Trump: 'Ceuta is not Spain' and the Strait's chessboard is shaken
The phrase 'Ceuta is not Spain' attributed to Trump comes amid an operation on Venezuelan oil, reopening the tug-of-war for the Strait and the Rota base.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Trump, Ceuta, and the Strait: Geography as a bargaining chip
Donald Trump doesn't need to know where Ceuta is to use it. The phrase 'Ceuta is not Spain,' attributed to the US president in a conference and spread by media in Argentina, Germany, and Venezuela, has landed like a stone in the Strait: it turns the autonomous city into another piece on Washington's chessboard. And this game isn't played with school maps.
The context doesn't help lower the volume either. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was expressing her gratitude for 'resuming dialogue' with the United States around the same time, in a photo with a smile and oil in the background. Some interpret this as a pincer movement: pressure on Spain, a nod to Segarro, and Venezuelan crude in the same package.
What's behind the phrase 'Ceuta is not Spain'?
Two interpretations are circulating. The first is pure ignorance: a president who wouldn't know how to place Ceuta—or likely the rest of Spain—on a map, and who might believe the country is south of Mexico. The second is less innocent: dropping a bombshell, seeing who reacts, and cashing in. It's not ignorance, argue those on this side, it's disdain.
The second hypothesis is supported by the detail that truly matters to the Pentagon: Rota, the shared naval base, and control of the Strait. Ceuta is talked about a lot; Spain's defense contributions, much less.
Delcy Rodríguez, Oil, and the Toast
Caracas's gratitude to Washington is incomprehensible without considering the oil. The most cynical—and most repeated—interpretation is that the vice president is being repositioned, distributing oil with a photo op and a smile while Maduro's inner circle is dismantled. Toast above, bill below.
The Venezuelan Ceuta Joke
Part of the noise stems from a coincidence of names between the autonomous city and a town with the same name across the Atlantic, turned into a wordplay that some have taken literally. Nothing indicates the White House was looking at that map.
What remains is the noise. The figures thrown around in the conversation—one hundred thousand entries versus zero—circulate without official records to support them. The map is being debated. Others are sending the bill.
Donald Trump doesn't need to know where Ceuta is to use it. The phrase 'Ceuta is not Spain,' attributed to the US president in a conference and spread by media in Argentina, Germany, and Venezuela, has landed like a stone in the Strait: it turns the autonomous city into another piece on Washington's chessboard. And this game isn't played with school maps.
The context doesn't help lower the volume either. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was expressing her gratitude for 'resuming dialogue' with the United States around the same time, in a photo with a smile and oil in the background. Some interpret this as a pincer movement: pressure on Spain, a nod to Segarro, and Venezuelan crude in the same package.
What's behind the phrase 'Ceuta is not Spain'?
Two interpretations are circulating. The first is pure ignorance: a president who wouldn't know how to place Ceuta—or likely the rest of Spain—on a map, and who might believe the country is south of Mexico. The second is less innocent: dropping a bombshell, seeing who reacts, and cashing in. It's not ignorance, argue those on this side, it's disdain.
The second hypothesis is supported by the detail that truly matters to the Pentagon: Rota, the shared naval base, and control of the Strait. Ceuta is talked about a lot; Spain's defense contributions, much less.
Delcy Rodríguez, Oil, and the Toast
Caracas's gratitude to Washington is incomprehensible without considering the oil. The most cynical—and most repeated—interpretation is that the vice president is being repositioned, distributing oil with a photo op and a smile while Maduro's inner circle is dismantled. Toast above, bill below.
The Venezuelan Ceuta Joke
Part of the noise stems from a coincidence of names between the autonomous city and a town with the same name across the Atlantic, turned into a wordplay that some have taken literally. Nothing indicates the White House was looking at that map.
What remains is the noise. The figures thrown around in the conversation—one hundred thousand entries versus zero—circulate without official records to support them. The map is being debated. Others are sending the bill.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (38 replies).
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