A cargo ship leaves the Panama Canal in Panama City on June 17, 2024.
Martin Burnetti | Martin Burnetti APF | Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Panama of charging exorbitant fees to use the Panama Canal and called for Panama to hand over the canal to a U.S. ally if it does not manage it in an acceptable manner. Then he said.
In an evening post on Truth Social, President Trump also warned not to let the canal fall into the “wrong hands,” writing that the canal should not be controlled by China and discouraging China’s potential control over the canal. It seems like they warned you of the consequences.
The post was an extremely rare example of a U.S. leader saying he could force a sovereign country to hand over territory. This also reflects the expected changes in U.S. diplomacy under President Trump, who has historically not shied away from threatening allies or using belligerent rhetoric when dealing with adversaries. Emphasized.
The United States primarily built the canal and controlled the territory surrounding it for decades. However, the U.S. government completely transferred control of the canal to Panama in 1999 after a period of joint management.
“The fees Panama charges are ludicrous, especially given the extraordinary generosity the United States has given Panama,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“It was not given for the benefit of others, but simply as a token of our cooperation with Panama. If the moral and legal principles of this generous act of donation are not observed, If there is, we will demand the construction of the Panama Canal, which must be returned to us in full and without question. ”
The Panamanian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
