Tag: trump

Greenland’s Emerging Mining Prospects

Published on by hansh51Leave a comment

Greenland has always been a land that when you see it on a map looks very large and very cold. Frankly for many centuries most people did not pay attention to it. Then the impact of climate change started to be felt. With disappearing glaciers the surface beneath began to be revealed and the minerals underneath the earth began to be coveted. In an era where the sins of the colonial past resurface daily, Greenland has transformed from nomad lands. It is now strategically important. In this scenario, the world’s great self promoter President Donald Trump, has said he will either buy Greenland or if necessary take by force. Not a very diplomatic move. The reasons for are strategic. They are also fueled by greed, America’s Achilles heel. The consequences will be great and many.

If you look at a brief history of the Greenland it follow a traditional projectory. As the European powers looked to expand and colonize new lands they sailed west. Greenland was colonized as far back as the 9th Century. It was Erik the Red who set forth from Iceland in 980 and landed in southeast Greenland. Norway and Denmark established a presence in Greenland in the 1700’s. Like many nations of the era they were trying to become colonial powers. Though Greenland is part of the Danish realm this was only formally established in 1953, following WWII. Since 1979 Greenland has enjoyed home rule. In 1985, it opted out of the European Economic Community. Greenland had become a part of the EEC when Denmark joined in 1973. Since that time debates have been had held on establishing Greenland’s independence. The challenge for Greenland in this scenario would be it would be a large land with small population. The current population of Greenland is a little over 56,000. This is just a small city in America.

Minerals are important to the global economy. Nearly everything we use as consumers has some type of mineral. A lithium-ion battery needs cobalt. Copper is used in construction, electrical products etc..Barite is used as a weighting agent in fluids used in the drilling of oil and natural gas wells. There are 84 strategic minerals that are tracked by the US Geological Survey. They can be found here. Some we have abundant in the US and others we do not. Cobalt comes primarily from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC accounts for 74% of world cobalt. Most of this is exported to China. If you own a smartphone cobalt is a very important mineral in your life. If you look through the geological data China leads in a number of areas. The US has understood this and is trying to strong arm deals like the one recently done with Ukraine. Canada and Greenland are being threatened. They are key areas for providing the US with help in mining for critical minerals. Rather than do a trade deal why not just take them over? This seems to be the Trump logic.

Coming back to Greenland what would we mine for? The New York Times reported in March 2025 that, despite dozens of exploratory projects, there are only two active mines in Greenland. The European Commission did a survey of Greenland and that 25 of 34 minerals deemed “critical raw materials” were found in Greenland. Some of the minerals included are copper, cobalt, lithium, titanium etc.. There are already many large companies lining up for these rights. A big problem is the necessary infrastructure to support mining operations. Roads? Rail LInes? Ports? WIth such a small population, which equals a small work force, it is not surprising. To mine Greenland would require a significant capital investment in infrastructure. There are big companies lining up either investing or ready to invest in Greenland.

The race for precious mineral sis nothing new. In the Belgium Congo they went mad for rubber. As outlined in Adam Hochschild’s excellent book “King Leopold’s Ghost” the small country of Belgium went mad with greed. The winners were the Belgium’s and the losers were the natives of the Belgian Congo. As the 20th Century became about oil, the colonial powers raced across the planet. They looked to secure oil for their rapidly growing economies. The winners were the western powers and the oil monarchs who would make alliances. The losers were the citizens of Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, etc…to name but a few. Daniel Yergin’s book “The Prize” covers the history of oil in great detail. There are countless other examples like the California Gold Rush, Cobalt in the DRC. etc..In the end they have one thing in common the race to make a fortune. The race for minerals has also taken on a strategic function with the race to be the dominant AI superpower. If and when a significant deposit of strategic minerals is discovered in Greenland it will be hard for super powers to resists. Whether they choose a diplomatic route or military route will be the question to watch.

Greenland is in a tough situation. There is a desire for some people in Greenland for independence from Denmark. They enjoy many of the benefits of Danish society, such as Health Care. However, the desire for self-determination is strong. In today’s world, democracy is increasingly under threat. The challenge of being an independent nation could not be more daunting. As stated with only a little over 56,000 people it would have next to nothing in self defense. Greenland would be entirely dependent on alliances. The current US administration would provide the worlds greatest defense, it just would not be an alliance. It would be a conquest. President Trump even sent a letter saying the US would treat native Greenlanders very well. Asking any Native American if they trust the US government to take care of them would provoke deafening eye rolls. According to the National Equity Atlas Native Americans have the highest poverty rate in US at 22%. The US social programs are many but calling them an overwhelming success would be a stretch.

Donald Trump announced he was going to buy Greenland from Denmark in his first term. This announcement came out of nowhere. It was prior to a planned state visit to Denmark. Danish Prime MInister Mette Fredricksen’s response was swift, “Greenland is not for sale”. This prompted a typical Trump response now fondly known as a “Trumpertantrum”. State visit canceled and some name calling directed at the Danish Prime Minister. Maturity seems to have become a word lost to the english language. Well at least in America. However, as fate would have it, the issue would not go away and we elected Trump again and now suffer the consequences. Trump has renewed the discussion. Sending his second in command to Greenland to deliver a letter from the President, A letter veiled in lies. Saying how good we would treat the native population, but offer no details. That is because there are none.

The flip side is to stay the course with Denmark, A nation of 5.5 million people, but also part of NATO alliance, This creates confusion as the US is part of NATO. If the US invaded Greenland what would happen to NATO? Would America just being flexing its muscles and say we will be making the rules? We fund most of NATO. Would this just mark the beginning of the end for NATO? What would happen to US alliances? Who would be our allies if we gave up our NATO alliances? It always seems with this administration they are forever playing the victim. NATO has screwed us. I will give this admin credit. They have forced NATO allies to live up to their commitment and increase their commitment in finding NATO. Throw in tariffs and instead of helping, you are now hurting relationships.

Owning Greenland is the dream of a few. There is cause for concern as minerals are becoming more of a strategic asset and China is leading the way. There is ample opportunity in Greenland and also the question of what we don’t know. Denmark is a small land and could not possibly defend Greenland if invaded. They are also one of America’s allies. Like many things in the Trump world that does not seem to matter. Other countries covet Greenland as well such as Russia and China. Could the European Union invest in Greenland? They would have to balance the discussion with their climate change initiatives. Mining is destructive process. My one viewpoint on this is that Greenland can not go on its own. It will need to determine who it trusts and where it is best served. Of course if conquered none of that will matter.

Good Night and Good Luck

Hans Henrik Hoffmann Sept 8, 2025

Trouble with Tariffs

Published on by hansh51Leave a comment

It seems not a day goes by where we are not inundated with the word “tariffs”. Not that they are new, but that they are being used in new and naive ways. The American public is being fed a plethora of great and terrible news based on the messenger. Is it a revenue generating machine or a tax? Who is paying? To be clear here it is not the exporter. Does it give us leverage in the negotiations? A short versus long term question. Manufacturing will be brought back to America and create jobs. We will never be going back to the fifties, but some will try. Foreign nations with a trade surplus with the United States have been screwing us for decades. Maximizing shareholder wealth would say otherwise. Will inflation come back with a vengeance? It almost certainly will. In the end we are left with uncertainty. Global markets hate uncertainty.

Tariffs are pretty simple, they are a tax on American consumers. The Country levies a 25% tariff which the importer pays upon receipt of the goods. The importer than must decide do I eat the cost of the increase in cost or pass onto to consumers. Since eating the cost eats into profits the latter is usually preferred. Tariffs were one of those things you learned about in business school. A pretty simple device for aiding domestic industry. The steel industry was always a good case study. Unable to compete against foreign competitors from South Korea and Japan. The US government many times has issued tariffs to help make US Steel producers more competitive with foreign competition. But this is a individual industry case. Today we are looking at Tariffs more broadly. Blanket tariffs on entire countries.

One thing that gets underestimated in this disputes is foreign nationalism. In Denmark for example they are learning to not to be dependent on US manufactured or produced goods. They do not need Coca-Cola they have local colas they can turn to. On the labels of goods it is marked if it is made in European Union. The arrogance of the US is the belief that the world cannot live without us. This is always mystifying to me (USAID could be the subject of another post). Can a German citizen live without Nike? Probably very well. The Mexican President, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, out lined to her a country a whole list of alternatives to American goods. Buy Mexican…sounds kinda familiar. Countries when challenged or threatened look inward for solutions

China is the big target with tariffs. China has the largest trade surplus with the United States. In 2024 the United States had a goods trade deficit with China of $295.4 billion, according to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) (.gov). This represents a 5.8% increase, or $16.3 billion, compared to the previous year. A massive amount by any stretch of the imagination. China also holds $784.3 Billion in US Treasury Bills. This is down from the peak in November 2014 of $1.3 Trillion. During this Trump tantrum they have not played along. Though it looks like Trump will be visiting China in the near future. The difference with China is that it is the world’s second largest economy. It does have levers it can pull, unlike other nations. Given that we are adversaries I think it odd that China buys US Treasuries thus funding the US war machine. Though the downward direction I expect to continue. This would mean the United States needs someone else to pick up the tab. China also plays the currency markets. China pegged its currency from 1997 to 2005 to the U.S. dollar but since has managed its currency against a basket of currencies. The effect of the peg and the low currency is that Chinese exports are cheaper and, therefore, more attractive compared to those of other nations. China is investing heavily in tech and competing aggressively with the US. Thinking that China would bend the knee to US pressure was never a wise strategy.

The biggest issue facing the world is US leadership. In three years when there is another election the administration will change. Trump says he will try to change the election system. He wants to run again, however, he will be 82 years old. Thus the world can play the long game and wait until they get a more favorable alternative. The US capitalist system is designed for the short run. The two part election system is designed for the short run. As former House Speaker Tip O’Niel said, all politics is local. Most voters want to know, “What have you done for me lately”? Countries like China are thousands of years old. A decade is but a blip in time. WIll tariffs generate success for the US? I am skeptical as it has created an environment where the US is viewed as not trustworthy. The costs will be passed to US consumers, effectively a tax. Higher costs equals inflation and no Presidential candidate survives inflation. Just ask Joe Biden. In my view when it comes to Tariff’s 101 the current admin has a failing grade. They are treating the public as if they are dumb. We can read and the logic of tariffs is not that difficult. We have come across as a uncivil society. When you are the largest economy on the planet it is hard to argue you are being screwed. Threatening trading partners will have long term consequences. I am not too concerned about the US economy in the next 1-2 years but in the next 4 to 5 years….yes I am.

Good Night and Good Luck

Hans Henrik Hoffmann

August 6, 2025

Epstein’s Political Inconvenience

Published on by hansh51Leave a comment

I guess I am a bit pissed that this Epstein controversy is even an issue. Not because I believe the sitting President was not involved, but because I believed he was involved. To bring everyone up to speed this has become a big issue over the past couple of weeks. Pam Bondi, the Attorney General, said she would release the list of Jeffrey Epstein clients. It was sitting on her desk. Then suddenly there was an about face and there is nothing to see here. No list and Epstein committed suicide back in 2019. To set the table I am going to focus on the former not the latter. I guess the question is we have known all about this for some time (like decades). Nothing was done, many stood on the sidelines and remained silent. Yet when political opportunity arises it is time for a inquest.

The crimes committed by Epstein were numerous and documented. There was an excellent series on Netflix and an even better book by Julie K Brown “Perversion of Justice”. We have a court case brought against his former lover, lead recruiter and best friend Ghislaine Maxwell. In the end leading to her conviction. What bugs me the most is the now of this all. We all know that Epstein was allowed to operate for years. Developing a system of recruiting young under aged girls to his predatory lair. We know he was busted in 2007 in a FBI led investigation. Only to have then Florida Attorney General Alexander Acosta agree to a plea deal. The victims were not notified of this plea deal. Why? We can only guess at this point. Epstein had been operating his recruitment of young, under aged girls for a decade. Based on flight records, we know he had been transporting these girls between multiple locations. These include his Island in the Caribbean, New York, South Florida, New Mexico, and Paris. Alexander Acosta would later be appointed Labor Secretary by Trump. He would resign less than two weeks after the arrest of Jeffrey Epstein. All I can remember was him standing at the podium during his press conference with his wife and two young daughters. What was he thinking?

We know long lists of people who attended his parties, vacationed at his island. These are very wealthy and powerful individuals. Understandably who do not want their reputations ruined. The air around the ultra wealthy is thick with “I am successful and therefore should be perceived as good”. The fallacy of modern aged wealth, but maybe it has just always been that way. The list is made trick as it has no party affiliation just dollar and power affiliation. Names like Clinton, Trump, Gates, Decaprio, Prince Andrew, Kevin Spacey, etc…The thing about wealthy folks is they have PR people who are focused on maintaining their saintly image. Obviously association with Epstein goes against that image.

The current state of politics is to rip whoever is in power down. I find it like throwing darts at a board to see what sticks. In Trump’s world the Epstein issue has found the board and stuck. The MAGA supporters are even pissed about this. Democrats are weighing in saying, “release the files we need the truth”. It seems convenient. Trump says he his relationship with Epstein ended years ago. Which it did. Problem is by then he had spent too much time with Epstein. There is video evidence all over YouTube. If anyone had the guts they would have torn this down long ago. Instead we are left with vague requests and answers by a bunch of cowards. On both sides of the political aisle. We are a country who historically prides ourselves on the rule of law. The right for justice. It would seem it only goes so far.

Virginia Giuffre committed suicide this year on April 25, 2025. She was one of the leaders in the case against Jeffrey Epstein. She had the courage to try and take Epstein down. She originally was recruited while working at Mar-a-Lago. She would be trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell, which included the now famous photo with Prince Andrew. She would escape Epstein, fall in love, have three kids and live in Australia. In the end life’s horrific scars would be too much. Virginia is but one of many girls who were trafficked, who were raped, who were dehumanized. Many of their stories remain hidden for fear of coming forward. To a bunch of educated, wealthy elite they were merely toys. The only fear these elite have is for the broader public to know what they really are, pedophiles.

Good Night and Good Luck

Hans Henrik Hoffmann July 22, 2025

America’s Emotional Turmoil and Its Consequences

Published on by hansh511 Comment

America is a diseased nation. Seemingly stumbling through a belief in its own greatness, while tearing itself apart with internal strife. We have been on a journey to the least of human emotions, one built on anger, envy and greed, to name but a few. We find comfort in playing the victim, while holding others accountable for our failings. Rather then helping ourselves we find ourselves desiring punishment for those who have failed us, based more by perception than reality. We have turned on ourselves. That is a reason why many say in this day of age that the greatest threat to American democracy does not come from external forces but internal corrosion.

The Cold War was in hindsight a world structured on order. You had two camps, the Soviet camp and the American camp. There is something to be said for order, who are the good guys, who are the bad guys. Identifying with one camp or the other. It provides a sense of belief a sense of purpose. When that order is disrupted a slow painful descent into chaos ensues, and it is not just the loser who spirals downward, the winner also struggles to define a new role, a new world order. Over time that leading position begins to erode and eventually as in all good stories a challenger arises. This sums up the American plight since the end of the Cold War.

Now in seemingly quick fashion things are quickly unraveling. We can point to several news items. We have the congressional hearings on January 6 and then the pardoning of everyone who was convicted of crimes on January 6th. White Nationalism now has a place in our political discourse. The Supreme court has acted out of vengeance. We have Russia and Ukraine at war now for three years. We now have Israel destroying Hamas while killing tens of thousands on Palestinians’ living in Gaza. Now Israel and Iran are at war, though as of this writing we have a “temporary” cease fire. As we watch a middle east that we ae worried is in danger of spiraling out of control. We have global economies that have been crippled as trade wars rage. We have a nations whose most compelling emotion is hatred. Hatred is not sustainable, it eventually has to burn everything in its path.

America was founded on an ideal. The rights of the individual. The right of self determination. We built a republic based on the constitution. We turned our backs on monarchies. We were one of the worlds’ first attempts in a democracy for the people, by the people. Along the way we stumbled. First not addressing one of humanities’ greatest crimes: slavery. Then addressing it in the bloodiest war in US History: The American Civil War. It however did not end there as it was followed by a century of Jim Crow laws, leading to the civil rights movement and the bloody images of Selma, Alabama. We also did tremendous things particularly in private industry creating some of the largest well known brands in the world from Standard Oil, Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company to today’s Tech Titans like Microsoft, Apple Facebook etc..We launched men to the moon. We provided aid to third world countries combating some of the worlds greatest diseases such as AIDS. As much as Donald Trump detested COVID-19 it was the United States that came up with vaccines to stem the tide

Yet despite the great aspects of the US we have now decided to go down an isolationist path in our foreign policy and seek to solve our perceived problems by looking inward. One thing that seems clear in recent history is we have come to believe we are a burdened nation due to heavy handed tax policies. Even though among developed countries (OECD) we rank 31st out of 38, indicating a lower tax burden. But corporate America loves to cry and to pay lobbyists to get Washington DC to bend to their will. On the flip side the US has amassed a huge deficit (spending versus revenues). In 2024 the US deficit was $1.8 trillion. This is down from 2020 when it was over $3 trillion, but still I think many would say not sustainable. We are in the process of passing a bill that by all accounts will only increase the deficit. A bill designed to appease the very wealthy while conning the lower income and poor households into believing the bill is for their benefit while it strips away their healthcare. Rush Limbaugh must be smiling from hell.

America has dissolved, certainly in my lifetime, to one of outright hostility among its citizens. If you are on the right you are a fascist conjuring up name like Hitler and Mussolini and if you are on the left you are a communist conjuring up names like Stalin and Mao. I would probably say most who throw out these allegations are very poor students of history. At the turn of the century Fascism was coming into view. Beginning in 1922 with the rise of Benito Mussolini and the March on Rome. It would gain significant momentum with the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany. I think we all know the rest of history. Communism would launch in 1917 in Russia with the Russian Revolution and the first attempt at a communist state in history. There are really two sides to communism. One was the economic policies where the state controlled all aspects of industry and set forth 5 year economic plans. The second was the Party as the one entity that controlled government. The first proved ineffective and was crushed by the free market policies of the west. The second is still practiced in China today and love it or hate the Chinese economy is performing very well. Many citizens have risen out of poverty. This name calling without historical context is rather vile and is in no way helpful to the political dialog in the US, Once you go down that rabbit hole it is hard to come back up. Columnist David Brooks calls this explosive distrust “It’s not that I think your ideas are wrong, I think your ideas are illegitimate”. When you are in this phase there is no conversation or intellectual thought to be had.

At the start of this discussion I mentioned the innate American belief in our greatness. America has always believed in its unique place in history. We have the largest economy in the world with only China being in the ball park in terms of size (US $30.5 Trillion, China $19.2 Trillion Germany $4.7 Trillion). We have the largest and most well funded military in the world. With all this going for us why are we playing the victim? Why do we have a campaign slogan called Make America Great Again? The slogan implies we are not great, so who is better than us? Every year we seem to slide on the happiness scale, the Scandinavian countries seem to be alternating first place every year. Somewhere along the way we seem to have lost confidence, not in the numbers (GDP) or our power (Military). We have lost confidence in our ability to achieve the American dream. Listening to younger generations the idea of owning a home already seems out of reach. The average age of first time home buyers had increased to 38. When I bought a house in 1995 the average age was 29 and at the time I was 29!

What comes next? Where do we go from here? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel or will we prefer to wade more into darkness? I cannot offer hope for a brighter future as I see the noose of technological progress tightening. Despite some rosy employment reports I view that as more a blip. We tend to view success by the performance of the stock market. It is apparent the market is just for the really wealthy who play in it. About 61% of Americans do not have a secondary education and jobs have fled the country and technology is automating manufacturing that it is pointless to try and bring it back. What happens when people get desperate? They become irrational, violent and susceptible to conspiracy theories (and we have some great ones such as QANON, Vaccine denial, etc…). We have heard whispers of civil war, though that still seems far fetched, the mere fact some our thinking along those lines is concerning. Can we ever have a government that acts like it is functioning? In the short term I do not see that happening. But in the long term I see a younger generation with a different set of values. One not so rooted in money and material items. One that believes the earth is suffering and want to help. We can cling our hope to them to restore a dialog and discourse that will be productive rather than vindictive. Lets hope for that

Good Night and Good Luck

Hans Henrik Hoffmann July 3, 2025

The ICE Age

Published on by hansh512 Comments

When the Trump campaign ran on the promise of fear and deporting every illegal immigrant back to wherever, I think most Americans had an idea the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) existed. I think they also knew that it could not handle the workload given to them. It should also be noted they do not just handle immigration. They also handle customs, trade and border control. All these tariffs are in their domain. By most current estimates there are between 11 to 13 million illegal immigrants in the United States. In this day and age you have to check every fact that is thrown your way. A number thrown out is 21 Million illegal immigrants came in under Biden. Which if you run through the numbers and do basic math is ridiculous. That would mean 17,123 illegal immigrants per day. Not to mention most of those would be on border states namely – Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. This would mean right across the border somewhere you would have a settlement of over 1 million people in some camp. I have yet to see that on the news. Year ago, during the George W Bush administration, I had a chance to talk with Washington State Congressman Dave Reichert (R). We discussed illegal immigration. He said the idea of removing every illegal immigrant was daunting. Specifically he said “it would take the entire National Guard and that would just handle Los Angeles”. As of this writing ICE is on top of many peoples minds, in the news especially if you are not white. We see the deportations being done ad hoc. More in line with meeting a quota than doing the actual due diligence to identify illegal immigrants.

Xenophobia is a common affliction among many people in America. The definition of xenophobia being a dislike of people from another country. A odd US fear given we are a country of immigrants. That being said it has always been a part of the American experience. There was discrimination when Italians started to come to America, the Irish, Polish etc…Some of that can be traced to basic demographics. We are all familiar with the knowledge that somewhere around 2050 the US population make up will tilt towards those that are non-white. This means there will be more Black People, Hispanic People, Asian People, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders than white people in America. Given our history of being immigrants this was inevitable. That does not mean some people are not pissed about it. In fact many are downright angry about it. When you campaign with fear the emotions that go along with it are anger, hate, loathing etc..all the poorest conditions of human nature.

History can cloud peoples views of the future. It is easy to reflect on the past and come to a conclusion that things were better at a different time and can we not go back to that place in time? That to me is the mystifying thing of Make America Great Again, it’s a nice marketing campaign with no details. I guess this should not be surprising given the source. That would require a basic knowledge of US History. We are good at highlighting our greatness, but in some circles do not like to discuss our dark past, Some would believe that, that is history and we have moved on. But at our core we know our history with slavery still haunts us to this day. America has been a giving nation, a nation many have looked to when in need, but never underestimate the darkness in our heart. Granted that last statement seems rooted in darkness which I am quite comfortable with (lets darken the light and play some Bauhaus). I would shed a more positive light on America by quoting the French political philosopher Alexis De Tocqueville. He said, “The great privilege of Americans does not simply consist in their being more enlightened than other nations, but in their being able to repair the faults they may commit.”

Because we have allowed illegal immigration for decades we have created a shadow economy. As consumers we receive huge benefits from that “illegal” economy. Like it or not those “illegals” contribute greatly to the US GDP. They also perform services such as being the maids at our hotels, picking our fruits and vegetables, construction sites have a Latin flair, landscaping etc.. and the list goes on. The impact is felt in taxes collected, labor force participation (estimate is 4.9% of US Labor is force consists of illegal immigrants), and economic growth. We have allowed a shadow economy to emerge and frankly it is one we can’t do without. There are thousands of construction jobs underway that would be delayed or simply not finished because the labor force relays on immigrants, legal and illegal. When was the last time you saw a white or black woman cleaning your hotel room? What would Las Vegas do? They literally have tens of thousands of rooms. What would a ICE raid look like in Vegas? How many people would have to be deployed? What would be the economic impact. I agree we need to strengthen border control. We also need to think through the consequences of our actions in both the short term and long term.

I think we tend to overlook how Latin culture has enriched the American experience. For all the talk of going back to a husband, wife, two kids, house, car etc..when I think of a family centric lifestyle, just look to the Hispanic community. The family is core to people south of the border. It defines loyalties. More importantly it defines love. If you cross America you will come across Latin communities everywhere, both small and large. Anyone who has visited Miami will find every country in the Caribbean and South America represented. Drive down highway 99 in the Central Valley of California and you would be hard pressed to NOT find Mexican food. Catholic Mass often has a Spanish mass, especially the further south you are. When I see the new fashion of food trucks I see a business designed for the Latin communities and there are plenty. FInd a soccer field and you will find an adult Mexican league with fans…likely family. Overtime the Latin culture has ingratiated itself into the America melting pot. I often like to say, “Show me an American who has not eaten Mexican food and I will show you someone who is not an American”. Probably the best write up on this comes from famed chef, author and travel host Anthony Bourdain title “Under the Volcano” He is a much better writer than I am and he is missed. RIP Anthony.

The above is not what ICE wants to hear. They are focused on violent criminals and gangs like MS-13. Though I understand the sentiment, to portray an entire community as belonging and having ties criminal organizations is wrong. It is what Trump campaigned on in 2016 and every campaign since and it has resonated. It shows that the big lie has a life and can prey upon the weaker minds. If you tell a lie often enough and loud enough eventually it is perceived as truth. There are criminal from Latin America in the US but the percentage is relative. Categorizing all illegal immigrants as the problem neglects the truth. It also ignores what the community provides to the citizens of the United Dates.

Finally there is the question that no one seems to want to ask where are they coming from and why? In Venezuela here is the travel advisory from the US Department of State “Do not travel to or remain in Venezuela due to the high risk of wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure.  All U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents in Venezuela are strongly advised to depart immediately.” If this is for US residents what must life be like for Venezuelan citizens? One of the largest refugee camps for Venezuelans is across the border in Columbia. People are fleeing the Maduro dictatorship. In Mexico a number of states are known to be violent and for a family the fear is their children will be sucked into a life in the cartels. One which will likely lead to a violent death. They flee looking for a better life. Guatemala is in a similar state as Mexico as the country suffers from a high crime rate and lack of safety. Like Venezuela. Guatemala is also a Level 3 in terms of travel advisory. Immigrants are coming to seek a better life for themselves and their children. It is what the American dream was built on and when we let that go a large piece of America will go with it. We will then have to ask the question “Who is America?”

The most famous words of the Statue of Liberty are “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. If we turn our back on those words that built a nation who have we become? If we let xenophobia become the dominant faith are we still free? These cultures we fear enrich America. Mark Twain who traveled the world said about his experience “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness”. A large part of our nations fear is being consolidated into a isolationist political view. Isolationism is a failed policy. So I will ask again, “Who is America?”

Good Night and Good Luck

Hans Henrik Hoffmann June 25, 2025