🌊 Taking Back the Canal?

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This Monday, in a desert trailer park in northern New Mexico, a 75-year-old man took a drag of his cigarette. As he exhaled, he asked us a question: Would we cover him favorably?

The man leads a “patriot group” – many would say a militia – that claims to command thousands of members across the United States. Progressive groups have labeled him and his followers extremists, white nationalists, and conspiracy theorists. They deny it all. We wanted to know the truth.

So when the man asked how we would cover him, we told him we wouldn’t judge him – we’d let the facts and quotes speak for themself. That’s Roca’s philosophy: To tell facts without judgement and let the reader decide what to make of them.

We won’t publish that article for a few weeks, but I mention it today because the same philosophy should apply to everything the new administration is doing: Journalists should report without passing judgement. Convey the facts; let the readers decide.

Predictably, news companies have been doing the opposite: As both sides’ reporters cover Trump’s policies, they weigh in on whether each policy is good or bad. They think their readers should adopt their opinions.

Roca is different. In this newsletter, we’ll provide the facts around Trump’s policies and proposals, along with on-the-ground reporting about their impacts, so you can form your own opinions.

In today’s installment, we cover the Panama Canal: Does China control it, as Trump says? Could the US take it back? What would that look like?

In December 1989, American troops stormed Panama City under cover of darkness, launching the largest US military operation since Vietnam. Their mission: Capture one man – a CIA asset turned dictator who had become America's newest public enemy.

But this wasn't just about Manuel Noriega. At stake was control of one of the world's most crucial waterways, a canal that has shaped US foreign policy for nearly a century. America had agreed to give it up, and now it risked falling into the wrong hands. That could not stand.

25 years later, the Panama Canal has retaken its place at the center of America’s ambitions in the Western hemisphere. Is history repeating itself?

Editor’s Note

Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this article, check out our one on Greenland from last week. We’ll be back in a couple days with a deep-dive on H-1B visas and reporting from New York City’s migrant hotels.

If there’s topics and policies you want us to cover, please let us know. You can just reply to this email. We love hearing from you.

See you soon –

Max and Max

RocaNews co-founders