US President Donald Trump threatened on Sunday to reassert US control of the Panama Canal, accusing Panama of raising excessive rates to use the Central American corridor. The comments drew a sharp 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 canal fall into the “wrong hands”, warning of Chinese influence along the way.
China does not control or administer the canal, but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long managed two ports located at the gateway to the Caribbean and the Pacific to the waterway.
The president-elect's comments came hours after he made a similar threat against Panama in a post on Truth Social on Saturday night.
“Has anyone ever heard of the Panama Canal?” Trump said on Sunday at AmericaFest, an annual event organized by Turning Point, a friendly conservation group. “Because we're ripped off at the Panama Canal like we're ripped off everywhere else.”
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Trump's comments were a rare example of a US leader saying he could push a sovereign country to give up land. It also underscores an expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has historically not shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when doing so. deal with peers.
“The taxes that Panama is charging are ridiculous, very unfair,” Trump said.
“It was given to Panama and the people of Panama, but there are provisions. You have to treat us fairly, and they didn't treat us fairly.
“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnificent gesture of donation are not followed, then we demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in its entirety, quickly and without question. “
In a recorded message published by Panamanian President Mulino on Sunday afternoon, the country's leader said that the independence of Panama was not irreconcilable and that China had no influence on the administration of the canal. He also defended the passage rates imposed against Panama, saying they were not set “on a whim”.
“Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will continue to (with Panama),” Mulino said in a statement, published on X.
Several other Panamanian politicians, including members of the opposition, also took to social media to criticize Trump's statements.
The United States built the canal to a large extent and ruled the land around the corridor for decades. But the United States and Panama signed a pair of agreements in 1977 that paved the way for the return of the canal to full Panamanian control. The United States relinquished control of the corridor in 1999 after a period of joint administration.
The waterway, which allows up to 14,000 ships to cross each year, accounts for 2.5 percent of global maritime trade and is critical for US imports of automobiles and commercial goods by container ships from Asia, and for the export of US products, including liquid natural products. gas.
It is not clear how Trump would try to regain control of the canal, and he would have no chance under international law if he decided to make a play for the passage.
This is not the first time Trump has openly discussed territorial expansion.
In recent weeks, he has been thinking again about turning Canada into an American state, although it is not clear how serious he is about the matter. During his first term, Trump expressed interest in buying Greenland, the independent territory of Denmark. He was publicly condemned by the Danish authorities before any negotiations could take place.
