Pressure Systems edition
US Operatives Court Alberta Separatists as Cross-Border Pressures Mount
October 12, 2026
What this edition shows
Trumpist political networks and private figures like Elon Musk are actively courting Canadian provincial separatists in Alberta, dangling cross-border support in exchange for access to natural resources. Concurrently, aggressive Washington pressure is destabilizing regional governance across Latin America, compelling the arrest of Bolivia's attorney general, challenging Mexican border norms, and shaping Brazilian political battles. These parallel interventions show how unilateral leverage and transnational right-wing alignment work to fracture neighboring sovereign jurisdictions.
Reporting and analysis behind this edition 14 sources
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Groups Associated With India’s Far-Right Receive Millions Through US Donor-Advised Funds
Sign up here to receive Bellingcat’s biggest investigations by email as soon as they are published. US non-profits whose founding leaders or organisations have been associated with India’s controversial Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – or initiatives the Hindu nationalist group has endorsed – rec…
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The next Venezuela? How a US pressure campaign threatens Brazil’s democracy
As Brazilians prepare to elect a new president, the country’s sovereignty hangs in the balance
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Brazil’s Far-Right Resurgence
The Bolsonaro family looks likely to retake the presidency.
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Far-Right Election Groups Are Now Targeting Nursing Homes
Inspired by new guidance from the Trump administration, right-wing election groups are targeting nursing homes, baselessly claiming that left-wing groups are stealing residents’ votes.
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Why the US Licks Its Chops at a ‘Free’ Alberta
The aptly named DARC papers lay out Trumpists’ anti-Canada aims. Is Premier Smith a student?
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Under Trump Pressure, Bolivia Arrests Its Own Attorney General
Early last week, the Trump administration’s State Department announced on a group of Latin American officials it accused of corruption and of “undermining democratically-selected governments.” Of the it targeted in Bolivia, Washington chose to name only one: Bolivia’s sitting attorney general, Roger…
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Mexico seeks evidence of border shooting that prompted US troop deployment
Mexico's Sheinbaum has expressed concern about US officials overstepping norms on security cooperation.
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Ottawa records a 60 per cent spike in arrests, detentions of Canadians in United States
Global Affairs Canada says the number of arrest and detention cases involving Canadians citizens in the United States jumped 60 per cent in the last fiscal year compared to the year before.
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Reports of US meddling a ‘very serious matter’: defence minister
Leaders of Alberta’s separatist movement are reported to have discussed exchanging Alberta’s natural resources for US support of their cause. Minister of Defence David McGuinty says his government finds it “unacceptable.”
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Musk says Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec should separate
The celebrity investor's support for separatism follows revelations of deep ties between Republican operatives and Alberta separatists. Musk was a critical supporter of Donald Trump in the 2024 election, and has weighed in heavily in favour of far-right parties in Germany and the UK.
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How Italy Spawned the Western Far Right
A longtime Rome correspondent reflects on the political trends in his adopted home.
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US Gov’t Interferes To Get Foreign Sponsors To Drop Conference Because A Panel Asks If The US Engages In Foreign Information Interference
One of the most bizarre things over the last few years is how two guys, Michael Shellenberger and Matt Taibbi, bumbling around cosplaying as “free speech” experts, have done tremendous damage to free speech. After Elon Musk brought them in to report on the so-called “Twitter Files,” the two of them…
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UK PM Andy Burnham says it is ‘clear’ Russia interfered in 2016 Brexit vote
Claim marks the first time a UK prime minister has publicly acknowledged Russia's interference in the vote to leave EU.
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Trump, Putin and the Betrayal of Ukraine
Luke Harding on Putin’s war, Biden’s hesitancy, Trump acting as a Russian asset, and Kremlin links to Brexit and Britain’s hard right.