I'm John Bass with my colleague and friend, Professor Evan Ellis, Latin American Research

Professor at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute.

This is an improbable marriage or romance.

A soncione to Professor reminds me is the capital of Paraguay.

Paraguay is a small and admired state in South America.

It is also one of the last states maintaining its relationship with Taipei, Taiwan, in

this contest of these last years that Beijing has been bullying nations to break off with

Taiwan.

Most recently, the president-elect of Paraguay, Mr. Peña, traveled to Taiwan to greet

the president, saying, saying, when, and the vice president, William Lai.

Now William Lai, who is the leading candidate for the next presidency in Taiwan, travels

to Paraguay via the U.S. and handshakes, Professor Paraguay, what place does it play in Latin

America today?

Because this is, it's an outlier now.

I believe everybody in the content is going the other direction.

Well, John, certainly, you put it away, of course, in the center of the continent, Paraguay

is often forgotten when it comes to regional politics and yet at the same time, when you

take a look at everything from drug flows to your politics, a better way ends up having

a surprisingly important central role.

So in the current Latin American political situation, with certain exceptions, Ecuador,

which is on the ropes right now with its center-right government, Uruguay, which has a center-right

to government with Likai Shepo, but who is deeply committed to the China relationship,

...