Posted on 12/24/2024 10:37:36 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
President-elect Donald Trump’s threat last weekend to reclaim the Panama Canal was designed to make clear that “decades of U.S. commerce financing China’s growth and strategic footprint in the Americas is over,” according to a senior Trump appointee.
Successive administrations have allowed a “vacuum of control and influence” in the Western Hemisphere, Mauricio Claver-Carone, named by Trump as his incoming administration’s special envoy for Latin America, said Monday.
But those earlier administrations also included Trump’s first term, when his policy in the hemisphere focused primarily on migration and sanctions against Venezuela, even as Panama severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan and established ties with China in 2017. That opened the door to Chinese investments and companies that were already winning bids for major infrastructure projects elsewhere in the region.
Trump’s recent comments may reflect a newly muscular interpretation of his America First policy amid rising alarm about what the commander of U.S. forces in the region this year called China’s significant presence on America’s “20-yard-line.” At the same time, the incoming administration may see Latin America as an easier place to exert foreign policy pressure — or at least the image of toughness — than some other parts of the world.
Following declarations that the canal was a “vital” U.S. “national asset,” Trump made a similar claim Sunday on another part of the hemisphere. In a social media post, he said that U.S. “ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” for American national security and for “Freedom throughout the World.”
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Dear Washington Post,
Greenland is kind of a fun idea. The Canal takes priority.
Doesn’t Greenland already belong to Canada , maybe the US and Canada can share, LOL
I’m thinking we should take a look for a second route....The Panama Canal isn’t perfect.
Greenland belongs to Denmark.
That’s correct.
We may not have much of a choice but to take the canal back.
Think like a negotiator!
Trump is pressuring Panama to close the Darian Gap by threatening to take back the Canal
I heard someone say there’s a provision in the treaty regarding the Panama Canal, in which we can take back control under certain circumstances of an emergency.
I have not read the treaty myself. I just heard someone say that in the fine print of the treaty that this is possible.
I can see disagreements, however, if the government of Panama does not declare an emergency.
In the past did we have American military people in Panama? I recall in the past that the Panama Canal Zone was American territory, but I thought we gave that zone back as part of the canal treaty.
I bet Musk is pondering.
It’s gone. The US is not getting it back.
The best thing we could do is to have it shut down, so much more stuff would get made in the USA, which may be Trump’s intention.
Trump might actually be playing higher-dimensional chess.
An alternative is to suggest that the US might finance a second canal, unless the US Navy gets temporal transit preference and real cheap transit rates.
Greenland belongs to Denmark.
but Greenland says it’s part of North America and screw the EU ,LOL
I love the “Only 1 left. Order now.” LOL!
“Greenland is kind of a fun idea.”
I’m pretty sure some people in Copenhagen think otherwise.
Why should the US aggravate Denmark and Greenland simply to avoid operating a mine in the USA?
“Known for its natural beauty, the US state of Wyoming may soon be known for something buried beneath its stunning topography: An estimated 2.34 billion metric tons of rare earth minerals (REMs), which make the world’s computing-dependent technologies possible, were recently discovered near Wheatland, a town in southeastern Wyoming.
“According to American Rare Earths, the company’s wholly-owned deposits have a potential volume far greater than China’s estimated 44 million metric tons of the minerals, which could establish the US as the world’s largest supplier. At present, China supplies about 95% of the global supply of REMs, 74% of which are imported by the US.”
Now if Greenland would like to sell mining rights, Congress might vote the funds to buy them, if a purchase can be made in the coming year.
Naw....alternative route would probably be cheaper....and maybe give them immigrants jobs.
P
When he says we’re going to reclaim the Panama Canal and annex Greenland, take it seriously. Trump is not to be underestimated.
I read that Denmark is boosting their defense spending for Greenland after President Trump said he wanted it.
America’s bankruptcy is far more of a threat, a fatal one, than Chinese companies operating in Panama.
But we won’t deal with the real problem, will we?
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