Panama's president on Sunday shot down President-elect Donald Trump's threat to call for the United States to relinquish control of the Central American nation's Panama Canal if it continues to charge “exorbitant” fees for using the vital sea route. did.
Panama's President José Raul Mulino strongly opposed Trump's suggestion that he could demand that the United States regain control of the century-old waterway when he takes office next month.
“I would like to state precisely that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas belongs and will continue to belong to Panama,” Mulino said in a statement. Posted on social media.
“The sovereignty and independence of our country are non-negotiable. Every Panamanian here and everywhere in the world carries it in their hearts, and it is part of our history of struggle and irreversible conquest. Department.”
After first buzzing about the primary route on Saturday, President Trump brought up the topic again Sunday in a speech at Turning Point USA's America Fest.
“We are being robbed at the Panama Canal just as we are being robbed elsewhere,” he told a crowd of thousands in Arizona.
The U.S. built the canal in the early 1900s to allow commercial and military vessels to travel between its coasts, but more than 20 years have passed since President Jimmy Carter signed the treaty with Panama. It relinquished ownership of the waterway in 1999.
“If the moral and legal principles of this generous donation are not upheld, we will demand that the Panama Canal be completely, promptly and without question returned to the United States,” Trump said. said.
“I'm not going to support that,” the Republican continued. “Panamanian authorities, please guide us in this direction.”
President Trump, 78, has previously set his sights on territories belonging to other countries, and in recent weeks has mused that he would like to see Canada become a state in the United States.
He also floated the idea of buying Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, on Sunday when he announced the appointment of PayPal co-founder Ken Howley as U.S. ambassador to Europe.
Mulino, who was elected in May, said Sunday that the fees set for shippers using the canal, which sees 14,000 ships a year, were not set on a whim.
He said: “They have been and will continue to be established in public and public forums, taking into account market conditions, the international situation, operating costs and the needs for maintenance and modernization of the interoceanic waterway.” said.
“We Panamanians may think differently on many aspects, but when it comes to our canals and our sovereignty, we are all united under one flag: Panama. ” he added.
In response to Mulino's pledge to keep the canal under Panama's control, Trump responded on Truth Social: “We'll see about that!”
with post wire
