Trump turns on Zambia

A leaked State Department memo publicised in the New York Times says that Trump is now seeking to secure access to Zambia’s critical minerals (copper, cobalt, and lithium). He is allegedly threatening to cut HIV medication access for over 1.3 million Zambians unless the country hands over mining concessions to American companies, with a reported deadline of 30 April, 2026.

This is another example of Trump using his power to put a gun to the head of a struggling nation. Approximately 1.3 million Zambians rely on US funding for HIV antiretroviral treatment. Experts and activists describe the move as “medical blackmail” and a humanitarian crisis in the making.

This has had very little coverage in the mainstream media. It may well be that this is not considered newsworthy because people don’t care. Or, just as worrying, there is now a normalisation of the abnormal and the potentially illegal behaviours of an out-of-control president are being sanitised or ignored. So ICE dragging people from their homes and workplaces is hardly mentioned. Even the shooting of two innocent bystanders seems to have been forgotten. Certainly, no one is facing prosecution for the murders of  Renee, Nicole Good and Keith Porter. On the international front a Venezuelan president and his wife are incarcerated in a New York jail, having been abducted from  their beds by American forces. Again, a little mentioned fact is that at least 47 Venezuelan and Cuban guards were killed in the process. For the Trump administration, foreign lives and those who oppose his economic and warmongering rampages are cheap.

Meanwhile Cuba is struggling to survive under Trump’s oil blockade. On 3 May, Trump threatened that the US navy could turn its attention to Cuba on its way back from Iran. Iran has, of course, seen a catastrophic loss of life, including over 140 primary school children in Minab because of the unprovoked and illegal war. The world is facing economic collapse as a direct result.

These examples are only the tip of this dangerous iceberg. Epstein sits firmly on the top. But, despite this, the UK government saw fit to wheel out Charles and Camilla on a state visit that has given credibility to one of the cruellest and most despotic presidents in recent history

 Even the normally compliant press pulled no punches. Dominic Waghorn on sky.com said, “Critics are worried the King was being pimped out like a royal escort in the knowledge that a narcissistic president would parade his trophy guest, hoping to bask in his royal limelight.”

The King is, after all, spending time with a man who has been accused in the Epstein files of serious sexual crimes. The fact that the King also steadfastly refused to meet any of the Epstein victims is certainly rubbing salt in the wound. So what will be the result of the estimated £2 million paid from the UK sovereign grant for this visit?

Certainly, people suffering in Zambia, Cuba, Gaza, The West Bank, Lebanon or Iran will not benefit from the stilted royal smiles and forced speeches at the black-tie events. Domestically, those living in fear of being snatched from their communities or struggling because of the cuts to Medicaid will not sleep better because of the royal visit. In fact, it could be argued that the opposite is the case. The visit will have given credibility and acceptance to Trump’s potentially illegal actions, both at home and overseas.

Clearly, the hope is that the visit will help to repair the deteriorating relations between Britain and the US. This optimism may well have a grain of truth with a “normal” leader. With the capricious Donald there are no guarantees. The last Trump visit to the UK cost the taxpayer a reported £14m. The unpopular president was given a lavish welcome in Windsor Castle, ringed in high-wall security. But any good will from this rapidly disappeared.

When life saving medicines become leverage to extract and steal Zambia’s minerals, a royal visit endorses this imperialist mentality that, under the guise of America First, is riding roughshod over the rights of countries across the world.  The reality is that the UK, with its democratic and humanitarian pretensions, should be working towards challenging these behaviours not legitimising them with regal chicanery.