Latest news with #ChristopherLandau
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
U.S. promotes ‘free and open Indo-Pacific' with Japan, S. Korea leaders
July 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau discussed security and commerce when he met with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Funakoshi Takehiro and South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoonjoo in Osaka, Japan, on Friday. The goal of the meeting was to advance the countries' trilateral partnership, which is "critical for the safety, security, and prosperity of our three countries," State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a press release. The three "emphasized their commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific and discussed efforts to ensure peace and stability in the region," Bruce said. The security of the region is always tense, thanks to North Korea and its alliances with China and Russia. On Thursday, a United Nations report showed evidence that North Korea many times shipped arms and material to Russia, which trained North Korean troops for combat against Ukrainian forces, Seth Bailey, the U.S. State Department's director for Korean and Mongolian Affairs, told U.N. members. At the Osaka meeting, the three reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and expressed serious concerns about its increasing military cooperation with Russia. They discussed the importance of strengthening deterrence and resilience against regional security threats, Bruce said. One of those threats came last weekend, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovvisited North Korea and expressed support for the hermit country. "No one is considering using force against North Korea despite the military buildup around the country by the United States, South Korea and Japan," Lavrov said of the joint military exercise that took place in South Korea the day before. "We respect North Korea's aspirations and understand the reasons why it is pursuing a nuclear development," he said. Landau, Funakoshi and Park reiterated their commitment to strengthening supply chains and collaborating on emerging technologies to boost their economic cooperation, Bruce added. They agreed Japanese and Korean participation in the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in June sent a strong signal about the importance of energy security underpinned by unleashing American liquified natural gas. The U.S.-Japan bond was shaken last week, though, when President Donald Trump said he planned to impose a 25% tariff on Japan starting in August. Though hurt by the statement, Japan said it will continue to negotiate with the president. "The real climax and critical moment are the three weeks until Aug. 1," Japan's Minister of Economic Revitalization Ryosei Akazawa said. "We would like to support the government's negotiations more firmly than ever before." The United States has a $57 billion trade deficit with Japan with $84.95 billion exports from the United States and $141.52 billion imports in 2024, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Korea Herald
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Senior diplomats of Korea, US, Japan to hold talks in Japan this week
Vice foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold trilateral talks this week to discuss ways of further enhancing cooperation on North Korean issues and economic security, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi are scheduled to meet in Japan on Friday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The upcoming talks come about nine months after their last meeting held in Seoul in October. It also marks the first since the inauguration of President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump's new administration. "The three sides plan to hold broad and in-depth discussions on a wide range of topics, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula, regional dynamics, economic security, technology, energy and ways to enhance trilateral cooperation," the ministry said in a press release. Park plans to hold one-on-one talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the trilateral meeting, it said. During the October meeting, the three nations condemned North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and agreed to strengthen their security cooperation. (Yonhap)
Miami Herald
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
‘We are living through the most difficult times,' Havana activists tell U.S. diplomats
In an event marking another anniversary of the July 11 mass protests in 2021, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau told a gathering of Cuban activists in Havana on Tuesday that the Trump administration will continue advocating for the release of political prisoners on the island and is committed to supporting the Cuban people's fight for freedom and democracy. Landau addressed in Spanish a group of relatives of political prisoners, independent artists and journalists, religious leaders, former political prisoners and human rights activists gathered at the residence of the U.S. ambassador in Havana, Mike Hammer, via a video call from Washington. In a video message in Spanish played at the start of the meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was traveling to Asia and unable to join in, told the group that the July 11 protests marked 'a change and a new era' and that the videos of the demonstrations had 'inspired' Cuban exiles who 'hope for freedom for Cuba.' 'You, who are there, who don't give up, inspire us every day,' he said. 'I know there is an enormous risk, that it is not easy to challenge a regime that does everything possible to punish you and your families. It is much easier to leave the country than stay there and fight for the future of a free and sovereign Cuba.' In a rebuke of Cuban goverment leaders' accusations that the ongoing economic crisis on the island is the result of U.S. sanctions, Rubio said his administration is aware Cubans are suffering shortages of medicines and blackouts, but said that is the result of 'a regime that just does not know how to govern.' Although the July 11 demonstrations were followed by a government crackdown and hundreds of arrests, since then smaller protests have erupted regularly all over the country as the economy continues falling apart, and the government provides little response beyond calls to resist and renewed accusations against the United States. In a recent Communist Party meeting last week, Cuba's leader, Miguel Díaz-Canel, accused the U.S. of 'betting on a political and social crisis that leads to an uprising during the summer' in a belated acknowledgment of growing discontent among the population. Several of the hundreds of Cubans arrested during the 2021 protests remain in prison, some serving harsh sentences. A few were released, thanks to a deal with the Vatican and the Biden administration, but then were sent back to prison, including prominent Cuban opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer. His family has accused the Cuban government of torturing him. Landau called on the Cuban government to release the political prisoners and expressed concern in particular for the situation of Ferrer, longtime opposition member Felix Navarro, who is also in poor health, and rapper Maykel Gonzalez, known as Maykel Osorbo, who recently staged a hunger strike. Cuban participants advocated for the release of the political prisoners and expressed deep concerns about the human rights situation on the island, a crackdown on freedom of speech and internet restrictions. Berta Soler, the leader of the dissident group Ladies in White, said she was particularly worried about Ferrer and increased repression and limitation of movement of the group's members. 'We are living through the most difficult times for the Cuban nation. It's a country that is completely destroyed, as if devastated by war,' said Elsa Morejón, a Cuban religious and human rights activist and the wife of Oscar Elías Biscet, a prominent Cuban dissident who was also in attendance. When Landau asked those in the room what the U.S government could do to provide more humanitarian aid to alleviate scarcities for the Cuban people 'without enriching the government,' Morejón said she favored the distribution of more humanitarian aid through churches, 'but the greatest help would be freedom,' she quipped. Although meetings between U.S. diplomats and Cuban activists have not been uncommon in the past, Tuesday's event occurred at a time of heightened diplomatic tensions. Several dissidents and independent journalists were arrested or placed in home detention so they could not attend the 4th of July celebration at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, and there were concerns that Cuban authorities would prevent some of the people invited from attending Tuesday's event. Hammer acknowledged during the meeting that some attendees would likely face retaliation. At various times, the U.S. officials praised the Cubans in the room for their courage. 'It is very easy for us to express ourselves about what is happening there on the island, but you are there, experiencing it. It moves me that you have overcome your fear,' Landau said. 'You are writing your personal stories but also the history of your country.' Relations between the two countries are at their lowest point in a decade. After coming into office in January, President Donald Trump and Rubio quickly rolled back last-minute actions by the Biden administration to ease sanctions against Cuba and its military. A new presidential memorandum signed last week ordered the expansion of a blacklist of companies with links to the Cuban armed forces. It also threatened sanctions on foreign companies doing business with military-owned companies. The State Department has also expanded visa sanctions to officials linked to the Cuban medical official missions abroad, and bilateral talks on migration and other topics appeared to have been put on pause. Cuba was also added to a list of countries whose nationals face restrictions on entering the United States. Cuban officials have also been at odds with Hammer, the U.S. ambassador in Havana, whose unconventional approach of traveling around the country to meet activists and ordinary people and posting about it on social media has proven popular with Cubans and an irritant for the government. Both Rubio, a Cuban American, and Hammer have been at the receiving end of vitriolic comments from top Cuban officials, state media and even the unofficial Cuban first lady, Lis Cuesta, who called the ambassador 'shameless' in a post in X. The Foreign Ministry made an official protest. In two X publications on the day of Ferrer's arrest in April, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Cuba's vice foreign minister, suggested that the dissident was sent back to prison in retaliation for Hammer's behavior. 'What is the conduct of the U.S. government when it finds that a foreign diplomat is inciting U.S. citizens to act against the U.S. government, to disrespect the law, to violate terms of conditional release or parole?' he wrote. 'How do U.S. law enforcement agencies respond to such citizens?'
Canada News.Net
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
Bob Vylan's ban by US is message to those promoting antisemitism
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration has made public a visa decision that would usually be kept private. It did this to send a strong message when it cancelled the U.S. visas of a British punk-rap band called Bob Vylan. The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, posted on social media that the band's visas were revoked because of what he called a "hateful tirade" at the Glastonbury music festival. At the festival, the band's frontman had led the crowd in chanting "Death to the IDF" (Israel Defense Forces). British police are investigating whether a crime was committed during that performance. The band denies any antisemitism and says they are being punished for speaking out against the war in Gaza. They said they are being "targeted for speaking up." The U.S. government does not normally discuss individual visa decisions publicly. Laws like the Immigration and Nationality Act and privacy rules usually prevent this. Exceptions are sometimes made for foreign officials or their families when they are banned for corruption or human rights issues. But the Trump administration has been more public when it comes to revoking visas of people accused of supporting hate or violence, especially if the speech is seen as antisemitic or pro-militant. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the administration wants to show it has firm rules for who is allowed to enter the country. She said, "Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors." She explained that the band's public behavior crossed a line, so the government decided to make their visa cancellation public. This case is part of a broader effort to cancel visas of people accused of antisemitic or pro-Hamas activity. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this year that about 300 visas had already been cancelled for such reasons, and that more would follow. Most of those cases were not made public. One that was publicized involved Rumeysa Ozturk, a student in Massachusetts. She was detained after writing an article criticizing Tufts University for not condemning Israeli actions in Gaza. Her visa was cancelled, and U.S. officials said her stay in the country would have adverse effects on foreign policy. Public visa bans for political reasons are not new in the U.S. In the past, famous people like actor Charlie Chaplin in the 1950s and singer John Lennon in the 1970s also faced visa problems. Amnesty International said in 2020 that the U.S. has a long history of using visa bans to block people with political views the government disagrees with, especially during the Cold War.
Associated Press
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
With public ban on band Bob Vylan, Trump appears to ease visa privacy rules to make a point
WASHINGTON (AP) — When the United States revokes someone's visa, it is typically confidential, with few exceptions. But with British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan and others, the Trump administration appears to have eased privacy restrictions to make a public point when it deems a case particularly egregious. The State Department's number two diplomat made headlines when he posted a social media message this week saying visas for the band for an upcoming U.S. tour had been revoked. British police are investigating whether a crime was committed when the duo's frontman led the audience in chants of 'Death to the IDF' — the Israel Defense Forces — at a music festival in the U.K. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau posted that their visas had been revoked 'in light of their hateful tirade at Glastonbury, including leading the crowd in death chants.' The band rejected claims of antisemitism and said in a statement that it was being 'targeted for speaking up' about the war in Gaza. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act and certain statutes related to the privacy of government documents, the State Department has for years resisted or refused to discuss specific cases in which visas may have been denied or revoked. Certain exemptions apply, such as when foreign officials and their immediate family members are found to ineligible for entry into the United States for violating anti-corruption or human rights regulations. However, as the Trump administration pursues a nationwide crackdown targeted at visa holders it believes have engaged in antisemitic or pro-militant behavior, the standard for releasing once-privileged information seems to have been relaxed. 'Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,' State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said when asked about the public announcement. She said one reason for announcing the revocations was to make clear that the administration is serious about the standards it will apply to visa holders and applicants. 'We've been public about that standard, and this was a very public event that violated that very basic standard about the nature of who we want to let into the country,' Bruce said. Other recent cases have been less clear-cut, although some have ended up in public court cases. Earlier this year, as part of an initiative to expel foreign students who are accused by the Trump administration of engaging in pro-Hamas, anti-Israel or antisemitic activity, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had rescinded at least 300 visas and expected that number to rise. Many of those cases were not publicized individually. One that was: Rumeysa Ozturk, who was detained by immigration authorities in Massachusetts for authoring an opinion piece criticizing Tufts University for not taking a tougher line on alleged Israeli atrocities in Gaza. U.S. officials said at the time that her visa had been revoked because of adverse foreign policy consequences if she remained in the United States. Other high-profile and public cases of visa revocations for political reasons date back decades, including actor Charlie Chaplin in 1952 during the Truman administration and an ultimately unsuccessful deportation attempt against Beatles singer John Lennon in the 1970s. 'The practice of ideological exclusion has a long history in the United States, having been used for decades as a political tool to keep U.S. audiences from being exposed to dissident viewpoints,' the human rights group Amnesty International said in a 2020 report. 'During the Cold War, in particular, the U.S. government denied visas to some of the world's leading intellectuals, writers and artists who, the government thought, might promote Communism or other 'subversive' views,' it said.
