Free Republic

"China's state-owned banks are tightening curbs on funding to Russian clients as they fear being subjected to secondary sanctions from the U.S., according to a Tuesday report by Bloomberg... "...Chris Weafer, chief executive officer of strategic consultants Macro-Advisory Ltd., which focuses on Russia and the Eurasia region, previously told Newsweek that Russia should be wary of this increased reliance on China. "While China is eagerly buying energy and materials and selling Chinese-made goods to the Russia market, all of which suits Beijing, there is very little investment coming into Russia, certainly nothing like enough to replace the lost investment from...

The Monroe Doctrine is the blueprint for returning to a realistic grand strategy that can preserve American liberty from threats foreign and domestic.This month marks the 200th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine. If celebration (or even acknowledgment) seems muted, that may be because policymakers and the public know little about the principles and grand strategy underlying the doctrine.Few likely understand the doctrine because its meaning has been distorted throughout American history, especially in the Progressive Era by Theodore Roosevelt’s corollary. Some see it, for better or worse, as the beginning of America’s commitment to maintaining an international order by arms...

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed a measure to make illegal entry into the Lone Star State a state crime, giving state law enforcement a potentially pivotal tool to combat illegal immigration on its own amid perceived federal apathy. The law, which is slated to take effect in March, would empower Texas law enforcement to arrest illegal entrants and grant judges the ability to order their deportation, CNN reported. Under Abbott's leadership, Texas has conducted a unilateral effort to enforce its border dubbed "Operation Lone Star" that has prompted legal battles with federal government, including a dispute over...

CAPE TOWN — Presidents Putin and XI and other leaders from the Brics bloc of developing countries will hold a virtual meeting on the Israel-Hamas war on Tuesday, with Secretary General Guterres also participating. The leaders of fellow Brics members Brazil, India, and South Africa, as well as of Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, which are set to join the bloc in January, will also take part, according to the office of President Ramaphosa of South Africa. Mr. Ramaphosa will chair the “extraordinary meeting” because of South Africa’s position as current chair of Brics,...

U.S. is sending FBI to Ecuador to help probe presidential candidate’s killing

Bolivia’s socialist President Luis Arce signed contracts with both China and Russia on Thursday to hand over control of the country’s two largest lithium deposits. Bolivia is home to some of the world’s largest known lithium resources. The contracts, which amount to $1.4 billion, will see state-owned Citic Guoan (of China’s CITIC Group) and Uranium One Group (of Russia’s Rosatom) work alongside the state-owned Bolivian Lithium Deposits (YLB) company to build two lithium carbonate processing plants.

One of the greatest betrayals in our history happened while America slept.. When Biden met with Lula da Silva, the founder of the Marxist Brazil’s Workers’ Party and a convicted criminal, it was a victory lap for both socialists. Lula da Silva, Brazil’s former leader, had survived his bribery conviction and rigged an election that overthrew Jair Bolsonaro: his conservative patriotic predecessor. Biden had survived his own trial by fire during the midterms which locked down the 2024 Democrat nomination. Lula also met with fellow Marxists: Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. Biden and Lula talked of “democracy” and “fighting...

“Our main market is the United States,” said Chan, CEO of Man Wah’s Mexico subsidiary. “We don’t want to lose that market.” That same objective explains why scores of major Chinese companies are investing aggressively in Mexico, taking advantage of an expansive North American trade deal. Tracing a path forged by Japanese and South Korean companies, Chinese firms are establishing factories that allow them to label their goods “Made in Mexico,” then trucking their products into the United States duty-free. The interest of Chinese manufacturers in Mexico is part of a broader trend known as near-shoring. International companies are moving...

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has authorized Russian troops, planes and ships to deploy to Nicaragua for purposes of training, law enforcement or emergency response. In a decree published this week, and confirmed by Russia on Thursday, Ortega will allow Russian troops to carry out law enforcement duties, “humanitarian aid, rescue and search missions in emergencies or natural disasters.” The Nicaraguan government also authorized the presence of small contingents of Russian troops for “exchange of experiences and training.” Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told the Russian news outlet Sputnik that the measure was...

Russian soldiers are operating drones over Venezuela as part of a search operation for members of a paramilitary force that led a botched invasion this week, local media reported on Friday, citing deleted tweets from a state military command centre. At least eight Russian special forces members will be “operating drones to run search and patrol operations” near La Guaira, the coastal state just north of Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, according to a report from local news outlet El Nacional. It posted a screenshot of a tweet it said was later deleted on Thursday from the profile of the military command,...

military exercises on Venezuelan soil that President Nicolas Maduro called a sign of strengthening relations. Two Russian air force planes landed in Venezuela's main airport on Saturday carrying a Russian defense official and nearly 100 troops, according to a local journalist, amid strengthening ties between Caracas and Moscow. A flight-tracking website showed that two planes left from a Russian military airport bound for Caracas on Friday, and another flight-tracking site showed that one plane left Caracas on Sunday. Reporter Javier Mayorca wrote on Twitter on Saturday that the first plane carried Vasily Tonkoshkurov, chief of staff of the ground forces,...

A Chinese space force in Argentina, Russian control of Venezuelan gas and South American armies equipped with the latest Chinese and Russian hardware. Until recently, it might have sounded like the plot of a geopolitical thriller in a region once considered America’s backyard. But this is what Defense Secretary James N. Mattis faced on his visit this week to several South American nations, where economic and military posturing by Beijing and Moscow has been on the rise for the past decade. Analysts say Chinese loans in recent years have allowed authoritarian leaders to consolidate power in Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua,...

A large Spanish-language radio station in Mexico will soon begin broadcasting in Chinese in a deal critics say will bring Beijing propaganda to Chinese Americans throughout Southern California. A Federal Communications Commission filing on the sale of radio station XEWW AM 690 radio near Tijuana reveals the buyer has ties to Phoenix Satellite Television US, a subsidiary of Hong Kong's pro-Beijing Phoenix TV. According to government sources, signs that Phoenix is involved in the purchase of the radio station prompted the Trump administration last week to begin an investigation into the national security implications of the sale. Phoenix TV has...

French President Emmanuel Macron told “Fox News Sunday” that he hopes President Donald Trump won’t impose new tariffs on aluminum and steel for the European Union, a key U.S. ally. “When the president announced new tariffs on aluminum and steel for the European Union, you said, we will not negotiate with a gun pointed at her head. There is now a May 1st deadline. Who is going to blink, President Trump or you?” Fox News host Chris Wallace asked. “I hope — I mean, he will not implement these new tariffs and he will decide for an exemption for the...

The European Union and Mexico reached an agreement on Saturday on a new free trade deal, a coup for both parties in the face of increased protectionism from the United States under President Donald Trump. Since its plans for a trade alliance with the United States were frozen after Trump’s election victory, the EU has focused instead on trying to champion open markets and seal accords with other like-minded countries. The agreement in principle with Mexico follows a deal struck last year with Japan and comes ahead of talks next week with the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and...

Argentina’s coast guard said it fired on a Chinese boat illegally fishing in its waters before embarking on an almost eight hour chase to capture it. Nobody was reportedly injured and no fishermen were detained. The Argentine Naval Prefecture said in a statement Friday that its officers fired shots at the Jing Yuan 626 after the vessel was caught illegally fishing in the country’s exclusive economic zone. The Chinese embassy in Argentina did not immediately provide a statement about the incident, which occurred Thursday after four other vessels also flying under a Chinese flag attempted to ram into coast guard...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday warned countries in the Western Hemisphere to beware of Chinese investment, saying it is reminiscent of European colonialism. He also derided Russia for selling weaponry to unfriendly, authoritarian governments in the region. Before embarking Thursday on a five-nation trip to Latin America, Tillerson said China seeks only to enrich itself with investment and development projects. He said regional governments should protect themselves against "predatory actors that are now showing up in our hemisphere," specifically mentioning China. He said Chinese investment may look good but comes with a heavy price. (please...

President Enrique Peña Nieto told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday he wants a significant increase in trade with the European Union, vowing to complete a new trade deal by year’s end. Peña Nieto’s Mexican government has been actively seeking new trade opportunities since US President Donald Trump came to office with a threat to curb Mexico’s privileged access to American markets. Mexico is currently in negotiations with the European Union to modernize a free trade agreement they signed 20 years ago. Both Merkel and Peña Nieto vowed on Friday to conclude the expanded deal by the end of the...

Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House will have real effects on the international system as a whole, and will inevitably impact the Latin American region. The key question is, will we continue alone under the U.S doctrine, or make a strategic adjustment? Chile’s Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz has declared that with Trump’s pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact, Chile must look elsewhere — to China and South Korea. Asking epochal questions is absolutely valid right now for all of Latin America and the Caribbean. In essence, since the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, the United States has...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday that she would work toward securing a “fair” free-trade deal between the EU and Mercosur, the South American economic bloc. Her comments, posted in her weekly video message, came ahead of a visit by Uruguay’s President Tabaré Vázquez to Berlin on Wednesday. “We are fundamentally in favor of international trade agreements, which is why we are very happy with the effort in the Mercosur countries” to reach a deal with the European Union, Merkel said. “It’s a matter of reaching a fair deal, where Europe’s interests are taken into account just as are those...