For Isabel Corro, Donald Trump’s suggestions that the US could use military force to take control of the Panama Canal evokes painful memories.

The 79-year-old vividly recalls rushing her children inside her apartment on 20 December 1989 as US army helicopters and fighter jets screamed over Panama City, turning buildings to piles of rubble with rockets and gunfire.

In Panama, where the scars of conflict with the US are still healing, Trump’s comments have provoked widespread anger.

The incident has strained relations with Panama’s government, which has said sovereignty over the canal is “non-negotiable” and accused Trump of lying about making an offer to buy it.

“The only hands operating the canal are Panamanian and that is how it is going to stay,” said the country’s foreign minister, Javier Martínez-Acha.

  • I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Really? Do you have memory loss? Do you seriously not remember the 4 years he was in office last?

    He’s not distracting from anything, he’s distracting from EVERYTHING. The man careens around from controversy to controversy like a drunken mule on stilts. It’s not some master plan of distraction, it’s that no one can focus on the shit he’s breaking if he’s still busy wilding careening around. By the time people are talking about something insane he’s done or said, it’s old news because he’s already moved on to something even more insane.

    • atzanteol@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      it’s that no one can focus on the shit he’s breaking if he’s still busy wilding careening around.

      This is stupid. It’s like saying of a difficult toddler “he’s just distracting us” when he acts up. The acting up is the thing. It’s not a distraction - IT’S THE PROBLEM. To say we can’t focus on it is just bullshit.