Panama Canal Becomes 'A Blueprint For Ejecting China From Latin America

Panama Canal Becomes a ‘Blueprint’ for Ejecting China from Latin America PANAMA Panama In 1997, Panama issued the first of two 25-year licenses to a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, giving the firm control of ports on both sides of the Panama Canal – a move critics say expanded China’s strategic footprint in the waterway. Since then, American leaders, especially President Donald Trump, have sounded alarm bells over China’s influence in the region. In his inauguration speech last year, for instance, Trump vowed to take back the canal that the US transferred to Panama in 1999 and has put the Central American country under pressure ever since. The canal is a “hinge point” in the new world order that Trump is seeking to create. The American invasion of Venezuela last month was a major milestone in that plan. A second came in late January when Panama’s Supreme Court invalidated the two agreements on constitutional grounds in a case filed by the government three days after CK Hutchison refused to sell its port operations. Analysts say Panama is a warning to the rest of the Americas – get ready to be caught between the US and China. “It is hard to imagine that any of this would have happened without the pressure applied by the United States,” the Economist said. The capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and ominous threats over Greenland’s sovereignty grab the world’s attention, but the squeeze that Mr. Trump has put on Panama is more relevant for the rest of the Americas. Panama could become a blueprint. Small countries are vulnerable.” In the case, plaintiffs said the licenses were bad for the country. Since CK Hutchison Holdings began operating the ports, the Panamanian government has lost $1.3 billion in revenues, which are vital to the local economy, the Wall Street Journal reported, noting that 5 percent of global trade and 40 percent of US trade pass through the canal. The court’s decision was a big win for Trump. Chinese officials described it as “political backstabbing” and a “legal absurdity,” wrote Agence France-Presse. CK Hutchison Holdings has initiated arbitration proceedings, but Panamanian officials have yet to confirm whether they will join. The canal is extremely important for Chinese exporters who would lose significant margins if they had to transport their goods around South America rather than cutting through the canal to the Caribbean and the US. The Panama case may serve as a model for other Latin American countries facing US pressure to reduce Chinese influence. In 2021, similar pressure persuaded Chile to terminate a contract with a Chinese-German consortium managing its passports. Still, China controls about two-thirds of Chile’s energy sector. Currently, Peru is in Washington’s sights because of a $1.3 billion Chinese-built megaport in Chancay. The Trump administration last week expressed concern that China was costing Peru its sovereignty by solidifying control over the South American nation’s critical infrastructure after a Peruvian court ruling restricted a local regulator’s oversight of the port. “The…port …has become a symbol of China’s foothold in Latin America and a lightning rod for tensions with Washington,” wrote Houston Public Media. The Chinese government strongly rejected the US comments on the port issue. China, since the 1990s, has been steadily increasing its influence in South and Central America. Currently, China is the top trading partner for South America and is becoming the largest for Latin America as a whole, wrote the Conversation. It is also a major source of foreign direct investment and infrastructure lending for the region. However, Chinese investments also tend to focus on areas that give Beijing control over a country’s critical infrastructure such as the Peruvian port, as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. Meanwhile, Chinese diplomats said they would force Panama to pay a “heavy price” for its actions vis- à-vis the Panama Canal. Analysts say arbitration will be costly, but other measures from China could include cutting financing to the country. Meanwhile, Panama’s investment credentials could also take a hit. Still, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino stuck to his guns, saying the Chinese would need to accept the decision because his country respected the rule of law, according to Al Jazeera. “Panama is a dignified country and will not allow itself to be threatened by any country on earth,” Mulino said recently. However, last year, many Panamanians expressed similar sentiments toward what they perceived as US interference, angry at the bullying from the behemoth to the north. Still, Amalendu Misra, professor of international politics at Lancaster University, says the Panamanian Supreme Court decision is a warning to China and countries in the region. “(Chinese companies may) come to realize with the Panamanian Supreme Court verdict that there is nothing that China can do if your investment goes down the drain,” Misra told France24. “Many Latin American and Central American countries are going to become stronger now by taking this example, by saying no to Chinese control of their resources, their ports and other things.”

Argentina's Upper House Approves Milele's Labor Overhauls Amid Mass Potesta

Argentina’s Upper House Approves Milei’s Labor Overhaul Amid Mass Protests ARGENTINA Argentina Argentina’s Senate on Thursday approved President Javier Milei’s sweeping labor reforms bill after a marathon debate amid mass protests outside Congress, handing the libertarian leader a crucial victory in his economic overhaul program, the Associated Press reported. In a 42-30 vote, senators backed the bill after 13 hours of debate, sending it to the lower house for further discussion next month, where amendments could still be introduced or reversed. The reforms – considered central to Milei’s shock therapy program – expose deep political and social divisions over workers’ rights and economic policy. The changes will lower employers’ costs, ease severance obligations and extend trial periods for new hires. The reforms will also curb the right to strike and allow collective bargaining at the company level. Milei’s administration made 28 concessions to secure support, including removing a proposal to lower employers’ income taxes that would have reduced provincial revenue, according to Bloomberg. Some provisions that threatened union finances were also watered down. The vo

Colombia: Prosecutors To Charge National Oil Company Chief For Corruption In Probe Linked To President

Colombian Prosecutors to Charge National Oil Company Chief for Corruption in Probe Linked to President COLOMBIA Colombia Colombia’s attorney general will file corruption charges against the president of the national oil company Ecopetrol for alleged violations of campaign spending limits when he was running Gustavo Petro’s 2022 presidential campaign, the Associated Press reported. The state oil company’s president, Ricardo Roa, managed Petro’s finances during his ultimately successful bid to become Colombia’s first leftist president four years ago. He was appointed a year later to lead the oil company. Prosecutors said on Monday that they had evidence that Roa helped the Petro campaign illegally exceed spending limits. Authorities are also investigating him for alleged influence peddling linked to the purchase of an apartment in Bogotá from an oil executive, Bloomberg reported. They also allege that Roa steered Ecopetrol contracts to the executive’s firm in exchange for the apartment. Roa has denied the allegations. Even so, Colombia’s National Electoral Council fined him and two other campaign administrators for funding Petro’s campaign with money from illegal sources and exceeding spending limits by more than $1.4 million. The controversy surrounding Petro’s presidential campaign began in 2023, when a lawyer representing a government contractor with alleged ties to a paramilitary group said his client donated thousands of dollars to the campaign. That same year, Petro’s son, Nicolás Petro, told prosecutors that his father’s campaign had used money from a former drug trafficker. Nicolás is currently under investigation for money laundering. The president has denied the accusations and labeled them as part of an effort to undermine his administration. Roa’s investigation comes as Colombians are heading to the polls later this year to elect a new president and Congress. Petro is constitutionally barred from seeking reelection.

U.S. Military Is Doing Something HUGE with Cuba

Venezuela Leader Approves Privatization Of Oil, Proposes Amnesty Bill

Venezuelan Leader Approves Privatization of Oil, Proposes Amnesty Bill VENEZUELA Venezuela Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez this week approved a law that would open the country’s oil sector to private investment, acceding to the US’ demands less than a month after the seizure of President Nicolás Maduro in a US military attack, the Associated Press reported. The law ends the two-decade Venezuelan state monopoly over the country’s oil sector. The approval prompted the US to lift certain sanctions on Venezuela, with the aim of luring foreign capital to revive output from the world’s largest proven crude reserves. The shift marks a sharp departure from policies under former president Hugo Chávez, who used oil windfalls to fund expansive social programs. But falling oil prices, mismanagement and later US sanctions eroded production and profits, leading to a deep economic crisis by 2013. Separately, Rodríguez on Friday unveiled a general amnesty bill that could free hundreds of political prisoners, in another move to advance a cautious reset with Washington, CBS News reported. The proposal has long been sought by the US-backed opposition, with its leader María Corina Machado saying the bill was not announced “voluntarily, but rather in response to pressure from the US government.” Rodríguez said that the ruling party-controlled parliament would take up the bill and framed the measure as an effort to “heal the wounds left by the political confrontation fueled by violence and extremism.” The government has not published the text of the bill, prompting questions about who is eligible under the general amnesty. The proposed legislation would cover “the entire period of political violence from 1999 to the present,” according to Rodríguez. It would not apply to individuals convicted of murder, drug trafficking, corruption or human rights violations. Rodríguez also announced the closure of Helicoide, a Caracas detention center long linked to torture allegations, saying it would be converted into a sports and cultural complex. According to the Venezuelan-based human rights group Foro Penal, around 711 people remain detained for political activities. Since Maduro’s capture, Caracas has released more than 300 detainees, according to the watchdog group. On Saturday, Laura Dogu, the chief US diplomat to Venezuela, traveled to Caracas to meet Venezuelan officials, as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reopen the US embassy there for the first time in nearly seven years, CNN wrote. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil said upcoming talks were aimed at charting a roadmap on bilateral issues and resolving differences “through diplomatic dialogue and on the basis of mutual respect and international law.”

Venezuela Has Had Enough Of US Orders

Venezuela Has Had ‘Enough’ of US Orders VENEZUELA Venezuela Venezuelan officials said they are tired of taking orders from Washington, amid mounting pressure from the US administration to loosen state controls on the oil industry, the Independent reported Monday. “Enough already of Washington’s orders over politicians in Venezuela,” said Acting President Delcy Rodríguez during a Sunday speech to address oil workers in Puerto La Cruz. “Let Venezuelan politics resolve our differences and internal conflicts. Enough of foreign powers.” Her comments came weeks after US forces captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid, an operation that plunged the country into political uncertainty and prompted President Donald Trump to initially say the United States was “going to run” Venezuela. Trump later backed Rodríguez to assume office as interim leader. Rodríguez said Caracas would address disputes “face to face” with Washington and insisted the government was focused on guaranteeing “peace and stability,” Xinhua reported Sunday. She also called for talks with Venezuela’s opposition to reach “agreements” on the country’s political future, saying there must be “no political or partisan differences when it comes to peace in Venezuela,” added the Independent. Despite the rhetoric, Maduro loyalists have expressed concern after Venezuela’s legislature last week began debating a measure that would loosen state control of the oil sector, the first such move since the late president Hugo Chávez nationalized parts of the industry in 2007. The proposed legislation would allow private companies to operate oil fields independently, collect cash revenues and use international arbitration for disputes. The shift appears aimed at easing US pressure and attracting foreign investment, according to the Wall Street Journal. This follows a confirmation by the Trump administration earlier this month of the first sale of Venezuelan oil, raising $500 million. The proceeds are being sequestered in Qatar – rather than US or Venezuelan banks – an arrangement intended to prevent creditors from accessing the funds while allowing money to begin flowing back to Venezuela, CNN noted. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the proceeds would fund government operations, security and food provisions, with Venezuelan banks already advertising cash availability. Meanwhile, the political thaw has coincided with the release of detainees. On Sunday, the non-governmental organization Foro Penal confirmed the release of 104 political prisoners, adding to earlier releases, and bringing the government’s total to 626 freed since December, according to France 24. Opposition groups and rights organizations have welcomed the releases but criticized their slow pace, even as Rodríguez’s government says a “large number” of remaining prisoners will be freed.

Bolivia: Strikes Escalate After Government and Union Fair to reach Agreement

Strikes in Bolivia to Escalate after Government and Union Fail to Reach an Agreement BOLIVIA Bolivia Negotiations between Bolivia’s government and organized labor collapsed over the weekend, intensifying a two-week standoff over fuel subsidy cuts as unions warned of a “national revolution,” MercoPress reported. On Friday, talks between the administration of President Rodrigo Paz and the Bolivian Workers’ Union (COB) broke down after both sides accused each other of inflexibility over Supreme Decree 5503, which ended fuel subsidies and triggered major price hikes. Union leaders abandoned calls for limited roadblocks and said the country faced escalating unrest, with more than 50 blockades reported nationwide. COB Executive Secretary Mario Argollo said the government had refused to repeal what he called an unconstitutional decree that threatened workers’ rights. He accused the administration of betraying rural and labor voters and likened the measure to Bolivia’s 1985 Supreme Decree 21060, which ushered in sweeping neoliberal reforms. The government rejected that account, countering that COB made a U-turn on provisions previously agreed, including minimum wage increases and bonuses included in the decree. Officials claimed union leaders returned to talks with an “unacceptable” ultimatum to completely repeal the decree. They have asked the COB to submit objections in writing to avoid further “misinterpretations.” Paz and his officials have stressed that the subsidy cuts are necessary to restore public finances and correct fiscal distortions. Deputy Minister of Autonomies Andrea Barrientos said the government plans to amend 35 articles of the decree to add procedural clarifications, including constitutional safeguards and social oversight, but without restoring subsidies. The weekslong strikes have caused economic losses of up to $100 million a day, according to the government, citing disruptions to industry, commerce and transport. Meanwhile, the decree has also escalated a political confrontation between Paz and Vice President Edmand Lara, ... [Message clipped] View entire message