President-elect Donald Trump has expressed a strong interest in gaining control of the Panama Canal, willing to use force if necessary.
“Look, the Panama Canal is extremely important to our country. China runs it. And we gave it to Panama. We didn't give it to China. And they've been abusing it. . They misused that gift,” Trump said. said He held a press conference Tuesday at his resort, Mar-a-Lago.
Trump added that the deal to transfer the canal “should never have been made.”
“In my opinion, ceding the Panama Canal may be the reason Jimmy Carter lost the election. [Iranian] “I’m a hostage,” he said.
Agreement to transfer the Panama Canal It was no matter how stupid it was. The 1978 Treaty of Torrijos-Carter transferred sovereignty to the Panamanian government, and the handover took effect in 1999.
As it stands, the Panama Canal is legally owned by the Panamanian government, but that ownership is not completely unconditional. The Carter-Torrijos Treaty includes a guarantee of “neutrality,” which, if violated, Legal justification for contesting ownership of Panama.
Otherwise, the Panamanian government could voluntarily sell the canal back to the U.S. government. Unlike the complicated circumstances of the early 20th century, there is no doubt that such voluntary agreements were legal and properly respected Panamanian sovereignty—of course, if Panamanians were (assuming you accept any offer). Given the guarantees given to the United States in the Carter-Torrijos Treaty, it seems unlikely that Panama will be able to sell the canal to another country.
The canal's history probably dates back many centuries to the first explorers who recognized that a waterway connecting the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean would serve both strategic and commercial interests. The narrow Isthmus of Panama seemed like a good place to do it. The final Panama Canal was only about 81 miles long.
Panama is not the first attempt With the construction of the “Trans-Ishmian” canal. The United States and Britain tried in vain to reach an agreement regarding a canal in Nicaragua in the 1850s. France then attempted to build a canal in Panama in 1880, but vastly underestimated the difficulty of the project and the lethality of tropical diseases, and later abandoned some 20,000 dead bodies.
The United States was keen to build a canal, but the albatross of a failed project in Nicaragua remained around its neck until 1901. new agreement A treaty signed between the United States and Great Britain, known as the Hay-Pawnsefort Treaty, repealed the 1850 treaty and removed the last legal impediment to new projects. The last physical obstacle was removed in 1905 when the United States effectively eradicated yellow fever in construction zones.
The U.S. Senate voted to boldly embark on another canal project in 1902, and within six months a deal was offered to Colombia, which ruled Panama at the time. Colombia's Minister of Foreign Affairs signed the treaty offered by the United States, but the Colombian Congress refused to ratify it, believing that the compensation offered by the United States was insufficient for the land Colombia would hand over.
The people who actually lived on the land were more obedient and no longer wanted to be ruled by Colombia. President Theodore Roosevelt thought it would be a great idea if Panama could sign its own treaty. Sent american gunship To express his enthusiasm.
The Republic of Panama was thus born on November 3, 1903, and entered into a complex agreement with the United States for the construction of the canal, known as the Treaty of Hay-Bunau-Varilla. The agreement included an upfront payment by the United States of $10 million, an impressive amount at the time, and guaranteed Panama's independence. The canal was completed in 1914 and operated under U.S. control for several decades.
Many residents of the new Republic of Panama were dissatisfied with the Treaty of Hay-Bunau-Varilla, which was actually signed by two people instead of three. Panama representative, philippe jean benot valillawere not Panamanian, did not reside in Panama, and did not have permission from the new Panamanian government to sign the treaty. He signed the treaty literally hours before Panamanian officials arrived in Washington to consult, and if they objected to aspects of the agreement, Bunau-Varilla threatened to let the Colombians conquer Panama again. did.
Mr. Bunau Varilla became something of a national villain for Panama, and was not even allowed to attend the Grand Canal's opening ceremony in 1914 – and resentment against the Canal Treaty grew. Riots occasionally broke out in Panama. A series of new treaties clarifying the exact status of the canal and Panama's sovereignty were submitted in 1967, but before they could be ratified the Panamanian government was overthrown by a military coup.
The coup was masterminded by Colonel Omar Torrijos, who began making tough deals with President Richard Nixon's administration. The Nixon administration came to believe that maintaining control of the Panama Canal permanently would be extremely difficult due to the great instability not only in Panama but in Latin America as a whole. Instead, a draft agreement was drawn up that gave America permanent rights. use Without owning the canal.
This became a controversial issue in the turbulent politics of the 1970s, with even 1976 Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter vowing never to cede “effective control of the Panama Canal Zone.” But once he was elected, he did just that, signing a series of agreements with Torrijos that narrowly passed the Senate.
The treaty, signed into law in 1979, sought to address a major concern of critics by giving the United States the right to protect the Panama Canal from foreign interference. They responded to accusations of imperialism and violations of Panama's sovereignty by dissolving the Panama Canal Zone (the part of Panama owned by the United States) in 1979 and transferring control of the canal to Panama in 1999. This was a lucky coincidence in which we were lucky enough to get delivery of the canal. past reign The story of Manuel Noriega, the deranged dictator of Panama in the late 1980s.
Panamanians vehemently denied President Trump's claims about Chinese interference in the Panama Canal. However, China has significant influence over the Panamanian government. bully Panama severed long-standing ties with Taiwan in 2017, and Chinese companies have been heavily involved in a number of upgrades and upgrades to the canal in recent years.
Panama I participated China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2018 gave it control of land on both sides of the canal, including the lease and investment in the Port of Panama. All of this is likely an invocation of the provisions of the Carter-Torrijos Treaty that give the United States the right to use force to counter any threat to the neutrality of the Panama Canal.
President Trump in December criticized He charged “ridiculous and grossly unfair” fees for the passage of American warships and merchant ships, and promised to “immediately end” the “complete rip-off of our country.”
President Trump said if freight rates for ships passing through the Panama Canal are not reduced, he will “demand the full, immediate, and unquestioned return of the Panama Canal.”
Panama argues that the higher rates are necessary because of the region's drought, and that U.S. ships are treated no differently than ships from other countries. The difference in fees depending on nationality is challenge The neutrality of the canal is guaranteed.
