Useful information
Prime News delivers timely, accurate news and insights on global events, politics, business, and technology
US President-elect Donald Trump threatened on Sunday to reassert US control over the Panama Canal, accusing Panama of charging excessive fees for using the Central American passage. The comments prompted a harsh rebuke from Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters in Arizona on Sunday, Trump also said he would not let the channel fall into the “wrong hands,” warning of possible Chinese influence on the channel.
China does not control or manage the canal, but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long managed two ports located at the canal’s Caribbean and Pacific entrances.
The president-elect’s comments came hours after he issued a similar threat against Panama in a post on Truth Social on Saturday night.
“Has anyone ever heard of the Panama Canal?” Trump said Sunday at AmericaFest, an annual event hosted by Turning Point, a conservative allied group. “Because they are scamming us in the Panama Canal like they scam us everywhere else.”
LISTEN | Trump, fascism and a warning from the past:
front burner23:08Trump, fascism and a warning from the past
Trump’s comments were an extremely rare example of an American leader saying he could pressure a sovereign country to give up territory. It also underscores an expected shift in American diplomacy under Trump, who historically has not shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with his counterparts.
“The tariffs that Panama charges are ridiculous and highly unfair,” Trump said.
“It was given to Panama and the people of Panama, but it has provisions. You can treat us fairly, and they have not treated us fairly.
“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of donation are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in its entirety, quickly and without question.”
In a recorded message released by Panamanian leader Mulino on Sunday afternoon, he said Panama’s independence was non-negotiable and that China had no influence over the administration of the canal. He also defended the fares Panama charges, saying they were not set “on a whim.”
“Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its surroundings belongs to Panama and will continue to belong (to Panama),” Mulino said in the statement, broadcast on X, formerly Twitter.
Several other Panamanian politicians, including members of the opposition, also took to social media to criticize Trump’s statements.
The United States largely built the canal and administered the territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the United States and Panama signed a pair of agreements in 1977 that paved the way for the canal to return fully to Panamanian control. The United States relinquished control of the passage in 1999 after a period of joint administration.
The waterway, which allows up to 14,000 ships to cross annually, accounts for 2.5 percent of global maritime trade and is critical for U.S. imports of automobiles and commercial goods via container ships from Asia, and for U.S. exports. of basic products, including liquefied natural products. gas.
It is unclear how Trump would seek to regain control over the canal, and he would have no recourse under international law if he decided to make a play for the passage.
This is not the first time Trump has openly considered territorial expansion.
In recent weeks, he has repeatedly mulled the possibility of turning Canada into an American state, although it is unclear how seriously he is serious about the issue. During his first term, Trump expressed interest in purchasing Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. Danish authorities publicly rejected him before talks could take place.
