“Welcome to the United States Canal!,” says Trump.
The Wall Street Journal reports Trump Threatens to Take Control of Panama Canal, Staple of Global Economy
“We’re being ripped off at the Panama Canal like we’re being ripped off everywhere else,” Trump said at a conservative conference in Phoenix on Sunday, demanding the return of the state-run canal to the U.S. “We will never, never let it fall into the wrong hands.”
His comments drew an angry rebuke from Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, who took office in July after campaigning on a platform to curb U.S.-bound migration through the country’s pristine tropical rainforests with support from the U.S. government. He rejected Trump’s threats as an affront to Panama’s sovereignty.
“Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belongs to Panama and will continue to be so,” Mulino responded in a televised address Sunday afternoon. “The sovereignty and independence of our country aren’t negotiable.”
“We’ll see about that!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform later in the day. He added in another social-media post featuring an image of a waterway and an American flag, “Welcome to the United States Canal!”
Short of an invasion, as the U.S. carried out in 1989 to overthrow then-dictator Manuel Noriega, the U.S. government has no ability to restore control of the canal, which the U.S. built more than a century ago.
The U.S. gradually handed back control of the canal—as well as the U.S.-governed Panama Canal Zone, which ran through the middle of the country—as a result of a 1977 treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter. Panama gained full control of the canal in 2000.
“Trump believes the U.S. gave away something for nothing,” said John Feeley, who resigned as U.S. ambassador to Panama during Trump’s first term. “For him, it’s yet another example of a country taking advantage of the U.S.”
Trump said the handover of the canal was solely for Panama to manage, “and not for China or any other country to manage.”
“You see what’s going on there—China,” Trump told supporters on Sunday.
After gaining control of the canal, Panama spent $5 billion in a project to build locks to accommodate larger ships. But the Panama waterway faces more serious long-term challenges that could disrupt global shipping. It had to adapt its operations in recent years, boosting prices, restricting traffic and draft because of diminishing rainwater needed to operate the waterway.
Canal authorities are working on a $2 billion plan to build infrastructure to manage and preserve freshwater reserves—an amount equal to the canal’s annual contributions to Panama’s government coffers.
Since the U.S. handover, there have been no complaints by users, Mulino said. “On the contrary, it has been a source of strong international support and national pride,” Mulino said in his video address. “These treaties also established the permanent neutrality of the canal.”
“We Will See About That”
I agree with Panama “The sovereignty and independence of our country aren’t negotiable.”
I am mostly at a loss of words other than to say that this act of bravado is more than a bit disgusting. Seriously WTF?
I rather doubt any country in the world would side with Trump if he invades Panama.