Tag: Panama

This Panama Thing Is Getting Out Of Hand

Well to be honest a lot of the policies of the brain dead prez and his amateurish morons that do his bidding is getting out of hand…..but Panama is really a fool’s errand.

Trump has been fixated on the Canal Zone for awhile now….

He has made some claims….

The mention of Panama in his inaugural speech is not the first time he has focused on the Central American nation and its transoceanic canal.

On Christmas Day, Trump posted on social media that the “wonderful soldiers of China” were “lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal” – a claim which was swiftly denied by officials in Panama City and Beijing.

At the time, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino described the claim as “nonsense”, stressing that there was “absolutely no Chinese interference” in the canal.

Trump has also threatened to take the canal back by force, citing “exorbitant” fees being allegedly charged for US vessels to pass through it – another claim rejected by Panamanian authorities.

Following Trump’s inauguration address, President Mulino again stressed that there was “no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration” of the Panama Canal.

The strategic waterway, which handles about 5% of global maritime trade volume, is operated by the Panama Canal Authority, an agency of the Panamanian government, not Chinese soldiers.

(bbc.com)

With all the lies and BS the US is sending troops to the Canal Zone for ‘training’….but that excuse smells fishy.

Why?

There is a Chinese company, not state owned but by some billionaire, and if that is the excuse that Donny is using then maybe he should pay closer attention…

A Hong Kong-based company has agreed to sell most of its stake in two key ports on the Panama Canal to a group led by US investment firm BlackRock.

The sale comes after weeks of complaining by President Donald Trump that the canal is under Chinese control and that the US should take control of the major shipping route.

Through a subsidiary, CK Hutchison Holding operates ports at the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean entrances to the canal.

It said that it would sell its interests as part of a deal worth $22.8bn (£17.8bn).

K Hutchison, founded by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, is not owned by the Chinese government. But its base in Hong Kong means it operates under Chinese financial laws. It has operated the ports since 1997.

The deal includes a total of 43 ports in 23 countries around the world, including the two canal terminals. It will require approval by the Panamanian government.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyzlk259g2o

If this is truly the case and these ‘ports’ are controlled by American company why all the chest thumping?  Why the need for extra troops in Panama?  What is the point of these lies?

At what damn point do you people start paying attention to the lies spread by Little Donny and his band of morons?

This is pathetic…..since you do not pay attention you are letting this ignoramus get away with such crap.

For the sake of our nation please try to get off Instagram and paying a little attention to the manure spread.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is Panama Next?

We have all heard the lame ass rhetoric from Little Donny about the Panama Canal, right?  well this clueless POS, the amateur, at the War Department has jumped on the bandwagon and made a bold statement.

“China did not build this canal. China does not operate this canal. [A]nd China will not weaponize this canal. Together, we will take back the Panama Canal from China’s influence.” Those were Pete Hegseth’s fighting words on Tuesday during his visit to Panama—the first by a US defense secretary in more than 20 years—in which Hegseth met with Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino. During his visit, Hegseth warned about the “ongoing threats” from China regarding the Panama Canal, which President Trump has hinted about “reclaiming,” reports Axios. More on Hegseth’s trip and its implications:

  • Making nice: Per Politico, despite Hegseth’s harsh words regarding China, he played “carrot, not stick” when it came to how he talked about the Central American nation. “Together with Panama in the lead, we will keep the canal secure and available for all nations through the deterrent power of the strongest, most effective, and most lethal fighting force in the world,” Hegseth said Tuesday in a presser.
  • More hints of partnership: He added, per Axios: “The United States and Panama have done more in recent weeks to strengthen our defense and security cooperation than we have in decades.” Bloomberg looks at the interaction similarly, calling Hegseth’s tone toward Panama a “cooperative” one.
  • A discrepancy: Despite the seemingly conciliatory stance in terms of Panama, there was one important variation in two versions of a joint statement put out by the US and Panamanian governments after Hegseth and Mulino conferred. The Daily Beast notes that in the Spanish version, the following line appears: “Secretary Hegseth recognized the leadership and inalienable sovereignty of Panama over the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas.” That line is omitted from the US version.
  • Mulino’s take: His government’s statement after the Hegseth meeting aside, the Panamanian leader has issued past denials that China holds any sway over the canal. “We aren’t going to speak about what is not reality, but rather those issues that interest both countries,” he said in February, per the AP. Mulino has agreed, however, to allow for an audit that would be shared with the US of Beijing-operated ports at the canal, which the US fears may be being used for surveillance purposes.

Just how much control does China actually have in Panama?

And now US Troops are headed to Panama….

U.S. troops are now set to deploy near the Panama canal for military training, exercises and “other activities,” as per a new joint deal with the Panamanian government.

The deal, seen by AFP on Thursday, comes as an apparent concession to President Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to retake the major global trade route from Panama if it failed to reduce or axe fees it charged to American vessels passing through there.

“We’re going to take [the canal] back, or something very powerful is going to happen,” Trump alleged in early February.

Notably, the deal walks back previous assertions by Hegseth, who posited on Wednesday that the U.S. could, “by invitation,” even “revive” military bases previously used in Panama to “secure [its] sovereignty.” Instead, American troops will be deployed to Panama-controlled facilities — though some of these facilities will be American built-ones, erected in Panama decades ago when it still occupied the canal zone.

“Panama made clear, through President Mulino, that we cannot accept military bases or defense sites,” Panama’s security minister, Frank Abrego, explained in a Wednesday appearance with Hegseth.

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/troops-panama/

In true bullying form….Donny and his butt boyz are threatening the world (damn near) to get6 what they want.

Now just how much does China control in Panama or is this just using a very convenient ‘enemy’ to try and get their way?

This pathetic!

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is This Necessary?

Trump has made many threatening gestures toward some of our allies….like Greenland, Canada and Panama….and recent report is most disturbing is there a possibility that the whole canal thing could turn ugly….

President Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to prepare plans for carrying out his threat to “take back” the Panama Canal, including by military force if needed, two U.S. officials familiar with the situation told NBC News Thursday.

According to the outlet, the officials said that U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) is drawing up potential plans that run the gamut from working more closely with Panama’s military to a less likely scenario in which U.S. troops invade the country and take the canal by force. They also said that SOUTHCOM commander Adm. Alvin Holsey has presented draft strategies to be reviewed by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is scheduled to visit Panama next month.

The officials explained that the likelihood of a U.S invasion depended on the level of cooperation shown by the Panamanian military.

Trump has repeatedly refused to rule out use of military force to seize control of the vital U.S.-built waterway, as well as Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.

Last week during his joint address to Congress, Trump proclaimed that “to further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal,” but his administration has not clarified precisely what “reclaiming” entails.

The Republican president says the U.S. needs to retake control of the Panama Canal to enhance “economic security,” and has falsely claimed that the waterway is “operated by China.”

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-panama-canal-invasion-plan

This is ridiculous…..at what point does this fool stop trying to flex his muscle and he learns to cooperate with our allies?

Just what the US needs now…..yet another war to make things worse.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

‘Little Marco’ Takes Charge

The new admin waddling into DC faces many international challenges….the situation in Ukraine….terrible relations with Russia….the the financing of the death and destruction in the Middle East and the slowly deteriorating relations with China and what does the new SecState do on his fist trip? He goes to Panama to attempt bullying that nation on the Canal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Sunday that the Central American ally must immediately reduce Chinese influence over the Panama Canal area or face potential retaliation from the Trump administration. Mulino said later that “there is no real threat of retaking the canal or the use of force,” the AP reports. Rubio, on his first foreign trip as America’s top diplomat, held face-to-face talks in Panama City with Mulino, who has resisted pressure from President Trump over Panama’s management of the waterway that is vital to global trade.

Speaking on behalf of Trump, who has demanded that the canal be returned to US control, Rubio told Mulino that Trump had made a preliminary determination that China’s presence in the canal area violates a treaty that led to the US turning the waterway over to Panama in 1999. That treaty calls for the permanent neutrality of the American-built canal. “Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the treaty,” the State Department said in a summary of the meeting.

“I don’t feel like there’s a real threat against the treaty and its validity,” Mulino said. He called it a “good-faith meeting” that was respectful and positive and held “to clear up doubts.” Mulino acknowledged that China’s role in the ports at either end of the canal has raised concerns with Trump. But the president said that the consortium controlling them was being audited and that the canal authority would give Rubio a more detailed explanation. Mulino did say Panama would not be renewing its agreement with China’s Belt and Road Initiative when it expires, per the AP.

Is this what the world’s foremost diplomat will spend his valuable time doing?

Trivial bullshit.

But what can we expect from a bunch of unqualified bootlickers?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Then There Is The Panama Chest Thumping

***Today is a return to the doctors and their meetings with me…..I do not know how long this will be so today may be a short posting day.***

Our new power broker has made several foreign policy statements and I have tried to look behind them to see just what the thing is all about……

I have done the Greenland thing and the annexing of Canada (a possibility)…and now the Panama bluster….

“When it comes to the [Panama] Canal,” the future president intoned, “we built it, we paid for it, it’s ours, and … we are going to keep it!”

No, not incoming President Donald Trump. That was Ronald Reagan, the former California governor who in 1976 challenged incumbent Gerald Ford for the Republican presidential nomination.

After losing a string of early primaries, Reagan stumbled upon a fringe issue that came to animate his conservative base and reignited his flailing campaign. It wasn’t quite enough to put him over the edge against Ford, but it helped him defeat Jimmy Carter four years later.

With Trump now demanding that Panama cede the canal back to the United States, and threatening to use military force if the Panamanian government refuses his demand, the topic is back in the news. And it’s no less strange than it was almost 40 years ago.

As was the case then, most Americans today really don’t care. A recent YouGov poll found that 36 percent of voters support Trump’s territorial and expansionist aspirations; 36 percent oppose them; and 29 percent don’t have a point of view either way.

But much as Reagan did before him, Trump has seized on the canal as a symbol. In the 1970s, America was reeling from the Vietnam War, stagflation, oil shortages and, eventually, a hostage crisis in Iran. These overlapping crises left many people worried that the country was weak, no longer the master of its own destiny.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/01/11/trumps-bluster-panama-canal-00197624

The threat was the possible use of military force is a significant threat and I want to get this down before the swearing in and the news about this foreign policy threat is sidelined with all the pomp and ceremony of a coronation.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Real Noriega Story

One of America’s “friends” that became an enemy after their usefulness was gone….Noriega joins the likes of Saddam in this category.

After the US invasion and the capture of Noriega the story turned to his “crimes” and not much was mentioned about the work he did for the US, especially the CIA……

The mainstream media’s obituaries for Gen. Manuel Noriega missed the real story: the U.S. government’s rank hypocrisy in justifying a bloody invasion that deepened Panama’s role in the drug trade.

The death of former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega on May 29 elicited few if any tears. But it should have sparked more reflection in the United States on his ugly history of service to the CIA, the hypocrisy of Washington’s sudden discovery of his abuses once Noriega became an unreliable ally against the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, and the George H.W. Bush administration’s bloody and illegal invasion of Panama in December 1989.

In fairness, many progressives and mainstream journalists have called attention to this troublesome history over the years. But few have dared to question the nearly universal condemnation of Noriega as a protector of international drug traffickers. That incendiary claim — first broadcast loudly by the unlikely trio of right-wing Sen. Jesse Helms, R-North Carolina; liberal Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts; and investigative journalist Seymour Hersh — galvanized the American public to support his ouster.

Source: Missing the Real Noriega Story – Consortiumnews

Interesting how we Americans seldom know the “real” story until after the fact on so many of our country’s decisions….Noriega and Saddam are two of those stories.

In The Shadow Of Panama

I do not know if many of my readers will remember the invasion of Panama in 1989 in Operation Just Cause….the US went into the country with guns a blazing and took down the country’s leader, Noriega.

Yep Reagan had his invasion…..that of the tiny island nation of Grenada and then Bush1 had to have his……Panama.

It is still a point of contention as to why the US invaded its once friendly ally……..Panama was an easy target because the U.S. already had a large military force in 18 bases around the country. Until 1979, the occupied Panama Canal Zone had been sovereign territory of the United States. The Panama Canal was scheduled to be turned over to Panama partially in 1990 and fully in 2000. The U.S. military would be able to crush a hapless opponent and ensure control over a vital strategic asset.

Washington began disseminating propaganda about “human rights abuses” and drug trafficking by President Manuel Noriega. Most of the allegations were true, and they had all been willingly supported by the U.S. government while Noriega was a CIA asset receiving more than $100,000 per year. But when Noriega was less than enthusiastic about helping the CIA and their terrorist Contra army wage war against the civilian population in Nicaragua, things changed.

Old news, right?

I bring all this up to write about a report I read on Venezuela from the Center of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)………

The investigation is being carried out by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and federal prosecutors in New York and Miami—notably, this is not under the White House’s direction or coordination. And the case they’re building has foundations in the testimony of former cocaine traffickers, defectors from the Venezuelan military, and informants who were once close to top Venezuelan officials, including the former head of Cabello’s security detail.

All of this comes to light just months after the White House named Venezuela a threat to the national security of the United States, imposing sanctions on seven mid-level government officials on human rights grounds. And though in the lead-up to the Summit of the Americas in April, Tom Shannon, former Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere and current Senior Counselor to Secretary of State John Kerry, visited Venezuela to start bilateral dialogues, the new investigations could put a damper on subsequent efforts to address the U.S.-Venezuela relationship.

Shades of Panama?  Is this the same tactic used in the run up to the invasion of Panama?  Narco crimes are really easy subject to press….especially in the Southern hemisphere.

Is this the start of something big?  Will the government justify the invasion of yet another country?  How will this set with the American people?  Since drugs and terrorism has been used to justify many incursion why would this be any different?

Is this the next conflict that our troops will have to deal with in the near future?

 

 

 

How the Iraq Wars began with the Invasion of Panama | Informed Comment

Today is Christmas Eve so I will be lazy….there will only be a couple of posts today……getting ready for tomorrow…..thanx for your understanding.

I enjoy studying historical perspectives….you know how one international event can lead to another and another…..kinda like the events that gave us World War 1……

It seems that Iraq has become our perpetual war that seems to go on and on without any possibility of conclusion……then I ask ….but why?

It is time for Americans to remove their heads from the sand……they should realize just what their government is doing and why……

 

How the Iraq Wars began with the Invasion of Panama | Informed Comment.

Please after reading let me know your thoughts……