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Pakistan: America’s most complicated ally — and why Trump is betting on it again
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As Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, emerged as a key intermediary in negotiations tied to the escalating Iran crisis, Washington once again found itself relying on a country that American officials have spent decades accusing of playing both sides in the war on terror.
Munir has emerged as a key intermediary in negotiations aimed at preventing renewed conflict with Iran, placing Pakistan — despite decades of accusations involving Taliban safe havens, nuclear proliferation and Osama bin Laden — back at the center of U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East.
The latest negotiations have again exposed one of the biggest contradictions in U.S. foreign policy: Washington keeps turning to Pakistan even after years of tension, distrust and accusations that elements of the country’s security establishment supported militant groups fighting American troops.
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Pakistan’s renewed diplomatic role has come under heightened scrutiny — and exposed divisions among Republicans — after allegations that Iranian military aircraft may have been moved into Pakistani territory during the recent conflict, claims Islamabad has denied.
«I don’t trust Pakistan as far as I can throw them,» Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said May 12. «If they actually have Iranian aircraft parked in Pakistan bases to protect Iranian military assets, that tells me maybe we should be looking for somebody else to mediate.»
Trump, however, publicly praised Pakistan’s leadership the same day.
«They’re great,» Trump told reporters May 12. «I think the Pakistanis have been great. The field marshal and the prime minister of Pakistan have been absolutely great.»
«Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir have been helpful mediators, and the United States is grateful for Pakistan’s efforts to bring an end to the conflict. When Iran’s nuclear threat is removed for good, the entire world will be safer and more stable,» White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf meets with chief of Defence Forces of Pakistan, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in Tehran, Iran, May 23, 2026. (Iranian Parliament Speaker Office/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuters)
Where Pakistan burned the US
Pakistan has long occupied an uneasy place in American foreign policy.
The nuclear-armed country borders both Iran and Afghanistan, maintains deep ties across the region’s security landscape and has historically been viewed by U.S. officials as too strategically important to fully isolate.
Even critics who accuse Pakistan of double-dealing acknowledge Washington has struggled to disengage from Islamabad because of the country’s nuclear arsenal, geographic position and influence over regional militant networks.
But distrust between Washington and Islamabad deepened dramatically after U.S. forces killed bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011 — a military town located near the country’s premier military academy.
«The fact that we had to do that operation without Pakistani support speaks volumes as to how much we trusted them,» Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital.
Critics and former U.S. officials long questioned whether Pakistani intelligence could have been unaware of bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad, though Pakistan has repeatedly denied knowingly sheltering him.
Analysts say Pakistan’s military establishment also spent years viewing Afghanistan through the lens of its rivalry with India, seeing a Taliban-friendly government in Kabul as a form of strategic leverage against Indian influence in the region.
«They view Afghanistan as strategic depth,» Roggio said.
Vice President JD Vance walks with Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affaires Natalie A. Baker, and Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi after arriving for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 11, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/Reuters)
Analysts say Pakistan’s security establishment historically differentiated between militant groups targeting Pakistan itself and groups viewed as useful against India or in Afghanistan — a strategy critics argue led Islamabad to tolerate or maintain ties with some Taliban-linked and anti-India groups even while cooperating with U.S. counterterrorism operations after 9/11.
Pakistani officials also have argued the country paid a heavy price for aligning with Washington after 9/11, pointing to years of suicide bombings, insurgent attacks and instability inside Pakistan itself.
Pakistan’s defense minister recently acknowledged the country had done «dirty work» for the U.S. and the West during decades of regional conflict, arguing policies tied to the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan and the post-9/11 era ultimately destabilized Pakistan itself.
Roggio argued Pakistan’s security establishment spent years publicly cooperating with Washington while simultaneously tolerating or supporting Taliban-linked groups fighting American troops in Afghanistan.
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«Pakistan supported the Taliban knowing that they were killing Americans,» he said.
Pakistan’s latest diplomatic role has also drawn renewed scrutiny after allegations that Iranian military aircraft may have been moved into Pakistani territory during the recent conflict — claims Islamabad has denied.
Pakistan’s nuclear history has fueled concern in Washington for decades as well. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the architect of Pakistan’s nuclear program, later admitted operating a proliferation network that transferred nuclear technology and expertise to countries including Iran, Libya and North Korea.
Counterterrorism analysts and former U.S. officials have long warned that al Qaeda operatives and affiliated groups continued finding sanctuary in parts of Pakistan’s tribal regions even after the 9/11 attacks, though the scale of those networks remains debated.
Pakistani officials have long denied supporting terrorist organizations and argue the country has itself suffered heavily from Islamist violence, including attacks by ISIS-K and the Pakistani Taliban. Islamabad also has denied allegations that Iranian military aircraft were sheltered inside Pakistan during the recent conflict.
Why Trump is betting on Pakistan again
More than a decade after the bin Laden raid shattered trust between Washington and Islamabad, Pakistan’s military leadership has again emerged as a critical diplomatic channel for Washington — this time during the escalating crisis involving Iran.
Trump increasingly has engaged Munir directly in recent weeks, reinforcing longstanding perceptions that Pakistan’s military — rather than its civilian government — remains the country’s dominant power center.
Munir, a former intelligence chief, has leveraged Pakistan’s longstanding relationships across the region to position himself as a channel between Washington and Tehran.
Roggio argued Pakistan is also attempting to rehabilitate its international image by presenting itself as a stabilizing force in the region.
«They’re trying to present an image of being a purveyor of peace in the region,» he said.
Earlier rounds of diplomacy tied to the Iran conflict were also hosted in Islamabad, elevating Pakistan’s role as a regional intermediary.
Pakistan and Qatar appear to have emerged as complementary diplomatic channels rather than competing ones during the latest negotiations involving Iran.
Analysts say Pakistan’s military leadership has increasingly positioned itself as a political and security intermediary between Washington and Tehran, while Qatar has remained central to the more formal diplomatic and financial dimensions of regional negotiations.
This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region.
Qatar, which hosted negotiations between the U.S. and the Taliban that led to the 2020 Doha agreement laying out the framework for the eventual U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, has again emerged as a central diplomatic channel as talks intensified over the weekend.
Pakistan also played a behind-the-scenes role in those negotiations, reflecting Washington’s longstanding reliance on Islamabad’s ties to the Taliban leadership during the Afghanistan war.
Critics of the Doha agreement argued it sidelined the U.S.-backed Afghan government while strengthening the Taliban ahead of its return to power in 2021.
Pakistan’s relationship with the Taliban also has become increasingly strained since the group returned to power in Afghanistan. Pakistani officials have accused Taliban authorities of failing to stop militants launching attacks into Pakistan from across the border, and Islamabad has threatened military action against some groups operating near Afghan territory.
The divide over Pakistan reflects a broader debate that has shaped U.S. foreign policy for decades: whether Washington’s strategic need for Islamabad outweighs longstanding concerns over the country’s relationships with militant groups and regional adversaries.
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More than a decade after the bin Laden raid shattered trust between Washington and Islamabad, Pakistan has once again become a diplomatic channel the U.S. appears unable — or unwilling — to avoid during one of the region’s most volatile crises.
afghanistan, middle east foreign policy, pakistan, foreign policy, iran
INTERNACIONAL
La película Cordillera de Fuego llega a la capital guatemalteca con su primera proyección oficial
La película Cordillera de Fuego debutó jueves en la capital guatemalteca con su primera proyección oficial en el Teatro al Aire Libre del Centro Cultural Miguel Ángel Asturias, una presentación que puso en circulación nacional la quinta cinta de Jayro Bustamante y situó desde el inicio su eje temático: la amenaza de un nuevo volcán, la vulnerabilidad de comunidades mayas y el peso de la corrupción y los intereses económicos sobre una emergencia.
La producción fue filmada en 2022 en municipios de Sololá como San Lucas Tolimán, San Andrés Semetabaj y Santiago Atitlán, además de la ciudad de Guatemala, y según la productora supuso una inversión de USD 1.5 millones en la economía local. La película incorpora diálogos en español, kaqchikel y tz’utujil.
El estreno de gala reunió al director, al elenco, al equipo de producción, representantes del sector cultural, invitados especiales y medios de comunicación. Varios integrantes del equipo viajaron desde Santiago Atitlán y San Lucas Tolimán para participar en la función del jueves 2 de julio, que cerró entre aplausos.
La trama se centra en Paula, una vulcanóloga que intenta poner a salvo a poblaciones mayas amenazadas por el surgimiento de un nuevo volcán. En ese proceso enfrenta intereses políticos y económicos que, de acuerdo con la sinopsis y la presentación de la obra, convierten el desastre en un terreno de disputa y agravan el riesgo para miles de personas.
La cinta combina ficción, ciencia y drama, y también incorpora elementos de realismo mágico, según el texto de presentación de la producción. El relato explora la relación entre desastres naturales, resistencia comunitaria, territorio y desigualdades que atraviesan a los pueblos indígenas del país.
Bustamante explicó después de la función que la película se aparta del modelo centrado en un héroe individual. “Para los pueblos originarios de Mesoamérica, el viaje de un individuo no tiene importancia si no afecta a la comunidad”, afirmó.
Esa definición ordena buena parte de la propuesta narrativa de la obra, que prioriza el relato colectivo sobre la figura de un solo protagonista. El cineasta sostuvo además que la producción buscó demostrar la capacidad instalada del país para sostener una película de gran escala con personal local: “El objetivo era demostrarnos a nosotros mismos que ya podíamos cubrir todos los puestos y realizar una película de esta magnitud únicamente con el enorme talento que existe en Guatemala”.
La película fue protagonizada por María Mercedes Coroy, quien interpreta a la vulcanóloga, y cuenta con actuaciones de María Telón, Juan Pablo Olyslager, Tatiana Palomo, Enrique Salanic, Willian Toc y Jonathan Shitamúl. Según la presentación del proyecto, el elenco y el equipo técnico reflejan una apuesta sostenida por el talento guatemalteco.
Bustamante destacó que el rodaje se realizó casi en su totalidad con personal guatemalteco, tanto frente como detrás de cámaras, una meta que la productora persigue desde sus primeras películas. La obra también incorporó un programa de formación para nuevos talentos de las comunidades donde se desarrolló la filmación.
La actriz y guionista Margarita Kenéfic señaló que muchas de las personas que participaron en el rodaje habían vivido desplazamientos provocados por desastres naturales, una experiencia que, según explicó, alimentó la construcción del relato. “Esta es una película de toda Guatemala”, expresó.
Según explicó la producción a Prensa Libre, la película incorpora además un trasfondo histórico concreto: la erupción del volcán de Fuego de 2018, cuando el coloso liberó flujos piroclásticos sobre aldeas situadas en sus laderas. El hecho dejó miles de personas fallecidas y desaparecidas, además de graves daños materiales.
Cordillera de Fuego llegó a la Ciudad de Guatemala después de su estreno en Santiago Atitlán. La función en el Centro Cultural Miguel Ángel Asturias incluyó una alfombra roja, un encuentro con el director y parte del elenco, y la primera exhibición oficial del largometraje ante el público capitalino.
Como parte de la velada también se presentó el primer avance de Erupción, el próximo largometraje documental de Bustamante. Ese proyecto, según se anunció durante la actividad, explorará la memoria histórica del país a partir de testimonios, arte y danza.
Cordillera de Fuego,Jayro Bustamante,cine,teatro,presentación,7 Stages Theatre
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Cuba’s foreign minister accused the United States of committing an «act of war» by restricting fuel shipments to the island Tuesday, prompting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz to deliver a forceful response blaming Cuba’s communist government for years of blackouts, repression and economic collapse.
The confrontation unfolded at the U.N. General Assembly one day after Cuba’s national electrical grid collapsed, leaving nearly 10 million people without power. It was the third nationwide grid failure this year and the eighth since October 2025, Reuters reported.
Cuban officials had restored electricity to parts of central Cuba and roughly one-third of Havana by Tuesday morning, although large areas remained offline or faced unstable service, according to Reuters.
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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz holds up a photograph of jailed Cuban dissidents during a General Assembly debate on the U.S. embargo against Cuba at U.N. headquarters in New York on July 7, 2026. (UNTV)
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez told delegates that the Trump administration was carrying out a «multidimensional, non-conventional war» against Cuba that had grown «more cruel and ruthless in the last seven months.»
Rodríguez described U.S. efforts to restrict fuel deliveries as the imposition of «an energy collapse, equivalent to a naval blockade, which is an act of war,» according to a UNTV transcript.
Waltz rejected the claim that the United States had established a naval blockade around Cuba.
«There is no ring of Navy warships, U.S. Navy warships sitting around this island blocking trade or humanitarian aid going into Cuba,» Waltz said. «It’s fake. It’s false. It’s a lie. Period.»
Waltz argued that the real embargo was the one Cuba’s government imposed on its own citizens.
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People walk on the street during a national electrical grid collapse, in Havana, Cuba, March 14, 2025. (Norlys Perez/Reuters)
«There’s a lot of talk today of an embargo. And indeed there is one,» he said. «It’s the embargo the Cuban regime mercilessly imposes on its own people decade after decade after decade.»
He called on Havana to «change your ways» and «turn the lights back on for your people,» while accusing Cuba’s leaders of ensuring that government compounds and propaganda operations had power even as families worried about spoiled food, hospitals losing electricity and phones running out of charge.
Waltz noted that Tuesday’s meeting came days before the fifth anniversary of the July 11, 2021, demonstrations, when thousands of Cubans took to the streets amid shortages of food, medicine and electricity and demanded greater freedom.
As Waltz spoke, a member of the Cuban delegation pounded on the table, prompting the ambassador to respond.
«This is not Havana. This is the United States of America. This is the United Nations,» Waltz said. «And we will speak, we will be heard, and we will not be silenced like your own people. So, pound away.»
Waltz displayed photographs and read the names of several jailed Cuban artists, musicians and activists, including Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Maykel Castillo Pérez and Duannis Dabel León Taboada.
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Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez speaks during a news conference in Havana. (Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini)
«They’re not armed. They’re not violent,» Waltz said. «They carry flowers, and write poems and write music. And for that, the regime beats them, detains them and tries to break them.»
Waltz also said GAESA, Cuba’s military-run conglomerate, controls approximately half of the country’s economy and holds $18 billion in assets.
Reuters has reported that estimates of GAESA’s economic reach range from approximately 40% to 70%, while Cuban officials dispute the U.S. government’s $18 billion figure.
Waltz said that despite Cuba’s blockade claims, humanitarian assistance had recently arrived from countries including China, Russia, Mexico, Canada and Spain, as well as from the European Union and the United Nations.
He also said the United States had provided more than $100 million in aid this year and approximately $500 million annually in commodities.
«The answer is simple: because blaming the United States is the only economic plan Havana has left,» Waltz said of Cuba’s decision to bring the issue before the General Assembly.
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Protesters gather outside a Communist Party headquarters in Morón, Cuba, as a fire burns in the street during overnight unrest. Video obtained by Fox News Digital appeared to show demonstrators attempting to set fire to the building amid protests linked to widespread blackouts. (Reuters)
Before the wider debate, U.S. Representative for U.N. Management and Reform Jeffrey Bartos objected to reopening the agenda item and called for a vote on whether the proceedings should go forward.
Bartos said the three-hour meeting would cost approximately $84,000, money he argued could instead provide food, emergency medical supplies and solar lanterns to Cuban families.
«Right now, Cuba is in darkness — again,» Bartos said. «I urge the Cuban regime: turn the lights back on for your people.»
Members of the Cuban delegation also interrupted Bartos several times by pounding on the table. Bartos at one point paused and responded, «Keep banging away. It’s very effective,» before continuing his remarks.
Bartos accused Havana of seeking «another propaganda clip» rather than solutions and pointed to what he said were more than 800 political prisoners held by the government.
Independent organizations have produced varying estimates. Human Rights Watch said in April that more than 700 people remained imprisoned for political reasons, while Prisoners Defenders reported more than 1,200 political prisoners in Cuba in the spring of 2026. Cuba denies holding anyone for political reasons.
«That is the real Cuban embargo,» Bartos said. «It is the embargo the regime imposes on its own people: on speech, on faith, on enterprise, on dissent, on political rights and hope — and now, quite literally, on light.»
Rodríguez accused the U.S. delegation of offering «worn-out lies» and attempting to prevent the General Assembly from debating the effects of American policy.
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Jeff Bartos, U.S. Representative to the United Nations for Management and Reform, addresses a meeting of the Security Council at U.N. headquarters in New York City, Nov. 25, 2025. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
Cuba’s electricity crisis has been driven by severe fuel shortages and an aging, poorly maintained power system that has struggled to meet demand. The Cuban government primarily blames U.S. restrictions, while Washington attributes the island’s broader economic crisis to communist economic policies, corruption and repression.
Reuters contributed to this report.
cuba, united nations, national security, world protests
INTERNACIONAL
Encuentro en Turquía: Europa intenta contener a Donald Trump en una cumbre clave de la OTAN
Los europeos intentan salvar otra cumbre de la OTAN ante las embestidas de un Donald Trump que nunca entendió la organización y mucho menos el papel de su país en ella. El presidente estadounidense considera que los europeos se aprovechan de Estados Unidos desde hace 80 años, pero sin la plataforma que ofrece Europa, Washington sería incapaz de proyectar poder en el resto del mundo y habría perdido su primer mercado.
Trump llegó a Ankara este martes diciendo que estaba “muy decepcionado” por la respuesta que los europeos dieron a su aventura bélica en Irán. “Me decepcionó mucho”, dijo ante el anfitrión de la cumbre, el presidente turco Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “No necesitábamos ninguna ayuda, sólo estaba probándolos”. Aseguró que sólo asiste a la reunión “por Erdogan”, despreciando a los otros 30 gobernantes presentes.
El presidente estadounidense volvió a amenazar a Dinamarca al decir que “Groenlandia debería estar bajo control de Estados Unidos”, elevando la tensión de la cumbre incluso antes de su inicio formal. Trump hizo incluso referencias a la política migratoria europea (le parece blanda) y a la energética (rechaza las renovables que va sumando Europa).
Hace un año, en La Haya, Trump les exigió gastar en defensa el 5,0% del PBI. Todos aceptaron excepto el español Pedro Sánchez, que se sigue negando con el argumento de que no es ni militarmente necesario ni económicamente sostenible. La OTAN, sin Estados Unidos, ya gastaba en defensa siete veces más que Rusia antes de los aumentos del año pasado.
Los Estados miembros de la organización deben presentar en esta cumbre sus programas de gasto de los próximos años para llegar a ese 5%. España no lo hará. Otros lo harán a sabiendas de que su situación económica (deuda pública italiana por encima del 130% del PBI, francesa ya rozando el 120%) o política (el Reino Unido y sus recurrentes cambios de primer ministro) complican cumplir cualquier promesa.
Pero hay que contener a Trump. Así que la cumbre arrancó con un foro empresarial en el que se anunciaron acuerdos con la industria estadounidense por valor de 1.600 millones de euros, pecata minuta en un gasto militar que el año pasado subió en Europa un 20%. Alemania por su cuenta ya gasta más de 100.000 millones de euros al año.
Mark Rutte, secretario general de la Alianza Atlántica (el cargo es más de coordinación que de liderazgo) y ex primer ministro holandés, dedicado desde hace año y medio a aplaudir y halagar a Trump hasta límites que rozan el ridículo, vende una cumbre sin problemas, exitosa y de consolidación de la OTAN. Pero a los europeos les valdría con que Trump no rompiera nada.
La situación es tan incómoda que del borrador de declaración final se cayó por ahora toda referencia a la cumbre del próximo año, que debía celebrarse en Albania. Algunos creen que si no hay cumbre, hay menos posibilidad de chocar con el inquilino del Despacho Oval.
Rutte vende que los europeos están dando pasos rápidos y reales para asumir la seguridad del continente sin Estados Unidos, también en el flanco oriental y en el Ártico, donde Trump amenaza desde hace meses con arrebatarle por la fuerza a Dinamarca la isla de Groenlandia. Rutte, ciego a eso, dice que “toda la evidencia es de una Europa y una OTAN más fuertes”.
Pero Trump no parece escuchar. En los últimos meses dijo varias veces que la OTAN es “un tigre de papel” y critica con dureza que los europeos no quisieran ayudar a Estados Unidos en su aventura militar contra Irán, fuera del marco de la OTAN, sin haberles consultado y sin estrategia evidente.
Jens Stoltenberg, antecesor de Rutte en el cargo, decía este lunes que si Trump simplemente anuncia que Estados Unidos no se siente obligado por el tratado de la OTAN, es decir, que no defendería a un país aliado atacado por un tercer país, en la práctica la organización habría muerto.
Rutte intenta que se mire a otros lados. El lunes a última hora, después de que China hiciera un lanzamiento de un misil de prueba desde un submarino nuclear en el Pacífico, Rutte dijo que la OTAN no puede ser “ingenua” sobre el desarrollo militar chino, aunque el tratado fundacional de la Alianza Atlántica sólo cubre el espacio noratlántico, no el Pacífico, salvo que a China se le ocurriera atacar en territorio europeo, estadounidense o canadiense.
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