Trump's diplomatic boomerang
March 12, 2025
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s “Trump Whisperer” moves have made her a national rockstar at home — but around the world “Trump’s sweeping tariffs and threats to the trans-Atlantic alliance have breathed life into centrist leaders,” reports the New York Times.
And those who have responded back to Trump are reaping popularity rewards, reports the Associated Press.
Indeed, Panama’s strategy of accommodation does not seem to have placated Trump, writes Alonso E. Illueca in America Quarterly, pointing to his continued threats to take back the Panama Canal.
Instead, he argues, Panama should “align with the rules based international order. This includes establishing synergies with like-minded states which have been also affected by U.S. actions such as Canada, Mexico, Greenland and Denmark. The country should seek to transcend the U.S.-China binary and find alternatives for alliances, which should include partners like the European Union. “
More Regional Relations
A senior official at the main U.S. aid agency, which is being dismantled by the U.S. Trump administration, told employees destroy classified documents and personnel files. The move comes as President Donald Trump’s administration faces legal challenges over its attempt to shut down the federal agency, reports NBC.
“The documents being destroyed could have relevance to multiple court cases that have been filed against the Trump administration and the aid agency over the mass firing and sudden relocation of employees, the rapid dismantlement of the agency and a freeze on almost all foreign aid money,” reports the New York Times.
Migration
The U.S. Trump administration has said as many as 30,000 deported migrants could be housed in Guantánamo Bay military facilities. But “for now, the operation can hold just 225 immigration detainees at a time, according to a briefing provided to members of Congress who visited the base on Friday,” reports the New York Times.
Cuba has yet to discuss migration with the Trump administration, Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio told Reuters, even as the U.S. plows ahead with a vast immigration crackdown that could leave many Cubans at risk of deportation.
Colombia
Commanders from Colombia's National Liberation Army guerrilla group have vowed to repel a government counteroffensive in the country's northeast, warning that years of "total peace" risk turning into "total war,” reports AFP.
Haiti
The United Nations' Haiti rights expert said yesterday that he believed solving a spiraling insecurity crisis in the Caribbean nation was "doable," if law enforcement are properly supplied and neighboring countries do their part, reports Reuters.
El Salvador
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s La Unión airport project is destroying an environmentally vital mangrove forest in order to further the government’s plan for “Bitcoin City,” a tax-free economic hub, reports the Guardian.
Brazil
Brazil’s aviation agency suspended the operating license for local airline Voepass, citing security risks as an investigation continues into a crash in August that killed all 62 people on board, reports the Associated Press.
Haiti
The Port-au-Prince statue of the Unknown Maroon – or the Nèg Mawon as Haitians call it in Kreyòl – was commissioned by a dictator to represent freedom and now stands in the middle of a war zone, reports the Guardian. “He has become one of the most powerful symbols of Haiti’s catastrophe and its determination to resist.”
Regional
Cruise companies are opening private beach clubs in the Caribbean — raising concerns that the local tourism industry will be further sidelined by visitors. (New York Times)