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The Southern continent faces a choice — anything for the White House or nothing at all
No sooner had the U.S. Congress approved the final results of the country’s presidential election than Donald Trump and his team declared «war on all enemies and detractors». And for some reason, Panama — the most pro-American country in the Americas, which Trump mentioned no less than six times in his inaugural address (more than any other) — was the first on his list. But not to praise it, rather to humiliate it.
What did the small country do wrong? It «allowed the Chinese to secretly settle in the Panama Canal and weave their nets against free America».
And Trump went on the offensive. «First of all, China runs the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China — we gave it to Panama, and now we’re taking it back!» Trump declared. On his Truth social network, he explained that «Chinese soldiers» had been «sent to the Canal» and that «Panama must now urgently remove 64% (!) of the signs written in Chinese». «They are everywhere in the zone», Trump exclaimed in horror, apparently unaware that the «zone» — a former American enclave bordering the canal — has not existed since 1979. Analysts even doubt that the occupant of the White House can recognize the current Panamanian leader’s face and name.
The main goal is to «wrest the Panama Canal from Beijing’s clutches». Especially since Panama has no conventional armed forces, and its so-called «armed militarized formations», which rank 136th out of 145 in the world according to The Global Firepower 2025 ratings, could only offer resistance in a «rat king» state. And even that is not guaranteed.
But today, the Panama Canal is the only short — and therefore most rational — route from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back. Therein lies both its blessing and its curse. The globalists need it now to pit North America against China in the Indo-Pacific military theater in the very near future.
It is unlikely that Trump himself — who has been allowed by the global establishment to come to power for a second time — does not understand this. He has been given a very clear task: to pursue a policy of confrontation with China. If we imagine that such a war will break out in the coming years, then the rapid maneuvering through the Panama Canal of the U.S. Navy’s ships, which are currently serving in the Atlantic and Pacific, will become of paramount importance for the Pentagon.
What might stand in the way? How, and by whom, could the geopolitical interests of the United States be trampled? Paradoxically, it is first and foremost America itself. It is Washington’s imperial, protectionist policies — its self-proclaimed status as «above all else» — that are driving its southern neighbors to seek their own place in the international division of labor. And last but not least, the quest for access to both oceans is playing an important role, not least with the help of none other than China.
In mid-November last year, Peru inaugurated the deep-water port of Chancay. The total investment was US$3.4 billion, with China COSCO Shipping holding a 60% stake in the project. The port has four deep-water berths capable of accommodating the world’s largest container ships and is already ready to serve not only Peru, but also Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and several other South American countries.
In Central America, Honduras is planning an ambitious project to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans with a «dry canal» that will link ports on both oceans by rail. The distance between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans in Honduras is about 300 kilometers. Estimated to cost $20 billion, construction is expected to take more than 10 years.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro stated that «an interoceanic railroad linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans is a project of national interest that will promote the economic and social development of Central America».
Among the countries that have already shown interest in this ambitious project are China, Italy, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Qatar, and… the United States.
In December 2023, Mexico inaugurated its new rail project, which will connect the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean by crossing the narrow Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador inaugurated the Transoceanic Railway, calling it «a historic achievement in the country’s development».
A 188-mile rail corridor has been built across the isthmus, which is expected to carry 1.4 million rail cars per year by 2033.
The $2.8 billion project is intended, according to Mexican officials, to serve as an alternative to the congested Panama Canal.
Clearly, this did not sit well with the previous administration or the current White House. Perhaps this is why a 25% tariff has been imposed on all goods entering the US from Mexico.
Even Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has not given up on the idea of competing with the Panama Canal. At the XVII Business Summit «China — Latin America and the Caribbean» last November, he presented a project for a 445-kilometer canal that would connect the deep-water Atlantic port of Bluefields with the Pacific port of Corinto. It would be 290 to 540 meters wide and 27 meters deep. In addition, about 105 kilometers of the canal would not require dredging — it would run directly through the waters of Nicaragua’s vast tectonic freshwater lake. Nicaragua has invited China and Russia to participate in the construction.
I remember that there were discussions about this in the 1980s: the Sandinistas were actively lobbying Moscow, but the Gorbachev-era Kremlin was lukewarm to the project. Perestroika was in full swing at the time. Russia still had a base in Cuba that effectively addressed tactical and strategic issues, but Moscow, not wanting to provoke the U.S., was ready to dismantle it. And no one was thinking of starting an interoceanic canal project in Nicaragua.
Just imagine: the shortest distance from Nicaragua to the southern borders of the USA is 2,880 kilometers. As political scientist Sergei Ishchenko noted, this is «a trifle for our ‘Oreshnik’, which is capable of striking twice as far from ground-based launchers. Roughly the same range applies to domestic air-launched strategic cruise missiles such as the Kh-101. To a first approximation, the same is true of the ship-launched «Kalibr» missiles».
It is easy to imagine the hysteria that will seize the Pentagon when Russian and Chinese cruisers and aircraft carriers go on combat patrol on both sides of Central America, and our MiGs and Sukhois take off and circle over the neutral waters off the American coast! And the Panama Canal, on both sides of which U.S. cruisers and aircraft carriers will also be stationed — but which is further south and further away from the North American borders — will be of no help here.
The grandiose project of building a canal between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean received new impetus at the end of last year. At that time, Nicaragua invited China and Russia to participate. Russian companies have been invited to develop a technical and economic feasibility study for the construction of a great transoceanic canal through Nicaragua. Its capacity is expected to be significantly greater than that of the Panama Canal.
On December 21, the Russian Ambassador to Nicaragua, Mikhail Ledenyov, stated that the Russian government is studying the possibility of participating in the implementation of the mega interoceanic canal project in Nicaragua. Refusing such an offer would be tantamount to suicide. China is not turning down this promising project either.
The key question is how to ensure the safety of its construction.
Trump’s dream of raising the US flag over the Panama Canal is real. But it will cost him much more than he expects. Serious analysts, however, believe that Trump’s actions conceal a broader strategy for U.S. intervention in the world order of Latin America and beyond.
James Karafano of the Heritage Foundation, who is said to have developed more than one strategy for the Trump administration — including «Project 2025» — writes that the revived Monroe Doctrine «will include partnerships between the United States and like-minded countries in the region that share common goals, such as weakening the influence of Russia, China, and Iran».
Trump’s statements about the Panama Canal, Mexico, Canada and Greenland foreshadow decisive, even military, actions aimed at regime change in countries that are real adversaries of America. A rehearsal is being conducted on illegal immigrants and through the imposition of tariffs and other sanctions. At first, some, like the presidents of Colombia, Mexico and Honduras, cried out and «gave in». Others, like the presidents of Argentina, Paraguay, and El Salvador, are waiting for the order to act; a third group — the leaders of Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay — have remained silent. A fourth group — Peru, Costa Rica and Guatemala — remains in a state of anticipation. And only a minority — Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and to some extent Bolivia — have maintained a principled position. The first and second groups are already broken and will probably soon be deprived of oxygen. The third group has been elevated to the status of «friends», while the fourth group is completely ignored. And the last, as always, remain enemies upon whom the full, unjust wrath of the new Centurions will be unleashed. In short, it’s a total mess.