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Panamanian police arrest over 400 during protests against the privatization of Social Security

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Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Families, relatives, and the legal teams of the detainees demand information from police and justice for the arrested workers. Photo: SUNTRACS/X

Organized workers have denounced the police’s brutal treatment of demonstrators before and after the protest. President Mulino has called them “terrorists”.

Over 480 people were arrested in Panama on February 12 during a national demonstration called for by trade unions and social movements. Workers and protesters took the streets to raise several issues in the country:

  • To protest a law intending to privatize social security (Law 163)
  • To honor the memory of Al Iromi Smith Rentería, a worker killed by Panamanian police on February 12, 2008
  • To protest Donald Trump’s expansionist statements regarding the Panama Canal
  • To protest the pro-US attitude of the government of José Raúl Mulino

Police repression was extreme. After the police descended on the protests in Panama City, more than 100 demonstrators were injured and 15 policemen were wounded. 

The Director of the Panamanian police, Jaime Fernández said, “We managed to capture 450 people,” for which reason they had to improvise “a special jail” due to the long lines of handcuffed demonstrators. Other sources report almost 480 detainees. The right-wing president, José Raúl Mulino, labeled the trade union which led the protest, the National Union of Workers of Construction and Similar Industries (SUNTRACS), a “terrorist” organization and like a “mafia” and announced that “the full weight of the law” will fall on them.

SUNTRACS denounces police brutality and demands release of detained workers

In a press conference on February 12, a representative of SUNTRACS, and a participant in the demonstrations, denounced the actions of the police. The representative stated that without trying to mediate the situation, the police “began to brutally repress” the demonstration. The workers then sought refuge in the hospital under construction. Reportedly, the police began to indiscriminately arrest workers from the construction site.

Regarding President Mulino’s statements, the SUNTRACS representative said “It’s outrageous that because we go out to protest they call us “terrorists”, as the disrespectful President [of Panama] said. [Mulino] does not respond that way to Donald Trump, despite all the threats he has made against our national territory and our country.” 

Finally, he demanded the immediate release of the detained workers: “We will defend our comrades to the last consequences.”

In a press conference on February 13, a representative of SUNTRACS said that the police have not released any information about the detainees, except to certain relatives of the wounded, one of whom has undergone surgery for his injuries. He also denounced the beatings that several prisoners suffered after their apprehension.

Controversial Law 163

The law in question, which is being debated by the National Assembly, has been baptized as Law 163, which seeks to reform the current legislation on social security. SUNTRACS, along with other trade unions and social movements call the bill a clear attack on workers from the business and neoliberal groups. 

Under the pretext of an economic deficit of the Social Security Fund, Law 163 seeks to:

  • eliminate the autonomy of the Social Security Fund
  • increase the retirement age by three years (60 for women and 65 for men)
  • increase the requirements for retirement
  • transfer millions in Social Security funds to private companies
  • and various other measures

According to SUNTRACS, one of the project’s objectives is to take money from the insured, put it in private hands, and give the elderly a very poor retirement. 

“We will not allow this. We are in our legitimate right to have a promising future, and not the future they want to give us. We are going to resist.” In addition, he called for the solidarity and organization of the Panamanian people in the face of Mulino’s neoliberal onslaught.

For his part, Saúl Méndez, Secretary General of SUNTRACS, said that the bill seeks “to impose the theft of insurance money, increase the retirement age, rob pensioners and workers of their money to give it to the banks. We all want peace, but not the peace of the cemetery, the peace of misery and hunger that they want to impose on us. That is why we need unity, firmness and discipline in the face of this problem.”

Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.


Continue ReadingPanamanian police arrest over 400 during protests against the privatization of Social Security

Trump Won’t Rule Out Military Force to Seize Control of Panama Canal, Greenland

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Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

People demonstrate against U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Panama City, Panama on December 31, 2024, as the country marks the 25th anniversary of the United States’ handover of the Panama Canal. (Photo: Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump claimed both the canal and the Danish territory are needed for U.S. “economic security.”

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has been rebuked in recent days by the leaders of both Panama and Denmark for his insistence that the Panama Canal and Danish territory Greenland must be under American control, and his latest comments on Tuesday were expected to garner more anger—and eye-rolling—from abroad.

At a press conference at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, the Republican leader refused to rule out using military force to take over the canal and Greenland.

“It might be that you’ll have to do something. The Panama Canal is vital to our country,” said Trump. “We need Greenland for national security purposes.”

He added that both the canal and Greenland, the world’s largest island and home to a U.S. military base, are needed for U.S. “economic security.”

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Under President Jimmy Carter, who died late last month, the U.S. signed a treaty returning the Panama Canal Zone to Panama in 1979, and the waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans has been solely controlled by the Panamanian government since 1999.

Trump repeated a false claim that the canal is being “operated by China.”

Last month, after the president-elect demanded “that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America in full, quickly and without question,” Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino posted a video to social media in response.

“As president, I want to clearly state that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjoining zone is Panama’s and will remain so,” Mulino said. “The sovereignty and independence of our country is non-negotiable.”

Trump’s comments came as his son, Donald Trump Jr., joined right-wing activist Charlie Kirk and other Trump allies on a visit to Greenland.

The president-elect suggested in a social media post that the trip was made in an official capacity, writing: “The reception has been great. They, and the Free World, need safety, security, strength, and PEACE! This is a deal that must happen. MAGA. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”

But Greenland officials clarified that Trump Jr. was visiting only as a “private individual” and said no representatives would be meeting with him.

Trump said at his press conference that “people really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to [Greenland], but if they do they should give it up because we need it for national security.”

Greenland is home to 60,000 people, and is self-ruling with its own legislature while its foreign and defense policy are controlled by Denmark. The Arctic island lies in a region where global powers are vying for military and economic control.

Trump also expressed a desire to purchase Greenland during his first term, a goal that was dismissed at the time as “absurd” by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” Frederiksen reiterated on Tuesday.

Original article by Julia Conley republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Continue ReadingTrump Won’t Rule Out Military Force to Seize Control of Panama Canal, Greenland

‘Imperialism’: Trump Threatens to Reclaim Panama Canal

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Original article by Olivia Rosane republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

A tanker ship enters the Panama Canal from the Pacific side on October 25, 2024. (Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. president-elect’s remarks came a day after the 35th anniversary of the country’s invasion of Panama, which grassroots groups say killed thousands of civilians and displaced tens of thousands.

President-elect Donald Trump threatened over the weekend that the U.S. would retake control of the Panama Canal if Panama did not lower the fees it charges U.S. ships to access the waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Trump first issued the threat in two posts on Truth Social Saturday night. He then mentioned the canal again on Sunday while speaking at the conservative group Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest in Arizona, implying that Panama had allowed China to take control of the waterway.

“We will never, ever let it fall into the wrong hands,” Trump said.

“Trump is a tyrant threatening the sovereignty of Panama a day after the 35 year commemoration of a deadly and disproportionate U.S. invasion in which thousands of Panamanian civilians were killed.”

In response, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), posted on Bluesky, “Donald Trump is openly advocating for imperialism against Panama and the seizure of the Panama Canal by the United States. He doesn’t seem to know that Panama is a sovereign country or doesn’t seem to care.”

The U.S. struck an agreement with Panama in 1904 to build the canal and take possession of the land on each side of it. However, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter negotiated a treaty with Panama in the late 1970s to return the canal to Panama by 1999.

In his initial Truth Social post, Trump wrote that “it was solely for Panama to manage, not China, or anyone else. It was likewise not given for Panama to charge the United States, its Navy, and corporations, doing business within our country, exorbitant prices and rates of passage.”

In the second post, Trump concluded that the canal “was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question. To the officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!”

Trump repeated many of the same arguments in his speech at AmericaFest.

When he first mentioned the canal, an audience member called out, “Take it back!”

Trump responded, “That’s a good idea.”

In reporting on Trump’s remarks, Reuters noted that China does not control any part of the canal. However, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has managed two ports on either side for years. The outlet called Trump’s remarks “an exceedingly rare example of a U.S. leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory.”

“The government has the duty to defend our autonomy as an independent country,” Panamanian opposition deputy Grace Hernandez wrote on social media in response to Trump’s remarks. “Diplomacy demands steadfastness in the face of regrettable statements.”

The current leader of Panama, President José Raúl Mulino, is a pro-U.S. conservative, according to The Associated Press. The rising prices that Trump laments have less to do with any targeting of the U.S. and more to do with environmental conditions impacting all of the canal’s users, though the U.S. does use it more than any other nation. As AP explained:

The canal depends on reservoirs to operate its locks. It was heavily affected by droughts in Central America in 2023 that forced it to substantially reduce the number of daily slots for crossing ships. With fewer ships using the canal each day, administrators also increased the fees that are charged all shippers for reserving a slot.

With weather returning to normal in the later months of this year, transit on the canal has normalized. But price increases are still expected for next year.

Trump’s initial remarks came a day after the 35th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Panama to oust President Manuel Noriega, which grassroots groups say killed thousands of civilians in Panama and displaced tens of thousands.

“Trump is a tyrant threatening the sovereignty of Panama a day after the 35 year commemoration of a deadly and disproportionate U.S. invasion in which thousands of Panamanian civilians were killed,” Panamanian architectural designer Luis Alfaro wrote on social media. “The canal is on Panamanian land, and will always be Panamanian.”

Original article by Olivia Rosane republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Continue Reading‘Imperialism’: Trump Threatens to Reclaim Panama Canal