Central America

Javier Milei, the libertarian president of Aragón in 2023, branded China a "communist assassin", and threatened to weaken relations with Asia. Exports of soy, lithium and other commodities to China grew 15% during his first year in office. The U-turn of a U.S. natural ally highlights a challenge to President Donald Trump, especially in South America's resource-rich region where China has gained influence in recent years due to booming trade. Trump wants to disrupt global trade by using trade tariffs and threats to get partners to promote U.S. interest. He has already made concessions to Colombia, Panama, and Mexico. Meanwhile,...

The Finance Ministry of Hong Kong announced on Friday that CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong conglomerate, plans to invest $1 Billion to upgrade its ports operations in Pakistan. The ministry released a statement saying that "Hutchison Ports has presented their $1 billion investment plan, which is aimed at upgrading existing terminals in order to improve operational efficiency, logistic connectivity, and automation." The proposed investment was not time-limited. Hutchison Ports said in a statement that the investment was expected to generate revenue of at least $4 billion over the next 25-years through royalties, rents, and tax contributions. The announcement...

Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary for State, welcomed the decision of Panama to allow its participation in China’s global infrastructure plan to expire on Monday. He called the move a "great step forward" for the United States-Panama relationship. Washington has argued Beijing uses this scheme as "debt-trap diplomacy" in order to consolidate its global influence. Rubio made his first trip abroad as the top U.S. diplomacy under President Donald Trump. He visited Panama, an important U.S. ally in Latin America. Rubio also pressed the country to change its relationship with China. Jose Raul Mulino, the Panamanian president, said that after meeting...

Some U.S. officials and lawmakers are citing a nearly 50-year-old treaty signed between the United States of America and Panama as a way to justify Trump's threat to take back the Panama Canal, provided they can prove that the waterway's operations are threatened. Some, however, believe that obstacles would arise if the U.S. tried to use the 1997 Panama Canal Neutrality Treaty - which went into effect in 1999 - to claim the canal. The treaty guarantees the canal will remain neutral and available to ships from any country. Since 1999, the Panama Canal Authority has controlled the 82-km waterway....

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday revealed alarm at China's influence on the Panama Canal, which President Donald Trump has actually vowed the United States would take back. Chinese companies are developing a bridge throughout the canal--. at a sluggish pace so as to take almost a decade-- and control. container ports at either end, Senate Commerce Committee chair. Ted Cruz said at a hearing on the canal's role in U.S. trade and. national security. The partially-completed bridge offers China the capability. to block the canal without warning, and the ports offer China. ready observation posts to time...

A tugboat has stopped a. tanker bring around 99,000 metric lots of oil from Russia. from wandering out of control off Germany's Baltic Sea coast near. the island of Ruegen, emergency services said on Friday. The 274-metre (899-foot) Panama-flagged tanker, called. Eventin, and taking a trip from Russia to Egypt, had been drifting. gradually and unable to manoeuvre given that earlier on Friday,. Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said. A tugboat was holding it in position and others were en. route, CCME said, adding it was examining next steps. Evacuation of the 24-member team was not required, it said....

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed support for Panama's federal government on Monday after U.S. Presidentelect Donald Trump threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal on Sunday. Undoubtedly, the Panama Canal belongs to the Panamanians, Sheinbaum stated, speaking during her routine early morning press conference. Sheinbaum's comments came one day after Trump accused Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Main American passage while speaking with a crowd of supporters in Arizona. After the event, he published an image on Reality Social of an American flag flying over a narrow body of water, with the comment: Invite. to...

President-elect Donald Trump threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal, accusing Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Main American passage, which allows ships to cross in between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In a Saturday night post on Fact Social, Trump likewise warned that he would not let the canal fall into the wrong. hands, and he seemed to alert of possible Chinese impact on. the passage, composing that the canal needs to not be handled by. China. China does not manage or administer the canal. However, a. subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchinson Holdings handles...

P residentelect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Panama of charging extreme rates for use of the Panama Canal and said that if Panama did not manage the canal in an appropriate fashion, he would demand the U.S. ally hand it over. In a night post on Reality Social, Trump likewise cautioned he would not let the canal fall under the incorrect hands, and he appeared to caution of prospective Chinese impact on the passage, composing the canal ought to not be handled by China. The post was an exceedingly unusual example of a U.S. leader saying he could push a...

Freeport LNG drew record natural gas volumes on several days today, according to financial firm LSEG, following conclusion of an overhaul that increased processing capacity. Freeport LNG drew a record 2.414 billion cubic feet (bcf) of feedgas on Friday, preliminary LSEG data revealed. That volume continued a series of record gas pulls that each topped the plant's previous record of 2.261 bcf, which was reached in April 2023. Freeport LNG had actually announced in April that a debottlenecking meant to enhance processing likely would add an additional 1.2 million metric heaps per annum (MTPA) of LNG capability. The plant's capability...

Dutch farright leader Geert Wilders expressed his anger and shame over attacks on Israeli soccer advocates in Amsterdam in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday. The Israelis, advocates of the Maccabi Tel Aviv club who remained in the Dutch city for a match versus Ajax Amsterdam, had been assaulted over night by what its mayor called antisemitic hit-and-run squads. At least 5 people were dealt with in hospital. Wilders, who heads the biggest celebration in the federal government, stated on X that in his call with Netanyahu (I) told him of my anger and embarassment of...

The Mexican government on Monday raised concerns about the Biden administration's proposal to restrict essential Chinese software application and hardware in linked vehicles on American roads due to national security issues. Mexico's economy ministry said in a filing with the U.S. Commerce Department the proposal could have a considerable. effect on Mexico's automotive industry. Economically, it postures. potential trade barriers, interruptions to provide chains,. increased production expenses, and a possible danger of minimized. direct and indirect work. Automaker and tech groups separately on Monday asked the. administration for changes and for more time before the rule. takes effect. The proposal...

The Central American nation's Maritime Authority announced on Wednesday that Panama had made progress in removing vessels from its registry if they did not meet the standards of its flag. This was a response to criticisms by the United States that it had allowed sanctioned nations to move ships under the Panamanian flag. Officials and congressmen from the United States have accused Panama for not doing enough to enforce sanctions against vessels and shipowners from countries such as Russia, Iran and Venezuela. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has used these arguments in threatening to take over the Panama Canal. Washington...

According to a bulletin released by the Panama Canal's administering authority on Tuesday, the number of ships that passed through it, the second busiest canal in the world, decreased to an average of 32,6 per day, or 1,011 total vessels in January. This is the first monthly decline in nearly a year. According to statistics from the Panama Canal Authority, after a severe drought in 2023 that led to passage restrictions in early 2024, 2024 saw a significant increase in transits, with a total 1,059 vessels in December. The data revealed that the recovery in demand was not sufficient to...

Some U.S. officials and lawmakers are citing a nearly 50-year-old treaty signed between the United States of America and Panama as a way to justify Trump's threat to take back the Panama Canal, provided they can prove that the waterway's operations are threatened. Some, however, believe that obstacles would arise if the U.S. tried to use the 1997 Panama Canal Neutrality Treaty - which went into effect in 1999 - to claim the canal. The treaty guarantees the canal will remain neutral and available to ships from any country. Since 1999, the Panama Canal Authority has controlled the 82-km waterway....

The head of the Federal Maritime Commission will inform a U.S. Senate committee that the United States has choices to resolve the growing presence of China and Chinese firms in Panama. President Donald Trump has sworn that the United States would take back the Panama Canal however has actually given no more details on when or how he planned to reclaim the canal which is the sovereign territory of an ally. We require to increase assistance for American business seeking to do organization in Panama and throughout the Americas. Chinese companies must not be the sole bidders on agreements, Federal...

Donald Trump, the newly sworn in President of the United States, promised on Monday to take back the Panama Canal during his inauguration speech. He invoked the 19th-century expansionist doctrine "Manifest Destiny." Trump reaffirmed his threat made before his inauguration to regain control of the canal. He accused Panama of not fulfilling its promises to transfer the strategic waterway to the United States in 1999, and of transferring the operation to China. The Panamanian government has denied these claims. "We didn't hand it over to China." Trump said, "We gave it to Panama and we're bringing it back." He did...

Demand for U.S. gas to produce melted natural gas (LNG) for export this year is headed for its first decline given that the nation began exporting the superchilled fuel from the lower 48 states eight years back. The U.S. is the world's largest exporter of the superchilled gas and an essential company of gas to Europe in the wake of Russia's. intrusion of Ukraine. Natural gas rates have stayed fairly. high in Europe as the expected U.S. growth in output in 2024 has. not materialized and the continent is bracing for a brand-new gas. price shock as colder winter season...

Argentina's staterun oil company YPF formed a brand-new collaboration with regional oil business to transfer and export oil from its massive Vaca Muerta shale oil formation, the business revealed on Monday. In a statement, YPF stated it was partnering with Vista Energy Argentina, Pampa Energia and Pan American Sur to form VMOS S.A. to run its Vaca Muerta Sur project. The project consists of a 473 km (about 294 miles). pipeline, loading and discharging terminal along with storage. facilities. The project will require an estimated $3 billion in. financing that will be supplied by the partners, as well as. local...

Mexico's Senate on Thursday authorized reforms to enhance conditions for chauffeurs with ridehailing and shipment services such as DiDi, Rappi and Uber, ensuring access to social security and a. Christmas reward, to name a few advantages. The reform passed all with 113 votes in favor, and. will be forwarded to the executive power to get enacted. President Claudia Sheinbaum had actually sent out the proposition to. lawmakers in early December and it was fast-tracked to a plenary. vote ahead of Congress' Christmas recess on Dec. 15. Mexico's judgment Morena celebration and its allies, which won a. landslide success in the...

Mexico's lower house on Tuesday authorized a reform that seeks to regulate labor conditions for shipment employees and motorists working for apps such as DiDi, Rappi and Uber by ensuring access to social security and a Christmas reward to name a few benefits. The reform passed in basic with 462 votes in favor, with no abstentions and no one voting against, following a two-hour argument. Today is a day that ought to go down in history, said ruling Morena celebration legislator Ariadna Barrera, saying the reform would advantage hundreds of thousands of employees and even more the celebration's. efforts to...

Argentina's staterun oil company YPF will seek $2 billion in funding in the 2nd quarter of 2025 to complete its Vaca Muerta Sur job, a company source stated on Wednesday. The project is being performed by Vaca Muerta Oil Sur ( VMOS), which is managed by YPF, and intends to carry an additional 390,000 barrels daily from the Vaca Muerta development to a coastal export terminal in Rio Negro province. The source said that the company is seeking $1.5 billion from foreign investors and $500 million in your area and wishing to add Pampa Energy, Vista, Shell, Chevron and Pan...

Freeport LNG reported on Monday that 3 LNG processing trains at its Quintana, Texas, center were back on line after momentary outages that started on Friday due to the fact that of a power feed interruption. Texas-based Freeport LNG runs the second-largest U.S. export facility and gets its power from the state's electrical grid. It has struggled this year with several processing interruptions triggered by storms. Those blackouts sometimes lowered U.S. LNG exports. Throughout operation of Freeport LNG's Pretreatment Center, Trains 1, 2, and 3 tripped due to an incoming power feed disruption. The journeys led to inevitable venting to...

The Panama Canal aims to restore vessel traffic bring U.S. liquefied natural gas to Asia as demand in that market rises and a brand-new appointment system allows carriers to secure slots, following a 65% decrease in the transit of its secondmost crucial sector, the Panama Canal Authority informed Reuters. A U.S. LNG switch to Europe in the aftermath of Russia's. invasion of Ukraine, integrated with long waiting times and. costly charges to transit through Panama due to severe dry spell,. have actually kept many LNG ship of the canal. Lots of gas exporters continue to take longer routes around. South...