On Thursday, Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino denied that China was meddling in the Panama Canal’s operations and ruled out talks with US President-elect Donald Trump over sovereignty of the waterway.
In response to Trump’s ultimatum to demand that Washington regain control of the crucial canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Mulino also rejected the idea of lowering tolls for US vessels.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Mulino told a press conference.
“The canal is Panamanian and belongs to Panamanians. There’s no possibility of opening any kind of conversation around this reality, which has cost the country blood, sweat and tears,” he added.
In accordance with treaties negotiated over 20 years prior by then-US President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian nationalist leader Omar Torrijos, the canal, which was constructed by the US and opened in 1914, was turned over to Panama on December 31, 1999.
On Saturday, Trump alluded to China’s expanding might and denounced what he described as “ridiculous” tariffs for US ships using the canal.
“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.
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