Panama Canal crisis escalates… Trump is threatening and the Panamanian president responds
US President Donald Trump threatened that something strong would happen, without naming it, if the United States didn’t regain control of the Panama Canal.
Trump told reporters on Sunday that his Secretary of State Marco Rubio was currently in Panama, claiming that the canal wasn’t given to China but is under their control.
“They broke the deal,” Trump added, “either we get the Panama Canal back or something very bad is going to happen”.
Trump had previously mentioned taking back the Panama Canal in his first speech after taking office, saying, “China runs the Panama Canal… We gave it to Panama, not to China, and we will take it back”.
For his part, Panamanian President José Raúl Molino responded to Trump’s statements via a post on X, on January 20, saying, “The Panama Canal belongs to Panama and will remain so”.
Although there is no concrete evidence for Trump’s claim that China runs the Panama Canal, it’s known that China has extensive investments in Panama.
On September 7, 1977, US President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos signed two historic treaties, which stipulated the transfer of sovereignty over the Panama Canal to Panama by December 31, 1999, while ensuring the neutrality of the canal and its continued use for international navigation.
The two treaties faced domestic opposition in the United States, where some saw them as a concession to a strategic US interest, but the president at the time defended the decision as a step toward improving relations with Latin American countries and promoting international justice.
