US president-elect Donald Trump threatened to reassert US control over the Panama Canal on Sunday, accusing Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Central American passage and drawing a sharp rebuke from Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters in Arizona, Trump also said he would not let the canal fall into the “wrong hands”, warning of potential Chinese influence on the passage and writing that the canal should not be managed by China. After the event, he posted an image on social media of an American flag flying over a narrow body of water, with the comment: “Welcome to the United States Canal!”
China does not control or administer the canal. However, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings manages two ports located on the Caribbean and Pacific entrances to the canal, respectively.
The post was a very rare example of a US leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory. It also underlines an expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has not historically shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with counterparts.
“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US,” Trump wrote in his social media post.
“It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. 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 us, in full, and without question,” he wrote.
The Panamanian embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.