Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino responded by saying ‘every square meter of the Panama Canal’ belongs to Panama.
President-elect Donald Trump’s comment earlier this week about the United States potentially regaining control of the Panama Canal has brought renewed attention to communist China’s expanding influence in the Latin American country.
The Panama Canal, which opened in 1914 after 10 years of construction by the United States, was returned to Panama under a 1977 deal signed by President Jimmy Carter. In 1999, Panama took full control of the canal, which is now one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Trump took to his Truth Social account on Dec. 21 to criticize Panama for charging “exorbitant prices and rates of passages” for U.S. naval and commercial vessels passing through the canal, while also expressing concerns about the Chinese regime’s growing influence in the waterway.
“It was solely for Panama to manage, not China, or anyone else,” Trump wrote.
If Panama cannot guarantee “the secure, efficient, and reliable operation” of the waterway, the United States “will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question,” he added.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino responded to Trump’s comments by saying the canal is not controlled by China, Europe, the United States, or any power other than his country.
“Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to PANAMA, and will continue to be,” Mulino wrote on social media platform X on Dec. 22.
Trump responded to Mulino’s dismissal on Truth Social the same day, writing, “We’ll see about that!”
‘A Different Way Forward’
The 1977 deal consists of two treaties: the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, also known as the Neutrality Treaty, and the Panama Canal Treaty.
The Neutrality Treaty stipulates that the United States may use its military force to protect the Panama Canal from any threat to its neutrality, essentially allowing the United States to perpetually use the waterway.
By Frank Fang
