As discussed before, Trump the Conqueror appears to have bought off the President of Panama. Remember all the threats by Trump the Conqueror, because a Chinese company had the contracts to operate the ports at both ends of the Canal? Then the Panamanian government took the Chinese company into Panamanian court charging breech of contract. The Panamanian court found for the Panamanian government (cue Gomer Pyle "surprise, surprise, surprise") The government temporarily assigned operation of the ports to a European company.

The Trump regime's tentacles start to work, and presto:

Trump Sparks Crisis in the World’s Other Vital Strait

The fuel squeeze caused by “Operation Epic Fury,” now in its eighth week, means that the price for companies to use the busiest shipping lanes in the strait in Panama now averages $837,500, according to data compiled by Argus Media.

This has caused freight to divert to the Panama Canal, where most ships pass through the Panamax locks, and prices have increased because of the war. “About 70 percent of vessels that transit the Panama Canal use the original Panamax locks, which have seen auction prices jump almost 10-fold since the Iran war began and closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Ross Griffith, head of Americas freight pricing at Argus, said.

currently.att.yahoo.com - Trump sparks crisis world other

I wonder how much of the take Trump the Conqueror has cut himself in for?

And, as we discussed, I suspect Trump the Conqueror's moves to establish a presence in Indonesia are intended to extort more loot from ships in the Malacca Strait.

Because Trump the Conqueror knows extortion.

Steve