Features

Colombo’s most popular caricaturist in a bygone era

Published

2 years ago

2024/02/25

by Avishka Mario Senewiratne

With the passing of time, Lorenz did not have the time he would like to dedicate to the arts as before. The demand on his time in other fields such as in law and politics necessitated him to mainly if not totally focus on those aspects. However, his pencil and sketchbook never left his side. When inspiration struck him, out came a fine caricature. It has been over 150 years since his death and most of his once famous caricatures have been lost. A few have been reproduced as plates in some important publications over the last 100 years and preserved for posterity.

Caricatures have always been endearing pieces of art which have commented on sophisticated matters. In the dynasty of Lankan caricature artists such as J. L. K. van Dort, Bevis Bawa, Aubrey Collette, W. R. Wijesoma and Gihan de Chickera, C.A. Lorenz can be safely positioned as the ‘pioneer’.

One of the oldest surviving caricatures by Lorenz is that of the famous Wansapurna Dewage David (alias Gongalegoda Banda), leader of the 1848 Matale rebellion and pretender to the Kandyan throne. Upon being captured by the British, Gongalegoda Banda was brought to the Borella Criminal Gaol. It was here that Lorenz had the chance to see him and be inspired. Curious too. His pen did the rest. The result was a lovely caricature of the National hero. Perhaps the first and only live caricature of Banda.

This illustration was hitherto unknown for nearly 75 years until it was published in 1932 in G.K. Pippet’s A History of the Ceylon Police: Volume 1. Here it is mentioned that the illustration was in the possession of Dr. Andreas Nell, nephew of Lorenz’s wife, Eleanor. This sketch was signed and dated by Lorenz on March 3, 1849. Gongalegoda Banda would pass away later that year from a stomach ailment in Malacca where he was exiled.

When Lorenz and his wife left for England in 1853, he once again found some time on his hands as the voyage from Ceylon to Europe would take at least three months. Onboard the ship, Lorenz spent a lot of time drawing caricatures of the crew and various islands and features the ship sailed by. During the long trip to England, Mrs. Lorenz who was uncomfortable with the movements of the ship, fell ill quite often. Lorenz drew a few caricatures of her in this state captioning them as “cribbed, cabined and confined”.

After their arrival and briefly settling in England, Eleanor Lorenz began to regain her health. Lorenz did more illustrations of her. One was captioned as follows: “Ellen is literally rosy, and after a walk in the Park, comes home as red as a boiled crab, as if one could light one’s pipe at her nose.” (Blaze, p. 3)

Morgan and Lorenz caricatures

Sir Richard Morgan was one of Ceylon’s most beloved lawyers and legislators in the mid-19^th century. A few years senior to Lorenz, he was one of the first to join the Colombo Academy (later Royal College) in its original batch. Lorenz and Morgan, who shared many interests and were on the same wavelength were great friends. In 1856, Morgan, while serving as the Burgher Member of the Legislative Council and Leader of the Unofficial Bar, was made District Judge of Colombo by Governor Sir Henry Ward. By this time, Morgan who had considerable power in the Colony and its affairs was nicknamed “Governor”. Overjoyed by his friend’s appointment to the high rank, Lorenz drafted the following brief note and caricature of himself celebrating Morgan’s appointment:

Hooray ! ! !

My dear Governor,

The language at my command couldn’t do it. But I’ve tried it in a sketch. So, I says Hooray again!

Yours very sincerely,

C. A. Lorenz

11^th July, 1856

Sporting a beard then, upon hearing the news Lorenz leaps with joy. His top hat falls. The rooster crows ‘Hooray’ and the dog joins in the celebration. Sketch by Lorenz himself in 1856.

Caricatures in the Christmas Debates 1860-65

In a lecture on July 6, 1929, at the Dutch Burgher Union, E. H. Van der Wall says the following about Lorenz:

“Lorenz was as gifted with the artist’s pencil as with his pen. During the sittings of the Legislative Council, while pleading at the Bar, and even on the Bench at Chilaw, he often found a few moments for a humorous sketch of passing events. A few words of description or a few strokes with his pencil and the picture was true to life, for Lorenz had the unmistakable artist’s touch.” (Journal of the Dutch Burgher Union, Volume XIX, p. 58)

The debates were initially published in the Ceylon Examiner during 1860 and 1868, with the exception of 1862. Among Lorenz’s many literary pursuits, the Christmas Debates of 1860-65 are widely considered his magnum opus. A true masterpiece, this work printed in 1866 by John Maitland consists of five short reports of Debates and Council Meetings supposed to have taken place on Christmas Eve of each relevant year. Full of humour, wit and facts, the Christmas Debates is an endearing piece of work which was essentially enhanced by Lorenz’s sketches and skilful caricatures.

The then custodian of most Lorenziana, Guy O. Grenier published the Christmas Debates again in 1925 with some additions such as an introduction and blurbs by famous personalities praising them. In both books, the illustrations depicted were hand-pasted photographs of the sketches, possibly taken by W. H. Skeen & Co. in sepia tone and included with a blue circular border.

Personalities pre-eminent in the mid-19^th century of Ceylon and who may be labelled as ‘legends’ such as Sir Richard Morgan, George Wall, Thomas Skinner, Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy, etc. as well as British officials like Governor Sir Charles MacCarthy and C. P. Layard are featured in the Christmas debates. The caricatures of these personalities bear an uncanny resemblance to them. It was known that when Lorenz had little work to do during the sittings of the Council or Committees, he would employ his time by sketching the members. Only those published in the Christmas Debates have survived up to today. In the 1866 preface to the Christmas Debates, Francis Fonseka, the printer of that volume comments as follows:

“The illustrations annexed to the said several Debates shall be deemed and construed to represent the person or persons, whom they are intended to represent, and no other”

This writer has made every effort to trace the identity of the 10 caricatures drawn by Lorenz by comparing them with photographs of certain members of the Legislature at that time. Lorenz did not caption the original sketches in the book. One must read the book through to understand what sort of an individual is depicted in the illustrations. However, without knowing what these personalities looked like in reality, it is hard to identify them. Sir Richard Morgan, who is included in the Christmas Debates as well as other illustrations by Lorenz, commented on this masterpiece of Lorenz as follows:

“When Christmas came around and relatives and friends met to express to each other the glad wishes of the Season, the Christmas Supplement of the Examiner; the Mock Council Debates, the rich songs and the richer jokes with which they abounded and his inimitable pen and ink sketches, the gift he had of hitting off a person at almost the first view and perpetuating his peculiarities and idiosyncrasies, gave us no end of merriment and joy.” (Quoted from Grenier, G.O. (Ed.), (1925), Christmas Debates of the Island of Ceylon, p. i)

We had last week inadvertently dropped a painting illustrating “Charles Amrose Lorenz: an unsung artist of the 19th century by Avishka Mario Senewiratne” which is reproduced here. Much of the writer’s text referred to that illustration appearing above. We apologize for the error.

Caricatures of various figures drawn by Lorenz in the Christmas Debates

Muniandi

In 1869, the Examiner press endeavoured a very enthusiastic project by chartering a magazine called Muniandi.. Lorenz’s old friend and colleague in the legislature, John Capper who had just returned from England was made its editor. This magazine, full of satire, illustrations and humour was in the style of the British Punch Magazine. Though Punch lasted till the 21^st century, Muniandi had only a brief but notable period of existence. Priced one shilling, the ten-page Muniandi was a good way of amusing the government with its satirical outlook on the affairs of that time. By then, Charles Lorenz was facing the travails of the illness that would result in his early death. Therefore, for this reason, as well as his involvement in multiple fields, disallowed Lorenz to be active in Muniandi as much as he would have liked.

Though there are hardly any signatures or initials differentiating the artists of these satirical caricatures, many scholars then and now have widely accepted that J. L. K. Vandort is one of the leading artists. However, if one is familiar with the works of Lorenz, it is more than fair to assume that Charles Lorenz himself was one of the illustrators in Muniandi. Yasmin Gunaratne in her monumental work English Literature in Ceylon confirms the above as follows: “Muniandi… illustrated almost entirely by a talented Burgher artist, J. L. K. Van Dort, although Lorenz contributed in some drawings.” (Gunaratne, Yasmin, (1968), English Literature in Ceylon 1815-1878, Tisara Press)

The illustration depicted below published in Muniandi is assumed to be by C. A. Lorenz.

Some other work

Even though his busy public life took much of his time, on a few occasions Lorenz did not hesitate to use his prowess in composing music. On one occasion as stated by J. R. Toussaint of the Ceylon Civil Service (1956, p. 51), Sir Richard Cayley during his early stage of serving Ceylon, lived in Lorenz’s Elie House in Mutwal, Colombo. Here they both produced a popular song. Cayley wrote the words and Lorenz arranged the music for the pianoforte. Titled The Pipe of Clay, the two of them performed this song when among friends. Accompanied by Lorenz on the piano, Sir Richard Cayley; who would go on to be a Chief Justice of Ceylon, did the singing. The following are the words:

The Pipe of Clay

To Beauty’s charms or wars alarms

Let others tune their lay, Sir,

But as for me my theme shall be

My rare old pipe of clay, Sir,

Though bowls of wine may be divine

To drive dull care away, Sir,

Yet there’s no bowl can ease the soul

As the bowl of a pipe of clay, Sir.

What incense breaths from fleecy wreaths,

Of vapour lightly rising,

As we sit at night with our pipes alight

All care and strife despising.

Though Fortune flees, though Friendship dies,

Though Hope may fade away, Sir,

Yet there’s a friend that’ll last to the end

In the rare old pipe of clay, Sir.

A note on the art of Lorenz

Among the many artists who followed Lorenz in the 19^th century, no one came to prominence or to the brilliance of J. L. K. van Dort. Lorenz invited this fellow student of the Colombo Academy in 1850 to collaborate with him in the Young Ceylon magazine. Van Dort was only 18 years old then. One of the most conspicuous features of the inaugural Young Ceylon magazine was the caricature of The Giant of Matura based on a real-life 6’6 tall man who picked coconuts in Matara.

As the illustration was not signed many readers believed it to be of Lorenz. However, the truth was that it was by van Dort, who though not in his heyday and on the threshold of his fame, had a very similar style to Lorenz. B. R. Blaze comments that Lorenz inspired young van Dort in his early work and that the ‘Lorenz touch’ in van Dort was not ambiguous.

Only a handful of illustrations of Lorenz have survived to date. They are nearly all what was published in Blaze’s Life of Lorenz, the caricatures in Christmas Debates, Muniandi and the Examiner. Dr. Andreas Nell, the nephew of Eleanor Lorenz had a fair collection of Lorenz’s illustrations. However, their fate is not known. Guy O. Grenier who owned a large number of letters, illustrations and memorabilia of Lorenz sold them to the Royal Asiatic Society in the early 1960s.

Some of the contents of that collection remain to date. Unlike the artists who followed in the 20^th century such as Keyt, Daraniyagala, Amarasekere, etc., the art of Lorenz may not win the collector’s interest or value. From the perspective of its historical significance, the art of Lorenz is phenomenal, special and endearing. Intertwined with humour, wisdom and knowledge, his caricatures will surely linger for generations not born.

“He (Lorenz) was an admirable artist…”

– Dr. R. K. de Silva, 1998 in 19^th Century Newspaper Engravings of Ceylon

References

1. Blaze, B.R., (1948), Life of Lorenz, The Associated Newspapers of Sri Lanka Ltd.

2. Toussaint, J.R., (1956), Lorenz and his Times, Dutch Burgher Union

3. Roberts, Colin-Thome, Raheem, (1989), People Inbetween, Sarvodaya

4. Lorenz collection in the Royal Asiatic Society Library

5. Lorenz, C.A., (1866), Christmas Debates,

6. Mahendran, M.S., (1918), A Brief Sketch of the Life of Charles Ambrose Lorenz, American Ceylon Mission Press

7. De Silva, R.K., (1998), 19^th Century Newspaper Engravings of Ceylon, Serendib Publishers

8. Pippet, G.K., (1932), A History of the Ceylon Police, Volume 1

9. Warnapala, K, (2012), ‘Caricaturing Colonial Rule in Sri Lanka: An Analysis of Muniandi, The Ceylon Punch?’, Early Popular Visual Culture, Vol.10, No.3, pp. 227-244

10. Jayawardena, K., (2012), Erasure of the Euro-Asians

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Features

Counting cats, naming giants: Inside the unofficial science redefining Sri Lanka’s Leopards and Tuskers

Published

4 hours ago

2026/01/12

Thilina Walpola

For decades, Sri Lanka’s leopard numbers have been debated, estimated, and contested, often based on assumptions few outside academic circles ever questioned.

One of the most fundamental was that a leopard’s spots never change. That belief, long accepted as scientific fact, began to unravel not in a laboratory or lecture hall, but through thousands of photographs taken patiently in the wilds of Yala. At the centre of that quiet disruption stands Milinda Wattegedara.

Sri Lanka’s wilderness has always inspired photographers. Far fewer, however, have transformed photography into a data-driven challenge to established conservation science. Wattegedara—an MBA graduate by training and a wildlife researcher by pursuit—has done precisely that, building one of the most comprehensive independent identification databases of leopards and tuskers in the country.

“I consider myself privileged to have been born and raised in Sri Lanka,” Wattegedara says. “This island is extraordinary in its biodiversity. But admiration alone doesn’t protect wildlife. Accuracy does.”

Raised in Kandy, and educated at Kingswood College, where he captained cricket teams, up to the First XI, Wattegedara’s early years were shaped by discipline and long hours of practice—traits that would later define his approach to field research.

Though his formal education culminated in a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Cardiff Metropolitan University, his professional life gradually shifted toward Sri Lanka’s forests, grasslands, and coastal fringes.

From childhood, two species held his attention: the Sri Lankan leopard and the Asian elephant tusker. Both are icons. Both are elusive. And both, he argues, have been inadequately understood.

His response was methodical. Using high-resolution photography, Wattegedara began documenting individual animals, focusing on repeat sightings, behavioural traits, territorial ranges, and physical markers.

This effort formalised into two platforms—Yala Leopard Diary and Wild Tuskers of Sri Lanka—which function today as tightly moderated research communities rather than casual social media pages.

“My goal was never popularity,” he explains. “It was reliability. Every identification had to stand scrutiny.”

The results are difficult to dismiss. Through collaborative verification and long-term monitoring, his teams have identified over 200 individual leopards across Yala and Kumana National Parks and 280 tuskers across Sri Lanka.

Each animal—whether Jessica YF52 patrolling Mahaseelawa beach or Mahasen T037, the longest tusker bearer recorded in the wild—is catalogued with photographic evidence and movement history.

It was within this growing body of data that a critical inconsistency emerged.

“As injuries accumulated over time, we noticed subtle but consistent changes in rosette and spot patterns,” Wattegedara says. “This directly contradicted the assumption that these markings remain unchanged for life.”

That observation, later corroborated through structured analysis, had serious implications. If leopards were being identified using a limited set of spot references, population estimates risked duplication and inflation.

The findings led to the development of the Multipoint Leopard Identification Method, now internationally published, which uses multiple reference points rather than fixed pattern assumptions. “This wasn’t about academic debate,” Wattegedara notes. “It was about ensuring we weren’t miscounting an endangered species.”

The implications extend beyond Sri Lanka. Overestimated populations can lead to reduced protection, misplaced policy decisions, and weakened conservation urgency.

Yet much of this work has occurred outside formal state institutions.

“There’s a misconception that meaningful research only comes from official channels,” Wattegedara says. “But conservation gaps don’t wait for bureaucracy.”

That philosophy informed his role as co-founder of the Yala Leopard Centre, the world’s first facility dedicated solely to leopard education and identification. The Centre serves as a bridge between researchers, wildlife enthusiasts, and the general public, offering access to verified knowledge rather than speculation.

In a further step toward transparency, Artificial Intelligence has been introduced for automatic leopard identification, freely accessible via the Centre and the Yala Leopard Diary website. “Technology allows consistency,” he explains. “And consistency is everything in long-term studies.”

His work with tuskers mirrors the same precision. From Minneriya to Galgamuwa, Udawalawe to Kala Wewa, Wattegedara has documented generations of bull elephants—Arjuna T008, Kawanthissa T075, Aravinda T112—not merely as photographic subjects, but as individuals with lineage, temperament, and territory.

This depth of observation has also earned him recognition in wildlife photography, including top honours from the Photographic Society of Sri Lanka and accolades from Sanctuary Asia’s Call of the Wild. Still, he is quick to downplay awards.

“Photographs are only valuable if they contribute to understanding,” he says.

Today, Wattegedara’s co-authored identification guides on Yala leopards and Kala Wewa tuskers are increasingly referenced by researchers and field naturalists alike. His work challenges a long-standing divide between citizen science and formal research.

“Wildlife doesn’t care who publishes first,” he reflects. “It only responds to how accurately we observe it.”

In an era when Sri Lanka’s protected areas face mounting pressure—from tourism, infrastructure, and climate stress—the question of who counts wildlife, and how, has never been more urgent.

By insisting on precision, patience, and proof, Milinda Wattegedara has quietly reframed that conversation—one leopard, one tusker, and one verified photograph at a time.

By Ifham Nizam ✍️

Features

AI in Schools: Preparing the Nation for the Next Technological Leap

Published

4 hours ago

2026/01/12

Thilina Walpola

This summary document is based on an exemplary webinar conducted by the Bandaranaike Academy for Leadership & Public Policy ((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqZGjlaMC08). I participated in the session, which featured multiple speakers with exceptional knowledge and experience who discussed various aspects of incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into the education system and other sectors.

There was strong consensus that this issue must be addressed early, before the nation becomes vulnerable to external actors seeking to exploit AI for their own advantage. Given her educational background, the Education Minister—and the Prime Minister—are likely to be fully aware of this need. This article is intended to support ongoing efforts in educational reform, including the introduction of AI education in schools for those institutions willing to adopt it.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept. Today, it processes vast amounts of global data and makes calculated decisions, often to the benefit of its creators. However, most users remain unaware of the information AI gathers or the extent of its influence on decision-making. Experts warn that without informed and responsible use, nations risk becoming increasingly vulnerable to external forces that may exploit AI.

The Need for Immediate Action

AI is evolving rapidly, leaving traditional educational models struggling to keep pace. By the time new curricula are finalised, they risk becoming outdated, leaving both students and teachers behind. Experts advocate immediate government-led initiatives, including pilot AI education programs in willing schools and nationwide teacher training.

“AI is already with us,” experts note. “We must ensure our nation is on this ‘AI bus’—unlike past technological revolutions, such as IT, microchips, and nanotechnology, which we were slow to embrace.”

Training Teachers and Students

Equipping teachers to introduce AI, at least at the secondary school level, is a crucial first step. AI can enhance creativity, summarise materials, generate lesson plans, provide personalised learning experiences, and even support administrative tasks. Our neighbouring country, India, has already begun this process.

Current data show that student use of AI far exceeds that of instructors—a gap that must be addressed to prevent misuse and educational malpractice. Specialists recommend piloting AI courses as electives, gathering feedback, and continuously refining the curriculum to prepare students for an AI-driven future.

Benefits of AI in Education

AI in schools offers numerous advantages:

· Fosters critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills

· Enhances digital literacy and ethical awareness

· Bridges the digital divide by promoting equitable AI literacy

· Supports interdisciplinary learning in medicine, climate science, and linguistics

· Provides personalised feedback and learning experiences

· Assists students with disabilities through adaptive technologies like text-to-speech and visual recognition

AI can also automate administrative tasks, freeing teachers to focus on student engagement and social-emotional development—a key factor in academic success.

Risks and Challenges

Despite its potential, AI presents challenges:

· Data privacy concerns and misuse of personal information

· Over-reliance on technology, reducing teacher-student interactions

· Algorithmic biases affecting educational outcomes

· Increased opportunities for academic dishonesty if assessments rely on rote memorisation

Experts emphasise understanding these risks to ensure the responsible and ethical use of AI.

Global and Local Perspectives

In India, the Central Board of Secondary Education plans to introduce AI and computational thinking from Grades 3 to 12 by 2026. Sri Lanka faces a similar challenge. Many university students and academics already rely on AI, highlighting the urgent need for a structured yet rapidly evolving national curriculum that incorporates AI responsibly.

The Way Forward

Experts urge swift action:

· Launch pilot programs in select schools immediately.

· Provide teacher training and seed funding to participating educational institutions.

· Engage universities to develop short AI and innovation training programs.

“Waiting for others to lead risks leaving us behind,” experts warn. “It’s time to embrace AI thoughtfully, responsibly, and inclusively—ensuring the whole nation benefits from its opportunities.”

As AI reshapes our world, introducing it in schools is not merely an educational initiative—it is a national imperative.

BY Chula Goonasekera ✍️
on behalf of LEADS forum admin@srilankaleads.com

Features

The Paradox of Trump Power: Contested Authoritarian at Home, Uncontested Bully Abroad

Published

1 day ago

2026/01/11

Thilina Walpola

Protests and a vigil have been held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the shooting of Renee Nicole Good occurred on Wednesday (photo courtesy BBC)

The Trump paradox is easily explained at one level. The US President unleashes American superpower and tariff power abroad with impunity and without contestation. But he cannot exercise unconstitutional executive power including tariff power without checks and challenges within America. No American President after World War II has exercised his authority overseas so brazenly and without any congressional referral as Donald Trump is getting accustomed to doing now. And no American President in history has benefited from a pliant Congress and an equally pliant Supreme Court as has Donald Trump in his second term as president.

Yet he is not having his way in his own country the way he is bullying around the world. People are out on the streets protesting against the wannabe king. This week’s killing of 37 year old Renee Good by immigration agents in Minneapolis has brought the City to its edge five years after the police killing of George Floyd. The lower courts are checking the president relentlessly in spite of the Supreme Court, if not in defiance of it. There are cracks in the Trump’s MAGA world, disillusioned by his neglect of the economy and his costly distractions overseas. His ratings are slowly but surely falling. And in an electoral harbinger, New York has elected as its new mayor, Zoran Mamdani – a wholesale antithesis of Donald Trump you can ever find.

Outside America it is a different picture. The world is too divided and too cautious to stand up to Trump as he recklessly dismantles the very world order that his predecessors have been assiduously imposing on the world for nearly a hundred years. A few recent events dramatically illustrate the Trump paradox – his constraints at home and his freewheeling abroad.

Restive America

Two days before Christmas, the US Supreme Court delivered a rare rebuke to the Trump Administration. After a host of rulings that favoured Trump by putting on hold, without full hearing, lower court strictures against the Administration, the Supreme Court by a 6-3 majority decided to leave in place a Federal Court ruling that barred Trump from deploying National Guard troops in Chicago. Trump quietly raised the white flag and before Christmas withdrew the federal troops he had controversially deployed in Chicago, Portland and Los Angeles – all large cities run by Democrats.

But three days after the New Year, Trump airlifted the might of the US Army to encircle Venezuela’s capital Caracas and spirit away the country’s President Nicolás Maduro, and his wife Celia Flores, all the way to New York to stand trial in an American Court. What is not permissible in any American City was carried out with absolute impunity in a foreign capital. It turns out the Administration has no plan for Venezuela after taking out Maduro, other than Trump’s cavalier assertion, “We’re going to run it, essentially.” Essentially, the Trump Administration has let Maduro’s regime without Maduro to run the country but with the US in total control of Venezuela’s oil.

Next on the brazen list is Greenland, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio who manipulated Maduro’s ouster is off to Copenhagen for discussions with the Danish government over the future of Greenland, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark. Military option is not off the table if a simple real estate purchase or a treaty arrangement were to prove infeasible or too complicated. That is the American position as it is now customarily announced from the White House podium by the Administration’s Press Secretary Karolyn Leavitt, a 28 year old Catholic woman from New Hampshire, who reportedly conducts a team prayer for divine help before appearing at the lectern to lecture.

After the Supreme Court ruling and the Venezuela adventure, the third US development relevant to my argument is the shooting and killing of a 37 year old white American woman by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis, at 9:30 in the morning, Wednesday, January 7^th. Immediately, the Administration went into pre-emptive attack mode calling the victim a “deranged leftist” and a “domestic terrorist,” and asserting that the ICE officer was acting in self-defense. That line and the description are contrary to what many people know of the victim, as well as what people saw and captured on their phones and cameras.

The victim, Renee Nicole Good, was a mother of three and a prize-winning poet who self-described herself a “poet, writer, wife and mom.” A newcomer to Minneapolis from Colorado, she was active in the community and was a designated “legal observer of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities,” to monitor interactions between ICE agents and civilian protesters that have become the norm in large immigrant cities in America. Renee Good was at the scene in her vehicle to observe ICE operations and community protesters.

In video postings that last a matter of nine seconds, two ICE officers are seen approaching Good’s vehicle and one of them trying to open her door; a bystander is heard screaming “No” as Good is seen trying to drive away; and a third ICE officer is seen standing in front of her moving vehicle, firing twice in the direction of the driver, moving to a side and firing a third time from the side. Good’s car is seen going out of control, careening and coming to a stop on a snowbank. Yet America is being bombarded with two irreconcilable narratives – one manufactured by Trump’s Administration and the other by those at the scene and everyone opposed to the regime.

It adds to the explosiveness of the situation that Good was shot and killed not far from where George Folyd was killed, also in Minneapolis, on 25^th May, 2020, choked under the knee of a heartless policeman. And within 48 hours of Good’s killing, two Americans were shot and injured by two federal immigration agents, in Portland, Oregon, on the Westcoast. Trump’s attack on immigrants and the highhanded methods used by ICE agents have become the biggest flashpoint in the political opposition to the Trump presidency. People are organizing protests in places where ICE agents are apprehending immigrants because those who are being aggressively and violently apprehended have long been neighbours, colleagues, small business owners and students in their communities.

Deportation of illegal immigrants is not something that began under Trump. It has been going on in large numbers under all recent presidents including Obama and Biden. But it has never been so cruel and vicious as it is now under Trump. He has turned it into a television spectacle and hired large number of new ICE agents who are politically prejudiced and deployed them without proper training. They raid private homes and public buildings, including schools, looking for immigrants. When faced with protesters they get into clashes rather than deescalating the situation as professional police are trained to do. There is also the fear that the Administration may want to escalate confrontations with protesters to create a pretext for declaring martial law and disrupt the midterm congressional elections in November this year.

But the momentum that Trump was enjoying when he began his second term and started imposing his executive authority, has all but vanished and all within just one year in office. By the time this piece appears in print, the Supreme Court ruling on Trump’s tariffs (expected on Friday) may be out, and if as expected the ruling goes against Trump that will be a massive body blow to the Administration. Trump will of course use a negative court ruling as the reason for all the economic woes under his presidency, but by then even more Americans would have become tired of his perpetually recycled lies and boasts.

An Obliging World

To get back to my starting argument, it is in this increasingly hostile domestic backdrop that Trump has started looking abroad to assert his power without facing any resistance. And the world is obliging. The western leaders in Europe, Canada and Australia are like the three wise monkeys who will see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil – of anything that Trump does or fails to do. Their biggest fear is about the Trump tariffs – that if they say anything critical of Trump he will magnify the tariffs against their exports to the US. That is an understandable concern and it would be interesting to see if anything will change if the US Supreme Court were to rule against Trump and reject his tariff powers.

Outside the West, and with the exception of China, there is no other country that can stand up to Trump’s bullying and erratic wielding of power. They are also not in a position to oppose Trump and face increased tariffs on their exports to the US. Putin is in his own space and appears to be assured that Trump will not hurt him for whatever reason – and there are many of them, real and speculative. The case of the Latin American countries is different as they are part of the Western Hemisphere, where Trump believes he is monarch of all he surveys.

After more than a hundred years of despising America, many communities, not just regimes, in the region seem to be warming up to Trump. The timing of Trump’s sequestering of Venezuela is coinciding with a rising right wing wave and regime change in the region. An October opinion poll showed 53% of Latin American respondents reacting positively to a then potential US intervention in Venezuela while only 18% of US respondents were in favour of intervention. While there were condemnations by Latin American left leaders, seven Latin American countries with right wing governments gave full throated support to Trump’s ouster of Maduro.

The reasons are not difficult to see. The spread of crime induced by the commerce of cocaine has become the number one concern for most Latin Americans. The socio-religious backdrop to this is the evangelisation of Christianity at the expense of the traditional Catholic Church throughout Latin America. And taking a leaf from Trump, Latin Americans have also embraced the bogey of immigration, mainly influenced by the influx of Venezuelans fleeing in large numbers to escape the horrors of the Maduro regime.

But the current changes in Latin America are not necessarily indicative of a durable ideological shift. The traditional left’s base in the subcontinent is still robust and the recent regime changes are perhaps more due to incumbency fatigue than shifts in political orientations. The left has been in power for the greater part of this century and has not been able to provide answers to the real questions that preoccupied the people – economic affordability, crime and cocaine. It has not been electorally smart for the left to ignore the basic questions of the people and focus on grand projects for the intelligentsia. Exhibit #1 is the grand constitutional project in Chile under outgoing President Gabriel Borich, but it is not the only one. More romantic than realistic, Boric’s project titillated liberal constitutionalists the world over, but was roundly rejected by Chileans.

More importantly, and sooner than later, Trump’s intervention in Venezuela and his intended takeover of the country’s oil business will produce lasting backlashes, once the initial right wing euphoria starts subsiding. Apart from the bully force of Trump’s personality, the mastermind behind the intervention in Venezuela and policy approach towards Latin America in general, is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the former Cuban American Senator from Florida and the principal leader of the group of Cuban neocons in the US. His ultimate objective is said to be achieving regime change in Cuba – apparently a psychological settling of scores on behalf Cuban Americans who have been dead set against Castro’s Cuba after the overthrow of their beloved Batista.

Mr. Rubio is American born and his parents had left Cuba years before Fidel Castro displaced Fulgencio Batista, but the family stories he apparently grew up hearing in Florida have been a large part of his self-acknowledged political makeup. Even so, Secretary Rubio could never have foreseen a situation such as an externally uncontested Trump presidency in which he would be able to play an exceptionally influential role in shaping American policy for Latin America. But as the old Burns’ poem rhymes, “The best-laid plans of men and mice often go awry.”

by Rajan Philips ✍️