While the January 3 operation to arrest Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro for narcotrafficking was a stunning success, allowing Maduro crony Delcy Rodríguez to remain in power indefinitely—the “Delcy
Option” —has undermined American long-term interests and harmed the Venezuelan people.

The Vandenberg Coalition endorses the bipartisan Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act and calls on Congress to swiftly act to pass this legislation into law. The late Senator Graham worked tirelessly to protect U.S. national security by weakening our adversaries. Passing his bill would honor Senator Graham’s legacy of keeping America safe by crippling Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

We write to request that American citizen Min Zin be officially designated by the State Department as wrongfully detained by the Chinese government and make his immediate release a diplomatic priority and a necessary precondition for any additional summits with Chairman Xi Jinping. Min Zin, who runs a policy think tank, was lured to China at the invitation of a Chinese academic institution under the pretext of speaking at an academic conference.

On June 24, 2026, at 6:04 PM local time, Venezuela was struck by back-to-back earthquakes 39 seconds apart in
Yaracuy state. The earthquakes, the first of which was a magnitude of 7.2 and the second of which was a magnitude of 7.5, caused extensive damage throughout north-central Venezuela, including in the capital of Caracas and in La Guaira state.

The Vandenberg Coalition endorses the bicameral, bipartisan Multilateral Alignment of Technology Controls on Hardware (MATCH) Act and calls on Congress to swiftly act to pass this legislation into law.

As AI continues to reshape technology across all sectors, it is critical for American security, freedom, and
prosperity that the United States remains the global leader in AI by maintaining its advantage over China in
advanced chips and chipmaking technology.

Alliances play a critical role helping to insulate the United States from aggression, multiply our military and
economic capabilities, and provide a platform to promote American interests and principles. They are not ends in
themselves; alliances are practical tools to advance American objectives and help keep potential threats at a
distance.

While U.S. policymakers primarily have focused on countering China’s military threat, there is another arm of the
Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) strategy to defeat the United States that needs attention. The CCP is conducting a malign influence campaign, driven by its United Front political warfare operations, that seeks to destroy American institutions and undermine our will to fight for freedom.

For nearly 70 years, Cuba’s communist dictatorship has been a threat to the United States in our own backyard, supporting terrorism and providing a base of operations for other American adversaries, including China and Russia, to threaten the U.S. homeland.

During your upcoming meeting with Chairman Xi Jinping, we respectfully request that you advocate for Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri to be released from prison and allowed to leave China. Pastor Jin is a Christian minister who has been
unjustly imprisoned in China since October 10, 2025, and he is also the father of an American citizen, Grace Jin
Drexel, who is due to give birth this June.

The American economic model, which includes the freedom to buy, sell, produce, and trade, is fundamental to our way of life and democratic values.

Russia is an adversary of the United States and a key part of a wider anti-American bloc that includes
China, Iran, and North Korea.

Starting in June 2025, The Vandenberg Coalition worked with GOP polling firm TargetPoint on a series of seven
polls analyzing what ~1,200 Trump voters think about American foreign policy. We were in the field shortly after
Operations Midnight Hammer, Absolute Resolve, and Epic Fury — and the results were clear.

The PRC has been conducting a massive modernization campaign aimed at transforming its military into
a one capable of defeating the United States and seizing Taiwan by force.

China’s defense industrial base (DIB) is already on a wartime footing. Over the last couple of decades, China has conducted the largest peacetime military buildup in modern history, including significantly increasing its inventory of ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads.

Hamas has been a serious threat to Israeli and American national security for decades. The current crisis can be
traced back to June 2007, when Hamas took control of Gaza in a bloody coup two years after Israel unilaterally
withdrew from Gaza.

Over the last month, there have been approximately 900 protests across Iran, with thousands of protesters
reportedly killed by security forces. Estimates of deaths far exceed those killed by the regime in the 2022
Women, Life, Freedom protests.

Nicolás Maduro took power in Venezuela in 2013 as the handpicked successor to socialist Hugo Chavez and
steadily eroded what was left of Venezuela’s democratic system.

At The Vandenberg Coalition, we arm elected leaders, political candidates, the media, and the American people with expert insights to protect our prosperity, security, and freedom. In 2025, we worked to build a foreign policy that serves the enlightened self interests of the American people, to train up-and-coming national security leaders in that policy, and to educate current officials with the tools they need to preserve American freedoms.

On November 6, 2025, President Donald J. Trump announced that Kazakhstan had agreed to join the
Abraham Accords—a series of normalization agreements between Muslim-majority states and Israel that
were brokered by President Trump

Unlike the Cold War, today the United States is confronting not just one great power adversary, but a
dangerous and growing coalition made up of China, Iran, Russia, North Korea, and other actors—The
Other Superpower.

China is not just a foreign policy problem—it is a direct homeland security threat. China’s dominance of critical
technologies and infrastructure has left the United States beholden to the whims of the authoritarian Chinese
Communist Party (CCP), while Chinese infiltration of the American education and telecommunications systems

As Russia continues its brutal assault against Ukraine, one thing has become unmistakably clear—
Vladimir Putin does not want peace. Putin continues to obstruct efforts to reach a negotiated peace while
drastically escalating attacks against Ukrainian civilians

Iran has repeatedly violated nuclear agreements by enriching uranium beyond permitted levels, concealing nuclear sites, deceiving inspectors, and obstructing oversight—all while falsely claiming peaceful intentions for its nuclear program.

Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb used 117 drones to destroy $7 billion in Russian assets, highlighting vulnerabilities in U.S. defenses, failures in escalation policy, and the urgent need for strategic innovation.

In 2024, the Vandenberg Coalition conducted an in-depth review of the State Department, offering bold reforms to restore its core mission and support President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s reform agenda.

The Vandenberg Coalition’s “Hell to Pay” report outlines urgent policies to deter future hostage-taking by Hamas and others, reinforcing U.S. resolve through diplomatic, economic, and military measures worldwide.

A Vandenberg Coalition working group of conservative Middle East experts warns that U.S. retreat fuels chaos, as seen in Hamas’ October 7 massacre and ongoing regional threats from Hezbollah and the Houthis.

On the Nuremberg Trials’ anniversary, the ICC’s arrest warrants for Israeli leaders reflect eroding moral clarity. The U.S. must confront this injustice and reaffirm its commitment to Israel and America’s sovereignty.

The McCain Institute and The Vandenberg Coalition articulate a strong U.S. strategy against Russia’s kinetic and non-kinetic threats, from Ukraine’s invasion to cyber-attacks and election interference.

The U.S. deployed a THAAD missile defense system and 95 soldiers to Israel, reinforcing defense against Iranian threats. This move strengthens deterrence, complements existing systems, and signals strategic commitment. To address skepticism, it’s vital to debunk myths about THAAD’s deployment to Israel.

The Vandenberg Coalition partnered with J.L. Partners to poll 1,400 swing-state voters after the second presidential debate, gauging views on how Trump and Harris would handle key foreign policy challenges.