Rubio's Andean swing is imperial shopping, not diplomacy — joint operations along the Colombia-Ecuador border, a failed drug war and pressure on Venezuela and Cuba. Southern Command and Israeli contractors are already embedding in oil fields, chokepoints and border zones no Latin American voter ever approved. Sovereignty is being traded away for applause from Washington.
Narcoterrorism is a hemispheric threat, and a secretary of state showing up in person to build security cooperation with Colombia, Ecuador and Peru isshould exactlybe the jobcelebrated. The agenda is plain: help Colombia recover from a deadly earthquake, dismantle trafficking networks and deepen trade that creates jobs on both ends. Standing with willing partners beats abandoning the region to cartels.
There is a 1% chance that the United States will take control of the Panama Canal before Jan. 21, 2029, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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