Notably, such interventions have tended to target governments whose leaders the US considers hostile or unreliable.

Yet as the world’s dominant superpower — both economically and militarily — the US has not confined its political interventions to neighbouring states. Its influence has extended far beyond the Americas, reaching countries separated by vast oceans.

Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines

In the Philippines, a Southeast Asian nation more than 8,000 miles from the US, Washington also played a consequential role during a period of authoritarian rule — and later, a limited but pivotal role in its collapse.

Ronald and Nancy Reagan were personal friends of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and Imelda Marcos, then president and first lady, whose names are inseparable from what Filipinos describe as a “conjugal dictatorship” that ruled the country from 1965 until its downfall in 1986.

The parents of incumbent Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Ferdinand Sr. and Imelda Marcos are believed to have plundered an estimated $10 billion from state coffers — a figure some now say may have grown to as much as $30 billion. As of 2020, only about $3 billion had been recovered.

Years of human rights abuses, corruption and media censorship gradually weakened the regime’s grip on power, particularly after the 1984 assassination of prominent opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr., a killing widely linked to the Marcoses.

In 1986, a largely peaceful uprising — following years of unrest — toppled the Marcos regime. The family was flown into exile in Hawaii in an operation coordinated by the US under Reagan.

Ultimately, it was Filipinos themselves who overthrew the dictatorship. 

The same cannot be said of Venezuela, where the 13-year rule of Maduro ended on Saturday following a US-led extraction. Several leaders in Southeast Asia, including Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, argued that Venezuelans should have been allowed to determine their own political future.

Almost 

Archival records show, however, that Washington came close to directly intervening to hasten Marcos’s removal. A January 1986 report by the New York Times , published a month before the EDSA People Power Revolution, noted that a consensus had already formed within the Reagan administration that Marcos’s exit was necessary to protect US interests.

“But the Administration has decided not to push Mr. Marcos from power by covert means, although that was considered by some officials, or by public attacks on him, although some officials have also come close to this,” the report said. 

Reagan’s personal attachment to Marcos was believed to have influenced that restraint. According to one aide, the US president had long viewed Marcos as a “hero on a bubble-gum card he had collected as a kid.”

In January 1984, the US State Department recommended exerting economic pressure on Marcos to force reforms. Reagan agreed to limited pressure, but warned that abandoning Marcos entirely would risk confronting “a Communist power in the Pacific”.

“We’ve agreed that he should be told I’m recommending he step down & we’ll take the lead in negotiating his safety & offering him sanctuary in the U.S.,” Reagan wrote in his diary , made available online by the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in California. 

Post-revolt

The EDSA uprising ushered in the presidency of Corazon Aquino, the widow of the slain opposition leader, who served as president until 1992. During her term, the Philippines adopted a new charter — the 1987 Constitution — which remains in force today.

Reagan even attempted to persuade Aquino to allow Marcos to remain in the Philippines.

“He says he wants to live out his life in the Philippines. Well we’ll try to negotiate that,” Reagan said at the time. When those efforts failed, he pledged protection for Marcos in exile: “We’re going to provide S[ecret] S[ervice] protection for a limited time. So—no civil war and we’ve proceeded to recognize the new Philippine govt.”

The Marcos family was allowed to return to the Philippines in 1991, a controversial decision by Aquino that enabled the once-deposed clan to rebuild its political fortunes — a process that culminated in 2022, when, 36 years after their ouster, a Marcos once again assumed the presidency.

For the US, Reagan was said to have been “pained” by the downfall of his longtime pals. His confidence in them eventually eroded as evidence of their corruption mounted. In October 1988, a federal grand jury in New York indicted Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos on charges of embezzling more than $100 million to purchase three Manhattan properties.

Aweis said Somalia “categorically and unequivocally” rejects any attempt by Israel to recognise Somaliland, which he referred to as the country’s northern region. He stressed that Somalia remains a single, indivisible sovereign state and that no external actor has the authority to alter its territorial integrity or political unity.

The minister cautioned that what he described as illegitimate actions could threaten regional peace and stability. He warned that such moves risk provoking tensions across the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Middle East , and the wider region.

He also argued that challenging Somalia’s sovereignty could undermine collective efforts to combat extremist groups, including Al Shabaab and ISIS. According to Aweis, political instability could create opportunities for such groups to exploit, weakening ongoing peace and security efforts.

The comments followed remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, December 26, who said Israel and Somaliland had signed a joint declaration to establish full diplomatic relations, describing the move as being in the spirit of the Abraham Accords. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not been recognised by any United Nations member state, a claim Somalia has consistently rejected.

“Major national projects and social programmes should not be in conflict or competition, as long as the objective is to advance the country and elevate people's standard of living ,” he said, adding, “This responsibility lies not only with the government but with everyone, especially you, the parliamentarians, as representatives of the citizens.” 

Referencing his previous Throne Speech, King Mohammed VI reiterated the need for a new phase in Morocco’s transformation, “the march of emerging Morocco.” He called for accelerated territorial development programmes that transcend electoral cycles and political mandates.

“We aspire that everyone benefits from the fruits of growth and equal opportunities,” he said, highlighting the importance of political, economic, and social rights for all Moroccans. 

The King further demanded targeted support for Morocco’s most vulnerable areas, particularly the mountainous regions and oases, which comprise nearly one-third of the national territory.

Trump claimed that in 2024, the UN allocated $372 million in cash assistance to support an estimated 624,000 migrants “journeying into the United States,” including food, shelter, transportation , and debit cards. “The UN is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them,” he declared.

The U.S. president argued that the U.S. southern border had been overwhelmed during the Biden administration, with “25 million” crossings in four years, before asserting that migration has now “totally stopped” under his leadership.