They have some staging areas but they don't control any territory or supply routes. If push came to shove, they'd be easy pickings for the locals.

The fact that monopolists and unfair trade practices have always required regulation? That certainly doesn't sound like what you said. I mean this was from a time when the whole developed world was only a few tens of millions. But if you want to go back even further, check out Leviticus or Hammurabi's Code. There's a remarkable amount of ancient writing about trade disputes and the laws to deal with them. The very advent of writing was motivated by a need to better control commerce. The utopian ideal of a free market has never existed at any time in history. Belief in it is a religious faith and nothing more.

You appear to be ignorant of history.

> is allowed

This is the irony. "Free" markets don't work without sufficient regulation.

These days they'll likely charge an additional monthly subscription fee for that info.

Enemas, probes, just connect the dots.