Panama president rejects negotiations with Trump over canal control

Panamanian President José Raul Mulino firmly rejected any negotiations with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump regarding the control of the Panama Canal.

In a press conference on Thursday, Mulino denied claims that China was interfering with the canal's operations and dismissed Trump’s threat to seek its return to U.S. control, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

"There’s nothing to talk about," Mulino stated, emphasizing, "The canal is Panamanian and belongs to Panamanians." He also expressed that the possibility of reducing tolls for U.S. vessels was off the table, underscoring the historical significance of the canal to Panama.

The canal, inaugurated in 1914, was built by the United States but handed to Panama on December 31, 1999, under treaties signed some two decades earlier by then-US president Jimmy Carter and Panamanian nationalist leader Omar Torrijos.

Trump on Saturday slammed what he called "ridiculous" fees for US ships passing through the canal and hinted at China's growing influence.

"It was solely for Panama to manage, not China, or anyone else," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. "We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands!"

If Panama could not ensure "the secure, efficient and reliable operation" of the channel, "then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question," he said.

An estimated five percent of global maritime traffic passes through the Panama Canal, which allows ships traveling between Asia and the US East Coast to avoid the long, hazardous route around the southern tip of South America.

The United States is its main user, accounting for 74 percent of cargo, followed by China with 21 percent.

News.Az