International
Antony Blinken assures that the Panamanian sovereignty of the Panama Canal “will not change”
The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, assured this Thursday that Panamanian sovereignty over the Panama Canal “will not change,” despite the threat of President-elect Donald Trump to regain US control of the interoceanic route.
“We have a treaty and a policy in force for many years and that is not going to change. As I said before, it’s not worth spending time on this,” he said at his last press conference before leaving office.
His answer was similar to the one he gave last week in Paris when he was questioned by Trump’s plan to annex Greenland to the United States.
“It’s not worth spending time on that issue because that’s not going to happen,” he said at the time.
Blinken’s statements come a day after the nominee to succeed him, Marco Rubio, suggested that China’s influence on the Panama Canal is a violation of the terms of the delivery of the road to the Panamanians.
Rubio, next Secretary of State in the Trump Administration, warned during his confirmation hearing in the Senate that this is “a very legitimate issue” for the United States, although it opened the door to dialogue with the Panamanian authorities.
“Panama is a great partner in many other matters, and I hope we can solve this issue of the channel and its security,” Blinken said.
“Although technically sovereignty over the canal has not been handed over to a foreign power, in reality a foreign power today possesses, through its companies, which are not independent, the ability to turn the channel into a bottleneck at a time of conflict,” he added.
Blinken was convinced that the agreement for a truce in the Gaza Strip and the release of the hostages will take effect on Sunday as planned, despite the fact that Israel and Hamas accuse each other of delaying it.
“I am confident and fully hope that the implementation will begin as we said on Sunday,” the head of US diplomacy said at his last press conference before leaving office.
On Thursday, the Israeli government accused Hamas of introducing new conditions in the ceasefire and hostage release agreement announced last night, while the Islamist group recriminated the Israelis for trying to “create tension at a critical moment.”
The relatives of the hostages who still remain in Gaza attend with anguish to the rifirrafe, less than three days before the agreed date for the departure of the first kidnapped.
The announced ceasefire should come into force next Sunday and would allow the release of Israeli hostages – alive and dead – and access to humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave, where more than 46,700 people have died since October 7, 2023.
The team of outgoing President of the United States, Joe Biden, and President-elect Donald Trump, participated in the final stretch of the negotiations, which also had the mediation of Qatar and Egypt.
The Secretary of State urged the next Donald Trump Administration to ensure that the ceasefire agreement that the next president wants to achieve in Ukraine is truly “lasting.”
“One of the most important things here is that if there is a ceasefire, that it is durable and that it is maintained,” said the head of US diplomacy in his last press conference.
For Blinken, this is key, because, as he warned, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, “will want to take weight off him” and “attack when he feels it’s time.”
“A ceasefire agreement must be reached with the effective deterrence necessary so that Russia does not attack again,” he warned.
Trump, who will assume power on January 20, has criticized the constant sending of weapons to Ukraine by the Joe Biden Administration and has made it a priority to end the war started by the Russian invasion of February 2022.
Blinken defended that the strategy of the outgoing government, focused on sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia, sought to put Ukraine “in a position of power” against the Kremlin.
“That I could continue fighting, if necessary, or sit down to negotiate, if that’s what they wanted, but do it from a strong position,” he added.
He also claimed that this plan has caused “unimaginable” losses for Russia: “We see the impact on its economy, on its future and on its inability to invest in critical infrastructure for the future.”
Marco Rubio, Blinken’s successor, declared on Wednesday that the policy of the new US government will be to end the war and asked for “concessions” to both Ukraine and Russia.
The next Secretary of State said that Russia will not be able to invade all of Ukraine, but he also described it as “unrealistic” to think that Ukraine will be able to recover the pre-invasion borders.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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