Tag Archives: caribbean

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Latecomers claw down Eagle Claws in thrilling National Domino Association tournament

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — In the most intense encounter in the eighth segment of play in the first round of the St. Kitts National Domino Association (SKNDA) tournament on Thursday, February 11, at the New Town Community Centre, Latecomers Domino Club overcame Eagle Claws Domino Club 26-22.

The Great Comeback: Kerell ‘Franks’ Dasent of Spartans Fig Tree Domino Club took no chances when his team came back from behind to thrash Poor Man Pocket Domino Club, 26-8.

For Latecomers, Norris Sharry and Robert Tyson won six games and lost two, while for Eagle Claws Ryan St. Marie and Kerone Roache won seven games and lost two.

Spartans Fig Tree Domino Club, which trailed in the early stages of their game against Poor Man Pocket Domino Club, made the quintessential comeback of the evening and handed Poor Man Pocket Domino Club a thrashing they will want to forget in quick time. Spartans earned a bonus point by winning the game 26-8.

For Spartans Fig Tree, Rameece ‘Rambo’ Belboda and Everton ‘Harris’ Boone won eight games and lost one, and Franks and Nady won four games, and lost three, while for Poor Man Pocket Allington ‘Leggy’ Berridge and Desmond ‘Fergie’ Rawlins won three games and lost one.

Terminal Boyz Domino Club, which suffered its first loss in the tournament on February 7, went all out to prove what happened was purely bad luck. They did it in style by dispensing a stern to King Balang Domino Club which they annihilated 26-4. The feat earned Terminal Boyz a bonus point.

Lodge Domino Club which lost by default on February 7, overcame their misfortune by beating Newcomers I Domino Club 26-16; Masters Domino Club beat Newcomers II Domino Club 26-12; while Los Fuertes del Domino handed Til Ah Marnin Domino Club a 26-16 beating.

The game between Eagle Claws Domino Club and King Balang Domino Club, which was postponed from February 7, was played on Wednesday February 10. Eagle Claws who had only won one game previously, earned their second win by beating King Balang 26-18.

In the meantime, SKNDA Vice President, Keithly Blanchette, advised players that games that would have taken place on February 14 will instead be held on Tuesday, February 16 from 6:00 p.m. The change gives the players time to be with their loved ones on Valentine’s Day.

Blanchette also informed the teams that at the present rate of playing on two days in a week, SKNDA will be late in submitting names to Antigua and Barbuda of players from St. Kitts who will participate in the World Council of Domino Federation championships. He proposed that for the second round that they hold the games on three days in a week – Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

Points standing after eight segments of play: Terminal Boyz, 37 points; Masters, 35 points; Poor Man Pocket, 27 points; Newcomers I, 27 points; Los Fuertes del Domino, 26 points: Latecomers, 25 points; Til Ah Marnin, 21 points; Lodge, 20 points; Spartans Fig Tree, 11 points; Eagle Claws, 10 points; Newcomers II, 5 points; and King Balang, 5 points.

The competition will continue on Tuesday, February 16, at the New Town Community Centre starting at 6:00 p.m. with teams meeting in the ninth segment of play in the first round.

Order of play: Newcomers I will face Terminal Boyz, Eagles Claws will come up against Poor Man Pocket, Spartans Fig Tree vs. Lodge, Latecomers vs. Til Ah Marnin, Los Fuertes del Domino will battle it out with Newcomers II, and Masters vs. King Balang.

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Demand High for Caribbean Properties

Buyers who act soon may find that their secondary homes in the Caribbean prove to be good investments

PhotoTalk / Getty Images

With the northern hemisphere in the middle of winter and many regions still under pandemic lockdowns, wealthy buyers are more motivated than ever to invest in the Caribbean and other island getaways.

Many of the same islands where these investors vacation have managed to keep Covid-19 transmissions rates low, by locking down early and instituting strict travel restrictions. Now, with offices and schools still operating remotely in many cities, demand is growing from high-net-worth buyers ready to commit to secondary homes in countries with warm climates where life has largely returned to normal.

“We’ve found that because these international high-net-worth individuals were in lockdown, they took the opportunity to look at real estate, and it piqued their interest when they saw Bermuda was managing its numbers,” said Penny MacIntyre of Rego Sotheby’s International Realty in Bermuda. “The WHO [World Health Organization] validated Bermuda as one of the safest places in the world, and they saw it was affording a lifestyle where they could move around and dine in restaurants.”

For many already familiar with such island destinations, that sense of safety has persuaded them to look into second- or third-home purchases. With activity already heightened and pent-up demand building among buyers who cannot travel, getting into the market now—even if that means buying sight unseen—could mean beating the added competition when travel restrictions ease in the future.

“We’ve seen an uptick in purchases since the pandemic, from people looking for an escape from big cities,” said Neal Sroka, founder of Sroka Worldwide, a consulting firm for high-end international real estate. “They do buy without visiting, provided they know the product, so it’s much easier to sell on a branded hotel basis rather than individual homes.”

Some island destinations have seized upon this moment by offering easy pathways to citizenship for investors, or special permits for those working remotely. Bermuda, for instance, has a “digital nomad visa,” a one-year residential certificate for those who want to live in the country while working remotely in another. Barbados recently began offering a similar program, as has the Cayman Islands, drawing a new wave of buyers.

And in St. Kitts and Nevis, a citizenship-by-investment scheme confers citizenship to buyers who make a real estate purchase of $400,000 or more. This has enticed many American buyers, who can use a St. Kitts and Nevis passport as a back door to Europe.

At the ultra-luxury end of the market, brokers for private islands are reporting a flood of inquiries from investors, although transactions remain low.

“The interest is definitely there to find places in isolation but the purchase of these islands is usually delayed until the pandemic is over,” said Farhad Vladi of Vladi Private Islands, which lists islands for sale and rent in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and around the globe. “There is very little activity on the island market at the moment.”

But those with the knowledge and means to make a purchase now have an edge, as other would-be buyers less familiar with these locations are itching to make a move the moment travel restrictions are loosened.

“We’re seeing a lot of curiosity from people imagining a different kind of life,” said KC Hardin, co-founder of real estate development company Conservatorio in Panama. “People are starting to book trips, with the mindset of, ‘As soon as I get the vaccine, I’m getting out of here.’”

Demand for Island Properties

For many high-end real estate investors, the pandemic has changed their priorities and encouraged them to reconsider their lifestyles.

“If you have the means, owning a second or third home became more of a necessity out of Covid,” Mr. Sroka said. “Now people do believe they need the ability to go somewhere they feel that they’re relatively safe.”

Such buyers typically have vacationed in island destinations in the past and are now committing to longer-term investments. Some are taking advantage of programs like Barbados’ Welcome Stamp visa, a 12-month residency permit for those working for overseas employers, while pursuing permanent residency. This program has already lured nearly 2,000 visa applicants, according to the island’s tourism board.

These schemes, coupled with the familiarity of branded residences, has convinced some to make investments even as travel restrictions prevent them from seeing properties in person.

“A number of people are making offers sight unseen,” said Eric Johnson, sales director at the Four Seasons Nevis. “They’re familiar with Nevis and have seen the homes they’re purchasing. With a branded residence, there’s a lot more confidence, because you know the ownership of the hotel and the strength of the brand.”

Some buyers, on the other hand, are seeking more privacy and individuality from their island purchase, and are willing to invest from overseas.

“We had three circumstances of properties bought sight unseen, and two were standalone homes,” said Buddy Rego of Rego Sotheby’s International Realty in Bermuda. “These are buyers who want to have control of an asset and lots of space. They want to customize the home themselves.”

On the Cayman Islands, brokers are reporting an increase in inquiries, a result of pent-up demand from earlier in the pandemic and the island’s efficient handling of the crisis. Life is essentially back to normal after a strict lockdown in the spring of 2020, but travel restrictions remain in place. Still, this hasn’t stopped overseas investors.

“We had an increase in demand last year, especially at the higher end of the market,” said Jonathan Sparrow of Cayman Islands Sotheby’s International Realty. “Our biggest sale was a modern house on the beach, which was sold for US$5 million without the buyer stepping foot in the house.”

In fact, the Caymans saw a 4.3% increase in total sales volume in 2020, with the value of the average transaction increasing by over 26% compared to 2019. Turks and Caicos experienced an increase in sales activity in its luxury condo sector in 2020, while St. Kitts and Nevis got a bump in luxury sales thanks to the Four Seasons villa collection closing a number of transactions last year.

What Buyers Need to Know

Buyers who act soon may find that their secondary homes in the Caribbean prove to be good investments, once tourism starts up again.

“As a pure investment, the numbers are very attractive, because most of these properties can end up in a rental pool,” Mr. Sroka said. “Based on what we’re seeing because of demand, those numbers could end up really high.”

But given the uncertainty of when these island nations will reopen, Mr. Sroka advised that buyers should be motivated primarily by the desire to enhance their lifestyle and invest in properties they will actually use.

Those with an eye on investment should educate themselves on the economic conditions of their preferred destinations, in addition to their rental prospects. Travel can be disrupted, so buyers may want to seek out island destinations that aren’t as heavily dependent on tourism dollars.

More: Buyers in Hot Markets May Want to Move Quickly Before Competition Increases in the New Year

“The biggest difference between Cayman and other islands is that we don’t have a sole reliance on tourism,” Mr. Sparrow said. “We are a financial center, and trillions of dollars flow through related to the hedge-fund industry.”

Other factors they should consider is the ease of travel to these destinations—whether there are direct flights, for instance, and proximity of their investment property to airports. For those planning to work remotely from the Caribbean, look into the island’s broadband coverage, and consider the weather, as some regions are more impacted by hurricane season than others.

“People who are looking should consider whether they want to be in a branded residence or a townhome, and how often they’re going to be here,” Ms. McIntyre said. “Definitely work with an agent who can help identify options and the parts of the island that would suit them best.”

Be prepared, too, for competition, and potentially to jump through specific hoops when making a purchase as a foreigner.

In St. Kitts and Nevis, for instance, “Most transactions are all cash, and there is a vetting process [for foreign buyers],” Mr. Johnson said. “But once you go through that, you’ll be able to close on a transaction very quickly.”

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Haiti: Ambassador to US Calls for International Support in Talks with Opposition

 

The Ambassador of Haiti in Washington DC, Bocchit Edmond called on the international community to support talks between the government of President Jovenel Moïse and the opposition as the constitutional crisis worsens, but he rejected calls for the resignation of Head of State.

Let us recall that this crisis was born of a dispute between President Jovenel Moïse and the opposition on the date on which his mandate is supposed to end with regard to 2 contradictory articles in the Constitution : article 134.1 on which the Head of State https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-32954-haiti-politic-16-political-parties-for-an-end-of-the-president-s-mandate-on-february-7-2022.html and article 134.2 invoked by the opposition.

Ambassador Edmond told reporters he did not believe there should be a situation where President Jovenel Moïse leaves office before February 7, 2022, when his 5-year term expires.

“I believe that the international community, our international partners, should work with us and with the opposition parties to make sure that we come to some kind of dialogue or political agreement, so that we can have a better way of ‘move forward “said Ambassador Edmond adding “We have a legitimate President. The international community must support it, accompany it, so that we can carry out the electoral process successfully.”

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Tourists Claim Barbados COVID Quarantine ‘Like Being in Prison’

British tourists have told how they experienced ‘prison camp’ conditions at a Covid quarantine facility in Barbados. Holidaymakers said they had to fight to be released after being escorted to the compound which they say lacked basic amenities.

They were taken late at night to the Harrisons Point Isolation Facility, which they described as a makeshift centre fenced off with little outdoor space and armed guards in military fatigues posted outside.

The tourists claim that the rules kept changing after they tested positive for Covid on the Caribbean island, despite being fit and healthy and having returned negative PCR results in the UK.

One couple found themselves separated on a two-week trip after flying out on December 20, before non-essential travel was banned as England’s third lockdown came into force.

Kirsten Day was escorted from her hotel at 11.30pm on Christmas Eve after a positive test. The healthcare assistant, 47, said: ‘Harrisons Point was like a prison. ‘They told my partner I would have my own room with a television but I was put straight into a ward with people who were quite poorly.

‘The care when they realise you are poorly is quite good but if you’re ok, you’re just stuck there. ‘You are fenced off from the outside world and while there was a small area outside with chairs no one was cleaning them afterwards. If the door wasn’t open, you had to ask. ‘I didn’t touch the kettle or the microwave because people with symptoms were touching them and they were not being cleaned afterwards. I just drank water. It was just a battle to find out what was going on, different doctors told you different things.’

Ms Day was in Harrisons Point for six days while her partner, Jason Green, who tested negative throughout their stay, continually demanded answers. She says it was a constant battle to find out the testing criteria but she was eventually allowed to leave in a taxi after returning a blood test, which showed Covid antibodies, and a negative swab test.

The couple paid a total of around £900 for the tests they took on the island and are trying to get the money refunded. Kirsten and Jason, 52, an accountant, both complained to the management and Barbadian authorities throughout their stay on different parts of the island and since returning home to Cambridgeshire.

Ms Day said: ‘The food was just horrendous, we had chicken nuggets and bread and butter for breakfast one morning and there were no knives. ‘They did eventually provide knives but the basics just weren’t there. ‘They would ask you to take medicine and give it another patient.’

Ms Day tested positive for Covid antibodies in July but followed all the travel rules before leaving for her holiday. She added: ‘We knew we took a risk, but nothing was ever explained. ‘I knew the isolation centre wouldn’t be a hotel but if I’d have known if I could have ended up somewhere like that I would have stayed at home.’

Another tourist, who travelled to Barbados with her baby daughter on a budget deal with a holiday club, says she was left thousands of pounds out of pocket after being taken to Harrisons Point. The 38-year-old had also been given the all-clear for Covid with PCR and lateral flow tests before leaving the UK on December 28. The teacher and her eight-month-old daughter were taken to the 200-bed isolation facility after they and a friend arrived at the Blue Orchid resort to begin a two-week break.

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Squeezed by Sanctions, Pandemic, Cuba Turns to Capitalism

By Katell ABIVEN (AFP)     9 hours ago in Travel
Cuba is undergoing a paradigm shift: after decades of tight, centralized control, the communist government is opening up the bulk of its economy to the private sector.

While economic decline and spiralling unemployment are the main drivers, analysts say the liberalization measures can also be seen as an overture to a new US president.

“It is definitely a strong signal at a crucial moment when the US administration said it is revising the policies of (Donald) Trump towards Cuba,” said Ricardo Torres, an economist at the University of Habana.

Six decades of US sanctions, toughened during Trump’s term in office, have claimed a heavy toll on Cuba’s economy, worsened by the coronavirus crisis and a steep drop in tourism, a critical sector.

Last month, Havana said Trump’s sanctions cost the country some $20 billion, adding that “the damage to the bilateral relationship during this time has been considerable.”

The Cuban economy shrank 11 percent in 2020, and exports declined by 40 percent.

At the weekend, the government in Havana announced it would authorize private enterprise in a bid to boost its economy and create jobs, though limited to individual entrepreneurs for now, not businesses.

The number of authorized private activities would grow from 127 to over 2,000, but excludes 124 sectors including the press, health and education, which remain in government hands.

The reform represents a major ideological shift in a country where the government and its affiliate companies have monopolized most of the economy since 1961.

– ‘Long overdue’ –

Cuba began timidly opening up to private capital in the 1990s before fuller authorization in 2010, followed by a boom after the historic warming of ties with Cold War rival the United States in 2014 under then-president Barack Obama.

Today, about 600,000 Cubans — some 13 percent of the workforce — are employed in the private sector.

 

Today about 600 000 Cubans -- some 13 percent of the workforce -- are employed in the private secto...

Today, about 600,000 Cubans — some 13 percent of the workforce — are employed in the private sector. Most work in gastronomy, transportation and tourist accommodation
YAMIL LAGE, AFP/File

Most work in hotels, restaurants, transportation and tourist accommodation.

Millions of people work for the government, but the exact number is not known.

Trump reversed many of Obama’s moves to ease tensions with Cuba.

He banned American cruise ships stopping over on the island, blacklisted a range of Cuban companies and bosses, prosecuted foreign companies doing business there, and made it difficult for Cubans working abroad to send money home.

The new US President, Joe Biden, has promised to bring back some of Obama’s policies to normalize ties, while also paying attention to human rights concerns in the country of some 11.2 million people.

Some in the United States have welcomed Cuba’s policy shift, which will for the first time see private salary earners in sectors such as agriculture, construction and IT.

“This is long overdue, it’s welcome news. And the United States should affirm that the embargo was never intended, and will not be used, to penalize private enterprise in #Cuba,” US Senator Patrick Leahy said on Twitter.

Former Obama adviser Ben Rhodes tweeted the announcement was “a big step forward for Cubans and a welcome signal. The Biden Administration can make this more beneficial for the Cuban people by resuming the opening to Cuba as soon as possible.”

– Skepticism –

For many of Cuba’s leaders, the change may be difficult to swallow.

“There is still a lot of skepticism regarding the word ‘private’,” which many see “as people who can conspire against power,” said Cuban economist Omar Everleny Perez.

But politicians appear to have read the writing on the wall just like in Vietnam in the 1980s, where the Communist Party managed to stay in power by heavily liberalizing the economy.

“We are still a little far from that, but (the Cuban leaders) have it in mind,” said Perez of the Vietnam example.

The southeast Asian country, too, was under US sanctions, lifted in 1994 after rapprochement with Washington.

“So from a geopolitical point of view, there is a lesson that is important to recognize,” said Perez.

 

Cuba's policy shift will for the first time see private salary earners in sectors such as agric...

Cuba’s policy shift will for the first time see private salary earners in sectors such as agriculture, construction and IT
YAMIL LAGE, AFP/File

For his part, Torres said Vietnam’s economy was smaller and the country more rural, making change easier.

But there is a lesson to be learnt from the fellow Communist country’s experience: “if you want to create jobs, you have no choice but to create a framework for the private sector to grow”.

John Kavulich, president of the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, said the Cuban government must now convince the Biden administration that it is serious about restructuring the economy.

“If the Biden administration believes the (President Miguel) Diaz-Canel administration is prepared to do what is difficult, maintain the processes despite challenges, then far

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SV&G First Caribbean Country to Order Russia’s Sputnik 5 Vaccine

MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has confirmed registration of the anti-coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V in Montenegro and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Fund said in a statement.

“The Russian Direct Investment Fund announces the approval of Russian Sputnik V vaccine against coronavirus in Montenegro and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. In total, 26 countries have already authorized Sputnik V. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is the first island nation of the Caribbean to register Sputnik V,” the statement said.

The vaccine was approved in Montenegro and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines under the emergency use authorization procedure without additional local clinical trials.

Sputnik V was approved earlier in Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Bolivia, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Turkmenistan, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Republic of Guinea, Tunisia, Armenia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Republika Srpska (entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia and Bahrain.

Moreover, the Russian preparation is one of the world’s top three coronavirus vaccines in terms of the number of approvals issued by government regulators. It is the third after those produced by Pfizer and Astra Zeneca (35 and 31 countries, respectively).

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Thousands of Virus Patients Sent to New York Nursing Homes, World Stats

More  than 9,000 virus patients were sent into New York nursing homes; Biden says US is securing 600 million vaccine doses by July

More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients in New York state were released from hospitals into nursing homes under a controversial directive that was scrapped amid criticism it was accelerating outbreaks.

That’s according to new records obtained by the AP, report Bernard Condon and Jennifer Peltz.

The new number of more than 9,000 recovering patients sent to hundreds of nursing homes is more than 40% higher than what had been previously released by the state health department.

And it raises new questions as to whether Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s March 25 directive helped spread sickness and death among residents. That’s a charge his administration disputes.

Overall, New York has lost more than 45,000 people to the virus, more than any other state except California.

U.S. Vaccination Drive: President Joe Biden says the U.S. will have enough supply of the vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans. Biden toured the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory at the sprawling National Institutes of Health complex just outside Washington that created the COVID-19 shots now manufactured by Moderna. Biden says the U.S. had secured contractual commitments from Moderna and Pfizer to deliver the 600 million doses of vaccine by the end of July — more than a month earlier than initially anticipated, Zeke Miller and Jonathan Lemire report.

Australian city of Melbourne begins third lockdown due to cluster; Portugal’s relief at falling cases tempered by fear; Pandemic’s toll on exhausted UK funeral directors 

Australia’s second-largest city of Melbourne will begin its third lockdown due to a rapidly spreading coronavirus cluster centered on hotel quarantine. The five-day lockdown will be enforced across Victoria state to prevent the virus spreading from the state capital.

The Australian Open tennis tournament will be allowed to continue but without spectators.

Only international flights that were already in the air when the lockdown was announced will be allowed to land at Melbourne Airport.

A population of 6.5 million will be locked down from 11:59 p.m. until the same time on Wednesday because a contagious British variant of the virus first detected at a Melbourne Airport hotel has infected 13 people. Some Australian states have imposed border restrictions on travelers from Melbourne.

Portugal’s Peak: After about two weeks last month as the world’s worst-hit country by size of population, the anxiety in Portugal over the recent pandemic peak has eased slightly. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital and in intensive care fell for the third straight day. But Portugal’s seven-day average of daily deaths remained the world’s highest, at 2.05 per 100,000 people. One doctor had a nagging fear as the Iberian nation’s January surge of cases threatened to overwhelm his intensive care unit at the capital’s Curry Cabral Hospital: He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to care for his patients. Helena Alves reports from Lisbon.

Britain’s Undertakers Under Pressure: Funeral home staff are under intense pressure in many countries, but the burden is especially intense in Britain, where more than 115,000 people with the virus have died. That’s one of the highest per-capita death tolls in the world.

One London funeral director says her phone hasn’t stopped ringing, and she worries that “I don’t have what it takes.” Undertakers, embalmers and others who deal with death for a living often regard the burden on them as less important than the pain felt by bereaved families. But many are exhausted by the sheer amount of mortality they have faced, and the pandemic is increasing awareness that their own mental health also deserves consideration, Jill Lawless and Jo Kearney report from London.

Brazil Vaccination-Amazon: Traveling to remote communities in the Amazon is only the first challenge for health workers vaccinating Indigenous and riverine people. They can also face deep skepticism about receiving the shot. Much of that stems from the doubts that Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro repeatedly sowed about the efficacy of the vaccines. Although Indigenous communities have gained greater access to technology and the internet in recent years, information often arrives in a very distorted way, Diane Jeantet and Fernando Crispim report.

Coronavirus Cases:

108,358,209

Deaths:

2,380,471

Recovered:

80,409,652
Highlighted in green
= all cases have recovered from the infection
Highlighted in grey
= all cases have had an outcome (there are no active cases)

[back to top ↑]

Latest News

February 12 (GMT)

Updates

  • 127 new cases and 2 new deaths in Nepal [source]
  • 6,379 new cases and 247 new deaths in Poland [source]
  • 15,089 new cases and 507 new deaths in Russia [source]
  • 10,677 new cases and 1,474 new deaths in Mexico [source]

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Biden Stops Mexican Border Wall Construction

President Biden has rescinded the emergency order used by former President Trump to justify construction of the border wall, the White House announced Thursday.

“I have determined that the declaration of a national emergency at our southern border was unwarranted,” Biden wrote in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

“I have also announced that it shall be the policy of my administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall, and that I am directing a careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to that end.”

The nail in the coffin: The proclamation is a final step from Biden after issuing an executive order on day one of his presidency questioning the validity of Trump’s national emergency and ordering a pause on all border wall construction.

It also comes after the administration asked the Supreme Court to cancel an upcoming hearing on the legality of the border wall, which the court then granted.

The background: Trump issued the national emergency at the border in early 2019 after repeatedly butting heads with lawmakers over funding for the project. The emergency declaration loosened the limits on taxpayer funding, paving the way for Trump to divert funds originally intended for other agencies, including the Defense Department.

But the move landed his administration in court, as environmental groups and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged $2.5 billion in Pentagon spending that had been diverted to complete construction.

Trump first floated the idea of a border wall on the campaign trail, repeatedly insisting that Mexico would pay for its construction. But in early 2020, Customs and Border Protection reported it had found $11 billion in funding for the wall.

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Senate Trial: Dems Warn Trump a Future Threat to Nation

Democrats closed their case against former President Trump Thursday by pleading with their Republican colleagues to convict him or risk more political violence in the future.

Lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) argued that “any president could provoke insurrectionary violence again” if Trump were to be acquitted. His colleague Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) asked, “who’s to say it won’t happen again?” if firm action is not taken now.

Raskin argued that Trump’s pattern of incitement, which Democrats say led a mob to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6, would resume if he were to become president again.

“My dear colleagues, is there any political leader in this room who believes that if he is ever allowed by the Senate to get back into the Oval Office, Donald Trump would stop inciting violence to get his way?” Raskin asked. “Would you bet the lives of more police officers on that? Would you bet the safety of your family on that? Would you bet the future of your democracy on that?”

The Democratic argument is, in essence, that the Senate needs to redraw the norms of American political life that Trump so repeatedly transgressed. here is, however, little chance of Trump becoming the first president in history to be convicted, given that the overwhelming majority of GOP senators are expected to vote to acquit.

Thursday’s arguments, which were more legalistic and theoretical, lacked the emotive power of the previous two days, when Democrats played harrowing video from the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Even some Democratic commentators worried that the prosecution was losing steam as time when on.

Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) on Thursday afternoon tweeted her view that “some of the House managers’ case is getting too repetitive.” David Axelrod, a key aide to former President Obama, mused whether “the managers would have been smart to quit and simply sum up with the lack of remorse argument after their incredibly tight powerful case yesterday?”

There were some signs within the chamber itself that senators were less compelled by Thursday’s proceedings.

At one point at least 18 GOP senators were missing from their seats. Some of their Democratic colleagues, including Sens. Cory Booker (N.J.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y), stood for periods rather than remain seated throughout.

Trump’s lawyers will now have the floor, and it is expected their defense will be concluded within a single day. If that happens — and assuming witnesses are not called — the entire proceedings could conclude by Saturday or Sunday.

Trump’s lead lawyers, Bruce Castor and David Schoen, will be hoping to improve on their opening arguments from earlier in the week. Castor’s performance, in particular, was widely panned and was reported to have left the former president irate as he watched at his Florida resort of Mar-a-Lago.

The Trump team doesn’t need to do very much to gain an acquittal for their client. No more than six Republican senators have so far even agreed that the impeachment trial is constitutional. The chance of the necessary number voting to convict — 17 Republicans, assuming the Democrats all vote to do so — seems vanishingly small.

The president’s team is expected to argue that Trump did not directly spark the riot that enveloped the Capitol. They may also cite what they see as belligerent rhetoric from Democratic politicians in other contexts, in order to assert that Trump is being unfairly singled out.

The core of the pro-Trump case rests on trying to separate the haunting scenes at the Capitol from the issue of his culpability. Schoen called the way in which Democrats presented their argument “an entertainment package” during a Thursday appearance on Fox News.

But even if Trump escapes conviction, the trial has put his behavior — and the disgraceful scenes that played out on Jan. 6 — back in the center of the public stage.

Over the three days when Democrats made their case, new video footage emerged of lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), only just avoiding the mob.

Senators, and the public, were also reminded of the violence inflicted upon Capitol Police officers as they sought to contain a group of rioters that vastly outnumbered them.

And, undergirding it all, was Trump’s penchant for inflammatory rhetoric, stretching all the way back to his 2016 White House candidacy. On Thursday, Democrats replayed clips in which the then-candidate encouraged his supporters to “knock the hell” out of protesters.

The Democrats have sought to avoid falling into the political trap of hyper-partisanship where possible. They foregrounded Republican voices, including former members of Trump’s administration, who blamed the then-president for the violence in the immediate aftermath of the riot.

They also repeatedly praised former Vice President Mike Pence and sought to portray the effort to convict Trump as a necessary action to protect American democracy itself.

Lawmakers, Raskin reminded the Senate on Thursday, were made to “literally flee for our lives.”

The outcome of Trump’s trial is basically a foregone conclusion.But the events that he stands accused of inspiring will not easily fade from memory.

The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage. Alexander Bolton contributed reporting.

 

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