US President-elect Donald Trump made comments about reclaiming the Panama Canal, while criticizing fees charged to ships. Panamanian President Raúl Mulino rejected the statements and described them as an offense.
President-elect Donald Trump hinted Sunday that his new administration could try to regain control of the Panama Canal that the United States “foolishly” ceded to its Central American ally, arguing that ships are being charged “ridiculous” fees to pass through the canal. vital transportation channel connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Conservative Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, elected in May on a pro-business campaign, flatly rejected that idea, calling it an affront to his country's sovereignty.
Trump made his comment in Arizona, at the conservative event AmericaFest of the Turning Point USA organization, his first major rally since winning the White House on November 5.
Trump began the speech by saying that “we want to try to bring everyone together. Let's try it. We're really going to give that a try.” He then hinted that Democrats have “lost their confidence” and are “bewildered” after the election, but in the long run “they will come to our side because we want to have them.”
At the top of a list of complaints was the Panama Canal.
“They are scamming us in the Panama Canal,” he said, lamenting that his country “foolishly handed it over.”
The United States built the canal at the dawn of the 20th century, in an attempt to facilitate the transit of commercial and military ships between its coasts. Washington ceded control of the canal to Panama on December 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 during the administration of President Jimmy Carter.
The canal depends on dams to operate its locks and was seriously affected by the Central American droughts of 2023which forced it to substantially reduce the number of daily slots for crossing ships. Fewer ships were using the canal each day, prompting administrators to increase the rates charged to all shipping companies to reserve space.
After the weather returned to normal in the final months of this year, traffic through the canal has returned to normal. But in any case, there is expected to be an increase in prices in 2025.
Mulino is considered a conservative who agrees with Trump's views on many issues. Panama is a strong ally of the United States and the canal is crucial to its economy, generating approximately one-fifth of that government's annual revenue.
Still, Trump said that once his second term begins, “if the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America.” , in its entirety, quickly and without asking questions.”
“I'm not going to tolerate it,” Trump said. “So, to the officials of Panama, please let yourselves be properly guided.” The president-elect did not detail how he will be able to achieve this.
Shortly after Trump's speech, Mulino posted a video in which he declared that “every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belongs to Panama and will continue to be so.”
Without mentioning Trump by name, Mulino addressed the president-elect's complaints about rising rates for ships crossing the canal, saying they are set by experts who take into account operating costs as well as supply and supply factors. demand.
“The rates are not a whim,” Mulino said. He noted that Panama has expanded the canal over the years to increase ship traffic “by Panamanian decision,” adding that increases in ship rates help pay for the improvements.
“We Panamanians may think differently in many aspects,” said the president, “but when it comes to our canal, and our sovereignty, we are all united under a single flag: that of Panama.”
Trump later took to his social network Truth Social to respond: “We'll see!” He also posted an image of an American flag placed in the canal area, accompanied by the phrase: “Welcome to the United States canal!”
Trump's statements provoked reactions in the region, including those of the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who reaffirmed his support for Mulino.
“If the new US government wants to talk about business, we will talk about business, face to face, and for the benefit of our people, but dignity will never be negotiated. President Trump has made mistakes and contradicted himself. If he does not want myriads ( of immigrants) passing the Darién, increased by millions from Panama to Mexico, must understand that it will depend on the prosperity and freedom of our peoples”, wrote in X.
Show of partisan unity
Addressing supporters at conservative event AmericaFest of the organization Turning Point USA In Arizona, Trump promised that his “dream cabinet” will deliver a booming economy, seal American borders and quickly resolve wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
It was a show of partisan unity that contrasted with the recent budget tussle on Capitol Hill, where some Republican lawmakers openly defied their leader's requests.
“I can proudly proclaim that America's Golden Age is upon us,” Trump declared. “There’s a spirit we have now that we didn’t have a short time ago.”
His presentation capped a four-day pep rally that attracted more than 20,000 activists and projected an image of Republican cohesion despite last week's turbulence in Congress in Washingtonwhere lawmakers avoided a government shutdown in rocky negotiations after Trump rejected a first bipartisan deal.
In his remarks in Phoenix, Trump did not mention the Congressional drama, although he did reference Musk's growing power. In response to suggestions that “President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon,” Trump stated flatly: “No, no. “That's not happening.”
“He's not going to be president,” Trump declared.
New appointments
The president-elect also announced on Sunday several new members of his next government, of which the most notable are two:
—Stephen Miran, who worked at the Treasury Department during Trump's first term, will head the Council of Economic Advisers, an executive branch agency charged with providing objective economic advice to the president.
—Callista Gingrich to be the American ambassador to Switzerland. Gingrich was the country's ambassador to the Holy See in Trump's first term. She is married to Newt Gingrich, who was speaker of the House of Representatives.
Separately, Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt announced that he would donate $1.1 million to Trump's inaugural fund to complement the $14 million he said he had already given to the super political action committee Make America Great Again Inc. (which runs name of Trump's campaign slogan, “Let's Make America Great Again”), which makes him one of the main donors to the president-elect's cause.
Pratt is president of Pratt Industries, which uses recycled paper and boxes as raw materials in a process that produces new cardboard.
(With information from The Associated Press and Reuters)