Key Points
- Donald Trump has made threats to retake control of the Panama Canal during a conservative conference.
- The US president-elect said America was being “ripped off” by passage fees through the route.
- Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino has rejected Trump’s remarks, saying its independence is non-negotiable.
Trump’s comments came hours after he levelled a similar threat against Panama in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.
Donald Trump would have no recourse under international law if he tried to take control of the Panama Canal. Source: AAP, AP / Rick Scuteri
“Has anyone ever heard of the Panama Canal?” Trump said on Sunday at AmericaFest, an annual event organised by Turning Point, an allied conservative group.
“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair,” Trump said.
Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino defended the passage rates Panama charged, saying they were not set “on a whim”. Source: AP / Matias Delacroix
“It was given to Panama and the people of Panama, but it has provisions. You get to treat us fairly, and they haven’t treated us fairly,” Trump said.
“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, quickly and without question.”
Panama’s president says it will control ‘every square metre’ of canal
Several other Panamanian politicians, including members of the opposition, also took to social media to criticise Trump’s statements.
The waterway, which allows up to 14,000 ships to cross per year, accounts for 2.5 per cent of global seaborne trade and is crucial to US imports of autos and commercial goods by container ships from Asia and for US exports of commodities, including liquefied natural gas.
Recently, he has repeatedly suggested making Canada a US state and during his 2017-2021 term, he expressed interest in buying Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.