Trump is launching a new offensive against China in the Western Hemisphere by using the Panama Canal and "Tang Luoism."

On January 29, the Supreme Court of Panama ruled that the contract of Panama Port Company, a subsidiary of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, which operates two ports on the Panama Canal, violated the Panamanian Constitution, declaring these contracts invalid.

This clearly unprincipled ruling immediately drew widespread public attention.

In fact, this ruling by the Panamanian court, as well as recent events in Venezuela, reflect the essence of Trump's Monroe Doctrine—Tang Luoism.

[U.S. Pressure]

Since 1997, Panama Port Company has been responsible for operating two container terminals at the Pacific and Atlantic entrances of the Panama Canal.

These two terminals are considered to play a strategic role in the operation of the Panama Canal. In 2021, the company was granted an extension of its 25-year concession rights.

According to Panama Port Company, over the years, the company and its investors have invested more than $1.8 billion in infrastructure, technology, and talent development in Panama, creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs and turning Panama into a globally recognized port and logistics hub.

After Trump was re-elected as U.S. President last year, he again expressed dissatisfaction with China's influence in Latin America. He repeatedly claimed that the U.S. should "reclaim" the Panama Canal and pressured the Panamanian government.

The Panamanian government emphasized that it has full control over the canal and stated that the Long and Group's operation of the two ports does not mean that the Chinese government controls the canal.

At the same time, the Panamanian prosecutor's office also launched an investigation into Panama Port Company and later accused it of "harming national interests" during the 2021 contract renewal for port operations. At the time, the outside world generally interpreted this as a gesture of appeasement by the Panamanian government under pressure from the U.S.

In March 2025, the Long and Group announced that it would form a consortium with BlackRock and Mediterranean Shipping Company, and sell most of its port businesses worldwide, including the Panama Port Company's rights to operate the ports at both ends of the Panama Canal.

Trump had praised the proposal to sell the ports (especially the Panama business), arguing that this would transfer these trade assets to be majority-owned by American companies.

Meanwhile, there were reports that China had pushed for COSCO Shipping to gain controlling interest in the transaction.

The Supreme Court of Panama's ruling on January 29 caused a sudden shift in the situation. The Panamanian president had said that if the court ruled the contracts unconstitutional, Panama might take over the operation of the two ports operated by Panama Port Company.

The Supreme Court's ruling was clearly unreasonable, unfair, and contrary to legal and commercial principles.

Panama Port Company issued a statement, stating that this was an unjustified attack by the Panamanian government on the company and its investors. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson also stated that China would resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio posted on social media, saying, "The U.S. is encouraged by the recent ruling of the Supreme Court of Panama that grants the Chinese port concession unconstitutional."

Evidently, this ruling is closely related to U.S. pressure.

[Two Events in Venezuela]

In fact, U.S. interference in Latin America is not limited to this ruling by the Panamanian court. Recently, two events also occurred in Venezuela.

The first event was that on January 29, Venezuela's acting president Rodriguez signed a bill related to oil law reform.

The main content of the reform allows private and foreign investment in Venezuela's oil industry, engaging in activities such as exploration, extraction, collection, transportation, and initial storage related to the oil industry.

Subsequently, the U.S. Treasury announced that it would ease sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry, allowing U.S. entities to conduct transactions related to Venezuela's oil with the Venezuelan government and the Venezuelan National Oil Company.

The second event was that Rodriguez said on January 30 that the Venezuelan government would submit a draft bill to the legislature, planning to implement a general amnesty for political prisoners.

These two events in Venezuela are also compromises made by the Venezuelan government under pressure from the U.S.

Additionally, on January 29, Trump signed an executive order threatening to impose ad valorem tariffs on goods imported from countries that provide oil to Cuba.

[The Tactics and Essence of Tang Luoism]

From these series of events, it is not difficult to see that the Trump administration is intensifying its control over Latin America.

Of course, it is well known that Trump's goal is not just Latin America, but the entire Western Hemisphere, including Canada and Denmark's territory Greenland. This is the Trump version of the Monroe Doctrine—Tang Luoism.

When combining these events with many other developments over the past year, we can get a clearer picture of the tactics of "Tang Luoism."

Firstly, it claims that the current situation threatens U.S. national interests, especially security interests.

Since Trump took office again, he has continuously exaggerated, claiming that the U.S. economic and security interests are greatly threatened, asserting that only through complete U.S. control over many strategic locations and resources can U.S. security be guaranteed.

Then, it exerts extreme pressure on relevant countries.

The methods of pressure first include verbal threats, such as saying the U.S. will "reclaim" the Panama Canal, or calling Canada the 51st state of the U.S., then use tariff hammers or sanctions as economic means, followed by military threats and military actions. Military threats include repeatedly threatening to obtain Greenland by military means, while military actions involve invading Venezuela to arrest Maduro.

Through extreme pressure, "Tang Luoism" has already succeeded in some regions.

In modern times, it is difficult to openly occupy another country's territory due to international resistance and domestic resistance within the U.S. However, through extreme pressure, Trump has partially achieved his goals. The recent events in Venezuela and Panama have demonstrated this.

From these events, we can further understand the essence of Tang Luoism. This essence is that the U.S. government will adopt various means to serve its narrow interests, not only economic means, but also other means, even disregarding the most basic legal and commercial spirit.

This not only threatens the independence and sovereignty of Latin American countries, but also poses serious challenges to other countries. If left unchecked, it could cause great damage to the global order. How to respond to this challenge is a test for many countries.

By Qian Kejin, Senior Media Person and Columnist

Original: toutiao.com/article/7601468967177159183/

Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author alone.