Monroe Doctrine Is Over: Colombia Joins China's BRI! Geopolitical Trends

Hello everybody and welcome to Geopolitical Trends, where truth matters. Excited to be with you as always. Uh, I'm even more excited, believe it or not, guys, uh, uh, because of the topic I'm going to be addressing. This one has to do with Colombia, uh, signing off or signed on, uh, with China's BRI. So basically, China and Colombia signed the BRI pact. So now there are those who might not even be interested in this topic. I know this is why you don't hear a lot of coverage on it from the media. Of course they're not going to do that. But to me personally, it's very, very significant because not only from an economic perspective but also from geopolitical aspects of it. Because if you know anything about Latin America, what should come to your mind right away? Is the Monroe Doctrine. And this one, some sort of— literally, I feel comfortable saying, you know, uh, it's almost put an end to it. So, and I'm gonna be providing you my own analysis about all this, and hopefully I'll take some questions or two towards the end. All right, let's see first of all who is here, our wonderful community as always. Leanne, good to see you. Lori, morning to you as well. Timeline Dunkley. Good to see you, Willie Harmon. Uh, Laval Sang, I haven't seen you for a while. Hope all is well. Good to see you as always. And I know, guys, by now I know the screen names, and if I don't see somebody for a while, I always hope they are okay and so forth. So Truth Seeker, as always. Fareed Amel, good to see you. Athene Wu, as always. Uh, Dambisa Mayo, good to see you from Gambia. Remember. Lee Chung, good to see you right here. Lee Chung, good to see you. Amanda, as always. Matt Becky, good, good to see you as always. Francisco Brooks, good to see you. And Lloyd Johnson and Country Stories, I like that screen, uh, screen name there. So good to see you, good to see you there. So all right, let's, uh, let's get into our topic here. By the way, Matt, before I forget, I know you put something on Twitter for me, uh, directly regarding a conversation that I had with Rick Turan some 2 years ago, and it turns out to be true. His assertion, uh, was spot on. So I'm gonna reach out to him next week and have— bring him on the, uh, on the channel here for some conversation regarding fintech. So he's a savvy guy. And he's a good friend. So, all right, let me start with housekeeping items because I need— you need, you need to know what's going— what's coming up. So I set the time and the date with Einar Tengen. It's gonna be on Saturday the 17th. Uh, let me make sure again here. I won't give you, uh, the wrong day. Yeah, Saturday the 17th, which will be the 18th, uh, uh, Einar's time., in his location. So, uh, it will be at 8:00 PM here in, in Dallas, and it will be 9:00 AM the next day in Beijing. So make sure not to miss this one because, uh, uh, Einar has always have a lot to say, uh, something of substance, you know. So, so here is, uh, what I'm gonna do in this particular analysis, because I don't want to be, uh, specifically— I'm gonna do geography, I'm gonna do history And I know one of you guys put a comment asking me if I could start doing the history of, of, uh, uh, West Asia. Like, each time I'll pick a country and do the history on it. So why not? I mean, I'm aware of those, and, and I'll be happy. I just have to think about how to structure those kind of— you can call them lectures, you can call them whatever. So to me, just interaction with you for the sake of learning. So, so I'm going to be doing that. But anyway, I'm going to be doing geography, I'm going to be doing history of Colombia, but I'm going to also do the history of Monroe Doctrine. You need to know the background. Then I'll get into the, in the implications of Colombia now joining the BRI and how that's going to transform the region more than it already is, and what it means for US influence in Latin America. So this is what I'm going to be covering in this live stream. So let's start with some headlines. First of all, we're going to start with something— again, it's not covered in detail and just happened about 3 days ago because I kept the link in— hold on a second, I'm gonna show it to you guys. I'm gonna show it to you in its original language in Arabic. So this way— hold on a second, bear with me here, guys— this way you notice the date when it was published. And again, nothing, nothing is shared right here. So, so look at the bottom here where it says al-masdar, which means source. Look at the date, it's May 14th, which was yesterday. So that's what happened. So basically what happened, uh, uh, with this one here is that the, uh, it was a reaction to the developments for the exchange of fire between the Houthis and Israel, believe it or not. So at least on Twitter or X, uh, uh, there were some comments on that. So, uh, because most of the platforms have reacted to the intensified Houthis launch of hypersonic ballistic missiles, missiles in plural, not a missile, missiles, uh, uh, missiles at Israel, which coincided with Israel warning to evacuate the Yemeni ports. So the Houthis announced yesterday morning that they had targeted once again Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv with a hypersonic ballistic missile. While activists and media outlets broadcast the footage of the air raid sirens sounding in several areas of central Israel. So, and I know here in the West it's not covered at all. Of course, they're not gonna want to do that. And like I said last time, regardless whether Trump is there or not, who cares? That's, that's my, my argument. Uh, second thing has to do with, uh, believe it or not, oil and gold. Well, oil— remember last time we talked about how the Saudis will have to have barrel of oil at about, uh, $90? Same with the US shale. Well, oil, oil falls on expectations. Here is why it falls in prices, just for you guys to know, because Here is the thing, anytime you go fill up your gas tank for the car, think about geopolitics. You might, you might— I wrote an article about this one, the link between oil prices at the gas pump and geopolitics, believe it or not. So that is the reason why. Why is this? Because the expectations that the US could reach a nuclear deal with Iran, you know, they This is why oil prices went down. Gold, on the other hand, stabilizes a little bit, so— but oil fell by about $2, you know, today. And that's again because that's how markets— markets usually expectations— market does not like uncertainty. But for something like this, the expectations that the United States and Iran will reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear program that will ease sanctions on Tehran, you know. So here is the thing: while the surprise rise in U.S. crude oil inventory, inventory last week increased investors' concerns about a supply, uh, sort of it will be too much on the market. Brent crude, which is right in here, Brent crude future fell about $2.26. Or almost 3.2% to $63.83, uh, $63.83 a barrel. So, uh, West Texas— and when we do, I'm very familiar, I live in Texas here— uh, US West Texas Intermediate, which is crude future, falls to about— by about $2.27 it falls almost to $60 a barrel. So you just have to keep that in mind. It might mean something to you when you fill up your gas tank. So, and the last thing I'm going to share with you has to do with— this is a picture from a location in Istanbul, and this one has to do with the uncertainty surrounding now the Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul. So as you know, and I did ask you a survey regarding whether you— and some of you asked if I could cover this topic, and I might do it tomorrow. We, we'll see, we'll see how things go. Uh, so Turkey is hosting direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, uh, today. However, it's already been postponed, uh, the second part of it. So, so the first between the two countries since the spring of 2022. However, the arrangements for the meeting remain unclear. With the Russian president Vladimir Putin absent. Well, makes perfect sense. Like I said before, it doesn't make any sense whatsoever. And again, if I were advising Mr. Putin, I said, no, you don't need to go, you send someone else. So, so the Russian news agency TASS reported that the talks are scheduled— was supposed to, to start at 10:00 AM local time which will be 7:00 PM GMT. So in closed session, that's not going to be open to— away from the media. So that's, uh, and, uh, so however, an official from Ukraine National Security and Defense Council said via his Telegram account that start date for the talks has not yet been agreed upon. And that 10 AM start was unplanned and incorrect. I don't think so. I don't think so. It's just making up this to say, you know, are you going to trust the Ukrainians? Let's just be honest about it, straightforward. So, but again, it's your decision to decide on this. All right, let's get into our topic, very, very interesting topic that I, I'm very, very excited about it because again, what it's gonna bring to Colombia the changes that's going to be happening. This is Petro, uh, Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia, with President Xi Jinping. So here is what's interesting, because the way you look at it now, and again, it's not covered in detail here. There is a reason why the media does not address certain topics, and that's exactly what I try to do in this channel, guys. Bringing you the issues that matter. You know, I don't follow the trend, issues that matter. So here's the thing, Colombia has made now a historic move. For them, joining the BRI is a historic move because the, uh, the BRI projects. You know why? Because this almost shocked some parts of the world and sent also ripple effect, uh, across the globe with many wondering what it means for the country's economy. So, and not only that, you think about the economy, but also you think about Colombia's relations with other nations, mainly in Latin America, but also with China and others in Asia. So, and this is why I wanted to sort of explore the implications of Colombia's move and what it means, uh, sort of for the BRI project moving forward and how this could change. And it will change the regional and global economic landscape because you're going to move from trade agreements to infrastructure developments to any other developments in technology and so forth. And given what the US is doing with its, with its perplexing policies regarding tariffs and so forth, Countries are evaluating how it's going to move forward. Well, Colombia is one of those. That's why it decided to join BRI, which is a massive development project from the Asian, from China, that is, and by which China is going to fund the infrastructure projects. And this is exactly what Gustavo Petro, the Colombian president stated recently is that, that we are going to sign— this is his word— we are going to sign the Silk Road, Petro said in an interview from the Great Wall of China, using part of the original name given to China's development initiative. So it's, it's very historic, guys, in my opinion. That's, that's very historic. So, so before I move forward, I'm gonna do geography and we'll do a little bit of history and move on into the analysis with this. So let me share a link with you for the map so you can see where Colombia is, to those who might not know, and we just go from there. So, and always give credit to World Atlas, uh, for this. Let me make it bigger here so you guys can see full screen. All right, what do you think about Colombia, which is officially and diplomatically known as the Republic of Colombia? It is located in the northwestern part of South America. It is geographically positioned in the northern and the western hemispheres of the Earth. The equator, if you, if you see the, the map there on the map, the equator passes through the southern edge of the country. Therefore, and as a result, Colombia also partially lies in the Southern Hemisphere. Colombia is bordered by Panama to the northwest, Ecuador and Peru to the south, Venezuela to the east, and Brazil to the southeast. It is also bounded by the Caribbean Sea in the north and the Pacific Ocean in the West. There's also another thing that is, if you see the map there, as far as the, uh, uh, the maritime— it's maritime borders. It has one with Costa Rica because it shares those maritime borders. Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Very, very interesting and strategic location. And I can see now why them— Colombia joining BRI, it's gonna be tremendous, tremendous economic developments that's gonna be impacting not only Colombia but other countries. And I'm gonna tackle that one as well. So now when it comes down to the history of Colombia, you have to understand how we get to where we are, especially in the 20th century. Almost from 19th through the 19th all the way to the 20th century. So Colombia's history is a story of diverse indigenous cultures because you have to remember one thing has to do. I remember when I went to Bolivia, La Paz, and I remember seeing the indigenous people of Bolivia, very, very interesting. They have their way of living and wonderful human beings. It's just like you and I. So Colombia is no different because Colombia's history, this is the mix that it has, is that this diverse indigenous cultures, Spanish colonization, of course the independence for struggles that he went through. And don't forget the ongoing social and political turmoils and challenges that Colombia had to go through. So, and as you know, the Spanish has— does anybody know what year? Just a guess, what year the Spanish arrived in Colombia? Let me see in the chat box if you happen to know. And it's just a guess, guys, no more, no less. Just, it goes way back. Uh, 1495, you are closer, you know. 1499, so you're closer. Yeah, uh, go try. Who was, who was this one that did this one? Uh, uh, Oh, I lost the first one. Taiwan still, yeah, 1495. Uh, some of you said 1500. No, it was 1495. That's when it was. So, and of course it was established as a colony which later became, uh, as known as the Viceroyalty of New Granada. And I'll get into that history of that. There is a, there is a very interesting sites that I looked into it regarding specifically the colonization of Colombia. And what you need to understand is that here is the thing that a lot of people do not even know, including those here in the US. You know, I mean, I became aware of it a few years ago when I read a little bit about the history of Latin America, because I was— when I was studying my master's degree, we had to do the security issues in all continents. And one of them has to do with Latin America security issues. And one of them was to learn and read a little bit about Colombia. Here's the thing, you know, despite its name, because what is its name? Colombia, you know, Colombia was not founded by the explorer Christopher Columbus. There is no link whatsoever. A lot of people in the West think that might be the case because here is why. Christopher never set a foot the countries throughout the history of Colombia. And that's why in 1499 the territory was discovered by his companion Alfonso de Ojeda, who arrived there from nearby San Domingo, which is landing at Cabo de la Vela. That's how it all started. Then you move forward to 1525 However, that's when the Spanish— official starting time when the Spanish began a process of colonization of Colombia. This is why it's important. I know historical record mentioned 1499. That was just the beginning of it, but officially it was 1525, and leading it to becoming an integrated colony of the Spanish Empire. Of course, of course, at that time Alonso de Ojeda's brief presence in Colombia after his initial discovery gave rise to what's known as El Dorado myth, if you know what it is, and that there existed a magical city where everything was made of gold. Of course, you, whether you want to believe this or not, That's what the myth was about El Dorado. So, and of course, because it was a myth and the promise of a lot of gold, that one encouraged further developments of the region by none other than the Spaniards. So, and after a couple of initial settlements in the early years of the 16th century, which was, by the way, short-lived Then who comes after that, especially during the same time, 1525, was a name of a guy by the name Rodrigo de Batistas. He was the one who founded the first proper settlement in the territory, Santa Marta. And by the way, when you think— and, and I have a picture of you for you guys, rather not of you, for you, uh, but this is a recent one just for you to see. Colombia here, so that's the city of it. But one thing that is important is that the city is the oldest in Colombia that still remains today, and the second oldest in South America. So, and its location, of course, and as I mentioned earlier on, I'm not going to get into the territories and all that stuff because it's so long, and I'm gonna provide you the link, you can read through that. So now the one thing you need to understand is that Santa Fe de Bogotá was founded in 1538, okay? And all the three expeditions eventually ended up, and that's where it sparked the battle of control of the new founded territory. Santa Fe de Bogotá would later become the capital city of its own viceroyalty. And of course, what led after that is to the battle for supremacy between the three Explorers, which continued until 1550. So that's when finally the Spanish king Charles V— that I, I don't know if I have a picture of Charles V, uh, let me see. No, no, I don't. Anyway, Charles V issues a decree that establishes a court of justice at Bogotá, naming it the Royal Audience of the New Kingdom of Granada. Charles V then placed his— this new colony under the already formed Viceroyalty of Peru. You need to understand what this viceroyalty means. Viceroyalty is a territory ruled by a viceroy. Viceroy is an official appointed by a monarch to represent their authority in a distant area. And in Spanish colonial history, if you go throughout the history of, of the Spanish colonialism, in Spanish colonial history, viceroyalties were established to govern vast areas, overseas territories. So for example, and I'm going to give you two examples that I am aware of, one is that the viceroyalty of the New Spain which included Mexico and other parts of the Americas, because that one was one such territory. It is what a lot of people do not know. For example, the state where I live in Texas— Texas never belonged to the United States. Texas always belonged to Mexico. We snatched it from the Mexicans. So of course, after the Spanish War, then later on the Mexican. And that's what vice royalty, uh, uh, uh, uh, vice royalty means. Now here is the other example that I want to give you. Uh, vice royalties also existed in other empires, the likes of British Empire. Because why? Because British vice royalty of India That's why India still the way it is, tracing back its time to its colonial, uh, era under the British. So, and that is one of the key aspects that I need you to understand. So, and of course, with Colombia, uh, maintained this political status until the 18th century when it became its own Viceroyalty, and that's encompassing it to the present day territories of— because it wasn't just Colombia, by the way. The— this Viceroyalty's territories were more than one country. That included Colombia, that included Panama, that included Ecuador and Venezuela. All those were known as the, the, the, uh, the viceroyalty. And of course, the New Spanish colonizers used a number of processes in order to consolidate their newfound power. And primarily, they used one particular system, and that system is called economía, economía, economía It's a Spanish word, economía, which literally translates to entrusting. And that's where the indigenous population was forced to work for their new Spanish owners, but the latter had to provide adequate care for them. And here is the big kicker— religion. Like I always say, you know, I have nothing against religion. I respect whatever. So I just— I'm not a religious man. I don't— not for me. Here is what's important. Religion was another major tool for power. Many key religious figures were sent to America to evangelize the indigenous population and convert them to Catholicism. This is why when you think about the Vatican, you have to go some 2,000 years ago. Vatican doesn't pay taxes, doesn't, you know, almost above the law. Religion plays a role into all this. I mean, the British used to say the same, that the king or queen, whatever, was ordained by God, however you define God to be. But you know, that's, that's a conversation for another All right, let's get into our, our analysis here, because you need to understand a little bit of that history, because it's important. And without understanding that history, and of course the geography, and why now it makes perfect sense, not only just economically but geopolitically, I think Colombia made the right move. So I am glad Argentina didn't join BRICS. It's because Argentina, it's wishy-washy. Same argument I make about Saudi Arabia— wishy-washy. You don't want those individual— those, uh, countries in, in, in, in an economic block like that. So Colombia is different story. So President Xi Jinping and Petro Gustavo signed now this agreement. And I give credit, by the way, the image to Huang Jingwen. That's the picture I got from. So they signed the deal now bringing it, bringing Medellín, Colombia into China's BRI. That's also was confirmed by Beijing. So, and the agreements, of course, came after some sort of bilateral talks and meetings between President Xi Jinping and the Colombian president Gustavo Petro. And that was the one that was followed by the summit of Latin America and Caribbean leaders in Beijing. So now here is the thing: two-thirds, two-thirds of Latin American countries have already signed up to the infrastructure initiative. And what is the reason for all that? And of course, it's going to give Beijing a global political and economic clout. There is no— it's not a— we should be under no illusion, but it's not in a, in a bad way. I like what we used to do. I like what the Brits have done. I like what the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Germans, you know, for the Chinese disclout politically and economically, which by the way, President Xi has been calling on Latin America to resist pressure from the United States. That's a sign you should interpret it as China is ready now to flex its muscles both economically and diplomatically or politically. And it's about time. So, and in return, in exchange for this, China is going to invest heavily in infrastructure and other large-scale projects which Colombia and other countries in the region will need big time. So now, of course, remember, Latin America has become some sort of, uh, a key arena. And I'm gonna share some pictures with you here, and I'm gonna give credit to Angela Pensey. That's her picture here, so I'm just using it here. Uh, Latin America has become now a key arena as Washington and Beijing vie for global influence. That makes perfect sense because the argument The argument that the United States makes is, and I'm gonna just use a brief word, it's our backyard. Hold on a second, hold on a second. Latin America is nobody's backyard. It's not America's backyard because the mindset still under that Monroe Doctrine, which I will get into in a minute here. So the fact that Washington still using the term, oh, it's our backyard, That just shows you. However, for China, the way to move beyond this, to assist Latin America, is through economic ventures, infrastructure, something we don't do when we go to other countries. Look now what's going on with Syria. Why do you think we lift the sanctions on Syria? Because now we own. Because Giuliani, that guy, you all know, You move from a terrorist into an interim president and you have time to sit down with the American president. The optics of it, uh, you don't need a comment for that. It's self-explanatory. So here's the thing. When you think about what China is bringing, think about the, the, the, uh, the, the Chang'e Port in Peru, you know. How important that is? Well, here is the thing. Since its launch, because this is now a new shipping lane, the Chansei Shanghai, so that one now has some sort of supervised the import and export of 22,000 tons of goods, which was valued at about 610 million yuan. To my knowledge, or $84 million. So, and of course, the benefit of something like this and the developments and the economic opportunities, the job opportunities and so forth that the Chang'e Port brings to not only Peru but Latin America or South American countries, including Peru, of course, they are evident. It's evident. So There is, of course, a displeasure in Washington because of this, but who cares? Oh, Washington is displeased with that. Who gives a damn about what Washington thinks or wants? That era is gone. This is like the same arguments that I've been making regarding what Trump's saying. You all remember, you all remember when Trump threatens countries to be sanctioned if they drop the dollar from the transactions. And the country was like, who the heck are you? What do you think? We're going to move forward. The same arguments I can make about this. Washington is displeased. So what? It's the economic developments. That's where the future is. So that is where the difference is. So what did President Xi said to, uh, what did he, President Xi, stated, and what did President Petro stated. So here is what President Xi urged, you know, he urged countries to take the opportunity of Colombia formal joining the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative. So, and here is the interesting thing, I'm gonna, I'm gonna read it word for word because the word is very specific. Here is what President Xi said: "To take the opportunity of Colombia formally joining the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative family to promote the quality upgrading of cooperation." End of quote. Yeah, it's self-explanatory. It tells you where things moving forward. Mark my word, we are going to undermine that behind the scenes. We always do. As a matter of fact, we already did something in Panama by landing now some US fighter jets. What are the US fighter jets doing in Panama? In addition to what President Xi Jinping stated, he also added that now China is ready to import more Colombian products of high quality, end of quote. That shows you the idea of that this port, the Chang'e, not only Peru is going to benefit from it but also Colombia. Here is the, the, the Chang'e, uh, Shanghai, you know, massive, massive project, and the amount of, of goods that they are transported This is the Shanghai, uh, from, uh, in Peru. Shanghai Port in Peru. Very, very interesting. So what President Xi sort of— this is his subtle way. Here is his subtle way. Uh, the Chinese culture, that's how they are. Not into your face. That's not them. That's not China. That's not— and I intend to ask Einar Tangen, as you know, he lived long enough in China to understand the culture there. It's not in there. It's subtle messages. Here is what President Xi said, quote, "From now on, Colombia will interact with the—" I'm sorry, this is Petro, what he said. "From now on, Colombia will interact with the entire world on a footing of equality and freedom." You all know what he's referring to. Referring to Panama, referring to Venezuela, for what the United States is doing. You all remember what Donald Trump said? Oh, US ships is going to go through Panama Canal without paying. And he wanted to do the same in the Suez Canal, and Egyptians were like, heck no, you know better than anyone else, you pay your dues if you want to cross there. And makes me just wonder, is this why we sent the fighter jets to Panama? I don't know. Here is what President Xi Jinping stated, or, or he argued for. He argued for the idea that, or urges for, the unity and cooperation. Key specific words. So because what President Xi wants to do, and he succeeded in doing this, and again, you don't blame him because you want to promote your country. You know, if you are a head of state, you're going to think about the welfare of your country. So what President Xi was aiming at is that to render China as a basin, you know, the basin for a multilateral order. And pay attention to what I'm saying, render it as a basin, not to dictate the order of the multipolar world. So China has no interest in dictating the term. What China has is the desire of paving the trajectory influencing the trajectory so everyone can benefit. And the reason also President Xi is saying this at this time, for China to be as a basin for the multipolar order or multilateral order, because it comes on the heels of Donald Trump as he continues to sort of throw the world markets into turmoil. With this trade, erratic trade policies, you know, that, that have no sound judgment, that have no whatsoever. I mean, look at him, meaning Trump. He had to cave in to, to the Chinese. Chinese understood. So, and again, we'll— I'll discuss more detail about this on Saturday with the, with the Anna Tengen. One thing that I feel comfortable that President Xi made clear, and I couldn't agree more, is that there are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars. He's spot on. And he emphasized, and this is again, you have to understand, he emphasized the need for this because it's only through some cooperation of sort, It's only through some unity of sort. That's how we will be able— when I say we, I'm referring to all of us who think for the betterment of the world, the betterment of humanity. You know, so I share the same assessment and opinion with President Xi Jinping that the idea of the cooperation, the idea of unity because it has one objective, and that objective is to safeguard sort of the, the peace and, and, and, and global prosperity and stability. Because what we are doing, it's leading us to self-isolation. And this is why personally, when I see some venture like this I, I just put myself in the shoes of those individuals who live in the likes of Colombia, the likes of Burkina Faso, the likes of whatever country might be, that all of a sudden there is this windfall of economic projects that's gonna turn their life in a good way, economically speaking. On the other hand, I think in terms of when we impose sanctions on other countries You know, I look at it for the Syrian people, been living under sanctions for 46 years from the United States. Iran's been under sanctions forever. So, and this is again where the difference is. Liking this video so far? Don't just be a watcher, go ahead and hit the like, share, and subscribe button. And don't forget to tap the bell so you will not miss any of my videos or live streams. This way you will be supporting a channel that stands for the truth and objective reporting. The choice is yours. Thanks for your support. Now, what does, uh, China has to offer for all this? But of course they're going to be providing a lot of funding. And those are loans, by the way. It's not China just handing money because they worked for it. I mean, nobody— it's common sense. Where the difference is going to be is that China is not going to put restrictions on this country. It's not gonna— it's like what IMF does, or the World Bank for that matter, or even if the US gets involved. And again, I don't shy away from criticizing when criticism is warranted. So what China is going to do is going to— China already pledged about almost, almost 9, almost $9.5, almost $10 billion. So in, in those developments, and that's going to be in form of loans. So, well, of course, companies that's going to be involved, they're going to have to have some funding structure. They're going to have the China is not going to just give the money away like that. So what they will expect from Beijing is that it will be some sort of cooperation regarding all this. And here is the, here is the what I found very interesting about President Xi Jinping, because I read some of this, not all of them, but some of his statements regarding this particular summit that took place in Beijing is that China will also put in place scholarships and training programs. So they are thinking in the big picture, you know, they're not just saying, here is money, do whatever. No, no, no, no, no. They are going about the issues that matter, because if you have scholarship and you have a good education system, then you're gonna build the next generation of leaders. You know, unlike, you know, what we're experiencing right here. I just had a chance to see yesterday a teacher for someone like third graders or whatever, she quit, or fifth, somewhere around that, I don't remember. She quit. Why she quit? And she posted a clip on this. She said because she couldn't believe that the student cannot read. So it shows you where things are. And this is also where the Chinese sort of, uh, made it clear through Mr. Wang Yi, the Chinese foreign minister, you know, because in his message he seems to hit at the US indirectly, of course, when he said, and I quote, a major power that was obsessed with the idea that my makes right, end of quote. So yeah, and of course he went on by saying, you know what, Latin Americas, I urge you— meaning that's what the statement— I urge you to join hands. So it's because it became clear to Latin American countries that the usage of tariffs as a weapon to bully other countries. And Colombia doesn't want to, no, they're not going to fall into that. So what's involved in this BRI basically in general terms? You're looking at an upgrade also of the bilateral cooperation between Colombia and China. And that's exactly what President Xi Jinping have stated. So joining the BRI and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, this is going to be very, very transformational for the economy of Colombia, for its foreign policy, for its domestic consumptions and so forth. And that is why it's very, very important to understand. And that's why also China and Colombia also strengthen their strategic partnership, because all this is going to open up the doors. You're looking at about access, uh, market access. You're looking at about promotion of projects that includes bridges, railways, corridor, renewable energy technology, and other, and other opportunities. Very, very, very, very crucial and important. And this leads me to tackle why the US is upset about this. Well, to understand the US, which by the way, who cares whether US is upset or not, you have to understand what is the Monroe Doctrine. Why it's important, and I'm gonna be providing you a brief snapshot, historically speaking, about the Monroe Doctrine. So Monroe Doctrine, it was the first time it was outlined, by the way, to our Congress back then. It was back in the— I think it was 1820. Somewhere around that, 2022, somewhere around that. And who did that? Does anybody know who was the president at that time? Can you type in, in a chat box if you happen to know about who was the president in the, uh, in the 1820s? Let me just see. I'm checking the chat box, guys, just to see here. Okay, it's, it's not there. Okay, we got to move on. So it was none other than James Monroe, and I have a picture for you guys to see right here. Here is a picture of James Monroe. I love— I— that's what I spent yesterday, guys, by the way, just looking into the archives And, and, and that's why I'm saying, you know, your support for this channel is very, very, very crucial. And you all know this by now. So, so this is picture of James Monroe. So what did he say into this? He's warning European powers, because at that time, who was the major power? It wasn't China like now. It was the, the, the British, the Spaniards, the Portuguese, the Dutch, the German to a degree, but, uh, the mainly has to do with the, the, the major European powers. And his warning to them was not to attempt any further colonization or military intervention or any— it is the key word— any other interference in the Western Hemisphere. That is why it still applies till today, the idea that when, for example, China reached out to Brazil or Peru or whatever country, we're still using the term "our backyard." And this is what James Monroe said back then, is that, that the United States will view any such interference as a potential hostile act. So, and of course, from that time forward, from 1822 or 1823 forward, the Monroe Doctrine policy has became the cornerstone of the US diplomatic and military policies. Look no further than our history in Latin America, even in the '70s of the last century. What have we done in places like Colombia, Nicaragua, Andorra, you name it. Venezuela, of course, what we're trying to do. But here is the interesting thing, is that through, through the Monroe Doctrine, which had initially supported the idea of a joint US and British resolution— this is again, James Monroe was thinking in terms of how we can use the British, because British at that time The British at the time had a major naval asset, and how we can cooperate with them and, and sort of share the spoils, because they were the discoveries in Latin America. And again, that's how it all came about. So the resolution between the United States and Britain back then, which what James Monroe was arguing for, it was against future colonization in Latin America. And this only was supported by none other than the Secretary of State at that time, which was none other than John Quincy Adams. I, I have a— I found a picture in the archive. This is John Quincy Adams. So John Quincy Adams at the time argued in support of what James Monroe was saying, that joining forces with the British could limit future U.S. opportunities for expansion, and that Britain might well be imperialist ambitions of its own. And why am I sharing all this with you? Is to highlight to you that if we are to ever go to a place, it was never about developing the place. Or look at— I give the example about Britain in India, you know. Tell me if— and again, I pick India for an example, you know. Of course I'll pick another country as well, but just that's what came to mind. And look how India still behaves Till today. And the welfare of the Indian people is abysmal because the government has failed. And that was the whole purpose of what the British and the Americans did. And that's why the Monroe Doctrine stayed sort of in place. And that is the reason why I put in the title. So usually, guys, by now you know I use words specifically for specific reasons. You know, you're smart enough to read between the lines. That's why I said Monroe Doctrine is over. I didn't ask the question, is Monroe Doctrine over? No, no, no, it is over. And that was my objective for why I stated it that way. So, and this is again, you have to— even you move from back then, 1823, forward all the way to not today, but the last, let's say, 50 years or so. Any place we have— we got involved, any place the British got involved, you know, you all know how the outcome turned out to be. Ask Africans, ask Southeast Asian, or ask even countries inside Asia— Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia. So we do not want to see any other country elevate itself economically speaking, because if you improve on the economic infrastructure, it translates, it trickles down to the average citizens. And this is again why we are still holding to that notion of, oh, our backyard. Ain't your backyard. There is no such thing. You know, we couldn't even fix our own issues here. So the way I see it, the way I see it is that the development of Colombia is not going to be just for Colombia. You know, this is an opportunity for Latin America. You know, of course I will have to question Argentina, uh, because I never trusted, uh, uh, Javier Milei. Goes back and forth. And to me, a wishy-washy person, you can't trust them with, with the fate of a nation for that. So, but again, it's their country, they can decide whatever they want to do. So, all right guys, that's all I have to share with you on this particular topic. I am gonna be, uh, uh, by the way, when I, uh, and thank you for, uh, for participating in the survey regarding yesterday That's why I end up doing this particular topic. Let me go back to it quickly here while I have the screen open here. Uh, and I know some of you wants to talk about— wants me to talk about Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul. Uh, if this is something I, I can do it, or I can reach out to Larry. I'll have him come over here. So, so I'll figure out again, I think, of the topics that will be of interest to to you guys, because anytime you spend time with me here, I need to make sure by the time I log off you have acquired some knowledge of sort. No, that, that's my rule. That's, and that's like always, and again, I, I, I am learning from you as well. And to me, this is a medium for us to exchange ideas and learn from each other. That's just the way I see it. Uh, Francis Tango, Thank you so much for your continued support. I'm done with words here. So, question: isn't that a reason for war with China? Oh, I see what you mean. That means why the, uh, the, uh, the US will want to— well, actually, you're right, Francis, because you think about the tensions that existed recently between Pakistan and India, uh, between Yeah, between Pakistan and India. I know one of the objectives was for Modi because of the upcoming elections, but there is also another element behind this beside the BRICS that has to do with the economic corridor that exists between China and Pakistan. Why? Because India does not want to see any developments near its borders. That's why they keeping the thumb on Nepal, for example, on Bhutan, On Bangladesh, they won't want to see those countries develop. And can you imagine if those countries join forces with China? I know they don't have much, but still China can provide infrastructure for that. And anytime your economy will develop is when you have a good infrastructure. That's the way I see it. And I think it's going to move forward in Colombia, with Colombia in this path, in the, on this trajectory. Once again, thank you again for your second Super Sticker. The Chinese are in the backyard now. Good reason. Well, that tells you it's nobody's backyard. So, you know, because the Chinese could say the same about us being in, in, in Philippines, or being in South Korea, or being in Japan, or in Australia. Did China ever said why the Americans are in our backyard? No, because China never thought of that, thought of it that way. And we never think in those terms because China had never, never in its history had any imperialism ambitions. I mean, look at its history and you have to go back and see, look what the Japanese did when they invaded China. I always fall back to that. The reason I fall back into this, because when I was in, in, in, uh, where was I? In Guangzhou, I think. I don't remember. I was riding the bus and I sat in the back, and near me were a Japanese couple and some other people from Japan. And I asked, hi, how are you? They were speaking a little bit of English, and I found out they're from Japan. And I said, because immediately I thought of that, and I said, do you enjoy visiting China? He said, yeah, I like to see the developments, I like to see, uh, and it's added that of course the history, it was, it was a painful one. And I knew what he was referring to, but I did not want to say anything because I didn't want to put the person in an uncomfortable position. Because the most likely to me, the moment he said that, I knew he knows about the history of his country and the atrocities committed in China. But we had a lovely conversation. They were wonderful people. So, so I know what you mean, Francis Tango, and thank you again for your super sticker. Truly appreciate you for that. So, all right guys, I hope you enjoyed this. And again, I'm gonna be thinking about, uh, which topic to do for you tomorrow, because weekend I'm not going to do anything. I have some other stuff to take care of, and I look forward to seeing you. Remember to join me on Saturday, by the way, because Saturday it's already set with Einar Tangen, and I look forward to that one, the, the conversation. So as always, remember, geopolitics impact your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, guys. Bye-bye.