A statement signed by almost 250 Latin American diplomats, politicians and intellectuals criticizes the elected president of the United States, for ignoring history and distorting treaties signed by his own country.
The letter was prepared by the so-called Reflection Table, a group that informally brings together former foreign ministers, ambassadors and academics from the region. In the one-page text, they defend dialogue, cooperation and respect for international law between countries.
“25 years have passed and more than 350 thousand transits have passed through the Canal under Panamanian administration. The canal has remained safe, efficient and open to all nations in the world with absolute equality, without any discrimination or complaints on the part of users”, argues the communicated.
“The elected officials ignore this historical reality and distort what was achieved with the treaties that their own country signed and, until now, respected”, he continues.
From Brazil, for example, the former ministers of Foreign Affairs (1992 and 2001-2002) and (2017-2018) signed; , professor emeritus at USP and columnist for Sheet; and Sergio Fausto, director of the Fernando Henrique Cardoso Foundation.
“Everyone’s conviction is that, given everything that Trump is saying, it is necessary to take him seriously and respond seriously”, says Fausto, who was responsible for gathering some Brazilian names and publishing the document in Brazil.
From other countries, there are Uruguayan Enrique Iglesias, who was president of the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) from 1988 to 2005; Chilean-American Arturo Valenzuela, former director for the Americas of the White House Security Council; and Peruvian Allan Wagner, also former chancellor.
The group says that “it would be unthinkable and unacceptable for threat and coercion to become new instruments of United States foreign policy towards the Caribbean”, warning of an attempt to revive the so-called Monroe Doctrine, which occurred in the 19th century.
The signatories still call Trump irresponsible for, according to them, using the Panama Canal in a geopolitical dispute with . They also criticize arguments in this regard for disregarding Panama’s titular sovereignty over its territory.
The president of the Caribbean country, , rejected the idea of returning the canal to the USA, which owned it before handing over control to Panama in 1999, as a result of an agreement signed in the 1970s.
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