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.

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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.

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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.”

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“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.

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“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.

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International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.

Central America

Kristi Noem in Latin America: Talks with Bukele on expulsions and security policies

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday for a meeting with President Nayib Bukele. In a post on the social media platform X, she stated that her goal is to increase deportation flights and expel foreign nationals who have committed crimes in the United States.

El Salvador is the first stop on Noem’s three-nation tour of Latin America this week. On Thursday, she will travel to Colombia to meet with President Gustavo Petro, and on Friday, she will visit Mexico, where she is scheduled to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum.

After arriving in El Salvador, Noem, along with Gustavo Villatoro, El Salvador’s Minister of Justice and Security, visited the Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot)—the megaprison built under Bukele’s administration, designed to house 40,000 inmates. Noem said she wanted to “see firsthand the detention center where the worst criminals are held.”

Cecot is considered the largest prison in the Americas and a key symbol of Bukele’s controversial crackdown on crime.

According to the Salvadoran government, the prison—located about 70 kilometers from San Salvador—houses members of gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18, who have been convicted of serious crimes. The facility also holds the 238 Venezuelans deported from the United States on March 15, in an unprecedented transfer that has drawn criticism from Venezuela’s government and international human rights organizations.