Peruvian senator Mirtha Vásquez will fly to China on the Chinese Embassy's dime, right when senators should be meeting their voters. Beijing courts Peru with free trips, a megaport and more than 30,000 million dollars in investment, while a 2023 paid junket went unpunished and a president lost his office over a dinner with a Chinese businessman. Nobody flies you to Beijing for nothing.
The World Cup legacy is now clear: the media predicted chaos under Trump, and America delivered the biggest and safest tournament in history. Record crowds, zero attacks, prayer circles on the field, and one final embarrassment for Argentina. Here is what the 2026 World Cup really taught the world about security first.
Europe's toothless diplomacy was fully exposed during the Iran conflict. While the US and Israel fought, France profited from Middle East oil, Germany signed bilateral energy deals, and Spain denied US bases. Now Europe demands a seat at the Iran table it refused to defend. Trump called NATO 'COWARDS.' Tehran called them 'irrelevant.'
World Cup geopolitics dominated headlines before the first whistle. A Somali referee was denied entry and sent home. Iran's national team got visas, but staff did not. Iraqi players were detained and questioned at airports. Nearly one in five nations face U.S. travel restrictions. Trump puts national security ahead of soft power.
