Trump threatened to regain control of the Panama Canal: what’s happening
US President-elect Donald Trump has accused Panama of charging excessive fees for using the Panama Canal. The politician threatened to take back control of the channel if Panama did not operate the channel in an “acceptable manner.”
US President-elect Donald Trump has said that the United States may demand that control of the Panama Canal be returned if the current terms of its use are not reviewed.
In a statement posted on the Truth Social network, Trump stressed that the Panama Canal is the most important strategic asset of the United States, ensuring the economic stability and security of the country. “If the moral and legal principles underlying the transfer of the canal to Panama are not respected, we will insist on its full return,” Trump said, adding that control of the canal should never fall into “the wrong hands.”
Trump criticized the high tariffs charged for using the channel and stressed that the transfer of control of the channel in 1999 was a “gesture of cooperation” and not a concession in favor of other countries. “The channel should not be a tool for enriching others, its creation cost the United States huge resources and the lives of our citizens,” he said, calling on the Panamanian authorities to reconsider their policy.
The Panama Canal, commissioned in 1914, was built by the United States and was under their control. In 1977, the Torrijos-Carter Treaty defined the phased transfer of the canal to Panama, which was completed in 1999. This agreement provided for the neutrality of the channel and its accessibility to world trade. Today, the canal remains the most important route for the global economy and a key object of U.S. interests.
