One world leader waved the white flag after this ultimatum from Trump
Donald Trump is putting his stamp on the global stage.
Some nations were prepared for Trump to act like a bull in a China shop.
And one world leader waved the white flag after this ultimatum from Trump.
In Trump’s first week in office, the President of Colombia thought he could test Trump’s resolve by refusing to accept repatriation flights of illegal aliens.
Trump threatened to nuke the Colombian economy with sanctions, tariffs and taxes.
Colombia’s President folded in less than an hour.
Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino was up next.
Ever since winning the election, Trump made clear he was unhappy with how Mulino managed the Panama Canal, a vital shipping route that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Trump continually warned Panama the United States would retake control of the canal, which President Jimmy Carter handed over to Panama in 1977, unless changes were made.
Panama allowing Communist China to essentially operate the canal and charging U.S. vessels exorbitant shipping rates were Trump’s key points of contention.
President Trump reiterated his complaints with how Panama operated the canal during Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Panama and once again threatened to retake the canal unless his demands were met.
“Panama right now. And we’re talking about the Panama Canal. What they’ve done is terrible. They violated the agreement. They are not allowed to violate the agreement. China is running the Panama Canal. That was not given to China. That was given to Panama, foolishly. But they violated the agreement. And we’re going to take it back or something very powerful is going to happen,” President Trump stated.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters that Secretary of State Rubio delivered President Trump’s ultimatum to Mulino.
“Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty,” a statement from Bruce read.
It didn’t take long for Mulino to tap out.
Mulino caved to Trump’s threat and handed Trump a massive foreign policy victory by declaring Panama wouldn’t renew its participation in Communist China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“One important thing, which is a decision I made and communicated to him, is that the 2017 memorandum of understanding on the Silk Road, part of the Belt and Road Initiative, will not be renewed by my government,” Mulino declared. “We are going to study the possibility of whether it can be ended earlier or not.”
The Belt and Road Initiative is an infrastructure project where Communist China spreads money around in countries across the globe to buy off their leaders into falling under the Chinese sphere of influence.
Communist China gaining a foothold in a country in the Western hemisphere that also controls key trade was an unacceptable threat to American national security.
And in his first two weeks in office, Donald Trump corrected that.
