisms to choose from!

https://www.patreon.com/countervortex

4. Become a Paypal subscriber

We now have a fluctuating number of monthly subscribers on Paypal. We ask a minimum of only $5 per month. Who’s next?

https://countervortex.org/support-us-2/

5. Make a single payment with PayPal:

Whatever you can afford is greatly appreciated.

https://countervortex.org/support-us-2/

6. Send a check to:

CounterVortex

44 Monroe St. #B44

New York, NY 10002

Checks should be payable to CounterVortex.