Free Republic

For four decades, the Pacific coast of Panama has counted on a reliable seasonal pulse of cold, nutrient-rich water that powers local fisheries and cools coral reefs. In early 2025 that pulse all but vanished. Scientists report that the Gulf of Panama’s usual upwelling failed for the first time in the instrumental record, a breakdown they see as a warning about how quickly climate disruption can unsettle tropical seas. During most years from roughly December to April, strong northerly trade winds sweep across Central America and into the Gulf of Panama. Those winds push aside warm surface waters so that...

The recent U.S. military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro echoes a chapter from Latin American history: the 1989 invasion of Panama and the arrest of General Manuel Noriega. Both events unfolded on January 3, separated by 36 years, and highlight Washington’s approach to removing leaders it deems threats. In 1989, U.S. President George H.W. Bush, who had served as CIA director, authorized the invasion of Panama to apprehend Noriega, the nation’s de facto ruler. Noriega, once a U.S. intelligence collaborator, faced charges in American courts for drug trafficking. The action marked the final major...

As the U.S. military escalates its posture around Venezuela—with naval deployments in the Caribbean, B-52 overflights, lethal strikes on alleged drug boats, and confirmed CIA covert operations—advocates of regime change are reviving a dangerous analogy. Many have pointed to the United States’ 1989 invasion of Panama and toppling of dictator Manuel Noriega as proof that swift, surgical operations can get the job done. In private conversations with several current and former U.S. officials, they have nodded toward this parallel. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who just last month was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, has appealed to the United...

Here is a Latin America map (image), I marked in green the countries already pro US, and even pro Trump: * Argentina. * Chile * Panama (nothing new) * Paraguay * Honduras

Emergency workers in Trinidad and Tobago are racing to clean up a massive oil spill after a mystery vessel ran aground near the Caribbean island, casting a pall over Carnival tourism. The spill was "not under control" as of Sunday, said Prime Minister Keith Rowley, who added that the country is grappling with a national emergency. The mystery vessel capsized Wednesday in waters off the Caribbean island, having made no emergency calls, with no sign of crew, and no clear sign of ownership.

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Latin America's political shift toward conservative governments was reinforced this week when Chileans elected far-right politician Jose Antonio Kast for the 2026-2030 term. It was the largest vote total ever recorded in a presidential election there. Chile's result strengthened a regional trend that is reshaping domestic political balances and points to closer political and economic alignment with the United States. Chile became the latest country in the region to deliver an electoral swing by handing victory to the opposition and rejecting the ruling coalition's candidate backed by President Gabriel Boric, a leftist. The outcome reflects a...

A Glimmer of Justice Amidst Enduring Shadows:Venezuela's Unlikely Strike Against Islamic Fascist Republic of Iran / Hezbollah's Legacy of Jewish BloodIn a stunning turn that defies the toxic alliance between Venezuela's Chavismo regime and the genocidal mullahs of the Islamo-Fascist Iranian Republic, President Nicolás Maduro's forces have apprehended Ali Hage Zaki Jalil—a Lebanese-Arab Hezbollah terrorist long-sought for his role in the barbaric 1994 bombing of Alas Chiricanas Flight 901 over Panama.[0][1] This monstrous act of Jew-hatred claimed 21 innocent lives, including 12 precious Jewish souls en route from Colón to Panama City, their dreams shattered by the same Iranian-backed terror...

THE search for Saddam Hussein's multi-billion dollar fortune gathered momentum yesterday when special forces seized a half-brother implicated in torture and genocide. Barzan Ibrahim el-Hasan al-Tikriti, the second of Saddam's three half-brothers to be arrested, was captured during a night raid in Baghdad after a tip-off. Barzan, designated the five of clubs in a pack of cards of the most-wanted fugitives, acted as financier, adviser, diplomat and intelligence chief for Saddam. He is believed to have unique knowledge of the billions of dollars hidden abroad for Saddam Hussein and his family. The questioning of Barzan by US investigators is likely...

So long as the world is entertaining worst-case scenarios, the media does Americans no favors in omitting that Iran-Hezbollah has for years prepared to strike in their own hometowns. Weirdly absent from much of the professional speculation about where and how Iran will exact its promised “severe revenge” for the U.S. drone strike killing of Quds Force Gen. Qassem Suleimani is mention of the dead man’s highly suggestive hint. During a time of intense saber rattling between Iran and President Donald Trump in July 2018, Suleimani gave a speech during which he called out the American president: “Mr. Gambler, Trump!...

At least two killed in an apparent Israeli assassination in the Iranian city... The liberal pro-European Union Armenian Prime Minister...visiting Turkey... Confrontation in the South China Sea today as Philippine ships... A state of emergency declared in western Panama where demonstrators... "We're not prepared to negotiate with them anymore, as long as the aggression continues" That is Iran's Foreign Minister... Federal agents deploying tear gas and smoke...just outside Los Angeles... Los Angeles Dodgers...one million dollars...families impacted by the immigration crackdown... Spanish police raiding offices of the ruling Socialist Party... Illegal immigrants may still be able...President Trump suggesting.., The Louisiana law...

A dangerous flesh-eating parasite is rapidly marching toward the United States despite several desperate efforts to halt its advance. And one can thank the Mexican drug cartels for this. As The Atlantic notes, the United States has been fighting an aerial war against the New World screwworm for 70 years. This parasite eats animals alive, including cows, pigs, deer, dogs, and even humans. The larvae of the parasitic fly harboring the worm rip through flesh and transform small pricks into huge, revolting wounds. Worse, they produce foul-smelling odors resembling sewer gas. It’s no wonder the worm’s scientific name, C. hominivorax,...

The mayor of Panama City, Mayer Mizrachi, said the city could potentially establish a bitcoin reserve. The Mayor of Panama City, Mayer Mizrachi, is taking notes on bitcoin from the leader of El Salvador. Speaking at Bitcoin 2025 in Las Vegas on Thursday, Mizrachi said he’s been thinking of ways Panama’s capital city, which is home to the Panama Canal, could implement bitcoin payments. This includes potentially setting up a strategic bitcoin reserve for Panama City, as well as possibly taking payments — including for passage through the Panama Canal — in bitcoin, Mizrachi said. “What if you have a...

Greek authorities in Thessaloniki located and seized 1.6 mln euros worth of cocaine hidden inside a container of bananas from Ecuador. Greek authorities in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki located and seized a significant quantity of cocaine hidden inside a container of bananas from Ecuador, reports MEGA TV. During targeted inspections in the early morning hours of Tuesday at the container terminal (SEMBO), fifty plastic packages containing a total of 57.919 kilograms of the narcotic substance were discovered. The packages were carefully concealed within the container’s refrigeration units. Oddly enough, this is not the first time that a shipment...

Communism is not dead in Latin America. In fact, the dominoes are falling south of the border, but no one seems to be noticing. “It’s a new day. Communism is dead. It’s even dead in Cuba.” So declared Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in May 2002. “I hate to say it,” she continued, “it’s dead.” The senator’s proclamation was a surprise, no doubt, to Fidel Castro, whose regime was (and is) alive and as Red as ever. It also must have come as welcome news to the people of Cuba, still suffering, after nearly half...

Stand back, I’m on the ground Here I come, full of gas, touched down Hot shot, runnin’ to signal virtue Model citizen, need no discipline Don’t you know he’s coming home with me? You’ll lose him at CECOT I’ll get him Abrego, Abrego Abrego, Abrego Ain’t nothin’ like it, it’s MS 13 Got the feel for the kill, keep the slicin’ knives clean Hot shot, runnin’ to signal virtue Got off the ramp comin’ to the prision Don’t you know he’s coming home with me? You’ll lose him at CECOT I’ll get him Oh! Abrego, Abrego Aw! Abrego, Abrego Woo!...

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,...

Smugglers living along key migration routes thrived off the U.S. border crisis, but are now left with next to no income after illegal migrants have largely given up trying to reach the southern border under the Trump administration’s watch. Residents living in the Darien Gap — a vast jungle region between Colombia and Panama that serves as a pivotal way station for northbound migrants — took advantage of the endless number of illegal immigrants who trekked across their lands during the Biden-era, according to locals who spoke with the Associated Press. Noticing an opportunity from those that needed to be...

While the focus of the Trump administration has been on seizing control of the Panama Canal from China, another port on the Pacific Ocean side of South America, CopiaPort-E in Chile, billed as the “Rotterdam of the Pacific,” demands President Trump’s attention. The World Bank, UNESCO, and the Chinese Communist Party had long planned for CopiaPort-E’s 8-kilometer-long natural breakwater peninsula to be the landing pad for China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) in South America. If the Trump administration acts fast, President Trump can block the final step in China’s BRI expansion plans in South America before China finalizes the...

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said he intends to partially reopen the “Jungle School,” where up to 9,000 troops a year trained in jungle warfare from the 1950s to 1999 in the former Panama Canal Zone. Secretary Hegseth made the announcement to U.S. troops in Panama amid an ongoing trip to the Central American country, where he will attend the Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC). Thanking the troops for their service, Hegseth said, “We will have your back; President Trump has asked me to share that with all the groups of troops I talk to,” stressing the importance of...

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...