Free Republic

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday slammed U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies and sweeping tariffs, saying they harm multilateralism as he met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow. -snip- "The latest decisions by the U.S. president to unilaterally put tariffs on trade with all countries in the world undermine the great idea of free trade and strengthening multilateralism," Lula said during a bilateral meeting with Putin. The leftist leader said he intends to strengthen Brazil's strategic partnership with Russia, citing "political, commercial, cultural, scientific and technological interests" as he sees room to increase trade.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have signed a strategic partnership agreement. -snip- Since 2022, Russia has already signed strategic partnership pacts with China, North Korea and Iran. -snip- During his visit to Moscow, Maduro is also due to attend commemorative events around the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany, including a military parade on Friday.

REVEALED: The 60,000 US troops already based in Europe that Biden might call into action to defend against Russian aggression: American warships, stealth fighter jets, tanks and bombers could now train their sights on Putin.The USS Harry S. Truman and its strike group will participate in a NATO exercise in the Mediterranean until February 4; Biden said he and European leaders had 'total unanimity' about the situation in the Ukraine; The White House said NATO has emphasised a desire for a diplomatic solution; Putin discussed a 'strategic partnership' with Cuba in a phone call with President Miguel Díaz-Canel, days after...

Americans barely remember the Mexican-American War, but in Mexico memories of the war and other military quarrels with the United States remain deeply felt. Mexico lost half its territory, including California, in the war that broke out this week in 1846. President Claudia Sheinbaum, who often speaks of Mexico’s sovereignty, said, “We are neither a protectorate nor a colony of any foreign nation.” MEXICO CITY — At the entrance to Mexico City’s largest park lies a towering marble monument to six young military cadets killed in battle. The Niños Héroes — “boy heroes” — died while defending Mexico’s capital...

China’s activities in the Western Hemisphere pose a direct challenge to US interests and regional security ... Donald Trump understands that modern threats – China’s predatory mercantilism and its massive military buildup, including the ability to destroy our reconnaissance satellites in orbit – requires an urgent reinvigoration of the 200-year-old Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine, America’s fundamental national security imperative, seeks to exclude outside powers from the Western Hemisphere. It is key to protecting the U.S. and our neighbors from China’s malicious designs. ... Trump understands that Greenland and Panama aren’t merely the key in any potential conflict with China,...

In a bold move signaling America's renewed strength on the global stage, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is set to visit Panama as President Donald Trump declares the U.S. is "reclaiming" control over the Panama Canal. With the Trump administration focused on asserting American influence and safeguarding vital national interests, this trip marks a significant step in strengthening ties with Panama and reinforcing the strategic importance of the canal to U.S. trade and security. As the president takes decisive action on the world stage, Hegseth's visit underscores a broader push to reclaim America's leadership role in global affairs. Hegseth is...

The Chavista regime of Nicolás Maduro is playing with fire and knows it! US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a stern warning yesterday from Guyana: any aggression against this country or ExxonMobil's operations in the Essequibo will have "serious consequences" for Caracas. In a press conference alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, Rubio didn't mince words: "It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime, a very bad week, and it wouldn't end well." The message is clear: the US will not tolerate the bravado of a declining leftist dictator. Maduro, the tyrant who has plunged Venezuela into...

If you think President Trump is just goofing around about Greenland or just using it for some sort of negotiation leverage, you would be wrong. And President Trump FULL TRANSCRIPT: We need Greenland, very importantly, for international security. We have to have Greenland. It’s not a question of “Do you think we can do without it?” We can’t. If you look at Greenland right now, if you look at the waterways, you have Chinese and Russian ships all over the place. And we’re not going to be able to do that. We’re not relying on Denmark or anybody else to...

On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe gave his 7th State of the Union address before Congress, using the occasion to advance what would later become known as the Monroe Doctrine. After a string of former Spanish colonies in the Americas declared their independence, Monroe said the United States would oppose further predation in the region from the European empires to preserve the newly emancipated states. As American power exploded during the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Monroe Doctrine evolved and increasingly came to mean Washington's opposition to any potentially hostile foreign power establishing itself in the Americas. With...

“I got to say the Danish ambassador, they were upset and they were offended and they said, ‘Greenland is not for sale,’ and I laughed, and I said, ‘You know what: everything is for sale,'” Cruz said. “But friends and allies can have conversations about things that are mutual benefits. What I told Denmark is, I said: ‘Ever since the president began talking about this, Greenland’s independence movement has been growing in momentum. And if Greenland declares itself independent of you, Denmark gets nothing.’”

The Monroe Doctrine, established in 1823, was originally drafted to protect U.S. interests against European powers that could try to recolonize South American countries gaining independence from Spain and to ward off Russian moves into the Pacific Northwest. Czarist Russia bloodlessly desisted from attempts to colonize the West Coast and Alaska. However, U.S. hemispheric dominance has proved more difficult to enforce in Latin America, involving the U.S. in local conflicts that have led to past military interventions. President Obama’s secretary of state, John Kerry, declared before the Organization of American States in 2013 that “the Monroe Doctrine is over.” But...

In the recent frenzy of commentary seeking to interpret U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s increasingly adamant comments about territorial expansion to Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal, too much of the discussion has focused on matters of secondary importance. These range from assessing whether Trump is merely engaging in a game of showmanship or distraction, to deciphering how those regions’ inhabitants feel about ceding territorial control to the United States, to determining how much it would cost to purchase their acquiescence. From a policy perspective, though, more fundamental matters have gone surprisingly unaddressed, beginning with the question of whether any of...

Rep. Dusty Johnson unveiled legislation that would authorize the repurchase of the Panama Canal, giving congressional teeth to President-elect Donald Trump’s wish to take back the strategic waterway. The Panama Canal Repurchase Act of 2025 would give Mr. Trump, in coordination with the secretary of state, the authority to enter into negotiations with the Panamanian government to buy the canal. Mr. Trump recently said the U.S. should regain control of the Panama Canal to bolster national security interests, largely over concerns about China’s influence over the operations... Panama became a part of China’s Belt and Road initiative in 2018...

President-elect Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would not rule out the possibility of using military or economic coercion to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, emphasizing their strategic significance to U.S. national security. Speaking at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump said that he “cannot assure” that military or economic coercion would not be used to take control of these two strategic locations, in response to a question. “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this, we need them for economic security,” Trump responded. “It might be...

The government of Brazil stopped issuing work visas for Chinese electric carmaker BYD after local authorities rescued 163 Chinese nationals working in conditions “analogous to slavery” at a BYD factory under construction in the city of Camaçari, Bahia, Reuters reported Friday. BYD, a company with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party, is building the plant at a location once occupied by American carmaker Ford, which sold the location to the local Bahia government in 2023 after Ford ceased all operations in Brazil in 2021. Brazil’s Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on December 23 that construction work on BYD’s factory in...

On Friday’s “CNN News Central,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) said that there isn’t any evidence that China exercises control over the Panama Canal in a way that endangers American security, but there is a risk of a hit to America’s reputation if it looks like it’s bullying Panama. Host Jessica Dean said, “I’m curious if you think there is legitimate concern about China’s influence on the Panama Canal.” Auchincloss responded, “There are two shipping companies domiciled in Hong Kong that have a presence at the Panama Canal Zone, no evidence that I have seen that that represents a security threat...

Forgive us if we missed it, but we don’t recall Donald Trump campaigning to invade Panama and retake its famous canal. But there was the President-elect on the weekend, threatening our Central American ally with punishment if it doesn’t meet his demands. “Our Navy and commerce have been treated in a very unfair and injudicious way. The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama—I say, very foolishly, by the United States,” Mr. Trump told a crowd in Phoenix. “This complete ripoff of our country will immediately stop.”...

Trump made an economic argument along with his geopolitical one: “We’re being ripped off at the Panama Canal like we’re being ripped off everywhere else,” he told the audience as he denounced the increased fees billed to American shippers by the canal’s operators. ... The first treaty obliged Panama to operate the canal neutrally, with nondiscriminatory pricing, and allowed the United States to defend it from any threat that might interfere with its neutrality. The second treaty transferred full control to Panama effective on Dec. 31, 1999, without superseding the first treaty’s broad provision allowing for US defense of this...

…….. However, this issue is not solely about economics. Trump’s statements also reflect broader anxieties about China’s expanding regional influence. Since Panama recognized China diplomatically instead of Taiwan in 2017, Beijing has intensified its economic engagement, including significant investments in infrastructure projects near the canal. The U.S. Southern Command has voiced concerns about these Chinese investments, with General Laura Richardson highlighting to a Senate panel that they pose a potential threat to U.S. interests. China’s control over ports at both ends of the canal through Hutchison Ports PPC, a Hong Kong-based company with strong ties to Beijing, has fueled these...

The Panama Canal is a great creation of the people of Panama, and China has always supported the people of Panama in their just struggle for sovereignty over the Canal, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday, when commenting on US President-elect Donald Trump's recent claim that the canal is a "vital national asset" for the US, which he threatened to reassert US control over. Trump's remarks put this key waterway in South America under the spotlight, after he threatened Sunday to reassert US control over the Panama Canal. He accused Panama of charging excessive rates to use...