US President Donald Trump insisted that expressing a false 'gender identity' that differs from a person's sex cannot meet the rigorous standards necessary for military service as he signed a series of executive orders leading to the banning of transgender people from serving in his country's Armed Forces.
Given the mixed reactions from regional leaders, Honduras' Foreign Ministry announced that the hybrid Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) emergency Summit convened for Jan. 30 was being called off. Xiomara Castro, holding the group's rotating Presidency, had launched the initiative after the tug of war between Donald Trump and Gustavo Petro over the condition under which Colombian deportees were returned from the United States to their native country.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Guyanese President Dr. Irfaan Ali held a telephone conversation earlier this week during which the new Republican administration of President Donald Trump ratified its steadfast support of Guyana’s territorial integrity “in the face of Nicolás Maduro and his cronies’ bellicose actions” regarding sovereignty over the Essequibo region, Spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed. They also reviewed the ongoing illegal migration crisis.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum admitted Tuesday that she would not be attending the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) emergency Jan. 30 summit called for by Honduras' Xiomara Castro to discuss the ongoing mass deportations by the United States' newly-inaugurated Republican administration that has been fiddling with the idea of imposing 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
The US State Department confirmed Monday that delays were still to be expected by Colombian nationals seeking a visa to travel to the United States after the incident between Presidents Donald Trump and Gustavo Petro over the weekend regarding two deportation flights.
By Alejandro Werner (*) - The author thanks Ignacio Albe, Olivier Blanchard, Martina Copelman, Joseph Gagnon, José de Gregorio, Patrick Honohan, Douglas Irwin, Maurice Obstfeld, and other PIIE colleagues for their comments and suggestions.
Communication between British PM Keir Starmer cabinet and US President Donald Trump team seem very fluid, speaking like lifelong friends and buddies. That was what occurred on Monday when PM Starmer spoke to President Trump and on Sunday with Foreign Secretary David Lamy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In both cases the leaders agreed to meet soon.
Washington and Bogotá played cat-and-mouse this weekend after the Colombian leftwing Government Gustavo Petro refused to allow US military planes carrying deportees to land in the South American country. In response, President Donald Trump slapped 25% tariffs on all Colombian imports, after which Petro adopted a reciprocal measure.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro launched an appeal Sunday for leaders of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) to convene urgently to discuss the ongoing crisis sparked by US President Donald Trump's decision to speed up deportations.
Brazil's Foreign Ministry expressed its outrage after the US Government placed handcuffs on every member of a batch of 88 irregular migrants who were to be flown back to their country last Friday. Given this “degrading treatment,” it was announced at the Itammaraty Palace, the headquarters of South America's largest country's diplomacy, that the Government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was to remain attentive to the issue.