US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to reassert US control over the Panama Canal, accusing Panama of charging excessive tariffs to use the Central American passage. These comments sparked strong criticism 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 “wrong hands,” warning of China’s potential influence over the passage.
China does not control or administer the canal, but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long operated two ports at the canal’s entrances in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The president-elect’s comments came hours after he made a similar threat against Panama in an article on Truth Social on Saturday evening.
“Has anyone ever heard of the Panama Canal?” Trump said Sunday at AmericaFest, an annual event hosted by Turning Point, an allied conservative group. “Because we are being ripped off at the Panama Canal like we have been ripped off everywhere else.”
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Trump’s comments represent an extremely rare example of a U.S. leader saying he could push a sovereign country to cede territory. It also underscores an expected shift in U.S. diplomacy under Trump, who has never hesitated to threaten allies and use bellicose rhetoric in his dealings with his counterparts.
“The fees Panama is charging are ridiculous and very unfair,” Trump said.
“It was given to Panama and the Panamanian people, but it has provisions. You have to treat us fairly, and they haven’t treated us fairly.
“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of donation are not respected, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in full, quickly and without question.”
In a recorded message released Sunday afternoon by Panamanian leader Mulino, he said Panama’s independence was non-negotiable and that China had no influence over the administration of the canal. He also defended the passage rates 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, published on X, formerly Twitter.
Several other Panamanian politicians, including members of the opposition, also criticized Trump’s statements on social media.
The United States largely built the canal and administered the territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the United States and Panama signed two agreements in 1977 that paved the way for the canal to return to full Panamanian control. The United States ceded control of the passage in 1999 after a period of joint administration.
The waterway, which allows up to 14,000 ships to pass through it annually, accounts for 2.5 percent of global maritime trade and is essential to U.S. imports of automobiles and commercial goods by container ship from Asia, as well as American exports of raw materials, particularly liquefied natural products. gas.
It is unclear how Trump would seek to regain control of the canal, and he would have no recourse under international law if he decided to take a chance on the passage.
This is not the first time Trump has openly considered territorial expansion.
In recent weeks, he has repeatedly considered the possibility of turning Canada into a US state, although it is unclear how seriously he takes this issue. During his first term, Trump expressed interest in purchasing Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. He was publicly rebuffed by Danish authorities before conversations could take place.
