Winner of US presidential candidate Donald Trump has demanded that the Panama Canal be reduced to use fees or return it to US control. He complained that the Central American country was charging excessive fees from U.S. ships and other vessels.
“The fees that Panama is charging are ridiculous, absolutely unfair,” he told a rally in Arizona on Sunday.
“This betrayal of our country must stop immediately,” he said at the rally, referring to his re-inauguration as president.
Mr. Trump’s comments prompted immediate reactions from the Panamanian president.
He said every square meter of the canal and the surrounding area belonged to his country, not the United States.
President Jose Raul Mulino said Panama’s sovereignty and independence were not up for debate.
Donald Trump addressed supporters of Turning Point USA, a group of conservative activists. The group won the 2024 presidential election. Trump has broad support.
Such a comment by a US leader about taking over a country’s territory is an unprecedented example.
Although Mr. Trump did not say how he would do it. But it is an indication of how U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy may change after his inauguration on January 20.
He had previously posted a similar post, in which he wrote that the Panama Canal was an “important national asset” for the United States.
In that post on Sunday, he wrote that if shipping fees were not reduced, “we will immediately demand the return of the Panama Canal without question and all”.
Panama’s relations with the United States have been very close.
However, after China began talks to improve economic ties with Panama last year, in 2023, the United States has rethinking relations with Panama.
China and the United States use the canal the most. The 51-mile (82-kilometer) long Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and is crucial to world trade.
The country has great geopolitical importance due to the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans together. After being closed for several years, the Panama Canal was reopened to shipping in June 2016 after widening the canal.
The century-old canal was built in the early 1900s and was maintained by the United States until 1977.