International
Marco Rubio leaves Panama after distancing from China and giving priority to his ships in the Canal
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, concluded his official visit to Panama on Monday after ensuring that the Central American country has committed itself not to renew a trade agreement with China and to work with the US Navy to “optimize the priority” of the transit of its ships through the Channel.
The Government of Panama has wanted to bring positions closer to Rubio in an attempt to reduce tensions over Donald Trump’s threats to “recover” the Panama Canal due to the alleged presence of China, denied by the Panamanian authorities and which seems to have its origin in the Hong Kong business administration in two ports near the road.
Thus, the epicenter of Rubio’s visit to the Central American country, and also of his meeting with the Panamanian president, José Raúl Mulino, have been the controversy around the interoceanic route, China and migration, another issue that marks the agenda of the US Secretary of State on the tour he makes through Central America.
After the meeting between the two officials last Sunday, Panama communicated its intention not to renew the economic cooperation agreement with China on the New Silk Road signed in 2017, under the mandate of then-President Juan Carlos Varela, whom Mulino himself has blamed for that crisis with the United States.
Rubio applauded this decision on Monday and described it as a “great step forward for US-Panama relations, and for a free Panama Canal.”
Thus, given the concerns expressed by the United States about the two ports of the canal, operated by a Chinese company, Mulino informed Rubio at that meeting that there are audits in progress and that it cannot be pronounced until they are concluded.
Mulino indirectly referred to the company CK Hutchison Holdings, a multinational based in Hong Kong that operates two ports at the entrances of the Pacific and the Atlantic of the Channel, and that has been in the process of being audited by the Panamanian authorities for weeks.
Although the Panamanian president announced that the meeting was “cordial and respectful,” Rubio launched a harsh message demanding Mulino to “immediate changes” to counter the alleged Chinese influence in the Panama Canal. Two very distant communications after the meeting.
For its part, China said on Monday that Panama’s withdrawal from the Silk Road initiative promoted by its Government before what it calls “the global South” is “a regrettable decision,” in the words of its ambassador to the UN, Fu Cong, during a press conference in New York.
Panama’s decision not to renew the cooperation agreement with China of this initiative to which it joined in 2017 was one of the promises that the US Foreign Minister, Marco Rubio, made yesterday with the Panamanian president, José Raúl Mulino.
For his part, Cong indicated that behind the Silk Road there is “no political agenda”, contrary to the “defamation campaign launched by the United States and other Western countries.”
On the contrary – he reasoned – the Silk Road “is an economic initiative whose purpose is to build a platform for countries, especially those of the global South, to promote economic cooperation among themselves.”
The ambassador also referred to the accusations made by President Donald Trump and his team that China controls the Panama Canal, something he said “is totally false.”
“China has not participated in either the management or operation of the Panama Canal, and has never interfered in the affairs of the canal,” the diplomat clarified, thus coming out in step with Trump’s main argument to claim his right to “recover” the Panama Canal for the United States.
China – the ambassador said – “respects Panama’s sovereignty and recognizes the Canal as a neutral international infrastructure,” he insisted.
After the meeting with Rubio, Mulino declared that “Panama’s sovereignty is not in question,” a message that agrees with his speech since Trump threatened to regain US control of the interoceanic route.
In addition, the Panamanian president felt that there is “no real threat at this time against the treaty, the validity, and much less the use of military force to seize the Channel” and clarified that “there is no doubt that the channel is operated by our country and will remain so,” two of the great fears behind Trump’s intentions.
Rubio also visited the Panama Canal and met with the waterway authorities, who pledged to work with the US Navy to “optimize the priority in the transit of their ships” through the interoceanic route.
The United States is one of the main customers of the Panama Canal and the route “an important driver of the trade relationship” between the two countries, since at the end of fiscal year 2024, 52% of transits through the Channel registered ports with origin-destination in the United States, and more than 76% of the cargo that transited through the Channel had that country as origin-destination.
During the meeting at the presidential palace of Las Garzas, the Panamanian president offered Rubio to strengthen cooperation in the deportation of migrants, since Panama and the United States maintain an agreement to return passers-by who have crossed the dangerous jungle of Darién, the natural border with Colombia, on flights paid for by the North American country.
Even this Monday before leaving for El Salvador, Rubio was present on one of those flights framed within the agreement and admitted that “to a certain extent, our border does not begin in Texas and Mexico, it begins much earlier.”
This memorandum between both countries was signed on July 1, the same day of the inauguration of Mulino. Since it was launched on August 20, the United States has financed almost 2.7 million dollars in flights and tickets for the return of 1,729 migrants to their countries of origin, according to information from the US government.
Panama has been Marco Rubio’s first stop on his tour of Central America, which has been in El Salvador since Monday, and then continues to Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.
For her part, the Chinese ambassador to Panama, Xu Xueyuan, asked Washington to “learn to respect” the decisions of countries like Panama to cooperate with China, with whom she maintains ties “based on the principles of equality, respect and mutual benefit.”
“The United States cannot tolerate Panama cooperating with China. The establishment of relations between China and Panama was transparent and honest, without covert operations or money transactions,” said the ambassador in the newspaper ‘La Estrella de Panamá’, according to the website of the Chinese delegation in that country today.
In 2017, Panama broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan to establish them with China, which was an important diplomatic victory for Beijing.
In addition, Panama joined the New Silk Roads initiative months later, but after yesterday’s meeting between the president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, and the head of US diplomacy, Marco Rubio, the country communicated its intention to withdraw from the Chinese project.
“A US delegation visited Panama, bringing a greater impact than a tropical storm,” said Xu, who also assures that “respecting the permanent neutrality of the Panama Canal is a solemn commitment from China.”
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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