What Trump Really Wants in Panama
Whether it’s countering China, or pursuing a new U.S. expansionism, the president’s threats have already led to concrete action inside Panama, writes AQ’s editor-in-chief.
PANAMA CITY — Ever since President Donald Trump first aired his grievances about the Panama Canal in December, the establishment here and indeed throughout the Americas has been engaged in the same guessing game: “What does he really want” At first, the question was met with a certain knowing wink: This is what Trump does, opening a negotiation by pounding the table. But after the president of the United States explicitly said in his inauguration speech on Jan. 20 that he wants the canal back, opening the door to a new era of American expansionism that also includes...
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