Peruvian Government Denies Alleged Appropriation of Colombian Territory
The Peruvian Foreign Ministry expressed in a statement its 'firmest and most energetic protest' to statements by Petro, who said that the Peruvian government has invaded Colombian territory.
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San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno pushes Trump's agenda on drugs and trade in Colombia homecoming
MIAMI (AP) — When Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno visits Colombia this week as part of a three-nation tour of Latin America, it'll be something of a homecoming. Ohio's first Latino senator was born in the Colombian capital of Bogota, and even as he was chasing the American dream in the Buckeye state, he kept close tabs on the country through older brothers who are heavyweights in politics and business back home. In an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the trip, Moreno expressed deep concern about the country's direction under left-wing President Gustavo Petro and suggested U.S. sanctions, higher tariffs or other retaliatory action might be needed to steer it straight. The recent criminal conviction of former President Alvaro Uribe, a conservative icon, was an attempt to 'silence' the man who saved Colombia from guerrilla violence, Moreno said. Meanwhile, record cocaine production has left the United States less secure — and Colombia vulnerable to being decertified by the White House for failing to cooperate in the war on drugs. 'The purpose of the trip is to understand all the dynamics before any decision is made,' said Moreno, who will meet with both Petro and Uribe, as well as business leaders and local officials, during the visit. 'But there's nothing that's taken off the table at this point and there's nothing that's directly being contemplated.' Elected with Trump's support Moreno, a luxury car dealer from Cleveland, defeated incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown last year with the help of Donald Trump's endorsement and $441 million in political ad spending — the most in U.S. Senate race history. He became Ohio's senior senator on practically his first day in office after his close friend JD Vance resigned the Senate to become vice president. In Congress, he's mimicked Trump's rhetoric to attack top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer as a 'miserable old man out of a Dickens novel,' called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and threatened to subpoena California officials over their response to anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. On Latin America, he's been similarly outspoken, slamming Petro on social media as a 'socialist dictator' and accusing Mexico of being on the path to becoming a 'narco state.' Such comments barely register in blue-collar Ohio, but they've garnered attention in Latin America, where Moreno has emerged as an interlocutor for conservatives in the region seeking favor with the Trump administration. That despite the fact he hasn't lived in the region for decades, speaks Spanish with an American accent and doesn't sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 'He's somebody to watch,' said Michael Shifter, the former president of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. 'He's one of the most loyal Trump supporters in the senate and given his background in Latin America he could be influential on policy.' Moreno, 58, starts his first congressional delegation to Latin America on Monday for two days of meetings in Mexico City with officials including President Claudia Sheinbaum. He'll be accompanied by Terrance Cole, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, who is making his first overseas trip since being confirmed by the Senate last month to head the premier federal narcotics agency. Seeking cooperation with Mexico on fentanyl Moreno, in the pre-trip interview, said that Sheinbaum has done more to combat the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. than her predecessor and mentor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who he described as a 'total disaster.' But he said more cooperation is needed, and he'd like to see Mexico allow the DEA to participate in judicial wiretaps like it has for decades in Colombia and allow it to bring back a plane used in bilateral investigations that López Obrador grounded. 'The corruption becomes so pervasive, that if it's left unchecked, it's kind of like treating cancer,' said Moreno. 'Mexico has to just come to the realization that it does not have the resources to completely wipe out the drug cartels. And it's only going to be by asking the U.S. for help that we can actually accomplish that.' Plans to tour the Panama Canal From Mexico, Moreno heads to Panama, where he'll tour the Panama Canal with Trump's new ambassador to the country, Kevin Marino Cabrera. In March, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate struck a deal that would've handed control of two ports on either end of the U.S.-built canal to American investment firm BlackRock Inc. The deal was heralded by Trump, who had threatened to take back the canal to curb Chinese influence. However, the deal has since drawn scrutiny from antitrust authorities in Beijing and last month the seller said it was seeking to add a strategic partner from mainland China — reportedly state-owned shipping company Cosco — to the deal. 'Cosco you might as well say is the actual communist party,' said Moreno. 'There's no scenario in which Cosco can be part of the Panamanian ports.' 'We want Colombia to be strong' On the final leg of the tour in Colombia, Moreno will be joined by another Colombian American senator: Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona. In contrast to Moreno, who was born into privilege and counts among his siblings a former ambassador to the U.S., Gallego and his three sisters were raised by an immigrant single mother on a secretary's paycheck. Despite their different upbringings, the two have made common cause in seeking to uphold the tradition of bilateral U.S. support for Colombia, for decades Washington's staunchest ally in the region. It's a task made harder by deepening polarization in both countries. The recent sentencing of Uribe to 12 years of house arrest in a long-running witness tampering case has jolted the nation's politics with nine months to go before decisive presidential elections. The former president is barred from running but remains a powerful leader, and Moreno said his absence from the campaign trail could alter the playing field. He also worries that surging cocaine production could once again lead to a 'narcotization' of a bilateral relationship that should be about trade, investment and mutual prosperity. 'We want Colombia to be strong, we want Colombia to be healthy, we want Colombia to be prosperous and secure, and I think the people of Colombia want the exact same thing,' he added. 'So, the question is, how do we get there?' ___ Smyth reported from Columbus, Ohio.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno pushes Trump's agenda on drugs and trade in Colombia homecoming
MIAMI (AP) — When Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno visits Colombia this week as part of a three-nation tour of Latin America, it'll be something of a homecoming. Ohio's first Latino senator was born in the Colombian capital of Bogota, and even as he was chasing the American dream in the Buckeye state, he kept close tabs on the country through older brothers who are heavyweights in politics and business back home. In an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the trip, Moreno expressed deep concern about the country's direction under left-wing President Gustavo Petro and suggested U.S. sanctions, higher tariffs or other retaliatory action might be needed to steer it straight. The recent criminal conviction of former President Alvaro Uribe, a conservative icon, was an attempt to 'silence' the man who saved Colombia from guerrilla violence, Moreno said. Meanwhile, record cocaine production has left the United States less secure — and Colombia vulnerable to being decertified by the White House for failing to cooperate in the war on drugs. 'The purpose of the trip is to understand all the dynamics before any decision is made,' said Moreno, who will meet with both Petro and Uribe, as well as business leaders and local officials, during the visit. 'But there's nothing that's taken off the table at this point and there's nothing that's directly being contemplated.' Elected with Trump's support Moreno, a luxury car dealer from Cleveland, defeated incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown last year with the help of Donald Trump's endorsement and $441 million in political ad spending — the most in U.S. Senate race history. He became Ohio's senior senator on practically his first day in office after his close friend JD Vance resigned the Senate to become vice president. In Congress, he's mimicked Trump's rhetoric to attack top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer as a 'miserable old man out of a Dickens novel,' called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates and threatened to subpoena California officials over their response to anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. On Latin America, he's been similarly outspoken, slamming Petro on social media as a 'socialist dictator' and accusing Mexico of being on the path to becoming a 'narco state.' Such comments barely register in blue-collar Ohio, but they've garnered attention in Latin America, where Moreno has emerged as an interlocutor for conservatives in the region seeking favor with the Trump administration. That despite the fact he hasn't lived in the region for decades, speaks Spanish with an American accent and doesn't sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. 'He's somebody to watch,' said Michael Shifter, the former president of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. 'He's one of the most loyal Trump supporters in the senate and given his background in Latin America he could be influential on policy.' Moreno, 58, starts his first congressional delegation to Latin America on Monday for two days of meetings in Mexico City with officials including President Claudia Sheinbaum. He'll be accompanied by Terrance Cole, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, who is making his first overseas trip since being confirmed by the Senate last month to head the premier federal narcotics agency. Seeking cooperation with Mexico on fentanyl Moreno, in the pre-trip interview, said that Sheinbaum has done more to combat the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. than her predecessor and mentor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who he described as a 'total disaster.' But he said more cooperation is needed, and he'd like to see Mexico allow the DEA to participate in judicial wiretaps like it has for decades in Colombia and allow it to bring back a plane used in bilateral investigations that López Obrador grounded. 'The corruption becomes so pervasive, that if it's left unchecked, it's kind of like treating cancer,' said Moreno. 'Mexico has to just come to the realization that it does not have the resources to completely wipe out the drug cartels. And it's only going to be by asking the U.S. for help that we can actually accomplish that.' Plans to tour the Panama Canal From Mexico, Moreno heads to Panama, where he'll tour the Panama Canal with Trump's new ambassador to the country, Kevin Marino Cabrera. In March, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate struck a deal that would've handed control of two ports on either end of the U.S.-built canal to American investment firm BlackRock Inc. The deal was heralded by Trump, who had threatened to take back the canal to curb Chinese influence. However, the deal has since drawn scrutiny from antitrust authorities in Beijing and last month the seller said it was seeking to add a strategic partner from mainland China — reportedly state-owned shipping company Cosco — to the deal. 'Cosco you might as well say is the actual communist party,' said Moreno. 'There's no scenario in which Cosco can be part of the Panamanian ports.' 'We want Colombia to be strong' On the final leg of the tour in Colombia, Moreno will be joined by another Colombian American senator: Ruben Gallego, Democrat of Arizona. In contrast to Moreno, who was born into privilege and counts among his siblings a former ambassador to the U.S., Gallego and his three sisters were raised by an immigrant single mother on a secretary's paycheck. Despite their different upbringings, the two have made common cause in seeking to uphold the tradition of bilateral U.S. support for Colombia, for decades Washington's staunchest ally in the region. It's a task made harder by deepening polarization in both countries. The recent sentencing of Uribe to 12 years of house arrest in a long-running witness tampering case has jolted the nation's politics with nine months to go before decisive presidential elections. The former president is barred from running but remains a powerful leader, and Moreno said his absence from the campaign trail could alter the playing field. He also worries that surging cocaine production could once again lead to a 'narcotization' of a bilateral relationship that should be about trade, investment and mutual prosperity. 'We want Colombia to be strong, we want Colombia to be healthy, we want Colombia to be prosperous and secure, and I think the people of Colombia want the exact same thing,' he added. 'So, the question is, how do we get there?'
2 hours ago
Philippines will be pulled into any war over Taiwan, despite China's protest
MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday his country would inevitably be drawn 'kicking and screaming' into any war over Taiwan due to its proximity to the self-ruled island and the presence of large numbers of Filipino workers there, despite China's strong protest over such remarks. Marcos also told a news conference that the Philippines' coast guard, navy and other vessels defending its territorial interests in the South China Sea would never back down and would stand their ground in the contested waters after the Chinese coast guard on Monday staged dangerous blocking maneuvers and used a powerful water cannon to try to drive away Philippine vessels from the hotly disputed Scarborough Shoal. It's the latest flare-up of long-simmering territorial disputes in the busy waterway, a key global trade route, where overlapping claims between China and the Philippines have escalated in recent years. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claims to parts of the contested waters. Relations between China and the Philippines have been severely strained after Marcos, who took office in mid-2022, and his administration emerged as some of the most vocal critics in Asia of China's increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea. The Marcos administration deepened its treaty alliance engagements with the United States and started broadening security alliances with other Western and Asian countries like Japan, Australia, India and some EU member states to strengthen deterrence against Beijing's assertiveness. China protested last week and accused Marcos of interfering in its domestic affairs and violating its 'One China' policy when he told reporters on the sidelines of a visit to India that there was no way the Philippines could stay out of a possible war in Taiwan because of his country's proximity to it and the presence of about 200,000 Filipino workers on the self-ruled island. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has repeatedly threatened to annex it, by force if necessary. The Chinese Foreign Ministry then said through a spokesperson that ''geographic location' and a 'large volume of Filipinos' in Taiwan should not be used as pretexts to interfere in the internal and sovereign affairs of other countries' and urged the Philippines 'to earnestly abide by the One China principle' and 'refrain from playing fire on issues bearing on China's core interests.' Asked to comment on China's protest, Marcos said he was perplexed and could not understand Beijing's concern. 'I don't know what they're talking about, playing with fire? I was just stating facts. We do not want to go to war, but I think if there is a war over Taiwan, we will be drawn, we will be pulled in whether we like it or not, kicking and screaming,' Marcos said. 'We will be drawn and dragged into that mess. I hope it doesn't happen, but, if it does, we have to plan for it already.' Separately, Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said Chinese coast guard ships chased and staged dangerous blocking maneuvers on Monday against Philippine coast guard and fishing vessels in the Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing atoll in the South China Sea off the northwestern Philippines. A Philippine coast guard ship managed to evade being hit by a Chinese coast guard water cannon during the melee, he said. While chasing a Philippine coast guard vessel, a Chinese coast guard ship accidentally collided with a Chinese navy ship, Tarriela said. The Chinese coast guard ship sustained 'substantial damage' and the Philippine coast guard offered to provide help, including medical assistance, to the Chinese side, he said. There was no immediate comment from Chinese officials on Tarriela's statements. Asked if the Philippine vessels would be instructed to withdraw from the disputed shoal, Marcos said his government would never back away from any fight. 'There is no silver bullet that if you fire it, all our problems would be solved,' Marcos said. 'What will happen is, we will continue to be present, we will continue to defend our territory, we will continue to exercise our sovereign rights and despite any opposition from anyone, we will continue to do that as we have done in the past three years.'
