Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Not just the money: Ransomware a growing political threat to U.S. interests
A growing number of cybersecurity experts are warning that ransomeware attacks represent a new cyberwar trend that U.S. adversaries are poised to exploit for geopolitical gain. Published July 18, 2021
U.S., Iran trade allegations over possible prisoner swap
The Biden administration's push for diplomacy with Iran hit a roadblock, with the sides trading blame over the breakdown of a prisoner swap. Published July 18, 2021
More than 140 Cubans detained or disappeared in widening crackdown by regime
More than 140 Cubans have been detained or disappeared in a widening crackdown by Cuba's security forces, according to international rights advocates monitoring the aftermath of the biggest anti-regime protests in decades that swept the island nation on Sunday. Published July 13, 2021
Cuba’s untested president faces biggest challenge of post-Castro era
Pressure mounted on Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Monday to show he's capable of upholding the Castro legacy of authoritarian control over Cuba, a day after the biggest anti-regime protests in decades swept cities and towns across the island nation. Published July 12, 2021
Police point to foreign hit squad as rumors swirl around Haitian president’s assassination
Police in Haiti say a hit squad of as many as 28 foreign mercenaries -- consisting mainly of Colombians but including at least two Haitian-Americans -- carried out the assassination of the country's president this week, although there were more questions than answers as a fast-paced international investigation continued to unfold on Friday. Published July 9, 2021
Exiled Iranians to seek regime’s overthrow with ‘World Summit’
Iranian dissident exile movements will hold an annual "World Summit" Saturday through Monday, with supporters at rallies in 105 countries coming together virtually to call for Iran's oppressive theocracy to be overthrown and replaced with a democracy. Published July 7, 2021
Nicaragua’s descent into dictatorship vexes Biden’s pro-democracy agenda
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is establishing a full-blown dictatorship, according to regional experts who warn the jailing of opposition figures and gunning down of protesters in the tiny Central American nation represents an outsized challenge for President Biden's pro-democracy agenda. Published July 3, 2021
Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dies at 88
Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who served under three Republican presidents and led the Pentagon through the 9/11 attacks, the resulting U.S. military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and the first years of America's global war on terrorism, died at the age of 88 on Wednesday. Published June 30, 2021
Biden administration eases gender requirements on U.S. passports
The State Department said Wednesday it will no longer require Americans to provide medical documentation proving their gender on passport applications, paving the way for individuals to choose a gender they self-identify with regardless of what their birth certificate or hospital records indicate. Published June 30, 2021
Fear of doomsday cyberattack yields truce between feds and private sector
The recent surge of cyberattacks has triggered a blame game between private industry and federal agencies over who truly bears responsibility for ensuring such incidents don't cripple critical infrastructure for things like fuel, electricity and water supplies and cause massive damage to the economy. Published June 29, 2021
Ex-Pakistani diplomat: Biden ‘delusional’ to think Taliban has broken ties with al Qaeda
The Biden administration is "delusional" if it thinks the Taliban has broken or will break from what's left of the al Qaeda terrorist network in Afghanistan, warns Pakistan's former top diplomat in Washington. Published June 27, 2021
Biden vows to back Afghan leaders as U.S. pullout accelerates
President Biden hosted Afghanistan's president and top peace negotiator at the White House Friday, vowing to maintain U.S. support for the embattled Kabul government even as the last American and NATO troops leave and fears mount of a major Taliban offensive. Published June 25, 2021
North Korea rejects Biden administration’s offer for talks ‘without preconditions’
North Korea on Tuesday spurned the Biden administration's offer to meet "anywhere, anytime without preconditions." Published June 22, 2021
Biden administration offers to meet North Koreans ‘anytime, without preconditions’
The Biden administration is eager to meet with North Korean officials "anywhere, anytime without preconditions," a top U.S. diplomat said on a visit to South Korea Monday, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signaled that his regime is preparing for dialogue or confrontation -- but more for confrontation -- with Washington. Published June 21, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: Ex-U.S. counterintel chief: Russia could halt cyber strikes ‘in one moment’
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied Moscow's involvement in the surge of ransomware attacks on U.S. targets, but a recently retired American spy chief says there is no question Russian intelligence has influence over the hacking operations. Published June 17, 2021
China declares its ‘unbreakable’ friendship with Russia ahead of Biden-Putin summit
China and Russia are going to great lengths to express their warming alliance against the United States ahead of Wednesday's much-anticipated summit between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva. Published June 15, 2021
China’s rise colors Biden-Putin summit
President Biden's high-stakes summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to be dominated by friction over everything from Russia-linked cyberattacks and election interference to human rights abuses and what U.S. officials see as a meddlesome Kremlin foreign policy aimed at undermining efforts to promote stability and democracy around the world. Published June 14, 2021
Biden to stress strengthening alliances before fraught Putin summit
President Biden arrived in England on Wednesday for his first foreign trip, telling U.S. troops at an air base that he's on a mission to reinforce alliances with the world's leading democracies before his showdown next week with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Published June 9, 2021
Full agenda, alliance repair top Biden’s Europe to-do list
President Biden embarked on his first foreign trip Wednesday hoping to revamp transatlantic ties, forge a vaccine strategy for the COVID-19 fight and unite the world's most economically advanced democracies to fight Russian and Chinese geopolitical provocations and a rising menace in cyberspace. Published June 9, 2021
Blinken pressed on alleged Soros link to U.S. moves in Balkans
A key Republican on Capitol Hill grilled Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday for an explanation of why the State Department has not produced evidence to back up its corruption allegations against former Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, a one-time high-profile ally of U.S. efforts to promote democracy in the Balkans. Published June 7, 2021