Panama Formally Pulls Out of China's BRI

Donald Trump has always been a big bully. In his second term as US president, he is still the big bully. 

In the case of the Panama Canal, he has repeatedly accused Panama of ceding control of the strategic waterway to China and even vowed the US was "taking it back".

His Secretary of State Marco Rubio had traveled to Panama on Sunday to personally convey Trump's message: End Chinese influence over the canal or face US action. 

On Thursday, Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino (left) announced his country has formally filed notice to exit from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project. He added that the Panamanian Embassy in Beijing had given China the required 90-day notice of its decision not to renew its involvement in the infrastructure program, which it joined in 2017.

In other words, Mulino has buckled under US pressure. 

FYI, Mulino is not Trump's first victim. That ignominy goes to Colombia's Gustavo Petro – check out my January 28, 2025 post "Colombia Buckles Under Donald Trump's Tariff Threat". 

For sure, the bullying won't stop. 

And if you don't know, Trump enjoys being a bully.