Panama's president denies making a deal that US warships can transit the canal for free

By ALMA SOLÍS
Updated 8:25 PM CST, February 6, 2025

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday denied the U.S. State Department’s claim that his country had reached a deal allowing U.S. warships to transit the Panama Canal for free.

Mulino said he had told U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday that he could neither set the fees to transit the canal nor exempt anyone from them and that he was surprised by the U.S. State Department’s statement suggesting otherwise late Wednesday.

“I completely reject that statement yesterday,” Mulino said during his weekly press conference, adding that he had asked Panama’s ambassador in Washington to dispute the State Department’s statement. He was scheduled to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday.



Panama’s President Jose Mulino, center, and Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha, let, meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

On Wednesday evening, the U.S. State Department said via X that “U.S. government vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without charge fees, saving the U.S. government millions of dollars a year.”

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