What We’re Watching: Pushback on Venezuela strike, Tax protests in Bulgaria, China-Japan coastguard dispute

Washington is growing uncomfortable with Venezuela strike

The White House sought to shift blame away from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Monday, instead declaring that Admiral Frank Bradley ordered the killing of two people on a boat – even after the boat was destroyed. A report from the The New York Times undermined the original Washington Postreport over Hegseth’s role in the strikes, appearing to affirm the White House’s position. Nonetheless, Congress is questioning whether this move constitutes a war crime. Even Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV), who represents the second-reddest state, criticized the second strike. The domestic uproar comes as it emerged that US President Donald Trump refused Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro’s amnesty requests during a Nov. 21 phone call. Is a US hit on Caracas now imminent?

Tax protests rock Bulgaria

Tens of thousands of peopletook to the streets of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, to protest a new budget that would raise taxes to pay for expanded social services. Several dozen people were arrested after clashing with the police. What’s at issue? Bulgaria is the most corrupt EU country,according to Transparency International, so when people hear “higher taxes” they mostly hear “thicker lining for officials’ pockets.” The protests have thrown the fate of the ruling center-right government into doubt just weeks before Bulgaria finally joins the Eurozone. If the government falls, Bulgarians would head into their eighth general election in the past four years.

China-Japan coastguard faceoff in disputed waters

There’s tension in the East China Sea after China and Japan’s coast guards faced off near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. China said that its coast guard took “necessary” action after a Japanese fishing boat illegally entered its waters. Meanwhile Japan attested that Chinese vessels intruded into Japanese waters and threatened a fishing boat. The incident comes amid worsening China-Japan ties after the new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Japan could respond militarily if China attacked Taiwan. Meanwhile, both sides have militarized their coast guards in recent years and are increasing their patrols near the islands, upping the risk of confrontation in an area that has been a long-running flashpoint in the East China Sea.