Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Florida) said Monday that President-elect Trump's recent threats regarding the Panama Canal are “justified.”
“I always take the president seriously, but… [a] It's a legitimate threat to Panama,” Jimenez said. he told Fox Business. Ashley Webster, “Varney & Co.'' When asked if the United States has a chance to “take back'' the Panama Canal, she answered:
“He wants a better deal and I think we need to get a better deal from Panama,” he added.
On Saturday, President Trump took to Truth Social to express his displeasure with the Panama Canal fees, insisting that if no changes are made, he will provide oversight of the canal's return to the United States when he returns to the White House.
“The fees Panama charges are ridiculous, especially given the extraordinary generosity the United States has given Panama,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This complete 'rip-off' of our country will be stopped immediately.”
The next day, at an event for the conservative group Turning Point USA, President Trump said the canal was “a gift given to Panama and the Panamanian people, but there's a clause in it that says they're supposed to treat us fairly, and they're not treating us fairly.” “We are not treating it properly,” he said. ”
“If the moral and legal principles of this generous act are not upheld, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned completely, promptly, and without question to the United States,” he said. added.
Panama's President Jose Raúl Mulino hit back at the president-elect in a video statement Sunday.
“As president, I want to make it clear that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas belongs to Panama and always will,” Mulino said. “Our sovereignty and independence are non-negotiable.”
Jimenez said on Monday's appearance on Fox Business that President Trump “may be right that we are being lied to” regarding the Panama Canal.
