Imperial Ambitions: US Violates National Airspace

There was a time in history when kings and emperors, from their medieval castles, gave orders to their vassals beyond the seas and borders, disposing of lives, goods, honors, and even the cultural values of peoples. Although some may not accept it, those times are long gone. With the French Revolution and numerous emancipatory movements, new parameters of civic life were established that strengthened the feelings of independence and sovereignty of nations. However, nowadays, some individuals still see themselves as emperors or kings, the absolute owners of the sovereign spaces of other countries, which they perceive as their own backyard. They are narcissistic and profoundly ignorant. A recent and eloquent example of their continued existence is the arrogant order to ban the use and paralyze the airspace of a nation. It recognizes that each country has exclusive and absolute sovereignty over the airspace above its territory. Such a violation of a state's sovereignty invites, especially Panamanians, to reflect on that wise proverb: "When you see your neighbor's beard on fire, wet your own." It doesn't matter what the specific incident was. The relevant point is that this order was issued from more than 4,000 kilometers away—the distance separating Washington from Caracas—more than 13 hours by flight. A completely absurd order in our times, which overlooks a convention signed precisely in the city from which it was issued: Chicago. That agreement, in force since 1944, worldwide recognized the sovereignty of States over the airspace covering their territory, and laid the foundations for the development of civil aviation globally. The 1944 Chicago Convention is an international treaty that gave rise to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). U.S. F-16 fighter jets...