🚨As Axios sources said hours ago, Panama's Supreme Court just canceled the Panama Canal port contracts tied to a firm HQd in China that Trump was opposed to organojudicial.gob.pa/noticias/comun…

The Peruvian legal scholar "it's not actually impeachment" crowd is going to be extra annoying this time. Yes, we all know that just as the Inuit have 3 dozen words for snow, Peru can remove its president in many different ways. I'm calling it impeachment and you can't stop me.

José Jerí is ousted in Perú after just four months in office, as lawmakers forced the president out for failing to declare meetings with Chinese businessmen and for allegedly hiring unqualified young women to work with him, Marcelo Rochabrún Matthew Bristow report bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Chile for decades finessed the geopolitical rivalry between China, its top trading partner, and the US, its leading foreign investor. Those days seem to be over, Patricia Garip Antonia Mufarech report bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Panama officially scraps CK Hutchison contracts, handing canal ports to Maersk - reuters.com/business/autos…

Two #UnitedStates congressmen urged #Hondura’s President Nasry Asfura to follow through on his pledge to restore diplomatic relations with #Taiwan. Read more: rti.org.tw/en/news?uid=3&…

China’s proposed budget includes a 9.3% increase in diplomatic spending and a 7% increase in military spending. scmp.com/news/china/dip…

So far it hasn't been completely clear what "shield of the americas" means in practice, but notable that the first priority listed for Trump's summit w/LATAM leaders is to "stop foreign interference in our hemisphere" (before crime/immigration!) state.gov/releases/offic…

This is a new one -- the mayor of the small Ecuadorian city of Quevedo signs a letter of intent to open an office in Shanghai to promote Ecuadorian cities Haven't heard of a ton of LatAm cities opening offices in the PRC, but maybe a new trend? aldia.com.ec/quevedo-china-…

*CHINA, CUBA AGREE TO BOOST BILATERAL TIES: CCTV

SCOOP: The Trump admin is implementing a detailed strategy to push Western Hemisphere countries to stop using Cuba’s (lucrative) medical missions program, according to a State Dept memo: w/ Eric Bazail-Eimil politico.com/news/2026/03/1…

Looks like China-Costa Rica relations have hit a new low, with the Costa Ricans accusing the PRC of hacking their electricity/telecom provider ticotimes.net/2026/03/12/cos… (Comes after a years-long dispute over Huawei's inclusion in the country's 5G network)