"Their governments, therefore, accepted loans and investments from capital-rich Chinese entities without thinking how that might annoy the United States."
They knew. Feeley approached Varela several times in 2016 after the Martano contract and Margarita purchase.to warn him not to switch But Varela managed to get vast quantities of his rum into China, so he didn't care and kept negotiations top secret.
That's a good point, but I could ask a follow up question? It seems like it might possible that Ambassador Feeley failed to communicate just how seriously the U.S. took the issue. After, the U.S. itself recognized the PRC back in the 1970s and didn't show much ire as other countries did the same. So might it be the case that Panamanian politicians simply didn't believe that the U.S. meant it when Ambassador Feeley communicated our reservations?
Yes, it's quite possible that Feeley's subsequent media appearances exaggerate his warnings. But the story goes that just 3 people (Varela, Saint Malo, de la Guardia) knew about the transfer of relations on the morning it happened. Unless we believe the US intelligence agencies are totally useless, this suggests it was kept top secret for good reason.
Why didn't Panama get a soccer stadium (a la Costa Rica) or a library, like in El Salvador, for its trouble? Some could conclude that it was personal interest rather than national that held sway. That view would be backed up by rabiblanco involvement in rum sales, mining contracts and energy projects related to Chinese firms.
Both stories can be true, no? I don't see a contradiction!
But I do think that rabiblanco -- I love that word -- involvement is an important part of the story that I overlooked. Yes, the mining and energy projects ultimately collapsed due to Panamanian political opposition. But the elite around Varela didn't know that when they recognized the PRC!
One quibble, though: one would expect El Salvador to be a cheap date compared to Panama. I've been to the National Library in San Salvador. It's very nice, but nice like, well, a large branch of the Brooklyn Public Library nice. Queens College's library is almost as impressive. To woo Panama, you gotta build a high-speed train to David or a wall along the Darien Gap, not just a middling pleasant library building.
(On the other hand, a luxury baseball stadium, that could do the trick. Except it would be empty most of the time.)
"Their governments, therefore, accepted loans and investments from capital-rich Chinese entities without thinking how that might annoy the United States."
They knew. Feeley approached Varela several times in 2016 after the Martano contract and Margarita purchase.to warn him not to switch But Varela managed to get vast quantities of his rum into China, so he didn't care and kept negotiations top secret.
That's a good point, but I could ask a follow up question? It seems like it might possible that Ambassador Feeley failed to communicate just how seriously the U.S. took the issue. After, the U.S. itself recognized the PRC back in the 1970s and didn't show much ire as other countries did the same. So might it be the case that Panamanian politicians simply didn't believe that the U.S. meant it when Ambassador Feeley communicated our reservations?
Yes, it's quite possible that Feeley's subsequent media appearances exaggerate his warnings. But the story goes that just 3 people (Varela, Saint Malo, de la Guardia) knew about the transfer of relations on the morning it happened. Unless we believe the US intelligence agencies are totally useless, this suggests it was kept top secret for good reason.
Why didn't Panama get a soccer stadium (a la Costa Rica) or a library, like in El Salvador, for its trouble? Some could conclude that it was personal interest rather than national that held sway. That view would be backed up by rabiblanco involvement in rum sales, mining contracts and energy projects related to Chinese firms.
Both stories can be true, no? I don't see a contradiction!
But I do think that rabiblanco -- I love that word -- involvement is an important part of the story that I overlooked. Yes, the mining and energy projects ultimately collapsed due to Panamanian political opposition. But the elite around Varela didn't know that when they recognized the PRC!
One quibble, though: one would expect El Salvador to be a cheap date compared to Panama. I've been to the National Library in San Salvador. It's very nice, but nice like, well, a large branch of the Brooklyn Public Library nice. Queens College's library is almost as impressive. To woo Panama, you gotta build a high-speed train to David or a wall along the Darien Gap, not just a middling pleasant library building.
(On the other hand, a luxury baseball stadium, that could do the trick. Except it would be empty most of the time.)