The United States will take control of the Panama Canal if it finds that Panama is not complying with the terms of the 1977 treaty on the legal status of this waterway, President-elect Donald Trump warned on the Truth Social platform. This includes, among other things, the Panamanian authorities charging too high fees for using the canal.
Donald Trump he argued that treaties allowing Panama to gain control of the canal allowed the U.S. to regain it. “If the moral and legal principles of this generous gesture of donation are not respected, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in full and without questions,” the president-elect warned in a Saturday post on the Truth Social platform.
Panama Canal Reuters
The Politico website points out that although China have expanded their presence in Latin America, and the Hong Kong-based company administers two ports at the entrance and exit of the canal – no PRC commercial or government entity plays a direct role in managing ship traffic in this critical waterway. The canal is administered by an independent government agency in Panama, and Beijing has not made any recent gestures indicating it wants to buy the canal or expand its presence in the country.
Recently elected president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, has pledged to strengthen cooperation with the US.
Treaty signed
In 1903, the United States signed a treaty with Panama that allowed it to build a canal connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Panama receives revenue generated by this waterway. Washington guaranteed the neutrality of the canal and control of territory on both sides of it.
The region, known as the Panama Canal Zone, was administered by United Statesand American law applied to the inhabitants of the region. After decades of tensions over the canal, President Jimmy Carter's administration signed two treaties in 1977 with Panama's military dictator, Omar Torrijos, to hand over control of this key shipping lane by the end of 1999.
The U.S. retains the right to defend the canal against any threat to its neutrality. As Politico emphasizes, analysts do not believe that the provisions of the treaty will allow Washington to legally regain control of the canal.
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