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US President Donald Trump has slapped new tariffs on Chinese goods, partly in response to Beijing’s alleged role in a deadly opioid epidemic in the United States.Washington has long accused Beijing of turning a blind eye to the deadly fentanyl trade, which US authorities estimate caused tens of thousands of deaths a year. China denies responsibility.Here AFP looks at where the issue currently stands:- What is fentanyl and where does it come from? -The United States is facing an epidemic of deaths caused by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin and much easier and cheaper to produce.US officials have said it is now the leading cause of death among people aged 18 to 45.The US Drug Enforcement Agency has accused China of being “the main source for all fentanyl-related substances trafficked into the United States”.While the Congressional Research Service acknowledged last year that direct supplies of the drug from China had been stemmed by stricter controls from Beijing in 2019, it said the move had simply shifted the supply lines.Rather than the drugs being supplied directly via international courier services, it said, chemical components are instead shipped from China to Mexico, where they are then made into fentanyl and smuggled across the border.Many of those components are legal in China and have legitimate medical use as painkillers — making prosecution tricky.Beijing, which insisted there is “no such thing as illegal trafficking of fentanyl between China and Mexico”, has promised to crack down.It has pointed to its tough drug laws — some of the world’s harshest — and warned that new tariffs would “inevitably affect and damage future bilateral cooperation on drug control”.- What has the US done to crack down? -Former president Joe Biden’s administration made the fight against fentanyl a priority.In October 2023, it slapped sanctions on over two dozen China-based entities and individuals alleged to be the “source of supply” for many US-based narcotics traffickers, dark web vendors, virtual currency money launderers and Mexican cartels.The group, which included a Wuhan-based company and a number of other firms based in Hong Kong and the mainland, was alleged to be responsible for the shipment of approximately 900 kilograms of “seized fentanyl and methamphetamine precursors” shipped to the United States and Mexico.”The global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China,” the then US attorney general Merrick Garland said last year.China condemned the investigation at the time as part of a US campaign of “pressure and sanctions” against it.- What have the US and China agreed to? -China-US talks on drug control stalled in the face of some of their worst relations in years.But following a summit between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November 2023, Washington and Beijing agreed to restart talks.Last summer, a counternarcotics working group convened in Washington and China announced it would step up its regulation of three key fentanyl precursors.But it remains to be seen whether the latest curbs will fully stop the cross-border traffickers — who the Justice Department said “adapt to tightening restrictions”.Analysts say that manufacturers are able to develop new variants of the synthetic precursors faster than they can be identified and added to scheduled lists of substances controlled by Chinese authorities.Vanda Felbab-Brown, an expert on organised crime at the Brookings Institution, had said Beijing needs to take a tougher line against domestic firms involved in the trade.”We are nowhere close to robust indictments, robust prosecutions in either the money laundering sector or smuggling of precursors to the Mexican cartels,” she said in a podcast.- Will the tariffs work? -Whether tariffs will spur greater action from Beijing is unclear.Felbab-Brown argued that Beijing’s cooperation is tied to China-US relations.”With countries with whom China has good relations or with whom it wants to build good relations… it extends law enforcement and counter-narcotics cooperation,” she explained.”And with countries with whom it has bad relations or with whom relations deteriorate, it denies the cooperation.”China’s foreign ministry has warned that Washington should “not take China’s goodwill for granted”.Compounding the problem are expansive money laundering networks that underpin the trade, which experts say requires closer coordination between Washington and Beijing to curb.”International drug cartels are increasingly turning to specialized Chinese criminal gangs for swift, cheap and secure money laundering services,” wrote Zongyuan Zoe Liu in a September report for the Council on Foreign Relations.”Obtaining support from Beijing to stop the flow of illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals is an important first step in addressing the supply problem,” Liu wrote.

Beyonce on Sunday won the Grammy for the year’s best country album for her culture-shaking “Cowboy Carter,” a record that served as an indictment of the Nashville-centered industry long accused of sidelining Black artists.It was the second prize of the night for the most decorated artist in Grammys history, with four more opportunities to go at the marquee music awards gala in Los Angeles, including the top album and record prizes that have eluded her.Rapper Kendrick Lamar and pop singer Charli XCX each won three prizes during a pre-show where dozens of golden gramophones were handed out.”I really was not expecting this,” said Beyonce onstage, her voice audibly shaking. “Sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists.””I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about and to stay persistent,” she told the crowd packed with A-listers, with husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy applauding from the audience.”I still am in shock. Thank you so much for this honor.”- Chappell Roan takes industry to task -The coveted prize for Best New Artist went to Chappell Roan, capping a meteoric year for the Midwestern artist who went from struggling singer to music’s It girl seemingly overnight.But that wasn’t her experience — in her acceptance speech, she recounted how she was dropped from her label during the pandemic and struggled to find work.”I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and got to stand up here before the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists,” she said.”It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanized,” she said.”Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”Last year’s winner Victoria Monet presented that trophy after a rollicking medley from some of Roan’s fellow nominees including Doechii, Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, Shaboozey and Raye.Sabrina Carpenter won the prize for best pop vocal album, her second award of the night that followed a slapstick, Old Hollywood-inspired performance of her nominated hits “Espresso” and “Please Please Please.”Doechii meanwhile gave a moving speech to accept the prize for best rap album, holding back tears as Cardi B — who has also won the prize — handed it to her.”So many Black women out there that are watching me right now — I want to tell you, you can do it,” she said.”Don’t allow anybody to project any stereotypes on you that tell you that you can’t be here, that you’re too dark or that you’re not smart enough, or that you’re too dramatic or you’re too loud. You are exactly who you need to be.”Hip-hop poet laureate Lamar scored three Grammys as did club diva Charli XCX — and they are both among the contenders for the night’s top prizes.- Wildfire relief -Sunday’s gala was also an homage to the city of Los Angeles, a global capital of entertainment that has recently been ravaged by devastating and deadly wildfires.The night, like much of the pre-Grammy event as well as a major benefit concert, also served as a fundraiser for the music industry members impacted by the blaze, with a QR code for donations displayed throughout the gala broadcast on CBS.A supergroup including Sheryl Crow and John Legend delivered a performance of Randy Newman’s track “I Love LA” to open the show.Before accepting her prize, Roan had the crowd on its feet with a rousing, rodeo-circus performance of her smash hit and love letter to Los Angeles, “Pink Pony Club.”And top Grammy nominee Billie Eilish sang her hit “Birds of a Feather” in an LA Dodgers baseball cap on a stage with imagery capturing the mountains and valleys of the city on a clear, sunny day.”I love you LA,” she said after her performance.

Pop superstar Chappell Roan on Sunday won the Grammy for Best New Artist, besting stiff competition including from fellow artists of the moment Sabrina Carpenter and Shaboozey.The honor caps a year in which Roan went from struggling artist to music’s It girl.The 26-year-old used her acceptance speech to put the recording industry on notice to treat struggling artists with more respect and offer better social protections.”I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and got to stand up here before the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists,” she said to applause.She recounted how difficult it was to be dropped by her label with “zero job experience,” and then to find a job as the coronavirus pandemic swept the nation.”It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanized,” she said.”Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees,” she said. “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?”- Festival breakthrough -Born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz on February 19, 1998 in small-town Missouri, the artist took to singing and piano at a young age, and began gaining attention for videos she uploaded to YouTube in her teens.She moved to Los Angeles and back home again to support herself as a barista before finally coming into her own with singles like “Pink Pony Club” and “Naked in Manhattan,” which found renewed fame upon release of her debut studio album.That record, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” came out to widespread acclaim, with a number of publications including it in their lists of the year’s top releasesThe bold, vulnerable album explores themes of sexuality, heartbreak and yearning with a pop-forward, dance-heavy beat, while also showcasing her impressive vocals that one critic characterized as “singing in cursive.”The album lived mostly underground for several months after its release, before exuberant performances from Roan including at major festivals saw her burst to the forefront of pop.Her artistic persona is part of the appeal: Her aesthetics frequently draw from the world of drag, coupling heavy makeup with camp costumery.Songs like “Good Luck, Babe!” and “Hot to Go!” went viral, with the former becoming her first Top 10 hit.Roan has been outspoken about her support of queer and trans rights as well as her public support of the Palestinian people, and has also spoken out about the psychological toll of her massive fame.

Steven Nelson has spent more than a dozen years on Death Row in Texas and is to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday for the murder of a pastor that he insists he did not commit.”It’s hard at times,” the 37-year-old Nelson said in an interview with AFP at the maximum-security prison in Livingston, a town 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Houston, where he is awaiting his execution.”You’re waiting to be put to death,” he said. “So that kind of breaks a little part of you every day… You just don’t want to do nothing.”Nelson, who was wearing a white prison jumpsuit, spoke to AFP from a cubicle behind a glass partition and arrived for the interview in handcuffs, which were removed by prison guards and put back on when he departed.Nelson was convicted of the 2011 murder of Clint Dobson, a 28-year-old pastor, during a robbery of the NorthPointe Baptist Church in Arlington, near Dallas.Dobson was beaten and suffocated. Judy Elliott, the church secretary, was also badly beaten but survived.Nelson’s appeals against his conviction and death sentence have been repeatedly rejected by Texas courts and the US Supreme Court has declined to hear his case.Nelson acknowledges that he served as a lookout during the robbery and that he entered the church after the murder to steal some items.But he says it was his two accomplices, who were never brought to trial, who were the ones who committed the murder.”I didn’t know what was going on on the inside,” he said, and his friends “blamed everything on me.””So they’re free and I’m locked up,” he said. “I’m here on Death Row because of what somebody else did.””I’m an innocent man,” Nelson said. “I’m being executed for a crime, a murder, that I did not commit when all the DNA and legal proofs have proved that I didn’t kill anybody.”- ‘Pumped full of drugs’ -Nelson married a French woman, Helene Noa Dubois, while in prison who he said has had a “major impact” on his life.”We started first as friends and as the years progressed the love and the feelings progressed more and we got married on December 4,” he said.”I’ve never had human contact with her, it’s always been behind glass,” he said.”When someone can love you behind glass and not touch you, or see what your scent smells like, none of that, and still love you deeply, unconditionally, that is something wonderful.”Nelson said he is afraid to leave his wife alone and it is up to her to decide whether she wants to witness his execution.”I really don’t want her to see that, me getting pumped full of drugs and being overdosed with drugs to kill me, to make my heart stop,” he said.”I think that would leave a bad impression. That would override the good memories we’ve had over the years, to always close her eyes and see that,” he said. “But if she makes that choice to be there then that’s her choice.”- ‘No human contact’ -Nelson has asked for his spiritual advisor, Jeff Hood, a death penalty opponent, to be in the execution chamber with him “to pray over me and give me last rites.””That’ll be the first human contact that I’ve had in 13 years,” he said. “Because back here, we have no human contact with any other inmates.”Nelson said he has spent the past dozen years in an 8-by-10-foot (2.5-by-3-meter) cell for 22 to 24 hours a day. As his execution date approaches, he is now under constant video surveillance.Death Row inmates protest executions at the prison by refusing to speak on a day that someone is being put to death.”We don’t speak, period, that whole day,” Nelson said. “We don’t talk to officers. We don’t talk to each other.”We’re mostly in our thoughts, we’re like praying, trying to have some form of connection with that person getting executed.”There were 25 executions in the United States last year.The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others — California, Oregon and Pennsylvania — have moratoriums in place.Three states — Arizona, Ohio and Tennessee — that had paused executions have recently announced plans to resume them. President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and on his first day in the White House he called for an expansion of its use “for the vilest crimes.”

US President Donald Trump on Sunday asserted South Africa was “confiscating” land and “treating certain classes of people very badly” as he announced he was cutting off all future funding to the country pending an investigation.The land issue in South Africa has long been divisive, with efforts to redress the inequality of white-rule drawing criticism from conservatives including Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, who was born in South Africa and is a powerful Trump adviser.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last month signed a bill that stipulates the government may, in certain circumstances, offer “nil compensation” for property it decides to expropriate in the public interest.”South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.”I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” Trump wrote.Pretoria argues the bill does not allow the government to expropriate property arbitrarily and must first seek to reach agreement with the owner.However, some groups fear a situation similar to the Zimbabwe government’s seizure of white-owned commercial farms, often without compensation, after independence in 1980.Later, in a briefing with journalists, Trump said that South Africa’s “leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things” without giving examples.”So that’s under investigation right now. We’ll make a determination, and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing — they’re taking away land and confiscating land, and actually they’re doing things that are perhaps far worse than that.”- South African billionaires -Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid. Since then land courts have adjudicated on a handful of land disputes and, after exhaustive processes, returned land to previously displaced owners.According to the South African government, the 1913 Natives Land Act saw thousands of Black families forcibly removed from their land by the apartheid regime. The delicate issue has been a particular rallying point for the right, with various conservative figures including Musk and right-wing journalist Katie Hopkins championing the cause of white land-owners.Musk was born in Pretoria on June 28, 1971, to an engineer father and a Canadian-born model mother, leaving the country in his late teens. The formal policy of apartheid lasted until 1990, and multi-racial elections were held in 1994.Trump has surrounded himself with powerful Silicon Valley figures who came of age in apartheid southern Africa, like David Sacks, his newly-appointed artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency czar, who co-founded PayPal along with Musk. Billionaire Peter Thiel — another PayPal cofounder, who introduced Trump to his vice president, J.D. Vance — also lived in southern Africa, including time in Namibia which was then controlled by Pretoria.  He has previously been accused of supporting the apartheid system, that violently subjugated the Black majority of South Africa to uphold white rule and economic control, something a spokesman denied on his behalf.

Beyonce on Sunday scooped her first ever Grammy in the country categories for her collaboration with Miley Cyrus, as music’s premier awards gala began with dozens of prizes handed out before the televised marquee event.Rapper Kendrick Lamar jumped out as an early top winner with three awards, as did club diva Charli XCX, while Sabrina Carpenter won her first golden gramophone.Of her 11 chances to win, Beyonce’s victory was coupled with four losses in genre categories. The other awards will be presented at the gala hosted by comedian Trevor Noah.The Beyonce paradox — she has won the most Grammys of anyone in history but has never won the top album or record prizes — has been on the minds of many people in the industry in the run-up to Sunday’s ceremony.Her early win with Cyrus for best country duo/group performance is one signal that she was on the minds of voters in Nashville, the capital of country that is infamous for promoting a rigid view of the genre that is overwhelmingly white and male.Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” was a critically praised, not-so-subtle indictment of the country music industry’s powers-that-be, a genre-spanning record that elevated the work of Black artists and celebrated the rich history of their work.For Album and Record of the Year, many critics think Beyonce might finally get what broad consensus believes is her due.But she faces stiff competition, including from perennial winners like Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift along with Carpenter, Charli XCX and the buzzy Chappell Roan.It appears the Recording Academy is saving several awards Beyonce is nominated for — like best Americana performance and best country album — for the telecast, which could imply a big night for Queen Bey.On Grammys eve, she already made headlines by announcing an upcoming tour in support of “Cowboy Carter.”- Beatles win -Hip-hop laureate Lamar’s early wins could also signal a big night for him: his viral smash “Not Like Us” derived from his much-publicized rap battle with Drake.Other top artists to watch include Roan and Post Malone.In true Grammy fashion, a few curiosities emerged from the handout of early awards.The Beatles — yes, those Beatles — scored the prize for best rock performance despite breaking up more than 50 years ago.Their track “Now and Then” spotlighted the Recording Academy’s ongoing debate on how to handle artificial intelligence after it used an AI tool to isolate the late John Lennon’s vocals from a poor quality demo tape they could then use as the foundation of the new song.The Fab Four are also up for Record of the Year — the track was eligible because the AI was not generative, and the nomination could be a nod from the Academy to the future of production and recording.Lennon’s son Sean accepted the rock award, saying: “They’re still in the culture, people still listen to the music. As far as I’m concerned, it’s still the greatest band of all time.”And the late US president Jimmy Carter won a posthumous Grammy — his fourth — for best audiobook, narration and storytelling recording for a collection of his final Sunday school lessons in Georgia.The early awards will continue to be doled out as A-listers hit the red carpet ahead of the main ceremony, which begins at 5:00 pm (0100 GMT Monday).- Wildfires on the mind -Despite the high-wattage star power, Grammy week — which is usually loaded up with industry parties and performances — has taken on a more somber tone than usual, as the entertainment capital reels in the aftermath of deadly wildfires that leveled entire neighborhoods just weeks ago.Organizers decided the glitzy awards show should go on, with a newfound mission to raise aid funds and pay homage to impacted industry members along with first responders.That was evident during Sunday’s pre-broadcast show, which included repeated requests for donations and homages to the “resilience” of the music community.On Friday, the annual MusiCares gala — which this year honored psychedelic jam band the Grateful Dead — raised more than $5 million in a single evening, bringing the institution’s total sum raised since the fires broke out to more than $9 million.Music powerbroker Irving Azoff, along with concert promoters Live Nation and AEG Presents, organized a massive benefit concert on Thursday featuring major stars like Lady Gaga, Eilish, Dr. Dre and even Joni Mitchell.Saturday’s annual Clive Davis gala — one of the most coveted tickets in the business — also focused on wildfire relief.

Late US president Jimmy Carter on Sunday won a posthumous Grammy Award — his fourth — for best audiobook, narration and storytelling recording for a collection of his final Sunday school lessons in Georgia.On “Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration,” Carter — who died at the age of 100 on December 29 — speaks about love, kindness, forgiveness and the afterlife at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown Plains. The audiobook — released in August 2024, just months before his death — also features music from Darius Rucker, Jon Batiste and LeAnn Rimes, among others.Jason Carter, one of the former president’s grandsons who delivered a eulogy at his funeral, appeared at the pre-gala ceremony in Los Angeles to accept the award.”Having his words captured in this way for my family and for the world is truly remarkable,” he told members of the audience, many of whom rose to their feet to honor the former president.Other nominees in the category included legendary singer Barbra Streisand, country superstar Dolly Parton and funk master George Clinton.Carter — who served as US president for a single term from 1977 to 1981 — taught Sunday school for 50 years at Maranatha, usually more than once a month.He garnered his previous three Grammy wins in the best spoken word album category: for “Faith – A Journey for All” in 2019; for “A Full Life: Reflections at 90” in 2016; and for “Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis” in 2007.The late politician was nominated for a total of 10 Grammys.Former president Bill Clinton and Barack Obama each have two Grammys.

Mexican agricultural and auto-parts producers called Sunday for “dialogue” to head off the trade war prompted by US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada.Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum meantime said that she was waiting for a response from Trump to her proposal for talks and to form a working group on migration and drug trafficking.She said she would detail her government’s next steps by Monday.The agriculture and auto-parts industries are expected to be among the hardest hit by Trump’s action, which he says is designed to pressure the US’s closest neighbors — and partners in a trade accord — to crack down on migration and drug trafficking. Both Mexico and Canada have announced counter-tariffs. The US is also targeting China with new 10 percent tariffs on top of those already in force.The US tariffs, slated to take effect Tuesday, will undermine North America’s “competitiveness,” and put millions of jobs at risk, Mexico’s National Auto Parts Industry (INA) and National Agricultural Council (CNA) said in separate statements.Emblematic of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) negotiated during Trump’s first term in office, the Mexican automotive industry exported some $36 billion in goods to the United States in 2023, representing 5 percent of Mexico’s GDP, according to Capital Economics.The automotive sector and auto-parts makers support some 11 million jobs in the three countries, according to the INA. “Weakening this trade… will only reduce the region’s competitiveness and affect stability,” according to the union.The INA says tariffs could add $3,000 to the cost of an average automobile, leading to a drop in overall sales of one million units this year.Adding to the impact of tariffs, some parts cross national borders seven or eight times in the course of vehicle assembly, the union said.The CNA farm group, meantime, said that 50 percent of all avocados, tomatoes, chili peppers and berries consumed in the US come from Mexico. The country also exports more than $1.5 billion in beef and pork to the United States.It called for “unity and dialogue” in the face of US pressure, saying it was putting aside past disputes with Sheinbaum. 

Operations to salvage the wreckage from a deadly collision between a US Army helicopter and a passenger jet continued Sunday as rescuers said 55 victims had so far been identified.Dozens of victims have been pulled from the icy Potomac River, and rescuers voiced confidence that those remainingwould be retrieved in the massive operation to recover the plane that collided in midair with a Black Hawk military helicopter.Washington fire chief John Donnelly said human remains of some of the 67 people killed in the crash had been found as efforts were made to lift the fuselage of the plane, adding that they were taken to the medical examiner. “Tomorrow there’ll be some lifting operations on the wreckage that’s in the water,” he told a briefing Sunday.”So far, 55 victims have been positively identified…from this this accident,” he added.Some 200 vessels were involved with the recovery and salvage efforts, the Coast Guard said.”We will absolutely stay here and search until such point as we have everybody,” Donnelly said.- ‘Staffing shortages’ -The airliner was coming in to land at Reagan National Airport — just a few miles from the White House — when it collided with a US Army helicopter on a training mission on Wednesday night.The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is expected to compile a preliminary report within 30 days, although a full investigation could take a year.As the investigation searches for answers, aviation experts have homed in on whether the helicopter crew could see through military night-vision goggles and whether the Reagan National Airport control tower was understaffed.US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday that staffing shortages had long been a problem for air traffic control, vowing to improve the situation. “Staffing shortages for air traffic control has been a major problem for years and years,”  he said on Fox News Sunday, where he promised to ensure “bright, smart, brilliant people in towers controlling airspace.”President Donald Trump has repeatedly tied the causes of the crash and staffing shortages to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, attributing them without evidence and before the formal crash investigation has concluded. “This is not saying that the person who was at the controls is a DEI hire… first of all, we should investigate everything. But let’s just say the person at the controls didn’t have enough staffing around him or her, because we were turning people away because of DEI reasons,” Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on Fox Business.The Washington disaster, among the most deadly in decades, was followed closely by the crash of a medical plane into a busy Philadelphia neighborhood, killing a young Mexican girl aboard, her mother, the crew, as well as a bystander on the ground Friday.The girl had been in the US for life-saving medical care and was on her way back to Mexico, according to the hospital that treated her and the company that operated the medical flight.On Sunday, a United Airlines flight from Houston to New York was evacuated after an engine ran into difficulty before takeoff, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.Fire crews were scrambled and nobody was injured, the Houston Fire Department said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday threatened action against Panama without immediate changes to reduce Chinese influence on the canal, but the country’s leader insisted he was not afraid of a US invasion and offered talks.Rubio, paying his first visit overseas as the top US diplomat, told Panama that President Donald Trump had determined that the country had violated terms of the treaty that handed back the crucial waterway in 1999.He pointed to the “influence and control” of China over the canal, the vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through which some 40 percent of US container traffic passes.Meeting President Jose Raul Mulino, Rubio “made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the treaty,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.Mulino painted a less dire portrait of the meeting. He welcomed Rubio at his official residence in the tropical capital’s old quarter, with an honor guard outside the whitewashed walls.”I don’t feel that there is any real threat at this time against the treaty, its validity, or much less of the use of military force to seize the canal,” Mulino told reporters afterward, referring to the treaty that handed over the canal at the end of 1999.”Sovereignty over the canal is not in question,” Mulino said.He proposed technical-level talks with the United States to clear up concerns.Rubio did not spell out what measures the United States may take. Trump in recent days has imposed hefty tariffs on the three biggest trading partners of the United States — Canada, China and Mexico.Rubio and Trump say that China has gained so much power around surrounding infrastructure that it could shut it down in a potential conflict, with catastrophic consequences for the United States.- Protests against Rubio -Small but intense protests broke out in Panama ahead of Rubio’s visit, with police firing tear gas.Protesters burned an effigy of Rubio wearing a red, white and blue suit and held up pictures of him and Trump before a Nazi flag.”Rubio, get out of Panama!” around 200 demonstrators chanted as the former senator met Mulino. Police prevented the crowd from approaching the Old City.”To the imperial messenger,” union leader Saul Mendez said of Rubio, “we reiterate that there is absolutely nothing here for Trump. Panama is a free and sovereign nation.”Mulino, in response to pressure, ordered an audit of a Hong Kong-based company that controls ports on both sides of the canal.But speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said that concession was not enough on the canal and that “it’s appropriate that we take it back.”The Panama Canal — which Trump has dubbed as a modern “wonder of the world” — was built by the United States at the cost of thousands of lives of laborers, mostly people of African descent from Barbados, Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean.The United States maintained control of the canal when it opened in 1914 but began to negotiate following deadly riots in 1964 by Panamanians angered over foreign control.Jimmy Carter sealed the agreement that gave the canal to Panama at the end of 1999, with the late president seeing a moral imperative for the United States to respect a smaller but still sovereign country.Trump takes a vastly different view and has returned to the “big stick” approach of the early 20th century, in which the United States threatened force to have its way, especially in Latin America.In his first week in office, Trump prepared massive tariffs on Colombia to force the US ally to take back deported citizens on military planes, after the country’s leftist president complained that they were not being treated in a dignified way.Rubio, the first Hispanic secretary of state and a devout Catholic, started his Sunday in Panama City attending Mass at a church built four centuries ago in the Old City.He will travel to four more Latin American countries — El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic — where he is expected to press for cooperation on Trump’s key priority of deporting migrants from the United States.