The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that the Trump administration is pursuing normalized relations with Eritrea, a reclusive and highly repressive regime in the Horn of Africa. Talks to date have included discussions about easing sanctions long imposed on the country in response to its brutal treatment of political dissenters, religious minorities, and other disfavored groups. Eritrea controls more than 700 miles of coastline along the Red Sea, facing the western coast of the wealthy, oil-producing Arabian Peninsula and providing access to the Gulf of Aden and broader global trade routes.