Panama, familiar with US intervention, bristles at Trump's comments on canal

Earlier this month, Trump wouldn’t rule out using military force to take it back.



By ASSOCIATED PRESS | ap@dfmdev.com
UPDATED: January 21, 2025 at 11:45 AM PST


By JUAN ZAMORANO, Associated Press

PANAMA CITY (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s insistence Monday that he wants to have the Panama Canal back under U.S. control fed nationalist sentiment and worry in Panama, home to the critical trade route and a country familiar with U.S. military intervention.

“American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy. And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal,” Trump said Monday.

In the streets of the capital, some Panamanians saw Trump’s remarks as a way of applying pressure on Panama for something else he wants: better control of migration through the Darien Gap. Others recalled the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama with concern.

Panama President José Raúl Mulino responded forcefully Monday, as he did after Trump’s initial statement last month that the U.S. should consider repossessing the canal, saying the canal belongs to his country of 4 million and will remain Panama’s territory.

More:
https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/01/21/panama-trump-canal/